"Waiting Is - I Grok"

Mid-right you can see the ship in the open nook.

"Steady there wahine."

Admittedly the title of this blog will connect with a certain group of people.  Then again, it also ties in with some of the PUNATIC philosophy like "Go With The Flow," or, "It's Just a Matter of Time."

When we bought our Hawai'i hale (house) early in 2012, Phil saw a little triangular open space in the high wall between the open plan living area and the kitchen. He felt that his model sailing ship, a British Frigate (HMS Victory) would fit perfectly there -- and so it did (see photo.)

Inset shows detail 

I on the other hand, felt that the long beam (16' high) running the length of the house and through the living area would be the place for my own very special piece -- a hand made Hindu wedding canopy we bought from a trader when we owned Many Hands Gallery in Eureka.

It has hand embroidery, tiny mica "mirrors," scenes of Ganesh, dancing wedding couple, Krishna playing his flute, peacocks, Sanskrit blessings and other traditional scenes of India.

For many years it hung in our (built-in 1860) Victorian -- and I had always planned --- to put it up here in our Hawai' house..

(waiting is....) Four years later, we find we ourselves changing all the many light bulbs in the house -- to make our now full-house solar set up the most efficient and thus, now have the appropriate ladder to ALSO (finally) hang up the wedding canopy....kind of a perfect thing for this year's Christmas

Celebrating Christmas with FOUR generations!!!  Grandma REBA-BO-BEBA standing on the side, I"I LANI watching baby TASHA on GREAT GRANDMA's lap.  What a family!!

Remember to "CLICK" on any photo to enlarge.

Tasha is Three Weeks Old

Tasha Tudor with her Corgyn

OMG!! Just look at those tiny little toes (and toenails!)

Ms. Tasha is three weeks old today and is growing fast. For 6-7 years, we have had the name "Tasha" in mind for a puppy girl -- because of our appreciation for Tasha Tudor's love of corgi dogs and her lovely illustrated children's books about gorgyn. I'I Lani (mom) is getting a little slim on milk, so we are supplementing the puppy's diet with some goat's milk.Her tiny toenails are long, eyes are open and mom and pup are doing fine. Holding a puppy first thing in the morning is SO much more rewarding than watching the news...or most anything else for that matter. What a great early Christmas present!

Harvest!!

Our own bananas

Ritual of mahalo to Lono - with traditional white flag

We are harvesting -- which is appropriate! It is the season of Lono called Makahiki. Makahiki is a time of peace and recreation. It’s a time to celebrate the hard work of farming and enjoy the fruits of one’s labor.

Lono is the Hawaiian god of agriculture and rain. He appears in hoʻoilo (the wet season) as rain clouds and winter storms. Some poʻe kahiko (Hawaiians of old) describe Lono as the “akua poʻo huna i ke ao lewa,” or the god whose head is hidden in the dark clouds. The water he brings helps keep the land fertile.

Kale

All LIMES -- some are yellow

Recently we finished up our okra, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash, but have seedlings like broccoli ready to rotate in again. Pictured below are just some of the things we are harvesting now. We juice and freeze all the citrus and passion fruit and use it throughout the year. We do have our own lemon grass, thyme, rosemary, turmeric and ginger as well.

Passion Fruit/Liliko'i

Mexican spinach in front **

** You can't possibly see all the food in this corner of our garden. In the front we have Mexican Spinach that we grow because the traditional kind is too delicate for our heavy rain and intense sun. It can be used in juices (great greens) or salad or cooked. 

"Vine Potato" and Yams

Behind the spinach the raised bed has peppers and broccoli, The tall green plant on the left is one of our papayas. You can't see the pineapple patch with about 50 producers. Nearby is a tangerine tree, a tropical kind of cherry, a few still green tomatoes and a rambutan fruit which, like the cherry will take a few years to produce.

In our Hawaiian language class we have learned a beautiful chant (oli) of gratitude that you can hear by clicking on this link. Oli Mahalo

4-Year Anniversary BABIES!!

Today marks the anniversary of our arrival in Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii on 12/12/12. And, we are celebrating two new "babies." Well, of course first are the "baby pictures" everyone wants to see --the sweet little girl puppy who was born December 1st. Here she is (a week old) curled up in Phil's hands and belly-up for a nap.

Outback 48Volt "Flex-Power" System

SUN POWER!! Here's the "baby" we didn't quite expect, but are happy it finally arrived. For a couple years now, we have been struggling to figure out what kind of solar set up we needed, while piddling along with half-steps, making mistakes, and learning our options. Well, we took the plunge and opted for a whole-house set up which means all the energy to run our house and our rental will come from the sun!!  Everyone will recognize "A" in the photo -- a standard electrical box connecting all the various appliances, lights, and electrical operations of the house.

