September Arrives

September 1, 2025

Installed rebar in the form for the concrete conter in the gazebo. Drilled into the columns at the side to anchor the rebar. Added a bit of fencing as the wire mesh reinforcing. Installed support braces under the forms. It is ready to pour.

At the corner of Palaoa Road and Amepela Road, I started a project yesterday to install a street sign similar to the one I created near the property at the end of Holowai Street. I had cut back the vegetation and dug a footing hole. Then I placed rocks around the top of the hole as a form for concrete to create a base for the sign post. Today, I loaded some sand and gravel into my truck along with some cement and my wheelbarrow and shovel. I drove over to this intersection and found that someone had taken all my rocks! There were a dozen or so ranging from the size of a grapefruit up to the size of a basketball – they were large rocks. Why would someone take these?

HMMMM –

So, I looked around and found other rocks to use and proceeded to mix my concrete and pour the base for the sign post with a metal pole embedded in the base.

Back at the property, I sorted the boards I had salvaged from the pallets into appropriate sizes. Then I used two broken pieces of 1 x and painted street signs for my street sign project.

September 2, 2025

I installed the street signs I had painted for the sign post at Palaoa road and Amepela Road.

I screened a large pile of the sand and gravel at the gate of the driveway and mixed concrete to grout the cells of the wall and the oven base at the gazebo.

And, I poured another step at the walkway to the entrance of the gazebo.

I added some brown color to the mix for this slab. Maybe a little too much brown color.

September 3, 2025

Swimming pool at Honuapo

Went downtown this afternoon for propane, and to stop at the post office. I had ordered some canned food and potato chips. It is less expensive than buying these at the stores here. Then I went down to Honuapo and went swimming in the swimming pool in the lava.

The last three days have been overcast with light rain, consequently, my solar panels have not been able to keep the solar generator fully charged. It s below 50% today, so I take three 2 x 4’s over to the neighbor’s and use his electricity from his much larger system to rip these boards into three pieces. Two days ago, I had plugged my angle grinder in to my system to cut the rebar for the concrete counter. I did not pay attention to the power level when I did this and drained the system. Yesterday morning when I got up, the refrigerator in the gazebo was shut off and the system was at 0% It only got up to 29% all morning so I ran the propane powered generator to bring it up to 80%. Last night, I shut the system off before going to bed, and then got up at 4 AM to turn it on and run the refrigerator. Tonight it is at 66%.

September 4, 2025

Worked on the framing for the roof of the hose. Installed the ridge pole with a few rafters. The 2 x 4’s that I ripped yesterday were used to create two trusses – one at each end of the ridge pole. These two trusses support the ridge pole.

It was sunny this morning, but overcast all afternoon so the solar system is not up to 100%.

September 5, 2025

Work on roof – All the rafters in the center section are in place. I have cut the four hip rafters and installed them in place. It is beginning to look like a roof!

It was hot and sunny most of the day today. . . good for the solar systems.

September 6, 2025

Worked in the storage shed in the morning building dawers. I used the plastic soda trays I picked up at the convenience store the other day as the drawers, and I built shelves to accomodate them.

Took a shower at 12:30 PM. I had hot water from my PVC radiator system, but it still smells like PVC glue, and not a lot of pressure!

Filled the truck with empty water bottles and headed to downtown Na’alehu. I wanted to catch the 1 PM bus in to Kona and then return on the 5 PM bus. As I was pulling in to the parking lot across the street from the hardware store (an informal “park-n-ride” location), the bus drove past. Missed it by THAT much! I could drive to Oceanview and park at the park-n-ride location there, but I don’t trust that location! There might not be tires on the tuck when I returned. And maybe I’m just paranoid!

Drove to the trash transfer station in Waiohinu and filled my water bottles before returning to the property.

I took the concrete mixer out to the road where the sand/gravel piles are, and started the old generator (on the first pull) and mixed concrete for the counter in the kitchen gazebo. I used the sand/gravel that I had sifted the other day.

September 7, 2025

Woke up late – 9:30.

Woke up at 1:30 AM with leg cramps that lasted for at least for fifteen minutes that seemed like hours! Went back to sleep a little after 2 AM, but again woke up at 3:30 AM – don’t know why! Went back to sleep around 4 AM and woke up again at 5:30 AM. Went back to sleep around 6 AM and woke up at 9:30 AM. Strange night!

Gathered up my dirty clothes, removed blankets from bed and hung them on ropes tied between some trees to air out, removed sheets and changed pillowcases.. Took sheets, pillowcases, and dirty clothes to the laundromat in OceanView.

While I was there, a Samoan family brought their clothes in to be washed. They filled four $7.50 machines twice, and three $5.50 machines twice also. I would estimate that they spent over a hundred dollars doing laundry.

Another family came in with lots of clothes to wash. There was one $5.50 machine available. After filling this machine, they walked up and down the 3 rows of machines looking like vultures circling a dying man in the desert. I wonder what they expected the laundromat attendant to do, but they asked her to find them a machine. At this time, I was using only one machine, and the laundry lady pointed at it and asked, “Is that your machine?” I answered, “No. It’s your machine. I’m just using it for a while!”

Yeah, I’m a smart a$$! But it made her smile!

After the laundromat, I stopped at the grocery store. 3 two liter bottles of soda, 1 gallon of milk, and 1 pound of bacon – $38.00!

Back at the property, I took the blankets off the ropes between the trees and hung up the wet clothes. The cost of the driers at the landromat makes me just hang my clothes up to dry.

Then I cut two rafters – one for the center of each end of the roof. I removed the forms from the step I had poured the other day and reset them for another section.

September 8, 2025

Work on the roof structure continues with the cutting of the rafters to intersect the hip rafters. Using my cordless saw is slow – it bogs down because it has low power, and the batteries run out of power after a couple of cuts. I started up the generator (took two pulls this time) to use my mini saw. It barely cuts through 1 1/2″ material when making a straight cut, and does not reach all the way through when making a 45 degree angle cut. Also, the blade is a bit dull.

I go down to Na’alehu to the hardware store to buy a new blade for this saw. They do not have one this size (5 1/2″) so I buy a 7 1/2″ one to put on Scott’s worm drive skill saw. Stop off at the transfer station to fill water bottles. Tonight, there was a full moon.

September 9, 2025

I borrowed my neighbor Scott’s worm drive skilsaw. The cord is being held together with about six rolls of black electical tape. There is not an inch of this cord that is not wrapped in electrical tape. So, the other day when I was getting water at the tansfer station, I went in to the area where they collect the old, and broken, discaded appliances and removed the cord from an old washing machine.

I spent the morning replacing the cord on the skilsaw. As usual the screws were difficult to remove and two would not come out at all. But the handle came apart and the plastic posts inside where these two screws thread in are broken. So, I replaced the screws with stove bolts that go all the way through. Also, there is a lot of grease covering the wires from the switch and going into the motor. After replacing the cord, the saw shorted out on the second cut. It turned out that the grease on the wires was not grease, but melted insulation. I cleaned of the melted goop and wrapped the wires with black electrical tape. Eventually, these wires will need to be replaced, but that will require totally disassembling the saw. Got it put back together and cut four more rafters.

I poured another section of the sidewalk leading to the gazebo – the section I had set up the forms for the other day.

This time I did not add as much brown color.

The weather forecast is for a hurricane/tropical storm for yesterday, today and tomorrow. It has been mostly sunny today with a few scattered clouds – no rain. no wind. The full moon has passed and it is a bit smaller tonight, but it is still a big, bright moon in a clear, cloudless sky – with lots of stars!

September 10, 2025

The rain I was missing yesterday showed up today. Everything ws wet this morning, so it probably rained overnight. The sky is dark and overcast, and around 9 AM it started to rain – lightly – more than a mist or even a light sprinkle – but not a heavy downpour, just a slow, steady light rain. I tried to work in the rain, and I actually cut and installed three more rafters, but the rain was just too much.

I gathered up the empty water bottles – I always seem to have some empty ones around that didn’t get filled the last trip, or I have emptied since – and put them in the back of the truck for a trip to town.

i’m going in to Kona tomorrow, so I stopped at the gas station and got some gas in the truck and stopped at the post office.

Much to my surprise, the 2 1/2″ screws that I ordered the other day arrived. I didn’t expect then until the 18th. I could buy these at the local hardware store for $23, or at the lumber store in Kona for $22, but I order them online for $15. After filling the water bottles, I returned to the property.

After taking the water bottles out of the truck, I cut and installed two more rafters. Slow and steady wins the race!

TTFN

The Adventure Continues

August 20, 2025

6:00 AM flight out of Phoenix.

Not many passengers in the rows in front of me.

Not many passengers in the rows behind me.

I had ten rows all to myself.

Arrived in San Diego about 7:30 AM

11:30 am flight out of San Diego – Not as lucky. Had to share my row with another passenger. Had a window seat on the right side of the plane,

As Dumas observed, “One must take the world as one finds it”

First glimpse of Maui.

View of Maui as we fly between Maui on the right side of the plane where I am sitting, and Hawai’i island on the left.

The pilot cuts across the top corner of the big island and I catch an aerial view of Hawi!

We land at 2:30 pm in Kona. I catch the 3:20 pm bus to Kona and do a little grocery shopping before catching the 4:30 bus to Waiohinu.

