New Flower

Down at the seed farm I planted some amaryllis bulbs that I had bought at the local hospital fund raiser. I was under the impression that they were whites and reds. Ah, but I got a delightful surprise. 

This one is neat! It's the first of the bulbs to bloom, so I don't know what the others will turn out to be. But this one's surely a keeper! I had seen one of this color awhile ago, an amaryllis being grown by a friend. It triggered instant lust. But these hybrid bulbs are slow to reproduce, so I've been waiting for the day I could beg a bulblet from my friend. No need now to beg. 

I bought these bulbs because....

...I wanted to support the fundraiser

...I like flowers

...if the bulbs reproduce, I will have keikis to trade, give away or sell. 

I'm so tickled to have this amaryllis that I've been happy since I discovered it. Yes, I've regressed to a simple mind, but I'm finding it to be a better life. 

Pond Update

I'm finally filling the pond. 

I got the liner in a couple weeks ago, but I wasn't happy with the way it was sitting. So I ended up removing it then recontouring the bottom of the pond. I wanted the lowest point to be dead center in the bridge and slightly to the side so that it would be easy to use a dip net to clean out the bottom debris, you know...all the leaves, twigs, and fish muck that normally ends up on the bottom of ponds. I sloped the bottom of the pond so that everywhere was heading toward that low spot. After being satisfied with the results, I carefully replaced the liner. Well, that took me hours. Could have gotten the liner back in in 10 minutes if I didn't care about a hundred holes in the liner, but I'm one of those picky people who insists that their pond liner should hold water.  :)

So....I got the liner in and guess what, it rained almost an inch. Egads. I hadn't had time to stretch the liner in order to get the major folds and wrinkles out. So yesterday I carefully scooped all the water out. Rather than take a chance of a repeat, I immediately tugged, pushed, massaged, and kneeded the liner into the shape I wanted, getting it as smooth as I could. And just I time too, because last night it rained almost 2 inches! Actually that was good. I worked on tugging the liner here and there and managed to get more wrinkles out and stretch the liner into place. 

As you can see, a heavy rain blows tree leaves into the pond. I expect that. No problem. I plan on netting some out every week and adding them to the garden. I figure if I do a bit each week it will prevent the pond from becoming an eventual bog. Plus the leaves/fish poop combination should work well for the garden. 

Tomorrow I'll run a hose from the house catchment tank overflow, so that any excess water can be channelled to the new pond. And I'll add numerous buckets of pond water from one of the already established ponds in order to introduce the micro organisms and algae that the pond needs to become balanced. As the pond fills I'll be stretching the liner until it doesn't stretch anymore. Then I'll use a cable to tie the liner permanently into place so that it cannot slip if the pond water level goes down for some reason......such as pumping it out to water the garden during a drought. I'm also going to cut off some of the excess liner material (the liner is for a much taller tank) so that I can use it to create a waterfall. That's a project that should be fun. 

Now that the pond is filling, I'll work on completing the sides. Haven't decided yet exactly how it will turn out, so we'll see. 

Snails!

I stopped by the seed farm to plant some new varieties of taro and found several unwelcomed guests enjoying themselves in the taro patch. African snails. Yuck! It's been lightly raining there this past week, so the snails are enjoying the resort like ambiance. So I busted up their little paradise, scooping up everyone I saw. 21 of the buggahs. 

African snails are an invasive here. In plain words, they don't belong. And they can do a lot of damage. I surely don't need them in my gardens. 

These particular snails will become chicken food. They will be thrown into the boiling pot of food scraps. I cook them to prevent the chickens from picking up any parasites from the snails. Besides, the hens don't like them raw but will gobble them down if cooked. The shells are rather thin and easy to crush, so they'll be consumed by the chickens too. Zero waste. 

Celebrating the Summer Solstice

Celebrate life! Yeah. I guess it's been 8 years now that I've let my heart out to play. Prior to that I was a member of the Eastcoast rat race, busy being socially correct, polite, sedate, respectful. The only time I could let loose was on vacation, and even then hubby was along, so letting loose wasn't approved of. 

Now I make a point of doing something from the heart....often deemed a bit odd, if not crazy....on special dates....and just for my own happiness. The solstice and the equinox qualify as special dates. Since I'm of Gaelic and Germanic background, I suspect those dates where noted in some fashion by most of my long ago ancestors. So that sounds like a good enough excuse to me to celebrate those dates too. 

Celebration for me is highly personal. It's a breaking away from my social chains and mores. But done in private. I don't intend to offend anyone nor force my silliness onto others. At least not yet. 

Of course by now you're wondering just how silly have I been getting. Do I paint myself blue and yell like a banshee? Oooo, not to date but it sounds like something I could try in the future. I did have a notion to dye my hair green and pink with some of the Halloween hair coloring, but the bottles still sit unopened in the bathroom. 

