Timmy Hummingbird sat on the rope near the nest looking around him.
After spending the last month or so, confined within the small nest with his older sister Sally, it was great to be out where he could stetch.
He could preen his feathers, and clean his wings with ease out here. And, every once in a while, he could test out his wings while keeping a firm grip on the rope.
Sally, his older sister, had done this very same thing just two days ago, and now that she was gone, he was getting a bit lonely.
Not too lonely, Timmy thought. “Not as long as Momma was still around and she keeps bringing me something to eat.” he thought.
He was glad when Sally finally climbed out of the nest.
It was getting so crowded in there with the two of them. And with her now gone, he finally had a bedroom to himself!
They had tried to just sit on top of the nest, but that was crowded too.
A couple of days ago, they had gotten real scared. The humans were talking about how momma was going to push them out of the nest. He doubted that Momma would ever do that, but he still wondered. Sally told him that he was just being a worry wart. He wished that he could be as brave as she was! He had gotten so scared when she had gone out on the ropes. He was afraid she might fall. He was glad for the extra room in the nest, but he wished she would come back to the nest. It was so comforting to have her there next to him!
Then she started testing her wings. Holding onto the rope and flutterring. It was exciting to watch her, but a bit scary too! And then she let go. She fluttered around the nest a few times, then down to the evergreen bush by the corner of the carport.
Timmy thought she would land in the tree, but she just floated there for almost a minute. Then off she went! Zipping across the driveway over top the truck and the car! And she was gone!
Sally had gotten real perturbed at the humans. They kept looking at us, and Sally would say, “Stop looking at me! “Stop looking at me!” I would tell her to be quiet, and Momma told us to just sit real still and we will be alright. But it felt like we were in a fishbowl, with them staring at us all the time!
When we were real little, we hardly noticed them, Of course, that could be because we could barely see over the edge of the nest.
But now, it seemed like they watched our every move!
Sally was always talking about what was beyond the carport. She would ask momma when she came to feed us and to check on us, and momma would say, “When it is time, you’ll be able to find out!” Momma would caution us to be careful when we did go out there. To always be on our guard. To watch out for dangers. Danger like that mangy black cat that was aways hiding under the car in the driveway.
I could see it under there, always watching us, always waiting. Waiting for one of us to fall out of the nest.
Sometimes at night, I would hear it as it came up on top of the car in the carport, the car that the lady had covered with canvas when we were really small. Momma would clean out the nest and throw the waste out. Some of it would stick to the carport ceiling, the ceiling that protected us from the wind and the rain. But a lot of it would fall down on the car. I thought that the lady was going to knock down our nest when she first saw it. She didn’t like it falling on her car! But she covered the car instead.
Sally would just laugh at her, but I was hoping the lady didn’t hear her so she wouldn’t follow through and knock down the nest. I like it here. We are safe here, we are comfortable here. We are dry here and out of the weather. Sally can’t wait to get out and go exploring, . . .but I would be happy to just stay here. As long as momma keeps feeding me.
But I’m always hungry. Momma used to be able to feed both me and Sally in the same trip, but now when Momma comes, I’m still hungry after she feeds me everything she has brought. Maybe its because I’m so much bigger now.
I will admit though, it was getting a bit crowded in the nest. Even with Sally gone, I find it hard to fit back inside. And out here it smells so much different. And I can see so much more too. It’s scary, but it is a bit exciting as well.
“My wings are getting so much stronger now”, Timmy thought. “One of these times I’ll let go of the rope and try to just hang here in the air, just like Sally did.”
Then he did.
And it was so exciting.
He just couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. This is so much fun . . . I’m flying!
Look at me, you stupid cat! You can’t reach me when I’m flying.
This morning was spent over at the neighbor’s property building a form on top of the gate column. I removed the 2 x 4’s from the second coumn that we were using as a guide, and used these as my form material and as legs to support the forms.
Then I removed the forms from the last wall caps I had poured yesterday. Yesterday morning, I caught the 6 am bus to Kona and went to the hardware/lumber store there and bought some straps to imbed into the concrete. I was a few short! After returning, I poured the caps on the last two corner walls.
Today, I built some short frame walls to go above the concrete/rock walls of the shower. There will be five sections of this semi-circular wall, and each section will be dominated by a window.
March 3, 2025
Back over at the neighbor’s property, Brian and I finished and supported the forms for the cap, and placed some rebar into the forms. We bent the upright rebar over to be imbedded into the concrete cap.
After pouring the concrete into the forms, we washed off the excess from the rocks along with any spilled concrete/cement. Then we loaded up the mixer to return it back to Hollowai!
In order to create a different look than plain grey cement, we added some concrete color to the concrete mix.
We also completed the rock work for the second gate column.
After cleaning up the mixer and putting everything away, we sat down to a great lunch.
Then back to Holowai to finish putting everything away.
March 4, 2025
Brian has removed the forms from the gate column cap.
Over at Ahi, I used the weed whacker and chopped down the grass at the top of the property next to the road. Then I removed the solar panels from the roof of the bungalow and secured the doors.
Back at Holowai, I wrapped up stacking the 4 foot long branches in a pile at the road to create a sort of a fence/wall. These are the larger branches that will not go through the chipper. I am using them to create a sort of a barrier or fence at the front of the property.
My single lone tomato is ripe, so I picked it and ate it. There are seven more little green tomatoes on the vines that will most likely die as I will not be here to continue to water them! Oh, well!
