How Wet Is It?

I met "F" in town at the coffee truck today and she asked if I was getting lots of rain where I am. Rain? Gosh, do I have rain? You betcha!! It's been raining a awful lot for the past five years. And recently it's been wet almost every day. This past couple months have been the worst so far.

Here's a photo to show how wet it's been recently. This pipinola is still on the vine......and it's sprouting! Not only is it sprouting, but it's growing roots too. And this is not the only one doing it. I'd estimate that 50% of the mature pipinolas are sprouting right on the vine. Yup, things are wet here.

Green sprouts and roots while still on the vine. 

Bracing for a Hurricane

Hawaii just had a hurricane pass south of the islands -- Hurricane Erick. With all the storm warnings, I did indeed take a few precautions. I filled the truck up with gas, plus I refilled all our gasoline storage cans. And other than bracing the greenhouses, that was it. We already keep plenty of drinking water and food on hand. Our in-house pharmacy is well stocked. We always keep extra propane on hand. And there's plenty of ammo in case I'd have to dispatch any injured livestock. The generator and chainsaw are always kept in repair. So I think we're covered.

Bracing the greenhouses is the only unusual step I take. Not that this simple method would be adequate for really high winds, but it's fine for the storms that usually hit us. I discovered from previous storms that the central hoop of the greenhouse is the weak point. So if I install a single cross brace, it saves the hoop from being overly torqued and thus breaking, 

Cross braces installed. 

I guess I could make this more complicated, but this set up works. It's easy and quick to install and take down. And it only requires two 2x4s, two metal spikes, and a few screws.

The metal stake is one used for concrete forms. It has holes th can put a screw through. 

As I've said, this is only a solution for a small hurricane. Perhaps I should work on a more substantial solution in the event of a stronger storm. 

Rains and Cool Temps = Moss

Walking about the farm this morning I couldn't help but notice that's there a lot more new moss growing around. I already had lichen growing all over the boulders while the volcano was erupting. And spaghnum moss under the trees and in wet areas. But now I'm seeing lots of new tiny mosses in new spots.

 I think it's really nifty, though a commercial farmer might think otherwise. I love things growing everywhere. It's beautiful in their own way. 

We've still been getting frequent rains. As a result, the ground is staying moist. In some ways, that's good --- my cuttings are rooting successfully, the grass seed and oats are sprouting in the pastures, the macnut trees are in full bloom, the more mature pineapple plants are starting to push flower stalks. But there are a few downers --- lots of moss growing in the grass, fungal disease problems in the taro, damping off problems with many seedlings. And a friend down on South Point Road complains that her grass won't stop growing, thus she needs to get it mowed frequently. Actually that's a bit of a plus for me because I do quite a bit of the mowing, bringing home the abundant grass clippings. 

Broke the 50° Mark

It was a cold 49° in my driveway this morning. (52° in my bedroom.) 

It's thanksgiving day in my house this morning.......I'm ever so thankful for my woodburning stove, my pile of very dry ohia wood, warmth off the stove, hot water in the kitchen faucet for washing my hands, a hot cup of coffee, the cat laying on my lap, and just anything else that is warmer than 49°. 

Cold Day

People hoping to try homesteading to one degree or another often ask me how many days a week I work at it. That's tough to say, because every week is different. Take today got instance. Other than feeding the livestock and moving the sheep into a safer pasture, zero farm work got done. Zero. That's because it was an unsafe day to work outdoors. Windy much of the day with gusts that kept leaves and small branches flying out of the trees. As of last count at 3 pm, I had a dozen banana trees bent over in half, or completely knocked to the ground, plus two medium sized eucalyptus trees down. I haven't walked the property yet, so I really don't know the damage thus far. But certainly, it isn't a safe day to be out and about. 

Usually I work 5 days a week when I can. But I also do volunteer work and farm visits, which often means I actually work 4 days a week. I work on the farm because I like to. It's not a drudge job to me. 

So the answer to how many days a week do I work on the farm?.....as many as I can. 