One time I striped the rose flowers of their petals, then while tossing petals into the air as high as I could, I twilled about the front yard on my toes, twirling until I was totally dizzy.  One night I laid on my back in the grass and sang a made up welcoming song to the stars. Then there's the time I bared not just my soul but my chest to the brilliant sun, welcoming the day. I've danced a wild spontaneous dance until exhausted. The time I sat cross legged on the ground contemplating the intricacies of a flower, my legs refused to unbend and support my weight without a warm up period. I almost didn't make it back up off the ground. 

One spring equinox there was a lot of bee activity in the garden, so I smeared my hands with honey and encouraged bees to suck it up. Before long my hands had dozens of bees robbing free honey. It turned out to be a magical hour watching them come and go, having them walking all over my hands and arms. I'll not forget that one for a long time. 

I've danced, sung songs, climbed and sat in a tree, laid in a lava tube listening to my heart beat. I've sat at the end of South Point, listening to the ocean, feeling the wind, and contemplating the sand until I felt that I belonged in some way with Nature. I climbed a hill in the Kahuku Ranch pastures then somersaulted and rolled all the way down through the thick overgrown grass. 

One time I wore my clothes backwards, another time I wore them inside out. Just silly fun. 

For this summer solstice I opted to bare myself to Mother Nature and garden (around the privacy of my house) in the nude. The sun and breeze felt great. But alas........I spent a tad too much time. Thankfully hubby didn't make a big deal of it when I asked him to rub some noxema cream onto my overly pinked butt. ......You know what burns my butt? Exposing it to the sun too long as a form of celebrating the first day of summer! 

Go to England and you'll see some pretty crazy stuff going on at Stonehenge on the summer solstice. Well, I'm not THAT crazy yet.       ;) 

Lanai Update

We're reaching another milestone.....the lanai, the livingroom extension, is practically complete! This past week David completed getting the floor tile laid and grouted. It looks super. The lanai room is rather narrow but the small tiles make it appear roomier. And the color goes along with the livingroom toes quite nicely. It turned out to be a good choice, something were not noted for in our lives. 

I scrubbed and applied the first sealing coat, which made the tiles shine. Oh, if they'd only stay this way......without work of course. I'm not much of a housekeeper, preferring to be outdoors all day. 

Anyway.....there is a bit of trim work to be done plus the door sills to create. Otherwise, we have another room completed. 

Even the ceiling is done. Whoopie! Covering the ceiling 2x6s in a thin sheathing then painting them turn out well. Again, just a bit of trim to put up. 

I'm really glad we decided to cover the 2x6s. It wasn't all that much work or expense, but it gave a much nicer finish to the room. Now it looks like a room rather than an enclosed lanai. 

Next on the house list:

...the hallway. The hall was totally open when we purchased the place. Just a walkway under the lip of the roof between the two buildings. We've since walled it in and installed windows. Now it's time to finish it. It will be a bit of a challenge because of the odd angles and sloping ceiling. 

Ka'u - It's Coastline

Ka'u has quite a bit of ocean coastline and much of it is magnificent. Not the type coast most tourists are looking for, though. They want beaches. Yes, we have beaches but most are remote. One either hikes to them to takes a 4 wheel drive. So it's the rough coast that most people are familiar with. 

(Photo by my friend, Peter Anderson)

Rough and rocky, it makes for some super photo opportunities. The water turns a stunningly beautiful turquoise in the shallow areas, which you have to admit contrasts beautifully with the dark lava and blue ocean. This picture is pretty but it looks so much nicer in real life. 

So you think the water in these photos is rough? You ain't seen nothing! I've been along the coast when the tradewinds or the Kona winds are blowing causing sprays to shoot 30-50 feet above my head! Maybe more. 

(Photo by Peter Anderson)

Waves crash so hard that it's not safe to get anywhere near them. Rogue waves routinely come between some sets, gigantic and strong enough to knock you down and wash you to your death. For real! Every year we lose fishermen (the opihi pickers) sucked off the coast by a strong wave then smashed to death against the rocks. It ain't pretty. It happens. Though dangerous, the coast is magnificent. In fact, I can't think of a superlative stunning enough to describe what it's like to stand there and experience the ocean, the lava, the wind, the feeling. Aaaaa, I'm in love! 

The beaches here are made of either ground coral, lava sand, or olivine. Or a combination of those. As a result you'll hear that Ka'u has white beaches, black, or green ones. Green? Yup. The famous Green Sands Beach has quite a bit of olivine sand, giving it a green cast. 

(Photo by Peter Anderson)

Not green like a lawn, but greenish. Every day tourists by the score walk out to see it, often disappointed that it isn't bright green. Not every tourist makes the walk. It's three miles in the dry, hot sun over 4 wheel drive tracks. If you go, be sure to wear solid toed shoes and bring no less than a quart of water per person. Word of advice.... forget it if you need to bring a stroller or a wheelchair. And leave the babies, toddlers, and elderly behind. 

Black sand beaches are beautiful. I never saw one until I came to Hawaii. They are created when hot lava hits the cold ocean water. The lava explodes. Ta-da .....black sand! 