March 5, 2025
One last look from the ramp leading up to the plane at the Kona Airport. That is Hualalai Volcano behind the terminal!
And a look to the north/west at the airport control tower in the direction of Maui!
My dirty laundry is piling up, so it is time to do something about it.
I get out my two “washing machines” aka wheelbarrows. After putting in some water, I add laundry detergent to one of them and dump some shirts and socks into it. I agitate it with my hands and then scrub each article individually, before ringing out the soapy water. Then I throw it into the other wheel barrow to rinse it. After doing the shirts and socks and kitchen towels, I dump the wash water into the empty water bottles to use when mixing concrete, and add some detergent to what was the rinse wheel barrow. This now is my wash and with clean water in the other, it becomes my rinse for my shorts and my jeans.
A couple of ropes strung up between the trees becomes my clothes line.
This view looking to the east from on top of the bungalow at Ahi shows a rain storm down on the coast.
The view to the south also shows more rain. Maybe this wasn’t the best day to decide to do laundry!?
The view towards the ocean back at the Holowai property is totally obscured with clouds, and I think that rain storm I saw from Ahi has arrived!
February 19, 2025
On each side of the truck, there are running boards. Running boards are intended as a help to step up into high profile vehicles. This is not a high profile vehicle. While it IS a 4 wheel drive vehicle (even though the 4 wheel drive does not function), it is not high peofile and these running boards are more of a hindrance than a help. Couple that with the fact that they have beed damaged and are rusted beyond repair, Yhey are not only an eyesore, but are actually dangerous as someone could get injured by them. I have wanted to remove them, but have not made a concerted effort to do so. Today, I decided to do just that!
I removed them from both sides of the truck and discarded them in true Hawaiian fashion by throwing them over a rock wall to let the jungle grow up and take them!
Then I began to build forms for pouring a concrete cap on top of the four columns and the four corner walls of the house.
A trip downtown seemed like a good thing to do, along with a visit to the ocean front at Honuapo
I stop off to visit the “vegetable lady” a location where there is a tent with a local “farmer’s market” style stand is set up each Wednesday.
a $7 salad!
I get my lettuce and tomatoes here. Even though I suspect that most of the produce probably comes from the mainland.
Down at Honuapo, there is a natural rock bridge out at the ocean’s edge.
Today, the waves were crashing just right!
I could watch this all day!
February 20, 2025
Down the road from the Holowai property, someone has begun clearing the trees from the lot across the road from the neighbor.
Typically, a property owner hires someone with a bulldozer to clear the lot, and the bulldozer knocks down everything and pushes it into a big pile along the sides of the property – sometimes even onto the neighoring property. This is the way that they protect the environment – by first creating a different environment, one that they can maintain instead of the original environment.
This time, they have used a track hoe with an attachment that is like a very large weedeater – it chews up the vegetation. They have chewed up the trees along the side of the road back to the property line, and then cleared the lot behnd a row of trees that they have left. Progress!
Back at my property, I built forms over the walls in one corner of my “house”.
Over at Ahi, there are quite a few guavas beginning to ripen.
February 21, 2025
I have less than two weeks left until I return to the mainland, so I need to begin thinking about wrapping up any projects, putting things away, and securing the properties. I return to Arizona on March 5. My flight is at 10 am, so I will need to catch the 6 am bus to get to the airport in time. The 8am bus gets me there at 10:15 – too late! Gotta start thinking of the logistics!
First, I need some milk and eggs, so I go to the grocery store in Oceanview, about 10 miles away. Milk in Naalehu is $12.99 per gallon, so it is worth the trip.
Returning to Holowai, I need to work on the generator. It has been giving me problems and for the past two days, I could not get it to start.
After re-doing the connection to the spark plug and some cleaning fluid in the carburetor, and a few special words of encouragement, I got it started.
I mixed concrete for the shower wall. Then I built more forms on top of the house walls.
February 22, 2025
Once again, I raised the forms on the inside of the shower wall, and began stacking up rock on the outside.
The concete wall is looking just like what I wanted it to be.
It is tedious fitting the rocks together to contain the concrete I will pour into the wall.
I have been able to stack rock, add rebar, pour a bit of concrete, then stack more rock, pour concrete, stack rock, etc to get it almost up to where I want it.
As I build the wall, I try to wash the excess spilled concete off the rocks. But this is not always successful, so I have been spraying muriatic acid (pool acid) onto the rocks and them washing it off. I even have an old paint brush that I use on the stubborn spots.
Before pouring the final concrete on the wall, I cut some 2 x 4 templates for the wood frame walls that will be above the concrete. I need to use the templates so I know where to place anchor bolts in the wet concrete. These anchor bolts will hold the wood walls in place on top of the concrete/rock wall, and the templates will be the top plates of the wood wall that sits on the concrete/rock wall.
February 23, 2025
A couple of weeks ago, there was a guy at the corner flying a drone. A week later, Alanah found that the property on the corner had been listed for sale on a website, and it had pictures that were taken by a drone. The owner is asking $52K for a lot that is .38 of an acre and is 200 feet long along Palaoa road, and is less than 40 feet wide along Holowai. Additionally, the elevation of this corner lot drops dramatically from the elevation of the road. I am concerned that someone looking at the photos would think that the property extends from the corner, all the way to my driveway.
So, I decided to identify the corner of my lot so there cold be no mistakes. In the past, I had placed a pile of four or five rocks next to the road near the corner. These were not real obvious, and I want to make it obvious!