Tomorrow, if this storm passes, will be a clean up day. Not much else will get accomplished. Looks like I'll be harvesting a lot of firewood and livestock feed (the downed bananas).

Thinking of firewood, boy am I glad I have dry wood stockpiled. Brrrrrr. Chilly today. The high was only 64°. That's the coldest high temperature since I started recording weather statistics back in 2004. With the blustery wind and dampness, it made for an uncomfortable house. So I started the woodstove......luxury! I never dreamed that I'd be glad to have a woodstove in Hawaii. 

Rain Data for the Year

Here's the rain data I collected for the farm this year. And I'm posting some of the previous years' data for comparison purposes. 

Total rain accumulation:

2018 -- 64.35"

2017 -- 40.20"

2016 -- 52.96" 

Number of days where there was over an inch of rain :

2018 -- 11 days

2017 --  6 days

2016 -- 8 days 

The greatest amount of rain in a 24 hour period (I measure from 7 am to 7 am) :

2018 -- 3.87"

2017 -- 2.10" 

2016 -- 3.81" 

Number of days with no rain:

2018 -- 72

2017 -- 134

2016 -- 124

The longest number of days in a row of no rain :

2018 -- 10 days

2017 -- 10 days 

2016 -- 16 days

Overall, 2018 proved to be a wet year. Only 72 days recorded zero rainfall, and many of those days were overcast, thus no productive sun. The ground never dried out the entire year, though in December we saw the surface dry out one week in December. 

Wet Weather - More Rain

It's yet again been wet recently. How does that affect this homestead? 

... The grass has become too wet to effectively run the lawnmower to collect grass clippings. Thus no more mulching and no clippings to feed to the sheep and chickens. Oh, they won't go hungry, but they do prefer the fresh mown grass. The rain has caused the grass in the pastures to grow, and there's always the fallback to haycubes if necessary for the sheep. The chickens have plenty of other things to eat. 

... The pig pasture is getting sloppy muddy where their feeding station is, making it treacherously slippy for me to go feed them. Not much I can do about it besides shoveling cinder into the area. My plan is to move the feeding trough to a grassy area and sow oats into the muddy parts. And hope for less rain. 

... Mold is showing up inside the garden sheds. I plan to spray a bleach or maybe Lysol solution on the walls to kill the mold. 

... Mold wants to grow on my dormant seed potatoes. I've rinsed the tubers in a 10% bleach solution and laid them out to dry in the house. That should hold them for a couple of weeks. 

... Powdery mildew is starting up on the pumpkin vines. It's a lost cause. 

... Mushrooms are starting to pop up here and there. That's good. I welcome the mushrooms, 

... All my water catchment areas are full. That's good, but it's also frustrating to see the excess water overflowing and running into the ground. During the next drought I'm going to be wishing I had that water. 

... The sheep have had to have chemical fly repellant applied to their fleece so that they don't come down with flystrike. 

... My concrete walkways around the house are growing moss. Looks pretty, but it's slippery to walk on. Tomorrow I plan to use a stiff broom to remove the worst of the moss. 

... Everything metal is rusting. This acidic rain does nasty things to metal, especially tools and fencing. So we go through a lot of sandpaper and os-pho. 

I choose this piece of property to purchase because it stayed green even during droughts. And I've never minded the wet-dry cycle of previous years. But for the past several years we seem to be stuck in a wet period. I wonder if we'll ever see drought again. 

Last year I considered using tunnels in the main garden area, specifically to keep excess rain off the veggies. I though "naw, they're not needed because it will be drying on soon". So here I sit one year later with soggy gardens, not able to grow many of the veggies I want. So I figure the best way to cause a drought will be to build those tunnels. I think that will be my next major outdoor project. 

Final Hurricane Post

The hurricane is moving away from Hawaii. It's made its predicted turn, actually sooner than expected. That's good news for the other islands. But the storm is still packing a lot of rain. This afternoon 2 more inches of rain drenched the farm. But in the east side of the island, places had been slammed with rain. 

Here's a chart listing the 48 hour rain fall recorded at various official weather stations.....,

The numbers are impressive! Boy, that's rain. 