Arrive at Waiohinu at 6:20 PM. Neighbor comes and picks me up.

Arrive at property at 6:45 PM and open the storage shed. Set up the solar generator and the refrigerator in the gazebo. Hook up the batteries in the sleeping shed, and turn on the little refrigerator. Move my solar panels to the shed roof and hook them up to the battery system. I have a rat problem, so I set some traps.

August 21, 2025

I remove two dead rats from the traps I set last night. Then I reposition the solar panels on the roof of the gazebo. I restack the tire stack I use for my compost pile and pick out what little compost there is for use in the tire garden. I have five used tires stacked atop one another to create a container of sorts for my composting. Into this, I place my kitchen scraps, cardboard cartons, along with some odd grass and tree clippings. This ad hoc container was completely full when I left a month ago, but now, the contents have reduced in size considerably.

My planter with the onions looks like it could use some water – but the onions are still alive.

The tomatoes in the tires are not much more than dry sticks.

My tomatoes in the tomato planter are a slight bit better. . . but not much.

They all seem to be immitating the lost soul crawling across the burning sands of the desert while crying out, “water, . . . water . . .”

I answer their cries with lots of water, and tie up the branches to support them, while cutting off the dead ones.

I install metal edges to the bathroom roof and cover the entire roof with another coat of elastomeric roof coating – sealing the metal roof edges into place.

I have brought three 8 x 8 glass block with me in my luggage. I unpack them, and remove the styrophoam from the shower walls. Then I slide the glass block into the holes left from the removal of the styrophoam. Nice fit – just like it was planned that way!

The storage shed smells of rat, and they have eaten a hole in a cardboard box containing some food stuffs. I throw out the entire cardboard box and contents – dried soups, instant potatoes, a few granola bars, all opened and chewed on – , and set two rat traps in the storage shed,

Then I drive over to Ahi.

I get out the lawn mower and mow the entire Ahi road all the way to the corner of Palaoa Road, past the other five lots of my neighbors. Then I use the weed whacker and cut the tall grass around the water lines, at the top of the hill at the front of the property, and the flat area next to the driveway.

The solar panels are placed on the roof and hooked up with the batteries.

August 22, 2025

This morning, I read an email from the USGS, that in the early hours of the day, Kilauea began emitting lava fountaining into the air quite dramatically – over a thousand feet into the air, but fully contained within the caldera. I resolve to take the opportunity to observe this in person . . . but not today! I have too many chores to complete.

After breakfast, I again water my tomatoes, the onions, the two plumeria trees, my three coconut trees and the lone citrus along the side fence in the front yard area.

I attempt to seal the waterfall/fountain,pond, whatever – with some elastomeric paint.

I dispose of one dead rat from a trap in the storage shed, and add two mouse traps, while resetting the one trap.

I watch as a female northern red cardinal makes her way to the feeder. She is a variety of light brown colors, so I assume that this bird must be a female. Not long after she arrives there is a fully dark red male cardinal on the handrail of the lanai, intently watching her movements. She is interrupted by the arrival of two smaller red headed cardinals, who worry her into leaving so they can take her place. A dark brown cardinal shows up in the branches and hops from branch to branch and finally to the cross braces of the handrail. I assume that this is a young northern red cardinal that has not yet grown into its full color.

Leaving the birds to their antics, I place my 60 gallon water bladder in the back of the truck along with about 30 empty plastic jugs and two garden hoses, and head off into Na’alehu. I stop at the gas station/convenience store and pick up five plastic trays that are about 16″ by 24″ by 4″ tall. I plan on using these as the drawers in the shelves in the storage shed.

A stop at the post office allows me to pick up a package that contains two more water bladders – these are each 100 gallon size.

I stop at the trash transfer station in Waiohinu where the county has set up half a dozen hose bibs for dispensing water, and proceed to fill my water bladder as well as the other smaller empty bottles. One garden hose is attached to a hose bib and the end placed into the bladder. As it fills, I attach the other garden hose to another hose bib and proceed to fill the smaller empty bottles.

Once I arrive at the property, I find an email from the USGS telling me that the fountainng of this episode of the current eruption of Kilauea has stopped, and the caldera is just smoking and steaming from the north and south vents.

In order to make full use of the expanded area of the kitchen gazebo, I remove the sliding doors and reinstall them under the beam of the expanded section. I install them in a “fixed” condition – meaning that they do not move – no longer sliding.

August 23, 2025

At opposite ends of the gazbo extension are two walls that mirror each other. Today was spent framing in the upper portion of these walls, to include a window that is 9′ tall and 38″ long. One of these two walls will be the entrance with doors that open under the window. The other wall will have a counter or shelf, to expand the kitchen area.

Then I watered the tomatos, onions, plumerias, coconut palms, citrus, small avocado tree, etc., at Holowai. I used the water bottles from the truck that I had filled up yesterday. Also, I opened the package I got in the mail and spread out one of the new water bladders in a relatively flat area of the driveway.

and using a garden hose, I transferred the water from the bladder in the truck to this bladder – through the use of gravity.

In a couple of pots on the lanai, I have planted the seeds of some citrus – grapefruit, oranges, tangerines. I did not keep track of which seeds went into what pot, so that now that they have come up, I have a few citrus seedlings – which I do not know what they are. Five years from now, I will, because I took these seedlings over to Ahi and planted them along the Kona side property line. I also watered the other plants there – the norfolk pines at the top of the driveway, the poinciana seedlings with the papaya, the mango that looks like a stick now, the three groups of other citrus , and my macadamia tree that is struggling.

August 24, 2025

After parking the truck in the parking lot across the street from the hardware store in Na’alehu, I got on the 8 AM bus into Kona for some grocery shopping.

Then I got on the 2:30 PM bus back to Na’alehu, and I arrived at 4:45 PM

The bakery closes at 5 PM and they close and lock the gate at 5:30. This gave me 45 minutes to load up with some pallets. . . in the rain! The mouse traps in the storage shed have been tripped, but there is nothing in them. So, I rebait and reset them.

August 25, 2025

I excavated and built some forms for the base of a block wall at the Kona side of the gazebo extension.

It rained all afternoon as I took apart pallets tor the 1 x’s to be used as roof sheathing on the house.

August 26, 2025

My task today is to pour concrete. In the kitchen gazebo, there are three cells in the wall of what is to be a water storage tank, that are empty and deep. I am constantly dropping things, (spoons, bottle caps, etc), into these cells. It is with considerable difficulty that I retreive these items due to their depth being more than the length of my arm.

Therefore, when I mixed up concrete to pour the step at the top of the garden steps, I also filled these three cells so that when I dropped stuff into them, it would only be an inch or two away. I also poured the base or footing of the wall at the Kona end of the gazebo extension.

I had a small bag of vegetable plant food, so I opened it and spread some on the tomatoes, onions and other plants at Holowai. It began to sprinkle, so I resumed reclaiming 1 x boards from pallets. I can do this under a tarp I have put up between the house construction and the storage shed. One dead mouse in the storage shed trap!

August 27, 2025

I removed the forms from my concrete pours yesterday and laid block for the “west” wall of the gazebo extension. Took a drive down to watch the waves at the ocean. Stopped off and refilled the empty water bottles (but not the bladder). Stopped off at the post office – it’s like christmas!

August 28, 2025

Still being in a masonry frame of mind from laying block yesterday, I added another layer to the walls of the bathroom at Ahi.

These walls are now ready to be grouted. I picked up more pallets from the bakery.

August 29, 2025

At the Kona side of the gazebo extension, I want to create an oven. . . much like a pizza oven. I poured a base for this oven, and set the first course of block. I also got some pieces of slate to use as the inner liner for this oven.

Then, I disassembled the shower at the lower end of the property and moved it to the new shower location. I put together some 1 1/2″ PVC piping in a kind of a radiator to use as a solar collector.

August 30, 2025

I continued the block walls for the pizza oven.

My order of lumber arrived and they placed it along the side of the road in front of the property.

The order contains some pvc plumbing fittings for running a water line from my collection tank at the back of the storage shed to the bathroom, along with ten bags of cement.

I moved the plumbing fittings and the cement from the side of the road to a more secure place on the property.

I heated a piece of 2″ pvc pipe and created a 22 degree bend to use in extending the drain line for the shower in the bathroom.

At noon, the water coming out of my showerhead in the shower was quite warm, but it smelled like PVC glue. This is because of the glue in the fittings of the solar water heater radiator. When I took a shower at 4:30, the water had cooled off as the afternoon was cloudy and overcast. For dinner, I went to a restaurant in OceanView where I could watch the football game between the University of Arizona and the Unversity of Hawaii.

August 31, 2025

Moved the lumber from next to the road to a more secure location further back on the property.

Light rain all afternoon.

Spray painted the PVC solar radiator for the shower. Painted it black to absorb heat from the sun.

Built a form for a concrete counter in the gazebo extension in front of the oven.

August in Hawaii has come to a close.

TTFN

WOW! It’s July Already!

July 1, 2025

My neighbor had shiped his artwork and display racks to Oahu for the Haleiwa Arts Festival a couple of weeks ago, and then had to ship it back to Hawai’i island after the festival was over.

The shipping port is in Hilo, and he asked me to help him bring it back from there.

So off we went to Hilo. Mauna Loa was easily seen as we drove along the highway. Normally, the summit is shrouded in clouds, but this morning, there wasn’t a single cloud.