So, I cut the vegetation from my lot up to the other lot.
In doing so, I found two coconut palm trees that I had planted a couple of years ago. I had planted three but only two have survived.
And, I started to build a rock/concrete wall at the corner
February 24, 2025
The last segment of the concrete/rock portion of the shower wall is done.
Using the 2 x 4 templates I had cut, I was able to place anchor bolts in the wet concrete that will hold the frame walls.
I also poured concrete in the first two column caps, and imbedded some straps and bolts.
February 25, 2025
All of the forms have been re moved from inside the shower. This reveals the 8″ squares where I will install glass block as well as the rectangle soap/shampoo holder.
On the outside, I lined up the templates I had cut and used to place the bolts. I fine tuned the cuts and used these as templates for cutting the bottom plates, which I cut from some pressure treated brown 2 x 4’s.
February 26, 2025
I stripped the forms from all of the columns as well as the two corners where I had poured the caps.
Using the same material I used for the other forms, I built forms on the last two corner walls for concrete caps there.
Out on Holowai. I had piled up the branches I had cut from the corner of the property to build a rock corner wall. I started to drag them down to the chipper.
Then, I got the chipper started and proceeded to make wood chips out of them.
The road is cleaned up again.
February 28, 2025
The last of my metal straps have been placed in the forms on top of the last two corners. I need more straps!
My lone tomato on my tomato plants is getting ripe, as February comes to a close!
In early spring, the birdies sing; and flowers are on the ground.
And young men’s fancies turns to what women have been thinking about . . . all year round! – basketball!
And so it begins again. The time of year when office productivity drops because everyone is watching NCAA basketball!
Selection Sunday has happened. The brackets have been announced. The Arizona Wildcats are in the East regional and will play in Seattle Washington on Friday against the Akron Zips.
How Seattle Washington can be considered the East Regional, is beyond me. But that’s NCAA basketball!
My sister and her husband have left the big island for Oahu, so it is time for me to get back to work.
Alanah had arrived on the 6th for the weekend and I wanted her to paint the overhang of the bathroom. I had painted the boards prior to building it, and they had gotten scuffed and they have nail/screw holes and joints that need repair before repainting.
I caulked the joints with construction adhesive to help keep them together prior to this repaint.
Using a stiff putty knife, I filled all the nail/screw holes.
I borrowed some flexible form material from my neighbor to form the walls of the shower. He had used these to form the driveway we poured on the hillside leading up to his parents’ place. That’s how I knew he had them,
By stacking them in this fashion, I have created a half circle with a radius of almost 4 feet!
I imported a crew from the mainland for mixing the concrete and we got started.
February 9, 2025
Alanah painted the overhang on the bathroom
while I did some work inside the bathroom
February 10, 2025
Alanah returns to the mainland this afternoon so we went down to the ocean
The swimming pool is clear
and the ocean is calm. A good day!
February 11, 2025
This morning, I spent some time watching the birds. OK, I spent the entire morning doing that, but I don’t have to clock in anywhere, so . . .
Two HoneyCreepers sharing the feeder
These little green and orange and yellow birds that I think are Hawaiian Honeycreepers are quite intersting. They seem to show up in groups. When I notice only one at the feeder or the lanai, it isn’t long until there are six! Where, with the Red Headed Cardinals, it is usually only a pair, or maybe two pair. The Northern Red Cardinals usually show up one at a time, but when I see a bright red male, the dull brown female is not too far away.
Most of the time, they take turns going to the feeder, and they search around on the lanai around the feeder for any dropped crumbs while waiting their turn.
The HoneyCreepers seem to be the rare exception, where they often share the space in the feeder. That does not mean that they are always welcoming. Sometimes one of them will harass the others into leaving or not coming into the feeder. I think that this is a personality thing of a specific individual.
It could also be a “family” thing with birds of one clutch of eggs sticking together and protecting each other’s backs.
And it seems that the HoneyCreepers are not intimidated by the larger Northern Red Cardinal in the same way the Red Headed Cardinals are. Of course, this could be simply a matter of safety in numbers!
February 12, 2025
I had a load of sand and gravel delivered to the property at Holowai. Cost me $580. I will use this to mix concrete for my various projects. I will separate the larger rocks and use them to build up the path from the driveway to the house and as fill material around the block walls.
Up until now, I have been using the material I had moved back by the bathroom on my last trip for mixing concrete. It is all used now, so I will start using this from out by the road.
With the generator and mixer out by the pile, it is a simple matter of shoveling it into the mixer, and adding water and cement.
After it is mixed, I pour it from the mixer into a wheelbarrow and then shovel or dump it between the rocks I have piled up and the forms on the inside.
Now, I will ,let this setup and tomorrow I will remove the forms and reinstall them higher up.
February 13, 2025
A little mechanic truck work is the first order of the day today. I had ordered some new shock absorbers and they were delivered the other day, so now I need to install them. When I drive over a bump – which is constantly on these roads – I hear a hammering or a thump from under the right front corner of the truck, so I figure it probably is the shocks.
Another chore completed from the to-do list.
Afterwards, I gathered the guavas that were ready to pick.
There are six layers in my concrete form. By removing the lower four layers, the upper two will support the forms as I go higher. I start by moving the 1 x supports up to the top two layers. Then I remove the lower forms and reinstall them above the two that I left in place. This exposed the concrete wall I had poured, showing a little bit of honeycombing, but not too much!