There have been a number of minor landslides. Minor in the sense that they didn't carry away cars or houses. But they are a real nuisance since we don't have alternative roads to take in some cases. This photo shows one of the more significant slides...,,,,

Hurricane Lane has been downgraded to a tropical storm. It's quickly losing strength. I guess that means we will be just seeing more rain, but no danger of heavy winds. Good. Enough is enough. So unless something significant happens, this is my final hurricane report. We're all safe and sound in the farm. 

Friday Hurricane Update

Rain. Rain. Rain. That's it, folks. 

The hurricane has turned out to be a long extended rain storm for my location. Over 6 inches of rain, total, so far. That's nothing. And since the hurricane has stalled, we're looking at several more days of rain to come from this storm. Luckily the hurricane has stayed offshore, so there's been no damaging winds. Just rain. Our brisk tradewinds are far stronger than what I've gotten so far from this hurricane. 

The east side of Big Island is taking the brunt of the rain. While the national news is reporting over 30 inches of rain, that's only in one location. Most areas are getting far less. But 10"-20" is nothing to sneeze at. It's still a lot of rain! 

Flooding. Again, the national news makes it sound like there's major flooding all over. Yes, there is flooding. But it is in locations where flooding is no surprise. We have drainage gulches here that are for the purpose of drainage.....thus called drainage ditches. The natural gulches act as grand drainage ditches, and they're presently gushing with rain runoff. They are doing their job. Most flooding is occurring in low areas, or areas were human activity has interfered with nature's drainage system. The only area where water is accumulating on my farm is where a previous owner bulldozed, thus compacting the cinder and crushing small lava tubes. I've since created drainage channels, so that wet area isn't flooding anymore. I'm not aware of any flooding in my region except where people have blocked or ruined drainage systems. 

Landslides. There been some here and there. None in my area. The slides have been small, but large enough to put debris in the roadways. Until they can be cleared off, the roads are closed. That wouldn't be a big deal on the mainland, but here on Big Island it's a major headache. You see, we don't have very many roadways here and often no way to get around blockages. 

So, the hurricane is lying offshore. When it starts moving again, the weather guys are expecting it to make a left hand turn away from the islands. I hope for Oahu and Kauai's sake, the turn occurs sooner rather than later. Even if the hurricane downgrades to a 1, they surely don't need to take a hit. 

11:00 am map update........

Another Quick Update for my Friends

We are fine. It's 8 pm and we've had another 2 inches of rain since 7 am. That's not bad at all. It has been raining off and on all day. Very little wind. It's just gently blowing the trees. So far, so good. We can hear the sound of strong wind that's somewhere, but it's either higher up the mountain, over toward Oceanview, or simply higher in the sky. It's not here on the farm. 

"E" texted me to ask if we are out of electricity. No. One of the benefits of being off grid is that we don't notice when the world around us loses power. Our system keeps on functioning. But we haven't had sun in two days, so tomorrow we will need to run the generator in order to charge up the battery bank.

I drove into Naalehu today and it was a ghost town. Only 4 businesses open -- Shaka Restaurant, the Wiki gas station, Ace Hardware, and the Will & Grace grocery. The bank, bakery, post office, school, and everything else closed. No tourists. No locals either. I was the only vehicle in the parking lot. Everyone must be at home honkered down for the storm.  

There are spots around the island that have gotten heavy rain, up to 19 inches, but most areas are 2" to 8". Here and there are reported small landslides. The gulches and waterfalls are raging, draining the excess rainwater. Low lying areas of Hilo are flooded, but that's no surprise. 

"L", the answer is no. The rain won't put out the volcano eruption. The eruption is massive, the lava extremely hot and forceful. The rain, no matter how heavy, will not effect the eruption at all. It's like spitting into the ocean and expecting it to affect the tides. Anyway, the eruption is paused for now. No new lava flows. But the rain should help control the wildfires that we have been seeing. While it may not totally extinguish the fires, it will surely help contain them and get things under control. It will also discourage new fires for a few days. 