As we passed the National Park where I had first seen the lava fountain from Kilauea, there was still smoke billowing up from the caldera, but no tower of flame!

At the port, I could see a pretty good view of Mauna Kea even though there were a few clouds at the peak.

July 2, 2025

Today is an overcast, rainy kind of day. There is no steady rain, just a few sprinkles on and off during the day.

In spite of the weather, I was able to continue with the framing of the walls for the house.

I have all four corners framed up and defined, and now I’m adding blocking and bracing to stabilize it.

Under the floor line, I’m adding some diagonal blocking that will reinforce the corners.

I went over to check on the property at Ahi.

Along the driveway, I had planted some poinciana seeds from some of the large brown beans I had gathered at the airport. They have sprouted and I am coaxing three poinciana seedlings to grow. They will become huge trees with a fern type leaf, and overshadow the driveway. Of course, that will take a few years!

July 3, 2025

Once I had my diagonal blocking in place, I applied plywood to the outside.

And I picked up a few more pallets. I will be needing many more pallets as the roof sheathing and the final exterior siding will all be pallet boards. I can pick these up in Kona at various places, and I can also pick them up at the bakery in Naalehu. And the price is just how I like it – free!

Dinner is hamburgers and potato chips.

I also enjoy watching the geckos and the birds.

Click on the picture above for a video of the geckos and the birds!

July 4, 2025

Now that the plywood is applied to the bottom layer, I go back and fasten it on with screws –

6″ apart around the edges and 8″ apart through the middle. . . or something like that!

July 5, 2025

Next, comes the framing for the columns in the upper section.

They are an extension of the columns below so that they will be continuous columns from the ground to the roof.

July 6, 2025

Today, I play auto mechanic and change the oil in the truck.

In the afternoon, I help the neighbor Scott, mix up some fire ant deterrant to spray into the trees. This has peanut butter to attract the fire ants and a chemical called Tango that doesn’t kill the ants (and other insects as well like some fire ant chemicals will do) but it makes the queen infertile so she does not produce more fire ants. This effectively kills the colony – without disrupting the other species in the environment – at least that is the theory! Anyway, this mix contains three or four other ingredients as well as the peanut butter and Tango. The mixture is poured into a spray bottle and sprayed into the trees where the ants pick it up and take it back to the nest.

July 7, 2025

watching the birds is always entertaining.

Clck on the picture above for a short video.

For some reason, I am awake real early this morning.

I am rewarded with a gorgeous sunrise.

I head off to Kona to pick up some more building materials.

The Mormon Temple in Kona is undergoing a complete rebuild.

I load up the truck and I moved to . . . similar to the Beverly Hillbillies!

The weather in Kona is great!

Back at the property, I work on the plumbing system. I want to install a sewer line to serve the house. I borrowed an electric jackhammer to remove some rock so I could install the pipe.

July 8, 2025

With the plumbing pipes in place, I set up a form to pour a concrete stoop outside the bathroom door.

And it is time to go down to Honuapo and watch the waves!

Back in the 1850’s, the lava flow created a short wall where the waves crash against the shore line. When the ocean level rises due to climate change, the waves are up, or when it is windy, these waves create sprays of water that shoot quite high into the air.

Then when the ocean level drops – again because the climate changed – the waves don’t create such dramatic displays.

Today’s waves are about average.

click on the picture to watch the waves crash onto shore.

When I return to the property, I pour concrete in my forms outside the bathroom door.

July 9, 2025

Continuing with the concrete idea, I set up a form to pour another step at the top of the garden steps.

And another step at the bathroom landing as well, leading up to the house.

July 10, 2025

Time to do some laundry. The laundromat is in Oceanview – about ten miles away.

Along the road, there is a variety of vegetation as well as areas that are just black lava.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

I go back down to Honuapo to go swimming.

There is one parking place here that is under the trees.

Out on the point, there are two tidal pools that typically hold water. They are no more than two feet deep, sometimes they are quite low and barely have any water, but they are always a few degrees warmer than the ocean. A couple of nice little wading pools, that at times get to be bathwater temperature. Today, they are quite full.

There is also a pool here that is quite deep. This pool on the left has a section that gets up to 6 foot deep. A great little swimming pool. I would not want to go swimming out where the waves crash against the lava.

I brought a little refreshment. A mango.

As I drive away, I notice this poinciana tree in full flower.

July 11, 2025

The step at the top of the garden stairs and the one at the bathroom get poured.

I begin to install plywood on the interior of the upper sections of the walls.

Pouring concrete requires lots of water.

July 13, 2025

After finishing the installation of the tin on the roof of the storage shed, I install a gutter to capture water. Not for drinking, but for watering plants and mixing concrete.

I still need to install the 1 x pallet material as the exterior siding on this side of the shed.

July 14, 2025

As I drive around, to and from Naalehu, I see some small yellow birds. They are about the same size as the red headed cardinals and the Hawaiian Honeycrepers, but they are almost totally yellow.

I have often wondered what I needed to do to coax them to come to my feeder.

I figured that it was just a matter of time.

That time has arrived.

There are a pair of yellow birds that have shown up at the feeder once in the morning, and once in the afternoon for the past two days.

The heirarchy at the feeder has changed. The red headed cardinals give way to the pushy Honeycreepers. The Honey creepers even have a heirarchy among themselves that I haven’t been able to figure out, but they seem to take over the feeder and push the red headed cardinals out.

These new comers seem to be even more dominant. The larger Northern Red Cardinals have been the “rulers of the roost” and when they show up, everyone else gives them preference. The Honey creepers try to intimidate them, but they are rarely successful.

Not so with these yellow birds. I have seen this pair of birds chase everyone else – even the larger red cardinals – away from the feeder, until they are finished!

The papaya along side of the driveway at Ahi appears to have the flowers and buds of the beginning of fruit. Maybe if I can give it enough water, . ..

That will also help the poinciana seedlings growing in the same spot.

The tomatoes in the tires are beginning to ripen.

They are not very large, but they are tasty!

The ones in the tomato planter are not far beind.

A bit of cross bracing of the walls and columns to hold them plumb and stable so that I can install the beams.

The first beam is in place over the opening at the driveway side.

I have been storing the beams over at the Ahi property under a tarp. I brought them over on top of the truck.

July 15, 2025

Not very big, but there are quite a few of them.

My beams are all up and in place. Now I just need to secure them, and make sure everything is straight , level, and plumb!

These braces will keep the walls from spreading until I can get the roof framing in place.

July 17, 2025

I felt that the 2 x 4 exterior walls felt a little flimsy, so I have added a second 2 x 4 wall on the inside to make the exterior walls 8″ thick.

With the 1/2″ plywood sandwiched between these two framed walles, it creates quite a stable structure.

The exterior wall is baloon framed and resting on the concrete block wall. The studs go past the floor and up to the roof. I have installed blocking at the 4′ level and at the floor . There is a layer of 1/2″ plywood fastened to the inside of these walls, and the inner wall is also fastened to this plywood. The inner walls are platform framed, in that they rest on the floor and then extend up to the roof.

With the structure of the house as far along as I can get until I have more materials for the roof, I have gone back to concrete work.

I set forms for another step above and one below the entrance to the bathroom.

Also, some concrete to stabilize the top of the rock wall between the coumns at the front of the building.

I set up a form and will pour a slab about a foot wide.

July 18, 2025

My concrete at the edge of the house openings effectively locks in the top of the rock walls.

My pile of rocks and sand out by the road is diminishng, as I use it for my concrete!

Just a simple different project. The roads in our subdivision are not very well marked. In some places, people have put up a sign in a tree, or on a power pole, but there is no organized effort. The corner where Holowai and Palaoa Road meet is unmarked, so I cleared out an area, dug a small hole, filled it with concrete, rocks, and an old piece of metal that looks like maybe an axle from a trailer as a sign post.

This is a young Northern Red Cardinal, sitting on the branch.

The parent flys up to the young chick and it looks like they are kissing.

What is really happening, is the parent bird is feeding the young chick.

I have watched as the smaller red headed cardinals do this with their young and so do the Hawaiian Honey creepers.

It is comical to watch, as the young birds usually look larger than the parents!

July 19, 2025

I will need to build a porch with stairs to get up to the floor level of the house. I have started to build a rock wall to support this porch and stairs. Basically, it is two lines of rocks a few inches apart. Then I fill the gap with concrete.

July 20, 2025

I add signs to my street sign at the corner.

The tomatoes in the tires are doing real well.

As are the ones in the tomato planter.

Once the concrete sets up, I stack more rocks on the inside and ouside of the rock wall.

I start another wall to the left as the left side of the stairs.

More concrete is mixed to pour in my rock wall as well as to pour the next two steps in the sidewalk at the bathroom.

The white pipe is the drain for the shower. It will not drsin into the septic tank system but will be captured and reused to water plants.

July 22, 2025

Now that my time here is drawing to a close, my tomato plants are giving me quite a crop. he mangoes were a gift from the next door neighbor, Lorenzo.

July 23, 2025

I return to Arizona tomorrow, so I need to button everything up. I have build shelves in the storage shed to enable me to store the tools and stuff a bit more orderly.

I have a major portion of the back wall of the storage shed covered in pallet lumber as well. I don’t have time to build doors, so I will screw a couple of sheets of plywood over the opening for now.