With all six layers of form in place, I am ready to build the rock portion, add rebar, and pour another section of concrete.
On the outside, I need to stack up rock to form the outer side of the shower wall.
February 14, 2025
In order to provide some light in the lower section of the shower, I want to install some glass block in the shower wall. As I do not have them on hand, I will have to create the opening as I pour the walls and then install the glass block later.
So, I have made some styrofoam cubes that are 8″ square. After the walls are done, I can easily remove the styrofoam, leaving an 8″ square opening – at least that is what I hope for!
February 15, 2025
The only styrofoam I have is some odd shaped packing material I have picked up. I cut pieces from the styrofoam and tape it all together using clear packing tape to create the cubes.
It is very time consuming and very messy, with little beads of styrofoam flying around from when I cut it. I do this in the kitchen gazebo where I can sit down, and hopefully contain the small pieces of styrofoam.
The 8″ cubes will extend all the way through the wall. I have also made one that is 6″ wide and 12 ” tall and only 4 1/2″ deep. This one will create a cavity for a shelf for shampoo bottles and soap.
I fastened these to the forms with long screws to keep them from moving while I pour the concrete around them.
Once the boxes are in place, I stack up more rocks, and tie in some rebar. Now I’m ready to mix more concrete.
February 16, 2025
The truck has been making a kind of a humming/scraping sound coming from the front end. I needed to check the fluid level in the transfer case. The transmission has a dipstick to check the level in it, as well as a dipstick for checking the oil in the engine, but for the transfer case, you have to remove a plug from the side of the transfer case and visually check the level. The correct level is to have fluid up to the bottom of this plug. In order to remove the plug, I needed to lift the truck. A mechanic shop would put it on a lift or hoist to do this, but I do not have one of these, My neighbor Brian has some metal car ramps, so we used those to give me room to get under the truck.
After removing the plug, I added about 3/4 of a quart of transmission fluid to the transfer case before the fluid level was up to the bottom of the hole! The guys at the repair shop in Naalehu told me that the fluid could be either standard fluid or the newer synthetic type. You must use the same as is in the vehicle, and you cannot mix them. In order to find out which type, I had to call a ford dealer and have them look up the VIN umber. I called the Ford dealer in Honolulu and was on hold for over an hour waiting for the parts/service department to pick up the phone, so I called a Ford dealer in Scottsdale Arizona and got right through. They verified that my truck originally had standard fluids, not the synthetic type.
Everything I try to do is delayed by some minor glitch like trying to find out what type of fluid for the transfer case! This took most of the day!
February 17, 2025
Today, I helped Brian with the second rock gate column at his parents place.
This time, we installed some upright corner posts to give us a guide while stacking the rocks.
This column turned out just a little straighter than the first one on the other side of the gate.
Russ and I had such a fantastic visit with David and Alanah a couple of weeks ago while we were on the Big Island of Hawaii. In fact, seeing them was The reason we went to the island. We flew into Kona and then it’s about a 2 1/2 hour pleasant drive, along the coast, to their property near Naalehu. David gave us directions to his slice of paradise; it’s in a beautiful area on Holowai off the paved highway, surrounded by banana plants and palm trees.
After enjoying a refreshing drink of juice in fancy glass goblets, we were treated to a tour of David’s property as he explained his vision. He has done an incredible job clearing the land for his cinder-block structures. It’s amazing all that he has built- completely by hand! He has no water on the property; he hauls in water from the nearby town of Waiohinu… which is a major job just by itself!
In one bungalow he has a bed and even solar powered lights. He was currently working on the separate bathroom; pouring cement for the shower, and making doors and window frames from scratch. He even has special lantern-type solar lights outside the bathroom. Very nice! His attention to detail is evident by the particular patterned cement floors in the bungalows.
Of course, he put us to work shoveling gravel and moving rocks!
We then drove over to his other property on Ahi, where he’s working hard on the steep driveway. He’s built a gazebo plus another bungalow structure here as well. It’s all very tropical and lovely, and we had a gorgeous view of the ocean in the distance. We even enjoyed ripe guavas from some of his trees. It’s so hard to describe the amount of labor and love they have put into their Hawaiian dream.
We drove over to Punalulu Bakery/Store for lunch and ordered yummy sandwiches and malasada. It was gorgeous sunny weather as we sat outside under the palm trees and ate lunch.
David then showed us to the nearby black sand beach. The blue ocean waves, black sand, and large sea turtles were amazing! We can’t believe we’re actually here enjoying this beautiful tropical area. We then drove back to Kona, with the promise of meeting up with David & Alanah soon.
A couple days later, David & Alanah drove the 2 1/2 hour trip into Kona, then we piled into the rental car and drove north along the Kailua-Kona Coast. We had blue ocean views on one side of the road and large areas of black lava rock on the other side; it’s very unusual.
at an old Hawaiian villiage
We drove to the Northernmost part of the Big Island, to Hawi, King Kamehameha’s birthplace.
Street view of downtown Hawi
We, of course, had to take pictures with statues of the King.
After pizza for lunch, we went looking for the Old Kohala Lighthouse on a very narrow, deeply rutted dirt road.
Raiding the pantry
The road became a “path” surrounded by sugar cane, and David wisely stopped the car.
We walked the rest of the way, 1/2 mile, to a dramatic view of the ocean.
We found ourselves on the point of a peninsula, with views of the ocean in all directions,
but no lighthouse. It had been replaced by an observation tower pole.