Morning Weather

I'm still here. We're fine. 

The hurricane's travel has slowed down, so it looks like we are in for rain for the next several days. Other than that, this looks like an ordinary storm. No raging winds so far. No long hours of torrential rain. Overnight we did get lots of rain, close to 3 inches, that came in waves. Because we sleep under a metal roof, each wave was loud enough to wake us up. It made for poor sleeping. 

The hurricane is still off the coast and creeping it's way up along the chain of islands. But the latest projection for its track shows things being a bit different. Perhaps Kauai will miss the worst of this storm. They surely don't need it!  But for right now this morning, the hurricane is pretty much exactly where they predicted it would be. And all but Kauai/Niihau will be visited as anticipated. 

This is the latest projected path.............

This was a previous projection............

So......so far, so good. But we haven't seen the worse parts of this storm yet. We could be seeing strong winds later today. 

Just a Quick Update

The day was spent getting ready for the hurricane. I'm not sure if the farm will see strong winds, but I'm anticipating heavy rain. As of 7 pm, the rain gauge is already over 1 inch. 

The surf along the coastline is already kicking up. Lots of white water and big waves. All the coastal parks are closed for safety reasons. Yes, there are idiots who will try to surf in this storm. People along the coast are expecting flooding, so hopefully they've taken steps. 

Here on the farm we made some basic preparations. The water catchment system has been disconnected so that rushing water won't damage the already full tanks. All tanks are covered so that they won't be adversely affected by hurricane winds. Most items have been put away or tied down. I did not cut the greenhouse plastic film, hoping it will weather the wind. If necessary, I can cut it later, but I really don't wish to lose it. 

The livestock are ready. The equipment stowed inside. Adam has a dry, secure cabin for him and his pets. As for his "stuff", he will be spending the weekend finding it around the property if we get heavy winds. I guess he's going to learn the hard way about how strong hurricane winds can be. 

I don't anticipate significant flooding on the farm even if we get heavy rain. The land drains well enough except for the pahoehoe area. That area might get a couple inches of standing water but it's no big deal. It will eventually drain. 

My only concern is that trees will come down. With the ground saturated, combined with heavy winds, the big trees might be in trouble. It's not the coming down of the trees themselves that concerns me. If the topple, I can deal with cutting them up afterward. I'm just concerned that they may hit something important. I hope not. 

Hurricane Lane

The entire State of Hawaii is due to be affected by the latest hurricane coming our way. Hurricane Lane. It's due to pass south of the islands, but will bring high winds, high surf, and plenty of rain. 

11 o'clock this morning, I noticed a change in the winds. Ah, the leading edge of the storm. It's a warning to get ready. I'm as ready as I plan to be. The farm will ride it out. Just what it needs, more rain. 

Snow!

Snow in August in Hawaii. Yup. 

These photos came from the webcams atop Mauna Kea.....

The snow wasn't your fluffy type, but more like sleety snow, so I'm told. But it made things white. 

I've been up on Mauna Kea when it's flurried in July. It's exciting to see the snow coming down around you when you when you know that in a couple of hours you'll be walking along the hot sandy beach far below you. You get kind of giggly and giddy, and it's not from the oxygen deprivation. Snow in Hawaii during the summer is something I'm still not use to. I don't know if there were any lucky tourists up there, but if there were, they got to experience something very special. 

Hurricane Hector

I know that some of my mainland friends were curious about whether or not I was affected by Hector. As of 7:45 pm, the answer is basically "not". I was actually hoping to see South Point get a good dousing of rain, but that didn't happen. We actually saw zero raindrops at the farm, but I heard from people living further south that they got a brief drizzle. 

12:30 pm today.....

The only thing that lets me know that there's a hurricane due south of us is the wind. It's been no worse than a brisk tradewind but it's been blustery rather than steady. Right about lunchtime it started coming in by one direction and a couple hours later the direction shifted, as the storm passed. I haven't seen any damage from the wind. Even the new tarp of the hoop house is holding just fine. 

Another web view.