July 24, 2025

The volcanoes seem to wave goodbye as we fly away from Kona.

A last look at the Kohala coast of the island of Hawai’i.

After changing planes in Las Vegas, I head over the southwest desert.

I am greeted into Arizona by a brilliant sunset.

The city approaches as we fly away from the sunset.

This little adventure comes to a close as I arrive back in Arizona.

TTFN

The Last of June

June 15, 2025

The need to go downtown to Naalehu today prompted me to fill the back of the truck with my empty water containers. I take every opportunity to make each trip into town well worth it by hauling water back with me. I stop off at the trash transfer station where there are six water faucets for getting water, and fill my water bottles.

Back at the site, I begin installng metal roofing on the roof of the storage shed.

I have been able to pick up – here and there – pieces of metal roofing that were used on other buildings and subsequently replaced. These used pieces will be more than sufficient for the roof on the storage room. Recycling at its finest!

June 16, 2025

Another trip into town, another load of water.

I begin installing some pallet boards on the exterior of the storage shed as the siding.

Some black building paper is placed over the pallet walls to provide a moisture barrier, and then the pallet 1x’s are being attached at a diagonal to give added strength to the structrure. It also looks cool!

June 17, 2025

As long as I have enough salvaged 1 x’s I will continue with the diagonal siding.

The mauka side is done. It just needs corner trim!

June 18, 2025

The load of lumber I had delivered last week has been sitting by the side of the road – just inviting someone to help themselves.

It is time to move it and remove the temptation.

The plywod and the 2 x 4’s are stacked in the area of the garden steps which is just past the house and the gazebo.

I move the 2 x 6’s and 2 x 8’s that will be the floor boards up onto the floor framing.

And then, I go back to installing the diagonal siding on the shed.

The front around the door is done, so I start on the makai side.

Not all the floor 2 x’s were moved from the road, so I parked the truck over top of the pile as a deterrent.

June 19, 2025

The makai side of the storage shed is now done. . . . except for the trim.

June 20, 2025

The flooring installation has begun. I will be installing 2 x 6’s and 2 x 8’s in an alternating pattern. One 2 x 6, and then, one 2 x 8. Then a 2 x 6, then a 2 x 8. I place them as tight together as I can, knowing that as they dry, they will shrink and leave small gaps between the boards.

June 21, 2025

Work on the property is interrupted by a trip to Oahu.

I park the truck at the airport and catch a plane for the 30 minute trip.

There doesn’t seem to be many people flying today.

I get a view of the other islands as we fly past them.

Maui with the ever recognizeable Haleakala volcano.

Arriving at Honolulu and the weather is much like what I left on the big island.

I pick up a rental car and I’m off on another adventure!

I find my way out of the airport and onto the freeway. I’m headed to the north shore.

The highway goes up through the central part of the island. A bit further down the road, I pass the entrance to the famed Schofield Barracks. The Army Air Corps base made famous by the attack by the Japanese that brought the US into WWII.

Up in the central part of the island, there are acres of pineapple fields.

They are part of the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

I’m not 100% certain that the pineapple is being grown as an export crop. I suspect that it is more as a backdrop to the tourist trade! There are various gift shops, restaurants, and guided tours of the grounds to purchase.

That’s enough commercialized tourism for me.

You’re welome!

My destination quickly approaches. The town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu.

My neighbor in Na’alehu is an artist. His family owns a house on the beach just outside of Haleiwa. He has come here to be a part of the annual Haleiwa Art Festival and invited me to come over and spend a few days at the beach house.

Haleiwa is a smal town, and the road through town is single lane each way, and traffic is absolutely horrible. Especially when they have events like the Annual Art Festival!

The Festival is being held at the Beach Park on the west end of the old town.

I meet up there with Scott and follow him down the road to the beach house. We pull off the highway and go down a lane between other properties.

The house is indeed, right on the beach!

An interesting sunset welcomes me the first night.

June 22, 2025

The main house has three stories. Actually, there are many, many stories that could be told about this house, and property. What I mean, is that there are three levels. On the ground level is the garage, workshop, storage, and laundry. Going up one level is a three bedroom two bath unit with a full kitchen and living room/familyroom that open out onto a patio, or porch, known in Hawaii as a lanai. This lanai looks out onto the ocean.

The top level has another living area with bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen. I stayed in a bedroom on the second level over the garage, and away from the ocean.

There is also a second home on the property that they rent out as a short term vacation rental.

When the tide goes out, there are rocks/reef that gets exposed.

A real nice place to relax and take it easy for a few days.

Haleiwa is a couple of miles down the beach, past the tees and around the corner.

The beach is quite a bit lower than the house. Scott tells me that there have been times during many storms, when the ocean has spilled past the huge salt cedar trees and flooded the garages of both houses.

I decide on a little road trip and drive on around the point to Kahuku.

One of the major sites in Kahuku is the high school. Across the street are what remains of an old sugar mill where there are now shops sellng souveneirs to the tourists as well as food stands, a bank, and the Post Office.

I imagine the High School is much the same as it has been for many years! With the exception of the addition of about a dozen large windmills behind the sports fields.

Past Kahuku, I come to the town of Laie. I lived here for two and a half years back in 1960, 1961 and 1962. You can never go back!

I am surprised at how close the two towns are. Five to ten minutes is all it takes to get from one to the other. I seem to recall thinking that going to Kahuku was a major road trip, that it was a long way away. Interesting are the impressions of a six year old!

The elementary school administration building is not what I remember it to be either.

I seem to recall there being a number of large steps leading up to the entrance. Either I am mistaken, or things have changed in 60 years.

In Laie is the Mormon Temple.

And the Polynesian Cultural Center. They were just starting the Polynesian Cultural Center when we were here, and it was still under constrution when we left.

My father supervised the construction of this church. That is the reason we were here!

This large, modern house sits on the corner where we lived in a much smaller wooden house.

The corner of the highway where we lived.

The next door neighbor’s property has not had the old house removed and a large home built in it’s place. The rock columns of the fence to the right is at the back of the church property.

The beach at Laie Bay is straight across the highway from the house and down a lane past another property.

The beach area is much smaller than I remember. But then, everything is so much larger to a six year old.

Beyond this open grassy lot are the buildings of the Polynesian Cultural Center hidden by the wall of vegetation/trees.

The back side of the elementary school, is seen from the road that leads to the entrance to Temple.

The main entrance to the Mormon Temple grounds.

A place called the Hukilau Cafe.

And on the way out of town heading back towards Haleiwa is the Hukilau Beach.

On the highway, heading in to Haleiwa.

One of the displays at the Arts Festival.

Near Haleiwa is the Waimea Valley. The Waimea River runs through this valley and a short walk will bring you to a waterfall.

Of course, it is monetized to capitalize on the tourist dollar.

June 23, 2025

Between Laie and Kahuku there is a large state park beach.

The sandy bottom is swept by the waves.

A view down the shore towards Laie Bay.

In the other direction is a small flat island not far off shore. I may be mistaken, but for some reason, I seem to recall this island being called goat island.

Going in the opposite direction from Laie, heading south along the eastern shore of the island, there are numerous small towns, with Hawaiian names. It is difficult for me to know where one ends and the next one begins.

Nestled within these small towns is another state park beach.

The water is a bit muddy for quite a ways out from shore. Not exactly inviting me to go swimming.

Not far past this beach, is a rock formation nestled up in the hills that overlook the highway.

A closed inspection begins to bring into focus a distinctive figure.

That of a lion crouched on top of one of the hills and looking towards the interior of the island.

Hence, the name, The Crouching Lion.

With, of course, a complimenting restaurant!

June 24, 2025

Back in the 1960’s the main store in town was called Goo’s, after the family that ran it. I think it was a church owned store, but Mr Goo and his wife and daughters operated it.

All that is left now, is a commemorative plaque on the original site – which is now someone’s property with a modern house.

This is the corner where the store was located.

At the opposite side of town, the Polynesian Cultural Center now sits.

Either next to, or as a part of, the Polynesian Cultural Center, there are a collection of stores, shops, restaurants, and other type eateries. It is called The Hukilau Marketplace.

There is a store there named “Goo’s Plantation Store”.

Somehow, I think the merchandise is a bit different than what was sold in the original version.

However, there also as a store called the Laie Cash and Carry, that still exists, much the same as it did then, but it was called “Sam’s Store”. Located in the same building as the Hukilau Cafe.

I drive from Laie, back past the Dole Plantation and Schofield Barracks, to arrrive at the airport in Honolulu.

After returning the rental car, I board a plane to return to the Big Island.

Oahu quickly fades behind .

Molokai, Lanai, and Maui also get left behind.

And we approach the Kohala Coast of Hawaii island.

June 25, 2025

Back to work on the house. I cut some 2 x 8’s to fit in the center part of the floor framing, and paint them white. Then I install them, connecting and straightening out the floor joist on the two sides, while installing solid blocking at each end of these shorter joist.

June 26, 2025

The fountain seems to be losing a lot of water, so I add a bit of watrproofing. I tried painting with elastomeric paint, but I’m not sure how effectiv this was. So, I am using a bit of black roof cement.

Then back to installing floor boards.

My tire garden seems to be flourishing. There are tomato plants growing in most of the tires, even though I don’t remember planting tomatoes here.