It was a fun adventure. We drove back to Kona and sadly said good-bye to David and Alanah.
They were amazing tour guides and we enjoyed our days being tourists with them. Thank you so much for a marvelous Hawaiian time!
There is quite a selection of birds coming to the feeder. There are at least two Northern Red Cardinal males along with their female mates. I have yet to see any of the other genders though!
I’m not too sure what kind of bird this is. They used to stay in the hedge along the side of the property, but this trip, they have begun venturing to the feeder and the water fountain, They are smaller than the Red Headed Cardinals, and I haven’t been able to identify any as pairs. Maybe they are all of one of those other genders!
This guy is what I call a Hawaiian HoneyCreeper. They typically arrive in a flock of six or eight. At one time, I counted at least 16 of them together in the feeder, on the lanai, at the fountain, or in the trees above the lanai.
It is not uncommon to see three or four in the feeder at one time.
I started working on the shower area outside the bathroom. The first chore is to remove the rocks down to below the floor elevation of the bathroom. A small electric jackhammer is just the right tool for this.
But first. I have to shovel away the loose dirt and small rocks.
January 30, 2025
Today, I drove to downtown Na’alehu and left the truck in the parking lot of the commercial center across from the hardware store. Then, I caught the bus into Kona to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. I need to get a copy of the registration so I can get the annual safety inspection. I need to have the physical paper registration for this inspection. You need the current inspection to register the vehicle. I cannot find the little piece of paper that you keep in your vehicle. But, no problem, it is all computerized and contained in the DMV’s computer system. For a $5 fee, they will print me a copy. I could even request one to be mailed to me by sending in a request with the $5, and within two or three weeks, I’ll get the copy! The registration expires at the end of February, so I cannot wait for two or three weeks.
Anyway, I call the DMV office and get their AI recording – no human. It directs me to their kiosk at a local grocery store, and to their website. The kiosk at the grocery store is around the corner from the DMV office, so if I go to the kiosk, I might as well go to the office. The website tells me that I need to have an appointment to visit the DMV, (it also says that you do not need an appointment – if they can add a phrase that says you do not need an appointment, why not simply remove the phrase that says you do???!) so I go online and make an appointment for 10:30 this morning. And, there is no way to actually complete anything. Just a location for instructions and forms to print out and send in.
I plan on riding the bus – the 8 am bus will get me there at the office at 10:00 am, and save me $25 in gas! I will catch the 12:30 bus back and get home around 2:30pm. I can also do a little shopping while I am in Kona!
The bus is 10 minutes late, and runs later, and later. At 10:30am, I am still 10 iles away from the DMV office, with 4 or 5 more stops to make. I pull out my phone and go to the DMV website. Appointments ar available at 10:45, 11:00, 11:15. and 11:30 am. Then in the afternoon starting at 1:00 pm. I pick 11:00 am. We arrive at the office at 11:05. I go to the office to check in and find that no appointment is needed!
I tell the receptionist that I need a copy of my registration paper.
He asks, “What is your license number?”
I tell him, and he pulls it up on his computer. “Your safety inspection has expired.” he says.
“Yes” I answer. “That is why I need the copy of the registration. To get the safety inspection.”
“I can’t give you a copy of the registration because the safety is expired,” he explains. “You have to have the safety inspection before the registration.”
“But, it is already registered!” I answer. “I just need a copy of the current registration – the one that expires at the end of February.”
“We can’t give you that until you have the safety inspection.”
“They won’t do the safety inspection without the registration!” I complain. “And I can’t find the one I already have. The one you sent me last year!”
“Safety first” he smiles! “They can do the safety inspection but give you a ‘failed due to registration’ which you bring back here and then we can register the vehicle.”
“I tried to get the safety inspection” I explain. “But they said I needed the little piece of paper!”
“Go back to them and tell them to give you a ‘failed due to registration’ form.” He smiles and continues, “Safety is the most important thing.”
Razza Frazza, shicka, muzza, . . .
They could have told me this on the phone and saved me this trip – but they don’t answer the phone at the Hawaii DMV in Kona!!
So, it’s out to the grocery store, then down to the bus stop. And there is NO 12:30 bus like I thought! Not until 2:35!
A two hour bus ride back to Na’alehu where I left the truck.
Arriving back at the site around 5 pm, I do a little work on removing the rock from the shower area.
And I hammer out a trench for the drain pipe.
Now it is down to the level I need it.
February 1, 2025
I repiped the drain for the shower.
Originally I had used 1 1/2″ PVC with a couple of 90 degree elbows as the trap. The elbows are too sharp – not a gentle bend if I ever need to run a snake through the drain, so I got an actual 2″ shower drain and 2 inch “p” trap – in black ABS pipe!
February 4, 2025
The last few days I have been helping my neighbor build rock gate columns for his parent’s house.
We start by digging a footing about 12 to 16″ deep. After pouring the footing, we stack up the rocks in a square pattern about 30″ square and then fill the square with concrete.
Moving up about 12 ” at a time, alternating stacking rocks and pouring concrete.
My sister and her husband arrive tomorrow for a few days.
Worked on the roof framing today. Roof rafters all in place and the fascia is installed.
January 22, 2025
Cut and installed bocking between the roof joists over the walls and through the center.
Then I began installing the roof deck boards. As this will be a walking deck that will be open to the weather, I am trying to clamp the boards together as tight as I can to help with keeping it from leaking into the bathroom below. Once the boards are all in place, I will cover this with elastomeric roof coating and hope for the best!