So here I sit at 8 pm. It's still blustery out there. Nothing special. I don't even hear the trees "talking", like they do when it's really windy. So our first hurricane of the season passed us by. 

More Rain Once Again

All my good intentions of mowing several trashcanfuls of grass clippings and mulching the taro and potato patches have flown the coop. It was on my morning job list, along with tilling in the rabbit manure into the greenhouse beds and numerous garden beds. Along with mulching the onions, getting the seedlings out of the mini greenhouses and into the garden. Yup, I woke up today to pounding rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Yuck. Double yuck. My morning schedule is blown to smithereens. Looks like I'll be cleaning the refrigerator, defrosting the freezer, working on the taxes. Barf. Heaven forbid I might even have to resort to housecleaning. 

(Above, rain on a taro leaf. I took the opportunity of a break in the rain to run out and get a few photos.) 

Weather has a big bearing on the ability to farm. Not that farmers can simply take the time off during inclement weather, but it changes things. Working is more difficult and not as fun. In my case, I can't make mulch or till the soil today. I could work in the rain to do other tasks, but quite frankly, I'm not going to do that today. When rains are light, I've been known to be out there weeding, sowing seeds into trays, harvesting, clearing brush, gathering firewood. But some days I can't can't stomach the idea of getting soaking wet, having wet clothes clinging to my body, getting chilled to the bone. Not today.

 (Above, a potato patch that will have to wait for another day to be mulched.) 

I'm listening to the pounding rain (already got a half inch this early morning) and thinking......how about doing a little blogging. I normally write my entries in the evening after dinner. It sounded good to me. 

(Above, puddles in the garden. This garden sits atop a concrete slab, thus the slow drainage in a heavy downpour.)

There are still farm tasks that I cannot brush aside regardless of how unpleasant the weather is. The livestock need attention. This morning I've already tended the dogs and cats, although no one got played with or brushed. The sheep and donkey got hay today instead of fresh grass. I emptied out their water trough, brushed it clean. With this rain, it will quickly refill. The chickens won't get the opportunity to free forage in this rain today, so I gave them an extra bucket of mom's famous slop & glop. I'll check them later this afternoon to see if they need a refill. 

Most of my farming friends aren't in as good a situation as I am. They live in areas experiencing difficult weather at the moment. There are delays in getting out into the fields, which are still too wet or still too frozen. Other friends are tending livestock in the cold, and still experiencing regular snows. Yes, it's a late spring in many places. Being a farmer can be difficult and unpleasant. Listening to what my friends are putting up with makes me appreciate living where I do. It turned out to be a good choice for us. 

Above, a closeup of the water collecting in a bromeliad. The bromeliads are beautify the landscape, but they are water collectors, thus mosquito havens. I have to treat the bromeliads monthly to control mosquitoes. 

 

Constantly Wet

The rain started in January. Since then there have been very few days that the farm hasn't been wet. Although a day may go by with no additional accumulation, often there was no sun or wind to dry the moisture off the surfaces of the plants. So things have been wet almost constantly for a long time now. What does that mean for this farmer? 

..... Mildew, fungus, mold, rot. While some of the crops are holding up well, others have died or are suffering. I'm seeing powdery mildew on many of the crops. The non-resistant zucchini has died, the pea crops are ruined with fungal disease, much of the kale isn't suitable to eat. The latest victim is the cauliflower. Most of the plants are rotting with some sort of disease. I'm seeing fungal rot in the onions and in order to save the crop I've treated it with a fungicide and erected a rain shield over the beds to ward off the constant wet. 

Photo - powdery mildew running rampant on zucchini plants. This is not in my garden, but another person who asked me to diagnose their garden problem. This plant is beyond saving. 

..... Mold in the house. Thankfully we built the house out of cedar. But I've spotted a little mold here and there, so I've had to be diligent in treating it. 

.... Rust. Between the vog and this moisture, the rust is running rampant. It's been difficult controlling it because the frequent rains rinse off the Os-Pho. I'm dragging tools, and anything metal and portable into the barn so that I can treat the rust. 