My tomatoes in the tomato planter have really taken off. The plants are very greem and healthy. Intresting what a steady supply of water will do.

There are quite a few tomato blossoms on the plants. When I look closer, I see that there are little green tomatoes on the vines.

The onions are a bit thicker and greener as well.

And in the planter that has a papaya, there are cucumber vines with flowers on the vines.

I take a drive over to Ahi just to check it out since I was on Oahu.

No changes. The grass on the road where I mowed, hasn’t grown.

June 28, 2025

Making progress on the floor boards.

One of the pineapples I had picked up before going to Oahu was quite ripe, so I cut the outer rind off. Very good.

The birds are getting used to me being around and are coming a bit closer.

June 29, 2025

Click on the above photo to view a short video.

The USGS sends me updates on the status at the volcanoes on the

Big Island. his morning, I received an email that said that episode 27 of the ongoing eruption had started this morning, and the lava was shouting out in a fountain over 1,000 feet high.

I had to go look for myself. After passing the entrance sign to the National Park, I got a glimpse of the lava fountain.

The trees got a bit taller as I got closer.

Then I began to see ash all over the ground.

Someone had parked their car along side of the highway for some reason. The top was covered in ash and soot and bits of lava and pumice.

I could really see the lava fountain now as well as a plume of smoke and dust and ash. The air was thick with ash and dust and bits of lava up tothe size of a ping pong balls was falling from the thick cloud overhead.

The entrance into the visitor center was packed,

People were parked along side the road in any available spot.

I was able to find a place that someone had pulled out of and parked the truck.

As I walked up to the caldera edge, there was smoke and steam and heat rising from holes in the ground. I wondered about the intelligence of walking around on the edge of the caldera when smoke was coming out of the ground. What is to stop the lava from following the smoke?

June 30, 2025

I have all the floor boards installed.

TTFN

First Weeks of June

May 31, 2025

As I was walking from the truck in the driveway, back to the gazebo, I noticed something by the pile of pallets there!

A male Jackson chameleon! – click on the picture above for a short video.

The pond/waterfall/ fountain is coming along nicely.

I check back with the chameleon, and he has moved from that metal fencing and onto a tree nearby.

The first section of wall goes up at the makai corner of the house!

June 1, 2025

Yesterday, I put up the first section of wall for the upper floor of the house. Today, I added the intersecting wall to complete the corner, and the intermediate blocking at the floor line as well as at the 4′ height.

June 2, 2025

It’s like christmas! My solar panels arrived. I had ordered them from Amazon a couple of weeks ago, and they arrived today. Now I can put them together with the solar powered portable power station I had purchased from Lowes.

I laid the panels out on the roof of the gazebo extension and hooked them up with the various connecting cables I had purcased.

I did not purchase a cable long enough to extend to the location where I wanted to place my power station. I called my neighbor Brian who also has this brand of solar system to see if he had any spare parts. It just so happened, that he had one long cable that he had damaged the connecting end of. I was able to reconnect the wires and tape them together with electical tape. It worked. I have power at the gazebo!

June 3, 2025

Over at the Ahi property, there are a few strawberry guavas. The fruit is smaller than a normal guava – noy quite the size of a ping pong ball, and full of large seeds. There is not very much pulp inside, but it does have a strawberry taste to it!

The work on South Point Road is about finished. All they have left is the striping.

Along the side of South Point Road, they left piles of excess material just like they did when doing Kamaoa Road.

It’s just not as obvious as the other piles. Under and behind this vegetation is a pile that filled my truck.

June 4, 2025

Time to move the refrigerator out of the sleeping shed, and up to the kitchen.

June 5, 2025

It’s time to do a little bit of laundry. I went to OceanView to the laundromat.

On the way back, I stopped along South Point Road and gathered some of the excess material from when they repaved here!

This material was then spread out where Amepela Road, Makani Akua, and Palaoa, Road all come together in an “S” curve. This has been a real rough spot, and this helped to smooth this out. My little contribution to the community!

June 6, 2025

The framing of the house walls continues. With both corners on the driveway side (the Hilo side) built, I start on the side near the kitchen gazebo (the Kona side).

I am building the walls with 12 ‘ 2 x 4’s that extend from the masonry walls, past the floor construction and all the way to the roof line. A method called baloon framing.

June 7, 2025

I procured a couple of pineapples. one of them has three “tops” at one end, and two at the other end. Weird!

Continued with the wall framing and built the intersecting wall to create the corner nearest the gazebo.

I build each wall as a unit on top of the floor framing, and then stand it up, and carefully thread it down, between and around the floor framing! All, while balancing on the edge of the 2 x floor joist, and without being pulled off from the weight of the wall!

June 8, 2025

Ahi Road is looking a little ragged at the top of the property.

The driveway could also use a trim.

The flat area next to the driveway is beginning to become overgrown as well.

Time to do some landscape maintenance!

On one of my previous trips, I had disassembled a lawnmower and packed it into my checked luggage – “Two bags fly free!”

S, it was time to get it out and see if I could get it put back together – successfully!

I used the weed eater to chop down the weeds around the Ahi property – at the back, the area next to the driveway, both sides of the driveway, and the top of the property next to the waterlines.

Mowing the road is a joy with this lawnmower!

After I had mowed Ahi Road, I was visited by the local dog pack!

I’ll park the lawn mower next to the bungalow. . . for the time being.

My neighbors took pity on me and sent over some dinner! yumm!

June 9, 2025

Brian, my neighbor stopped by to borrow my concrete hand tools. The edgers were under the shed. The hand trowel was in the back of the Ford Escape. The hand tamp, and the floats were at the back of the bathroom. While I knew where they all were. I found it annoying that they were not all together. All in one place. A place for everything, and everything in its place! So, I decided it as past time to build a tool shed!

I gathered a bunch of pallets from the bakery. They pile them up and they are there on a first come first served basis . . . for free . . . my favorite part!

Then I chose a spot along the back of the driveway and cleared out the vegetation.

Using more of the roadwork excess material, I created a base for the storage shed.

All the limbs were taken down to a pile by the chipper.

June 10, 2025

For a good solid base. I chose to sit the walls on a concrete “foundation”. I set up forms using 2 x 6’s to make it 6 inches thick and 6″ wide. Then I laid in some rebar, and identified where the door would go, and the best placement for anchor bolts.

Using the generator and the concrete mixer, I was able to make quick work of pouring this.

The generator is the old original one. The carburetor is messed up, the spark plug wire it jury rigged up, and the pull rope mechanism is broken, so I have to wind a rope around the end of the crancshaft to start it. I bought a new one, and the day the new one arrived, I decided to give the old one one more try . . . it started! that was months ago during my last trip. I still have not taken the new one out of the original box!

The concrete mixer has been a real saver. It has been well worth the $389.00 price!

I also mixed up enough to pour a front piece to my pond!

Applied another thin layer of roof coating over the tin on the shower roof.

June 11, 2025

I strip the forms from in front of the pond, and around the tool shed “foundation”. And I haul in a bit of dirt from the road work along Kamaoa Road.

I fit a couple of pallets into the foundation as the basis of the floor for the tool shed.

And spread a bit of the excess dirt around the tire gardens.

The walls of the tool shed are shaping up nicely.

June 12, 2025

Received a delivery of more lumber today.

Some 2 x 4’s for the storage shed roof, some 2 x 6’s for the house roof, and some sheets of plywood for the sheathing on the house exterior walls.

Began framing the roof of the storage shed.

Rceived an invite to dinner at the Jones home up on the hill!

June 13, 2025

The storage shed is all framed up and ready for siding and roofing.

While the walls are predominately made up of pallets, the roof is a standard framed shed roof with standard 2 x 4’s.

June 14, 2025

Still gathering up the excess material the county discarded while doing the roadwork on Kamaoa and SouthPoint Roads. It is getting rather scarce and harder to find. But I still found enough to spread on the pathway past the back of the bathroom at Holowai to make walking here much easier.

One of the piles I gathered was more dirt than gravel. In fact, I had avoided it before because I was looking for roadbase material. This stuff has lots of organic material in it, so I have added it to my garden area and filled in around the tires.

TTFN

Hello, Charlie!

May 20, 2025

The female Northern Cardinal is getting bolder, and showing up more often at the feeder. She is not as agressive as the male, in that she will wait her turn, . . . but once she is in the feeder, she will not allow others to join her – except the male Cardinal.

The road construction on Kama’oa Road has continued past Discovery Harbor and they are currently working on the section that goes past Mark Twain Estates.

They block off one side at a time to work on and divert the traffic to the other lane. Using flagmen, they let the traffic through in an alternating pattern.

The have large machines that grind up the top three inches of asphalt and throw it into a dump truck to be hauled away.

Then these same dump trucks bring in the new asphalt and they lay it down where they have removed the old.

At some point in the process, there is a small amount of this ground up asphalt that doesn’t get into the dump trucks , but gets piled up along side the road.

I have been gathering up these small piles and spreading them on my driveways.

This material will fill in around the course rocky material I paid to have hauled in and make the surface of the driveway smoother to walk on, and easier to get traction than the loose gravel.

May 21, 2025

Using some of the material I gather from the road construction on Kama’oa Road, I spread it on the path from the driveway at Holowai, towards the gazebo.

I figure that I had better gather this material while I have the chance, before others beat me to it.