I need to go to Kona to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a copy of the registration for the truck. The registration expires in February and I will need to pay the local mechanic shop for the “safety inspection” that really does nothing to check for safety. But you have to have the physical piece of paper that is the registration . . . and I cannot find it, . . . so I need to go to Kona, pay them $5 for a duplicate copy, then get the inspection, then pay the registration!
I had to find the title to take with me just in case!
January 24, 2025
On the makai side of the bathroom – the side towards the ocean – there are, or will be two windows. I am making the window frames from some 1 x 6’s I salvaged from some pallets. I sanded them once, then spread wood filler over them to fill the nail holes, and gouges. Then I will sand them again before building the window frames and installing them into the openings.
My neighbor has a stronger solar energy system that will run an electric sander, and he lets me use his power. I have cut and sanded all the parts for the window frames as well as the windows themselves.
I had ordered two old fashioned lantern type solar lights for outside the bathroom. They arrived in the mail today, so I hung them up!
January 25, 2025
When I made the doors for the bungalow at Ahi, I had cut some strips from the 2 x 4’s I sed for the outer frames. These strips are about 3/4″ square, with one rounded corner lengthwise along the strip. Using a block plane, I rounded a second edge to match this and used these as the battens to cover the joints of the vertical siding boards.
I also have installed the window frames and trim around the windows.
January 26, 2025
A while ago, I had picked up some louvered bifolding closet doors that someone had discarded. Using the table saw and the generator, I cut some 2 x 4’s to use as the outer frame of the bathroom door, and these two louvered doors as inserts.
One louvered door is 12″ wide, and the other is 14″ wide. I’m not really sure just how this worked as a bifolding door, but, I took off the three hinges that held them together and glued them together using dowel rods. Together with the 2 x 4 frame, I have a 28″ door.
Then, I cut the corner from some 2 x 6’s, lengthwise 3/4″ x 1 3/4″ to create a “rabbited” door jamb.
January 27, 2025
I fastened the door jamb in place and installed some trim around the door. I also added more of the 3/4″ square battens over the vertical joints of the siding boards.
Rounding the edge of each batten trim board is very time consuming, but, that is all right, I work cheap!
Caught a plane out of Sky Harbor heading to Kona, via Oakland!
Arrived at the airport in Phoenix at 5:30 am for my 7:00 am flight. At the TSA checkpoint, there was only one person in line waiting for the agent to check their ID and boarding pass, so got through real quick. They only had two x-ray conveyors operating and I chose the wrong one. Apparently it jammed or broke and we stood there while the line at the other conveyor went on through.
Finally, they opened a third conveyor and ushered us over to that one. One of my carryon bags had nothing but frozen food along with two 16 ounce frozen bottles of milk, a 16 ounce bottle of frozen water, and a dozen eggs. I expected they would want to inspect each egg, and I expected they would give me a hassle about the frozen milk. I suspect that the TSA agent looking into the x-ray was not really looking, as both of my bags, as well as everyone else’s bags went through without any further inspection. – It’s not just for your safety, but for the safety of all those around you as well. And, we are all in this together!
Those who would sacrifice Liberty for the illusion of Safety, deserve neither!
After a brief stopover in Oakland, it was on to Hawaii.
Arrived in Kona at 12:30 pm, 20 minutes early. We had a tail wind the entire trip – so the pilot said!
We flew over clouds most of the way to Hawaii.
There were clouds surrounding the tops of the volcanoes as we arrived.
At the terminal in Kona, there are racks of luggage carts for passengers to use. In order to get a cart out of the rack, you must use your credit card and the charge is $6.00. Six dollars to move your luggage a few hundred feet! But wait! They refund you 25 cents when you return the cart! I always look around to see if there are any loose carts not in the racks.
On the bus at 2:30, but didn’t arrive in Waiohinu until after 5 pm. Usually, it takes less than 2 hours!
The grass and weeds along Holowai look the same as when I left, it doesn’t seem to have grown.
The same with the weeds in the yard. That means that there wasn’t much rain. The wheelbarrow has about a cup of water in it, which verifies that there wasn’t much rain while I was away.
January 14, 2025
A red cardinal came by this morning for breakfast.
When I was here in December, I had asked my neighbor Brian to pick up some specially treated 2 x 4’s for the bottom plates of my bathroom walls. He had stacked them inside the gate.
I cut them to length and put a coat of paint on them to further protect them.
The carrots have all whithered, but the onions seem to still be OK.
My tomatoes have also whithered. There are a few green leaves on some of the stocks, so I’ll give them some water and see what happens.
I called Gary Kiaba and ordered another load of gravel for the Ahi driveway.
January 15, 2025
One of the neighbors in the subdivision has a track hoe/excavator. I had him come over to Ahi and spread the gravel down the driveway. This will save me a week of wheelbarrow and shovel work.
While he was here, I had a second load delivered – thinking that the major expense is just getting the tractor on site and taking advantage while I had the opportunity.
Using the bucket, he was able to push it down hill without it spilling over the sides.
Then he straightened it up at the bottom and used the machine to do a bit of compacting.
The final touch was to use the blade to grade the driveway smooth.
Unfortunately, the combination of the gravel and the slope is still too much for the two wheel drive truck. But it is getting better!