(Punalu'u black sand beach, with basking turtles. Photo by Peter Anderson) 

White sand beaches are made of coral sand. Ever wonder how the white sand is created? Wave action? Nope. It's fish poop. For real! No, I'm not pulling your leg. We have a fish here called the parrot fish. They scrape the coral surface for algae, scraping off a tiny layer of coral with each bite. Now that coral has to exit somehow. Since parrot fish don't vomit, it comes out as poop. Thus parrot fish = white sand beach. Yeah, think of that next time you see a picture of Waikiki. That's one heck of a lot of fish poop. 

(White sand beach, photo by Peter Anderson)

The waters of Ka'u are noted for fish. South Point is a popular site for local fishermen. 

If you're a sport fisherman, don't bother. The ocean currents are too rough for a boat. But a local can spend the day or night sending lines out from the coastal cliffs, bringing home some nice fish for the freezer, to share, or to sell. 

(The South Point cliffs. Pretty impressive.)

Or a spear fisherman can swim on the protected side and catch enough for a family dinner in 20 minutes. If one doesn't mind the hike, a section of coast behind Na'alehu hosts a healthy fish population. Fishing there is always rewarding. No wonder it was the site of a large, old Hawaiian village.

Walking Ka'u's coastline is not too difficult. There is an old hawaiian trail that still exists along much of it. The coast can be accessed at a few easy spots. Non-hikers with normal cars can enjoy a taste of the coast at Honu'apo and Punalu'u. 

(Above photos by Peter Anderson) 

Four wheelers have more opportunities. And hikers can visit most of the coastline although overnight camping will be required in some of the remoter areas. 

Remote coastline? You betcha. There's no highway running along the coast. At only one spot does the highway skip along the oceanfront. So our coast stays beautiful. No condos. No resort hotels. No tourist traps. Not virgin -- ancient Hawaiians lived all along this coast. Not totally pristine -- too much ocean trash washes up. Regardless, it's one helluva great coastline. 

Having lived my life mostly as a landlubber where the terrain was flat, I never tire of seeing the coast very day. I don't live along it, nor can I see it from my homestead. So it's a real treat every morning to drive into town and see the coast and horizon in the distance. Everytime I see it I remind myself that this is a great place to live. 

Peter has taken lots of photos of Ka'u, so here's a few more:

Molten lava entering the ocean. 

Sunset along the South Point coast. 

The South Point blowhole. This is an interesting formation. Tourists seem drawn to jumping into the ocean through this hole, though for the life of me I can't fathom why. It's incredibly dangerous and several tourists have been seriously injured or even killed. 

Why Have Homestead Pigs

Since posting about my new piglets, I've been flooded with questions that basically boil down to "Why have pigs on a small homestead". I've muled over lots of reasons and angles of having a couple of pigs. 

1- Utilize garden and slaughter waste, kitchen garbage, and roadside waste. Pigs are a great way to recycle this stuff and create something edible. Sort of like chickens and eggs -- take stuff I won't eat and turn it into something that I will, like eggs. 

2- Utilize pasture. Several breeds of pigs do very well on pasture. 

3- "Till" the ground. Most pig breeds are very good rooters. When confined to a small area, they root the entire patch up. So they can be used to break sod and help prepare a site for a garden. To coear out brush and understory, they can root up saplings so that they are easier to remove. I once used a pig to do the major work of removing large tree stumps. That hog did a great job on stumps! 

4- Fertilizer source. You could gather pig manure with a pooper scooper, just like you would clean up after a pet dog. Or if the pig is confined to a pen, you could harvest the litter mixed with manure and transfer it to a compost pile. 

5- To qualify as a farm. Some states offer tax breaks or even improvement grants to small farms. Depending upon the location, keeping a few pigs can meet the qualification. 

6- For efficient home meat production. Pigs are fairly efficient when it comes to turning feed into meat. Plus they are small enough in size that a homesteader could do the slaughtering and butchering at home. Pigs can be slaughtered at any size, so a homesteader could opt for a handleable size. A cow doesn't often those advantages. They require a lot more food to create a pound of meat. Plus they are a big animal, not always suited to a small homestead. 

7- For an organic, non-GMO meat source. Since pigs are omnivores, it is fairly easy to feed them "cleanly". Commercial feed is not mandatory. And since most pigs are slaughtered by 6 months of age, a farmer could time the feeding of their pig to their crop cycle, thus raising or trading for most of the pig's food. Then by the time the cropping season is over, it's just the right time to slaughter the pig. 

8- As a source of income. Prior to 1950's it was common for small farms to raise a few pigs for the extra cash they brought in. While there are lots more regulations about raising pigs now then back then, a small homestead farmer can still make a bit of cash. Selling piglets is one way. Selling individual eating size pigs directly to the consumer is another. Using piglets for trading can be a good deal for both parties. 

9- Enjoyment. Though many small farmers won't admit it in public, they often have a bit of livestock simply because they enjoy them.