This pile is along the road as it passes Discovery Harbor.

The construction has passed Mark Twain Estates, and they are working on the section going down the hill towards Waiohinu and Naalehu.

Back at the Holowai property, I continue with the floor beams. I am painting them now as it is easier, and this way I get paint on all the surfaces.

May 22, 2025

Hello, Charlie!

In a surprise move, Charlie has begun to come up onto my hand – as long as I am sitting down.

Click on the picture below and you will see a video of Charlie coming to get me while I am painting. If I am not in the gazebo when Charlie wants food, and the feeder is empty, well, . . . Charlie comes looking for me. He/she will not hop onto my hand away from the gazebo, or if I am not sitting in my chair, but is definitely trying to get my attention!

Here is a video of Charlie following me over to the gazebo.

Here is a video of Charlie eating out of my hand.

This is Soooo cool!

The beams are up and in place, and painted!

May 23, 2025

I have started working on a new project – a fountain/waterfall that is more permanent than the three tiered plastic containers I have set up at the end of the lanai.

First, how about some bacon and eggs for breakfast! It was more appetizing than this picture shows!

I line the hole I created for the fountain/waterfall/pool with plastic, and then pour some concrete to form a small pond.

The weather has turned overcast, and each day it sprinkles often. I noticed this rainbow out towards the ocean.

It is a full rainbow from end to end. No pot of gold, though, and no leprechaun!

I stack rocks up and cement them in place to form the waterfall.

Back to the house floor, I position the floor beams, plumb up the posts, and install some metal straps to hold them all in place! As I am working on the beams, once in a while, I will lookup and there will be Charlie – in a tree a few feet away, or on one of the beams, as if trying to get my attention. So, I stop and go over to the gazebo and feed the birds.

May 24, 2025

The baby red headed cardinals are no longer babies. They are now feeding themselves.

Charlie will come to the table and wait while I put food in the feeder for the others, and then I put some in my hand and sit down, and Charlie hops up onto my hand and gets a beak full, then flys away. A minute or so, Charlie is back for more. This repeats six or seven times. I suspect that Charlie has babies in a nest nearby!

I have all the beams up in place and positioned on top of their posts.

As I am finishing up the beams, I notice something down in the rocks at one end of the house. It is a Hawaiian Honeycreeper! Dead! Oh, NO! Not Charlie?

May 25, 2025

I spread out the 2 x 8 floor joist and begin painting them prior to installing them.

I put one joist up at each side of the house floor and run a string from one to the other to line them up as I install them.

Because I am doing this all alone, this is a slow and tedious process, but as I am working, Charlie shows up!

That makes the work more enjoyable. But I still wonder what happened to that other honey creeper! I’m not alone anymore with Charlie around, but it does not make the work go any faster!

I can only paint five or six boards at a time. But it is progress!

It is starting to look more like a structure.

A slow and tedious process, but I am in no real hurry!

The blocking is being installed as I put up the floor joist. At least, it is at one end, over one of the beams! The view from on top of the floor joist is awesome!

May 26, 2025

Another day of painting and installing floor joist.

Yesterday, I finished the east? side, and today, I start on the west? side, which is actually at the southwest, but I’ll call it the west side!

The compass headings have me a bit confused here. The side of the property along Holowai Street, “feels” to me to be north, but it is actually more like northwest. Holowai does not run true east to west, but more like southwest to northeast, so everything is a bit “off kilter” – compass wise!

The Hawaiians have a different way to identify directions that would work here. They give directions in relation to the direction to the ocean. Mauka is their word for “away from the ocean”, anf Makai is thr word for “towards the ocean”. Therefore, the side of the house facing Holowai would be the Mauka side (away from the ocean) and the side facing the ocean is the Makai side (towards the ocean). I don’t know about identifying the two other sides! – Maybe the Hilo side, and the Kona side?

Once again, I put up the floor joist at each end of the floor (the north? and south? sides) and put up a string between them to guide me where to install the rest.

As I put up a board, I also install a block between it and the previous one – at least, directly over the beam at the far northeast end! Then when I install the joist on the southwest end, I install a block over this beam between the joist as well!

A view of the new floor structure from the gazebo.

May 27, 2025

The paving of Kama’oa road is about completed, and they are doing a good job – making it so much smoother than it was, but the centerline marking leaves a bit to be desired!

I spend a bit of time down by the ocean. After all, . . . that is the whole reason for being here – the ocean!

May 28, 2025

More of the leftovers from the road construction.

I have the floor joist installed on the two sides of the floor.

Now I need to concentrate on lining up the joist from one end to the other, and installing the center section. The center section is half the size of the two sides, so I cut one 2 x 8 x 16 floor joist in half to make two for this section. But I still run out of material!

May 29, 2025

Since I am needing more lumber to continue with the floor, I’ll switch tasks, and haul some more of the leftover material from the roadwork.

After gathering some in the bed of the truck, I try to start the truck. The key will not turn. So I end up having to have it towed into Na’alehu to the ONLY repair shop in this end of the island! This is going to be expensive. Thank goodness I am a triple A member, so the tow will not cost me anything!

May 30, 2025

While the truck is in the shop, I decide to catch the bus into Kona for some grocery shopping!

A view of the ocean from the highway.

The road follows the coast and most of the time, there is a good view!

We turn off the highway and head down towards an area called Keauhau.

On the way back, this is the view about ten miles from the town of Oceanview! It is a bit drier along this section of the coast, but the ocean view is still great!

Soon I’ll be back at the property!

TTFN

Birds, Beams, and Brainstorming

My mind was a blank for a title for this post. So I asked for suggestions for a title. This is what I got!

May 12, 2025

Breakfast at the gazebo includes a visit from the birds.

Yeah, I agree – watching the birds? Sooo boring – totally, how can I say it? . . . totally for the birds!

However . . .

This morning, the pair of red headed cardinals brought their chicks with them. More correctly, the chicks simply followed them.

The fledgling young are a little different than the parents. Their heads are a dull gray color and their wings are not as bright black as the older birds. Also, the kerchief under their neck area is more like a dirty brown. As they get older, their coloring changes. The feathers on their head become a deep red, their wings get deep dark black as well as the kerchief under their neck.

The chicks are “fluffier” as the feathers on their bodies seem to be more like down than feathers.

This may be why they appear to be larger than their parents – fatter – more plump – bigger.

And maybe, looks are not decieving – maybe they ARE larger than the parents??

I watch them as the young hang out in the branches of the trees above the lanai as the parents shuttle back and forth from the feeder to gather a beakful and then deliver it to the chicks. As they get a few days older, the young venture down to the handrail around the lanai, and eventually down to the feeder itself.

But, the young still just stand there and wait. Even though they are surrounded with more than they can eat, the chick still waits for the parent to feed it.

The adult bird gathers a beakful and then delivers it to the chick. Then repeats the process, over and over. Sometimes the baby bird gets impatient and begins to flutter their wings rapidly, They may even be squalking, but I cannot hear them.

If the chick is not in the feeder, or on the handrail, the parent will go look for it!

These birds take parenting very seriously!

At least, the feeding of the young part!

I have noticed that there seems to be a “division of responsibilities” at least with this pair of red headed cardinals.

I have seen three young chicks with this pair of parents. Each parent seems to concentrate on feeding one specific chick, and they share the responsibility for the third. If the chick that is not “assigned” to that specific parent wants to be fed, the parent will look around for “their” chick, ignoring this other chick. – Interesting!

Little Charlie, the bold honey creeper is becoming bolder, with his venturing further into the gazebo while I am there.

All the other birds stay out on the lanai, as if there is an invisible barrier at the edge of the roof extending down to the floor. When I am sitting, standing, cooking, etc., in the gazebo, they come up to this invisible barrier, but no further. When I am not in the gazebo, I have seen them in there on the chairs and the table, but when I am there, they keep this small distance between us. Except for this one little bird!

With the posts up, I need to access the 4 x 12 beams that will support the floor, as well as the 2 x 8 floor joist. they are stacked under a tarp next to the garden steps. On top of the stack, there are some 2 x 4 x 16. I need to move these before I can get to the beams.

So, I move the 2 x 4’s out to the flat area down by my tomato planter.

I worked on installing 4 x 4 wooden posts on top of the masonry. I used brown pressure treated material and placed a plastic base under the post to provide drainage and keep the wood off the concrete, in hopes to control or delay any moisture damage.

Now, I need to support the 4 x 4 posts to stay upright as I install the 4 x 12 beams.

May 13, 2025

Once again, I start the day with breakfast with the birds.

Today, I have a new visitor.

I haven’t seen this bird before. It is different than any of the others that frequent the feeder and my lanai.

When Alanah was here, she planted some seeds. Tomatoes in the tomato planter box, turnips where the compost pile had been (I moved it to mix the contents), squash seeds in the planter where the single papaya is growing and in a couple of the tires.

There are little tomatoes poking their heads out of the soil.

I picked up a broken plumeria branch from the neighbor and stuck it in this planter with the one that is growing there.

There are squash plants growing in the planter with the single papaya.

Looks like there are some tomatoes coming up in a couple of the tire planters.

Turnips have come up where the compost pile had been.

Up near the lanai, I had placed a handful of squash seeds. They have sprouted.