..... Flystrike danger. While I haven't seen any problem yet with the livestock, I'm checking them daily. I decided to use a topical preventative that will kill any emerging maggots. I don't normally do this, but one of the neighbors down the road has lost several sheep this month to flystrike. So the right flies are in the area. Why don't I always use the topical treatment? It can't be used on animals being prepared for slaughter. I have 2 sheep due to be slaughtered soon, so I have to do daily visual checks and deal with any problem in a non-toxic manner. So far I haven't seen a problem. 

.... Saturated soil. Two issues here. 1- mud in the tracks where I normally drive the truck off road. I use the truck to haul grass to the sheep. Plus to move rocks from the fields to the latest wall construction, move other construction materials around, move grass clippings and compost material, move firewood. I've had to switch to using the atv, which means that I have to make multiple trips---in the rain. Ugh. 

     2- I can't work the soil. I've spent years incorporating compost, manure, and mulch. This makes for much improved soil with a big "but" attached. It means that the soil retains moisture. So it has become super saturated. Mucky, in plain words. Such soil cannot be dug, worked, or tilled because as it dries out it would turn into dense concrete-like ground. Working such soil drives the air out and compacts it. Thus I cannot work in the gardens. This is putting a majorly big crimp in my food production. 

.... Leaching of nutrients. We've had enough rain now that I'm concerned about losing soil nutrients. Certain soil components are water soluble or readily move through the soil. I just sent off some soil samples to check and am preparing some soil additives in the meantime. I'm assuming that phosphorous might be an issue, but we shall see. I know that nitrogen will surely be an issue. The soil pH is already going down, so I'm looking at needing a quick adjustment when I'm able to get to working the soil. 

.... Deteriorating mental health. Both hubby and I are sick of the rain and lack of sun. 

.... Mosquitos. We're seeing a major increase in the mosquito population. Water is standing in plants crevices, open lava tubes, lava depressions, and of course any manmade item that can hold water. I treat what I can, but many of the plant pools can't be treated, such as those 20' tall banana trees. 

Photo - a bromeliad holding water. I drop a few bt nuggets into each plant to help control mosquitos. 

So without focusing on the details, what does this really mean on my day to day life? 

First, I can't garden in the main beds. Thus I can't produce veggies for selling and trading. This is putting a crimp in things. Not that we are in any danger of running out of food. The greenhouses and mini-greenhouses are doing fine. And there are crops that are doing ok in all this wet. But it's not giving me anything extra, nor giving me stuff we like to eat like beets, peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and all those other common garden crops. 

Second, I can't get much grass mowed. The livestock now have to be supplemented with haycubes when there is not enough fresh grass for them. That cost money, as in $18 a bag per day. That hurts. Any gain I would have made selling this year's lambs will be lost to buying haycubes if this rain continues. Being that it's still winter, the pastures haven't regrown well enough to support livestock on their own. In addition, I can't get the mulch I need and the bedding for the chicken pens. Grass clippings also are used for making compost, so my compost making is on hold. And of course, that means that the grass is getting way to long and thick, which will another problem to deal with once the rains stop. 

Weather - Sun

"J" asked......Does the sun shine very much in the winter there? 

Weather here in Hawaii is quite a different experience that I ever had on the mainland or in the UK. Back there, if there was sun, rain, or clouds, it extended for the entire region, at least for miles around. But here that's not the case. The weather can be one way in the farm and totally different 5-10 miles down the road. We have a running joke here that if it is raining, people will say that it's a nice day to go to the beach, because often times it will be dry and sunny along the coast. So if you ask, is it sunny during the winter, you need to specify the exact location. It may usually be sunny and dry most of the time in my town, but often rainy and cloudy 10 miles away on my farm. 

Some parts of Hawaii are mostly sunny year around, with only intermittent passing storms. Other locations are just the opposite, overcast and rain most the time with intermittent sunny days. My main farm usually has morning sun, afternoon clouds. By contrast, my seed farm location often gets mostly sun all day long. And these two farms are only 5 miles apart. But "J", unlike Washington state, Hawaii doesn't have long periods or seasons of overcast skies. 