The neighbor Scott had ordered a load of gravel for his place and I went over to help him trim the trees out of the driveway to get the dump truck in. As we were stacking the branches we had cut, we found this guy. When Scott tried to pick him up to put him into a tree, he jumped up onto his chest.
The truck was able to get in and dump the load for Scott.
And I was able to start framing the walls for the bathroom at Holowai!
January 16, 2025
I had painted the lumber when I was here last month to give it at least one coat of paint on all sides for protection.
January 17, 2025
This is the walls framed up on the 16th.
Today, I started installing the siding boards. I am using boards I have salvaged from old pallets, and the process is very time consuming.
January 18, 2025
The red headed cardinals have begun to visit again.
It is always entertaining to watch their antics as they approach the feeder and jostle for position with the other types of birds.
Eventually, they make it to the feeder – usually only one at a time.
A northern red cardinal sits in a tree overlooking the feeder – waiting his turn!
Between the diagonal boards, I am using red cedar fence slats for the upright siding portion.
January 19, 2025
Slow and steady, but it will eventually get done.
January 20, 2025
With the siding pretty well on the way to being done, I have started the roof framing.
I have pre-painted these boards as well.
Scott has a wooden hot tub that is wood fired. It is just large enough for one person, and he invited me over to soak in it. As we sat there talking, a praying mantis flew down from the trees above and landed on a monstera plant. He must have though it was his turn in the tub!
The blockwork for the walls of the bathroom at Holowai has been completed.
I wanted to build the first two feet out of concrete block to get it above the level of the surrounding ground. I’ll grout the cells and pour a concrete cap on top of these walls. Then build frame walls up from there.
December 2, 2024
The pump truck arrived at 7Am and set up for the pouring of my neighbor’s driveway. I had agreed to help him with this. Their son, the one who had asked me to help, has spent the last week setting up the forms and laying down some wire mesh and a few strategically placed pieces of rebar.
The pump operator stretched out and connected the hoses, while we did a final check of the forms and reinforcing.
The Motley Crew gathered at the top.
In spite of the fact that the concrere was batched out of the plant at 5:30 in the morning in Kona, and arrived a little after 8:00 AM, we were still able to get it out of the trucks and pumped up the hill where we were able to knock it down into some semblence of a flat driveway. This concrete had already started to set up – even while it was in the trucks. Concrete that has been in the truck this long would normally be refused and sent back to the plant – at least that is the procedure on the mainland. I don’t know about the procedure here on the south end of Hawaii, two hours drive from the nearest concrete plant. But yet, others seem to be able to pour concrete that has come from Kona and has been in the truck way too long, and they end up with a very smooth finish. Experience in dealing with this issue has obviously taught them some tricks that I don’t know!
Anyway, I did the best I could with my knowledge and experience. Not the best finish in the world, and not what I was hoping to provide, but it is definitely useable as a driveway. The rough finish may be a blessing in disguise in rainy weather!
For those interested in a bit of the financial aspects of this, a local contractor quoted them $25K to pour this driveway. They paid the concrete company $320 per cubic yard for 20 yards of concrete – a cost of $6400. The pump truck cost $1310. Form material, reinforcing wire, and a few pieces of rebar cost under $1000, and he gave a few bucks to those who helped pour it – again, a cost of under $1000. For about $9500, they have a $25K driveway that will add much more than that to the value of their home.
Ater the pour, Alanah and I went for a drive down the coast to Honuapo.
The sky was clear. and there was only a very slight breeze. Kilauea was easily seen with very little cloud cover.
A beautiful day to be in Hawaii!
Deember 3, 2024
Alanah painted the roof deck boards for the bathroom. I knew that it would be easier to paint them before they were in place, and this gives them a protective coating even where one board crosses another. When painting them after installing them, it is not possible to seal them with even this one coat of paint in the areas between the boards where they cross.
I built forms on top of the block walls for the concrete caps.
I will need bolts to imbed in the wet concrete for fastening the frame walls down. Like eveything in Hawaii, just a bit expensive. Or maybe I’m just getting cheap (frugal) in my old age.
Coming out of the lumber/hardware store in Kona, we say an image of Smaug the Dragon from the Hobbit in the clouds at sunset! Yeah, I have a vivid imagination!
Alanah caught the 9:00 PM flight back to the mainland, leaving me alone once again!
December 4, 2024
I slept late today after returning late from taking Alanah to the Airport in Kona last night.
The major accomplishment for the day was to haul some block over to Ahi for the walls of the bathroom. I will be doing the same thing there as I am doing at Holowai, namely, building block walls up 2 foot high before transitioning to wood frame walls.
December 5, 2024
Today’s task is to build the walls at the bathroom at Ahi. This is a good start!
December 6, 2024
I set up the generator and the mixer out near the front gates to use the last of the pile of sand and gravel to pour a few sections of the cap on the bathroom walls. I knew I could not mix enough concrete fast enough to grout the cells and pour the entire cap in one setting, so I broke it up into four pieces and poured them in an alternating pattern.
Basically, this first pour took care of the four corners. Later, I’ll pour the center sections to complete the cap.
Then, it was back to the ocean. Not a cloud in the sky left the entire Kilauea volcano fully visible again today.
Upon returning to the property, after a quick “swim” in the swimming pool in the lava field at the edge of the ocean, I staked up the tomato plants. There are six or eight little tomatoes on the plants! They may not be ripe before I leave for the mainland on the 16th!