Near the kitchen gazebo, we have a plumeria that is doing well, along with some sort of an orchid! I had picked up a few pieces of an old decorative garden fence that someone had discarded because the bottom had rusted out. I used these 3′ square panels to support the orchids.

My neighbor periodically mixes up a batch of fire ant deterrant using peanut butter, vegetable oil, some other stuff, and a product called Tango – which is a growth inhibitor that causes the eggs to be infertile. The peanut butter attracts the ants and they take the Tango back to the queen in the nest, which makes her infertile, so she cannot produce more workers.

Anyway, this seems to keep the fire ants at bay, so every six weeks or so, we spray this concoction into the trees, which is where the fire ants seem to be most prevelant. We mixed up a batch today and using these spray bottles I treated the property. The mixture is about the consistency of yogurt and tends to clog up the sprayers. After a few applications, the sprayers no longer work as they are not made to spray that heavy of material. So it goes!

One bottle will usually treat about 1/2 acre.

With some incidental trimming, I am starting to create a pile of branches that will eventually need to be run through the chipper.

Kama’oa Road is the road that leads past my subdivision, over to South Point Road to the west, and into Naalehu to the east. The county highway division is grinding up the asphalt surface – removing about 3″ of aspahalt – and installing new asphalt on the section from South Point Road over to Discovery Harbor.

This makes the road much smoother, and I hope they continue past Discovery Harbor, and on Past Mark Twain Estates (my subdivision) and down the hill to Waiohinu and Naalehu.

I picked up a pinapple from one of my neighbors. It looks to be a bit green yet, so I will let it sit and ripen for a while – Yum!

May 14, 2025

In the shower area, I give the ground some slope toward the drain, and poured a concrete floor. This is the base on which I will install some sort of a finished floor – perhaps tile, perhaps stones, I’m not sure yet.

At the far northeast end of the properties directly on Holowai, I have built a rock wall to identify this corner. In doing so, I have created a sort of a hollow area behind the wall that will need to be filled. I have begun filling it with my garbage that I do not put in the compost bin. Bulk material that I will eventually cover with wood chips and compost. Possibly not an approved process, but . . . so it goes!

The next step on the house is to install the beams. To move them over to their location, I use the same two wheeled method I used to move them off the road.

I can lift each end of each beam up on to the masonry next to their posts. Now I need to figure out a method to lift them up into place. They are much too heavy for me to simply pick them up and set them in place. Also, I will need to figure out a way to keep the posts still as I place them. Trying to do this on a step ladder is a recipe for disaster!

I return to the gazebo to sit and think, and the birds start to come in.

I bend down and hold out my hand full of cracker crumbs, but they are not having anything to do with it, so I scatter some on the floor on and around my shoes . . . maybe, it is my face and hands that makes them cautious.

The red headed cardinals are not as bold as the honey creepers. They come close, but they will not come near my shoes.

One honey creeper is bolder than the others – Charlie?

I withdraw my feet and he/she comes closer.

As it gets later in the day, I still have not solved how to lift the beams, and how to hold the posts steady!

May 15, 2025

Charlie the bold honey creeper gets a little bolder.

Two new visitors showed up today.

I have seen these small yellow birds – about the same size as the honey creepers and the red headed cardinals – around the neighborhood, but I have not seen them here at my property.

They make use of the tiered water fointain at the edge of the lanai as well as grab a bit from the feeder.

And Charlie is coming closer.

I went over to the Ahi property to water the plants I have over there and check on the property, I have not seen either of the two people who live next door since I returned to the island. I wonder what is happenng.

When I was here a month or so ago, the neighbor told me that his wife had gone to the mainland to be closer to her two tenaged boys who live there with their father. Maybe he has returned to the mainland as well, and maybe he has “gone walkabout” as the aboriginals in Australia would say! But, their property looks abandoned, like he went to the grocery store, and hasn’t come back yet. Wierd!

Whatever the situation, his pineapple plants and his banana plants have fruit on them. It would be a shame to allow them to just die, so I am using their hose and watering their pineapples and their bananas.

Over by their house, there are about twenty small pineapple plants still in their pots that I will water as well.

May 16, 2025

By attaching some of the 16 foot long 2 x 4’s to the top of the posts, I have tied all the posts together to steady them. I can use these to keep the posts steady when I lift the beams up into place. Now, all I need to do is figure out how to lift them!

I can pick up one end, but doing this on a ladder will be tricky.

A little more sittng and thinking is needed!

May 17, 2025

Turnips

Tomatoes??

Looks like squash.

More squash

Yet some more squash!

There are lots of small tomato plants coming up in the tomato planter!

We have gotten a little more than 2″ of rain in the last week. I need to figure out a way to catch some of this rainwater.

My sitting and thinking has paid off. By using the pallets I have gathered, I create a couple of platforms – scaffolds? – from which I can safely lift the beams into place.

I lift one side up onto the 2 x 4’s, and then lift the other end. I can slide the beam on the 2 x 4 as needed.

It is necessary to move the pile of pallets as I lift the beams.

This seems to have been a good solution.

All six beams are up onto the 2 x 4’s and up at the top of the posts.

May 18, 2025

Off to Hilo to do a bit of shopping. The farmers’market in downtown is a great place for fresh fruit and vegetables.

There are over a dozen different vendors, but I think they all agree on prices. The only difference might be quantities available of certain vegetables, but they all are much the same. Across the street, there are vendors selling “authentic” Hawaiian souveniers – shipped in straight from China, and made in some third world country.

Your typical tourist destination!

Stopped off in Volcano to get a sub sandwich The sandwiches here are great, and will suffice for dinner! Not a great place to buy gas unless you are desperate!

May 19, 2025

As they repave Kama’oa road, the highway department is leaving small piles of black pea gravel sized material along side the road. Each pile is about the size of the bed of my truck. I stopped one day and went up to one of the guys who looked like he was in charge – he was basically sitting there doing nothing.

I said to him, “I don’t know who to ask, but I figured that I should ask someone, because I don’t want to get in trouble.”

He and the two guys sitting in the four wheeled ATV with him just looked at me, expectantly, as I continued.

“I see that you have been leaving small piles of the ground-up asphalt along the highway, . . . “He interrupted me and said, “You can take all you want.”

I said, “Thanks.” and turned around and went back to my truck and left. Enough said!

Today was spent shoveling this stuff into the truck and hauling it back to the property.

Nobody has stopped and asked me what I’m doing, . . . in fact, one of the guys driving a dump truck nodded to me, and another waved, so I guess it is OK!

The first two loads, I spread in the driveway at Holowai. This makes it much smoother and much easier to walk on.

I won’t get much else done today, but I’m real glad to get this material.

After half a dozen trips, I figured it would be dark before I finished another, so I climbed up on the gazebo roof and fastened the metal roofing down better with some screws I picked up in Hilo the other day,

TTFN

A Walk on the Beach

May 11, 2025

Decided I needed a day off.

Went down to the ocean at Hanuapo to watch the waves crashing against the lava shelf.

I could watch this all day.

But I don’t.

Instead, I go exploring to the east side of the “beach”. I check out the small natural bridge of lava and rock at the edge of the ocean.

Looking at the bridge from the west, I wonder about going out there on top of the bridge.

I go around to the other side and look at it from the east.

The waves are fabulous as they crash against the lava shelf and send plumes of water into the air.

Definitely not the most swimable beach

Sometimes, the waves send water under the bridge and up into the air, and I realize that going out onto the bridge would be a recipe for disaster!

If I were to slip off that bridge, there is no way to get back up. The rocks and the lava are all slick and slimy.

The waves would batter me up against the sharp lava until I resembled hamburger wrapped in shredded cargo shorts!

I leave the Hanuapo area and drive down a road that follows the coast. It is a little better than a four wheel drive track, but not much. “I went as far as I could, and when I stopped the car, it was right in front of this . . .” area where it looked like there were some round structures built in years past.

Not sure how many years past – maybe a hundred, maybe only one, but they are all semi-circular with the openings away from the ocean.

Looking around, I can see at least half a dozen of them. They are all about 20 feet in diameter and in a crescent shape.

I wonder is this is meant to be a defensive position – against an attack from the sea.

Then I remember the waves crashing against the lava shelf and realize that landing here would be extremely risky . . . if not impossible!

I wonder if they were ever a full structure with a roof. I can’t imagine staying here very long with the sun beating down on me.

I also wonder if this was at one time a village, and if it were, how did people live among all this rough boulders and rocks. Surely, if people lived here for more than a few hours, there would at least be trails between the structures – maybe the entire area would have been cleared of rocks. Makes me wonder if someone has recently piled these rocks up to make it look like it used to be a village! There is no sign of any type of paths or clearings . . . just lots and lots of stumbling blocks or stones!

One thing is sure – I certainly am not wearing the right shoes to go exploring – So it Goes!

Past these structures in this semi flat/open area, the road heads up over the hillside to the east. I wonder if that is the same road that I have been following, and if it is, just how to get to it. Well, one way is on foot!

After I climb up onto this hill, I look back down onto this area with the semi-circular structures, I see the road going off to the right, with my truck off to the left where the road I came in on kind of died and ended.

The surrounding landscape is certainly not very inviting, what with all the jagged lava sticking up in all directions.

As I look off the “road” that I am following, I cannot imagine trying to pick my way through that jungle of lava!

Someone has definitely put a lot of effort into the road up on top of this hill. There are even tire tracks in the sand/gravel on the road!