People moving to Hawaii need to do their homework. Weather conditions can vary considerably from one location to the next. And people's individual preferences can vastly vary. What I would consider acceptable rainfall or sunshine, another might deem it too much or too little. 

And to make things more difficult to predict, Hawaii weather is cyclic. We see years of drought interspersed with wet years. That means that some years get lots of full sun days, while wet years see strings of cloudy days in a row. And to top that off, we are an island out in the ocean, thus brief isolated squalls can pass through just about any time. 

Where I live, we see enough sun year around to be living on solar off grid. BUT, for years like this one, I need a generator because we just went through a month of rain. But generally, I get enough sun year around. Now......if I lived in Volcano or Mountainview I would want to be on the grid because of the lack of daily sunshine there. 

So "J", I'd say that yes, the sun shines well during the winter in Hawaii. In fact, the nice tropical weather lures plenty of tourists here from November to April. 

A Wet February

Rain for February --  9.39 inches

This past month has been wet, real wet. There were only 6 days when the farm didn't see rain of some amount, and only 3 of those days had any sunshine. Needless to say, living off grid we were running the generator practically every evening. That's one of the downsides of being off grid. 

We're now into March and guess what......it's still raining! 

How does all these rain days effect the farm? 

...I can't work the soil. Tilling or digging soil this wet will significantly damage it.

...it's impossible to walk among the plants without spreading any diseases or pests that might exist.

...the plants are barely growing and veggies not maturing. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are rotting. 

...the sheep and donkey are starting to show some skin problems. It's impossible to convince them to stay dry. The goats come into shelter on a regular basis to dry out, so they are doing fine. 

...mold is trying to grow in places I don't want it, like inside the house. 

...I can't get the laundry dry, even the stuff I hung up in the greenhouses. The air humidity is too high, plus there is no sun. 

Boy, I am so looking forward to falling asleep at night listening to the dang coqui frogs rather than the rain falling on our metal roof!!!! Please, give me a few dry days. 

Dealing With Wind

Bring on the tradewinds.....I love 'em. But these past few days it's tradewinds on steroids! Blustery strong winds 24 hours a day. I find myself waking up every hour all night long due to gusts and things being blown into the metal roof. And during the day, I deal with the result of these winds. Downed branches and twigs....

Luckily, no downed trees of significance. Just small ones that need to be cleared off fences and buildings, out of garden areas, off the driveway. 

Anything that's not fastened down I can find just about anywhere and everywhere. Buckets. Feed bags. Plastic pots. The wind took a stack of roofing panels and strew them about. Trashcans ended up along fence lines. I thought I had everything pretty well tethered down, but the wind proved me wrong. 

The livestock weathers the wind fine. But the plants can't tuck themselves away into a protected area. Banana trees get shredded, but actually recover quite rapidly. 

The short vined sweet potatoes do ok, but the vigorous long vined ones suffer. Their vines get ripped up, swirled about and actually knotted. In the process many leaves get torn off. 

Above, this was a lush looking sweet potato patch 4 days ago. Ah, no longer the case. 

Blustery winds have a tendency to dry out the soil and dehydrate plants, leaving them droopy. This taro plant shows the effect, but will recover. It's leaves are being jerked this way and that. 

Heavy winds used to cause assorted damage on this farm, but over time I've learned to prepare for it. Trellises are reinforced to withstand wind. The roofs on various buildings are securely fastened. Shed doors are kept latched closed. Tarps are well attached. It took a lot of lessons, but I finally learned. Not even a ladder can be left propped up beside the barn. It will surely be blown over. 

The one thing I've learned to watch is the solar panels. Not just for damage, but for debris. In wind like we're now having, the panels get coated in ohia leaves, flowers, and twigs. Each day I take 5 minutes to hose them off. 

Above .... Left is the debris accumulated overnight. Right, I just rinsed them off. I'm rinsing them each morning right now. I'll be glad when this wind tames down to just gentle trades. You'd think that this wind would keep the panel blown clean, but it's not the case.