Our first "baby" steps early on, were to get our most expensive items OFF of the electric bill. Switching the hot tub from electric to propane was a huge savings. Next was the refrigerator and the water pump that runs water for both our house and the rental. Just those steps brought the bill down to about $110 -- and that is for three people. Eventually we knew we wanted to do even more.

# F - Phil's new "mate" computerized panel

Two years ago, we were somewhat prepared for Hurricane Iselle because we had a good quality generator, and were able to maintain both internet service, refrigerator and freezer as well as TV and power for our ohana/rental. But, to do so meant electrical cords snaking through assorted windows and doors. After experiencing Hurricane Iselle that left many neighbors in our immediate area without power for three weeks, we decided to improve the system by adding "B" -- a sub-panel that ran a heavy duty line directly from the generator to the electric sub-panel that eliminating all the cords messy and dangerous mess of cords.

"C" is our new solar inverter an Outback "Flex-Power"-- a top of the line computerized "baby" that collects the sun's energy from eight solar panels mounted on the roof. "D" is the combiner box that takes all the wires from the solar panel into the inverter. This unit even has a lightning arrester.  And "E" are the amazing permanently sealed batteries that store the solar energy and will power our WHOLE house and the ohana rental!

There's even an "F"-- a unit installed in the house where we can visually and digitally "see" how much power we are getting from the sun, how much is stored in the batteries, and how much we are using at any given time during the day. Yes, we are still connected to the grid -- but with the sun we get, it's likely our new electric bill will be less than $30/month!

PS -- Just in case you missed it on the wall -- just below the computer "mate" is our annual winter "rat count" (last year's Dec-Jan had us at 25.) Hey, it's just part of tropical winter living -- might as well have fun.

We have to give a shout out to the amazing team at SolarSaint - Casey and Josh who make the process easy. If you are thinking about making a move to solar, check out their website and give them a call. SOLARSAINT - Mahalo Nui Loa guys!

Week-at-a-Glance

A few members of our local ukulele group

Super dad and super kid!

As we head into December, there are the tra-di-tions TRA-DI-TIONS! The first is Pahoa's Annual Christmas Parade featuring schools, bands, civic groups, veterans, local youth and local politicians.

Everyone was thankful that our week-long downpour (with over 12" of rain) wrapped it up just in time for the festivities. Here are a few pictures of the parade.

Lunel harvested bunches of mini white poinsettias to share

Another local tradition is getting together to make wreaths from materials gathered from the slopes of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

This year's early dusting of snow (see previous blog entry) limited our gathering materials, so our wreaths were supplemented with materials gathered from our yards.

All us beautiful wahine with our wreaths

Later this week, we will go out hunting for our perfect Christmas tree that we can cut ourselves at a local tree farm just a few miles down the road.

Finally, we include a photo of the sweet little puppy girl -- one week old today.

Views Above and Below

Looking down at our acre - greenhouse, deck of carport, ohana and house roof, 

Recently we discovered a buddy** of Phil's has a drone with a camera. In trade for our loaning him scaffolding for his painting job, he offered to do a fly-over of our property. What a really cool perspective of our property.

Last night we had a huge storm blow in, dropping FIVE inches of rain in about 12 hours!! During the cacophony our little princess I'I Lani delivered her pups. There were only two, and sadly, one died (no apparent reason.) Her first litter (before we got her) was difficult. The little girl will have a choice of eight full "faucets"and will undoubtedly grow fat and spoiled.

Momma Lani with her chocolate baby girl

Here's Unko Poko practicing his new duties with a pseudo-pup.

Mahalo for all those who participated in the "Puppy Lottery" - we are donating $40 to the local "Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary" in Kea'au. Kate was the one who won the "Puppy Lottery" and is now sleeping with her Corgi "puppy" curled up under her chin.)

** If you are interested in having a drone-eye view of your property, his name is Clive and you can reach him at Phantom@PunaPhantom.com

Aerial view - mahalo to www.weather.com

We just found another GREAT photo "view from above" that shows the latest SNOWFALL on both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. At 14,000 feet elevation, we can see them on our drive into town -- an exquisite site!

Notice the RED?  Yes, that is lava flowing from Pu'u O'o vent from Kilauea volcano out to the ocean. Remember -- It was lava from this very vent that, two years ago, almost divided our Pahoa Village in half. We all remain thankful that the flow stopped only yards from town, diverted itself, and began to flow back toward the ocean. We live with the constant reminder of the vulnerability and inspiration of living on an island comprised of five volcanoes!