After walking down this well maintained section of road, I get to the opposite side of the hill I encountered and things change. There is still a defined roadway, but it is extremely rough, with large boulders and rocks. It would take a very serious, high profile off road vehicle to pass through here. But there is a great view of the coastline as it stretches off to the east.

Once clear of the initial cut in the edge of the hill, the road gets a bit better. Also, right in front of me is a house that I have seen from the highway. As I have traveled past Whittington Beach and Honuapo, on the way to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach, Pahoa and Hilo beyond, there is a very nice house nestled in the rocks and lava between the highway and the ocean. It was listed for sale a few years ago for around 2 1/2 million. It is all by it’s self out here. Solitude for sale!

Off to the right, the lava is a jumbled mess, but there is a sort of a path meandering through, off towards the shore line.

Following this path where others have trod, I come to this hole that is open to the ocean below. A blow hole!

Looking back to the west, in the direction I came from I see the road as it climbs the hill. From here, it actually looks passable with a vehicle. Looks are definitely decieving!

The terrain here is not for the meek. There are other holes that have ocean water that is pushed up by the waves. This gets the rocks around these holes wet and slippery! Not a good place to be hiking alone – and in sandals!

The shoreline is broken up by long fingers of lava that extend out into the ocean, leaving several jagged, narrow inlets. On top of one of these fingers of lava, there are four or five people. Most likely, they came down from the large house, and may not appreciate my trespassing on their “private” shoreline. I’ll give them a wide berth, and keep moving.

Just beyond, there is a sort of a bay. It seems almost swimable and I wonder why they are not here! They must know of somewhere better back there on that finger of lava!

Not what I would call a sandy beach, but definitely secluded and private! I wished I had brought a swimming suit and a towel – more importantly, I wished I had brought something to drink!

Looking at the terrain inland does not inspire me to want to go venturing there.

It appears to be very rough, and whatever that plant is, it does not look inviting!

The shore line on this side of the hill is lower, and less of an abrupt lava cliff at the water’s edge. But still, wild and untamed!

Past this rocky bay, I saw three coconut palms that looked very out of place. . . almost like they had been planted there on purpose. Made me wonder if there once might have been a village here.

I would have liked to go explore around the location of the palms, but I could not see a way to get there – at least, not safely. I decided that I would have to come back another time, with someone who also was interested in checking it out!

Something tells me that others have been here – recently!

Still no other signs of a way to get close to the palms.

Maybe, another time. It was beginning to get late, and I had a ways to go to get back to the truck.

After a bit, I did find a road – of sorts. I followed it back to the west and towards the hill I came over.

Back on the other side, the waves were still crashing against the lava shelf

“One thing I was sure proud to see, there wasn’t a soul in the place ‘cept for” . . . my truck – right where I left it!

And the ocean is still quite a sight!

Back at the property later that night, there was a full moon.

TTFN

Alone on the Island

May 6, 2025

Now that Alanah has returned to the mainland, I can concentrate on work.

But first, I have to feed the birds. I put the cracker crumbs in the feeder, but they can’t seem to decide who will venture forth first!

It seems that the honeycreepers are the boldest!

I have reinstalled the awning style windows in the bathroom.

And the windows are all in place in the shower. Also, the trim on the inside is installed.

Getting the outside buttoned up around the windows of the shower.

And the trim on the corners.

May 7, 2025

The day was spent working on the roof framing over the shower area. The 2 x 6 rafters were installed with blocking at the midpoint.

May 8, 2025

There is one little honey creeper who is very bold. He/she will come all the way up into the gazebo when I am there, looking for something to eat.

I have decided to call him/her Charlie!

I took apart the roof structure over the shower that I had built yesterday, and painted all the parts.

Then I put them all back in place. This way was much easier to paint than doing it over my head, and I was able to get paint on all of the surfaces!

May 9, 2025

I double checked the framing for the bathroom ceiling.

Everything is in place, just as I want it to be before I install the roofing. I installed blocking above the walls to close it all in.

I painted the metal supports/straps on top of the masonry walls for the house in preparation for installing the posts and beams.

May 10, 2025

The young chicks are so fun to watch. They just stand there while the parent gathers food. Then, when momma looks up, they flutter their wings real fast and open their mouth. Momma stuffs food into their open beak. And all this, while the baby is standing in the middle of the feeder covered in food!

The male cardinal stands watch as the female goes into the feeder.

Then, when all is clear, he joins her.

I installed some used roofing on the shower. I’ll wire brush this and then paint it with elastomeric roof coating.

TTFN

7 Days of March Makes One Week – the same is true of April/May

I’ve been back in Hawaii for a week now.

April 29, 2025

Alanah and I left Phoenix at 6:30AM and flew to Las Vegas.

We flew over the Arizona desert north of Phoenix. We had a terific view of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and the highway bridge over the dam.

While waiting for the next leg of the journey, I put a dollar into a slot machine.

Since I have not disappeared, you can guess the results!

We arrived in Kona around 12:45PM.

We had rented a small low priced SUV for the weekend that Alanah was going to be here. Imagine our surprise when we found it was a full sized BMW SUV!

It took a while to figure out how to put it in gear, the rest of the gadgets went unused. We never did figure out how to turn on the radio, and it was only on the next to last day that we figured out how to adjust the air conditioning! I guess we should have brought one of the grandkids!

On the way out of Kona.we were met with some very heavr rain showers, but as we drove down the coast, the rains quit and we had dry roads.

When we got to the sign for Discovery Harbor, we knew we were almost there!

April 30, 2025

The property at Holoway was much the same as I left it.

The first order of business this morning was to set up the solar panels and get the refrigerator going. The batteries have enough electricity for the lights over night, but we will need to recharge them to continue.

The roof of the bathroom had leaked – something I expected as it only had one coat of elastomeric roof coating before I left. So, I applied another coat.

Alanah painted the verticle trim on the corners, and the battens.

The rest of the day was spent checking out the condition of the property and getting back into island life!

May 1, 2025

Today, we went for a drive down to the coast. Rather than stop in at Whittington Beach Park,or pulling off at Honuapo, we drove on down the highway a few miles to a turn off for Kawi Bay. This turn off is not marked with any kind of a sign, and there is an iron gate. I don’t think it is ever locked, but it is shut quite often. The road beyond is a four wheel drive required road – not that anyone would stop you if you tried to drive your small two wheel drive rental car out here, but you will soon regret it!

The road leads out to a beach area that is covered in black rocks of various sizes from the size of a baseball, down to the size of a pencil eraser. There is no sand, just these black, smooth, round rocks.

To one size is what they call a fishpond – basically a small lagoon about the size of a football field or two.

On the way back to the property, we stopped at a rod side fruit stand. The view of the ocean from here is great! This fruit stand is at a 12 acre property with a nice house, paved driveway, landscaped yard, garage, swimming pool, and fended in pastures with sheep and horses. The property sold a couple of years ago for 2.6 million.

May 2, 2025

I was up early this morning and caught the sunrise.

My friends know I’m back and started to come by to say hello!

It started with one lone red headed cardinal, followed by it’s mate.

Then came the Hawaiian Honey creepers.

But the Red Headed Cardinals weren’t going to give up easily.

When the honeycreepers chased them away from the feeder. the two red headed cardinals hung out in the trees above the lanai, waiting for their turn.

I set up the table saw and got the generator started so I could make window frames for the shower walls.

I had picked up glass at Lowes on the 29th when we got on the island, and made quick work of putting them together. Then I began installing them into the walls.

Once the windows were in place, I began with some board siding to complete the upper frame walls. I used some 1 x 6 cedar fence boards as the siding.

While I was working on these windows, Alanah was painting the trim on the bathroom.

Then she sat down to sort through some small round black rocks we had picked up somewhere.

She sorted them into different sizes. I plan on using these as the flooring in the shower.

The bathroom trim painting really helps! She aso painted the windows I had made.

Next, I will need to install glass in these and rehang them in place!

May 3, 2025

The birds are busy sorting out their pecking order, and the red headed cardinals seem to be getting preferential choice!

The female Northern Red Cardinal is coming to the feeder. On previous trips, I never saw her at the feeder, but she was always hanging around nearby.

Then there was this little guy. He looks like a Hawaiian honeycreeper, but he is yellow instead of green.

The view of the ocean from the kitchen lanai.

His wings are a little brown, and his body is a dull yellow!

The last of the five windows are installed around the shower.

May 4, 2025

A yellow honeycreeper shows up this morning. He is bright yellow.

He drops to the lanai and procedes to pick up some crumbs.

The yellow honeycreeper boldly hops up to the roof of the feeder to see what all the fuss is about!

But other birds show up and the yellow honeycreeper retreats to the cross bars of the handrail!

The two northern red cardinals take over the feeder, having chased everyone else away!

But one lone honeycreeper decides to intrude!

So the male cardinal goes on the attack. I’m not sure if the female is prodding him or if she is just being disgusted with his antics!

The honeycreeper is not having any of it! The bullying threats of the northern red cardinal don’t seem to phase him! And he sands his ground!

The cardinal is frustrated that his threats have not worked!

The honeycreeper decides that he has had enough of the cardinal’s chldish bullying and flys off!

Peace is restored!

Alanah waves goodbye as she drives off towards Kona to fly back to Arizona!

TTFN