December 7, 2024
When they delivered my lumber the other day. they forgot to bring the rebar I had ordered. Ten pieces of rebar 20 feet long is not something I can easily transport from Kona. I had them add some 2 x 4’s that I will use in the second floor structure on the bungalow at Ahi.
December 8, 2024
I did a little bit of laundry today, and hung it out to dry. Some of it here at Holowai, and some I hung up inside the bungalow at Ahi.
Holowai Street also needed a bit of sprucing up.
Setting up the mixer at the sand/gravel pile by the bathroom, I was able to complete the cap for the bathroom walls.
December 9, 2024
More block were hauled over to Ahi and used to build up the bathroom walls to the 2 foot height.
Debating on one more course, due to the slope of the hillside next to the bathroom. The purpose of the block walls is to raise it above the danger of rocks tumbling downhill and crashing through a frame wall.
December 10, 2024
After stacking the roof deck boards that Alanah had painted, I began painting the ceiling joist/rafter boards.
They are being painting a contrasting color, which is easier done before they are put in place.
December 11, 2024
One of the Hawaiian Honeycreepers came by to the feeder. This is the first one I have seen at the feeder since I returned from the mainland. That does not mean that they haven’t been coming to the feeder when I wasn’t around. . . just that I had not seen one before.
The studs for the walls will be a different color that the roof/ceiling deck boards and the ceiling joist/rafters. Just to be different. And, . . . this is the color of the paint I have on hand.
The property is oriented more towards the east than to the west. I get fabulous sunrises, but cannot really see great sunsets. Except for this one, where the clouds to the north are colored red and orange with a bit of purple and yellow.
December 12, 2024
After painting the studs for the walls, I cut them to length, and then painted the cut ends. Hopefully, this will help to protect them from deteriorating.
There are two doorways and there will be two windows in the bathroom walls. For these, I will need some 2 x 6 headers, which I cut and painted.
Using some full length 2 x 4’s, I laid out the stud placing for the walls. I still need some pressure treated sill plates for the bottom of the walls.
And, I had another visit from either Bert or Ernie – or a substitute! They seem to be a bit more stand-offish this time aroound!
December 14, 2024
One last trip down to the ocean was the order of the day, today.
The swimming pool was overfull and the waves kept trying to pour in more water.
The view from the swimmng pool out to the west towards the two wading pools out on the point showed a lot of water up on the lava shelf. Many of the depressions were full of water.
The two wading pools were overflowing to the point that they looked like one pool.
Next to the main wading pool, a depression about 6 feet in diameter and three feet deep was full of water. Whether it was salt water, or freshwater, I didn’t know, but I was hoping that being surrounded by black lava, the water will be a bit warmer than the ocean. I have found that the sweimming pool, being larger, and frequently replenished by the ocean, is just about the same temperature. On a calm, sunny day. it is maybe a few degrees warmer, but not much. The wading pools, being shallower typically are about five to ten degrees warmer. Today was a bit overcast, with a breeze and a bit of wave action creating cascades of water splashing up onto the lava surrounding these tide pools.
I hoped this 6 foot diameter depression would be warmer, but it wasn’t. I wanted to take a bath.
But this area a bit further back from the ocean was a few degrees warmer, and sufficed as my bathtub for today.
After drying off and while changing clothes at the truck, I saw some movement through the branches of the trees and out on the lava towards the ocean. I was a bit startled as there were no other cars about, and I thought I was alone.
Stepping arond the truck and out from behind the trees, I got a better view. Menehunes DO exist!
December 15, 2025
My nickname of Galleons Lap for the Ahi Road property comes from the last Winnie The Pooh book.
“… Christopher Robin, “but what I like doing best is Nothing.”
“How do you do Nothing?” asked Pooh, after he had wondered for a long time.
“Well, it’s when people call out at you just as you’re going off to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh, nothing, and then you go and do it.”
“Oh, I see,” said Pooh.
“This is a nothing sort of thing that we’re doing now.”
“Oh, I see,” said Pooh again.
“It means just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”
“Oh!” said Pooh.
They walked on, thinking of This and That, and by-and-by they came to an enchanted place on the very top of the Forest called Galleons Lap, which is sixty-something trees in a circle; and Christopher Robin knew that it was enchanted because nobody had ever been able to count whether it was sixty-three or sixty-four, not even when he tied a piece of string round each tree after he had counted it.”
In keeping with this theme, I have created a door and house front resembling where Pooh lives, under the name of Sanders.
Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders. What does “under the name” mean? asked Christopher Robin. ‘It means he had the name over the door in gold letters and lived under it.’
(Thanks to A.A Milne)
Much of the day today was spent getting everything put away, in preparation for my leaving the island tomorrow.
December 16, 2024
My ride back to the mainland. I caught the 6AM bus from Na’alehu to Kona – arriving at 8:30AM at the airport. After checking in with the airline and passing through security, I waited with the other passengers to board the plane.
As we walked out onto the tarmac, I could see Maui in the distance, beyond the airport control tower.
Looking back over the terminal buildings, Hualalai volcano was clear and unobscured by any clouds. A rare occurrance.
I had a better view of this volcano that is at the edge of Kona, from the airplane.
As we took off, the coastline orth and west of the airport was clearly visible.
And then Mauna Kea became visible as we climbed higher and flew past the edge of Hualalai.
There was no snow on top, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky to obscure my view of the observatory perched atop Mauna Kea. We left the volcanoes behind as we headed out over the ocean towards the mainland.
TropicalCastaway 