Lunel's Newest Art

What a fun year for artistic exploration! After having spent four years working with the lava on our property and being inspired by the variety of shapes, I feel like I have received a blessing (and a few bruises too) from Pele -- and, a new expression of art!

The process begins with a very simple line drawing inspired by shapes I see, After developing the drawings, I load the art into the computer. I collect fabric samples that reflect the colors I want, and I also scan the fabric into the computer. Working with dozens of fabric options, one by one I "drop" them into the negative spaces. Sometimes it takes many days of experimentation  to find just the right colors and textures that will complement each section and the whole piece.


("click" on any image for BIGGER view!)

After perfecting the image, I can print the completed art onto note cards, onto canvas, and even onto fabric. I just finished my first fabric sculpture/quilt -- one of two that will be sold either singly or as a pair.

This past year I have created several images using this inventive technique, but these two were special because they illustrate the return of Pele's lava flow to the ocean. Hawaiian mythology tells of Pele meeting her ocean sister - Namaka and this is happening right now on the Big Island near old site called Mokuna on the Puna coastline a few miles from where we live.

(If you have an interest in these pieces, please let me know. LUNEL)

To the right you see a close up of some of the lovely fabrics......

What's New?

"What's new?" OK, besides the obvious misalignment of the planets in the conjunction we call democracy....

In trying to recover from shock, we are digging, mowing, pruning, sawing, sanding and HARVESTING.

Top three photos are of our very FIRST bananas, our third harvest of limes, and the lovely blossom and fruit and flower of the Lilikoi vine (passion fruit.) We juice all our many citrus and Lilikoi to freeze in juice-cubes, keeping them in the freezer so we have our own juice nearly all year long. Look closely and you will see two pollinating bees which we treasure.

In Hawaiian culture. this is the season of LONO, beginning in October and lasting about four months. Lono is the god of agriculture and rain. Legends tell that Lono is responsible for bringing cultivated plants to Hawai'i. He is also associated with the makahiki -- a time to celebrate the hard work of farming and to enjoy the fruits of our labor -- a time of peace and recreation. (It obviously coincides with Thanksgiving, Solstice, Christmas, and New Year.)

We thought we would share a few other things that are popping up in our yard right now -- some typical but always a few unexpected surprises.

First is one of our family of house gecko's on the front porch. Off and on we have seen 3-4 of these nocturnal efficient bug catchers. Gecko's in Hawai'i are very special because they are all related to the mythic character, the Mo'o.

Here is a LINK to some information about the Hawaiian Mo'o. Mo'o INFO. We have plans and drawings for a Mo'o sculpture Lunel wants to create to add to our landscaping.  The Mo'o will be placed where a huge outcropping of lava flowed across what is now our driveway. She plans to make it about 6-8' long.

Whatever they are called (dragons, lizards, or geckos, the Mo'o rank among Hawaii's most mysterious creatures, feature in the oldest stories and are a key to a deep and sacred magic. Locals are respectful of the variety of geckos.

The last "What's New" are some surprise mushrooms in the yard.

Getting the Mail

#1 From front porch -- heading out

$2 just across from our carport 

We have a lovely group of friends back on the continent who follow our blog.

Recently someone said they had not seen photos of this years landscape development (terraforming) along the long driveway. So we thought we would give you a "walk" down to get the mail -- following the South side on the way down to the gate and the North side as we come back up with the mail.

#3 Corgi tails wagging along the way

Several things contributed motivation for this years work. Most encouraging was the lovely summer we had -- not as hot as last year, and with a very steady rainfall averaging about 1/2 inch nightly. We will soon have a couple of mainland visitors which also gave us good motivation. After four years of work, there are very few "wild" areas remaining, but they can just wait until next year.

Enjoy the walk to get the mail with us! (If you want to see BIGGER images, just click-click for larger images.)

#4 - Dec 2015 after bobcat removed mounds of invasive species

#5 - After a year of work, creating lava beds for plants

#6 - end of the 66' lava wall and bed

# 7 Amphitheater area featuring Ganesh in front 

# 8 Reba, Poko and Lani at the gate

# 9 Newest beds completed during just this month 

#10 coming back up the drive - on the south side

#11 - 3 Ironwood trees (12" when planted in March! over 6'

#12 - shady beds with big Hapu'u ferns for shade

#13 is just before our 4-car parking area

#14 - ...and back home again!