Kilauea Eruption for Christmas!

Aloha from Volcano!  Just in case you're checking in to see how the Haysmers are doing after the surprise eruption last night in the caldera at Kilauea in Volcanoes National Park.  

WE'RE FINE. 

Good Grief! Planets colliding, volcanoes erupting -- what a strange Winter Solstice!

The first thing you need to know is that Kilauea volcano is an "inny" -- a very large hole 1600 feet down in the ground which is unlike many folks' impression of big tall mountain shaped volcanoes. (Of course four out of our five volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii are big tall mountain shapes.)

Many people were concerned that, after losing our home in Leilani Estates during the 2018 eruption, we were crazy to be moving to a small town called Volcano -- only about five miles from Kilauea. 

For insurance purposes Leilani was in zone #1 -- most risky and Volcano is in zone #3 with less risk (generally.)

Here's some photos -- last night's view -- today's view and a map showing our home in Ohia Estates.

The tiny active crater way d-o-w-n inside Kilauea (Kil-ow-way-ah) is called Halema'uma'u (Hah-lay-ma-oo-ma-oo) which means House of Ferns. In addition to the large caldera at 1600 feet down, this smaller active crater is another 1300 feet down (as of 12/31 lava is about 1/2 up the inner crater. With Kilauea itself being 2x3 miles wide active lava flow would have to completely fill the gigantic basin before reaching the top.

This USGS video shows the two fissures that opened along the walls.  Inside Halema'uma'u

Birds of a Feather

Living in the ohia tree forest of Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii we are blessed with an abundance of birds native, endemic and species from other places as well. We do miss the wonderful complicated song of the Chinese Laughing Thrush in our former Leilani Estates home, but the native 'Apapane has a lovely song as well:

   'Apapane Song.   

Here's a page we created using most of the birds we see every day, and a couple who mostly live four miles away around Kilauea crater in Volcano National Park. 

A couple days ago, we went for a fun drive (holoholo) and as we reached the sign inside the park reading "Nene Crossing" (pronounced nay-nay) we noticed there were two sitting at a turnout area reserved for them. 

Phil took the camera, got out of the car and ended up with a very close up encounter. They began to follow him back to the car where we shared a granola bar with them before heading down through the amazing Ka'u (Caw oo) desert and on to Na'alehu for lunch a visit to a Tibetan Monastery and a leisurely walk along the shoreline.

(hopefully I can get these pictures arranged well, but with the changes to this program, I doubt it) ENJOY

Whittington Park and Fish Ponds

Wood Valley Monestary

Giving Thanks (over and over)

Photo taken by our friend Marcus (with photoshop adaptations)

"Once Upon A Time" TWO YEARS AGO the 2018 Kilauea eruption in Puna on the Big Island found us homeless and filing what we thought might well be a useless lawsuit against Lloyd s of London. However, two years ago, just a few days before Thanksgiving we had (through amazing circumstances) both a home and a check with which to begin our lives over. There's ample reason for giving thanks...and here are just a few more.

Phil is continuing to discover new techniques with his wood carving and painting and here's his latest piece entitled "Good Omen" -- maybe an unconscious prayer given the current situation of our world.

The bird featured in the carving is a Koa 'E'kea -- common name is Tropicbird (yes, spelled that way.)

Other images are a new group of fledgling doves who are permanent residents in our yard -- along with numerous other native and endemic species (watch for new blog about them.)

An unexpected bunch of buds on our Marc Chagall rose and a BIG surprise -- three pineapples we never expected to produce. We'd had several dozen coveted "white" pineapples on our previous property -- we'll have to wait and see if they mature -- through the upcoming cooler winter here in Volcano town.

I am continuing to be frustrated with this format --

which doesn't allow for customary maneuvering of photos.

Wishing everyone a safe, thankful Thanksgiving --

we are "together" despite the circumstances. ALOHA

Election Distraction

What's under there?

When we moved into our new home in Volcano town on the Big Island of Hawaii, there was no access to the back property line -- until we began to clear out accumulated debris and weeds. After spending weeks on this project, we began to ask ourselves just what WAS under all there.  Apparently when the forest was cleared to build this house, a lot of raw material (LAVA) was simply pushed back and piled up. Over the decades since, debris, soil and weeds just piled up deeper and deeper.  Here's a couple of in-process photos -- keep your eyes on the two very large chunks.

Oh! That's what's under there stones shaped
like Hawaii and California!

During the last week of the election we decided we needed a distraction, so began to work on beautifying the outflow from our 10,000 gallon water tank, like we had done with our home in Leilani Estates prior to the lava flow in 2018.  We began by removing the existing sod and digging out at large hole. We managed to do some ourselves, but allowed our young strong yard guy to finish it down to 16" where he found a layer of pahoehoe lava (Pa HoyHoy) -- a solid continuous shelf that runs under our property -- after all the whole island is made of lava!

All of the beautiful stones we used came from along that back property line area. We had help from a friend to place two very special ones on the far left side of our waterfall feature, now completed just before winter rains hit. 

These photos show progress we managed ourselves artfully using the o'o bar and sturdy dolly to move and relocate heavy lava stones. The final two can be seen in the photo above, one shaped like California (on the right) and one like Hawaii. After thorough cleaning, both were moved into place by a good friend and neighbor.

Plantings will feature a color pallet of purple, yellow and lime green. The  amount of overflow rain water that comes out during the winter is huge -- so no fish, probably no water lilies either. 

After cleaning -- "California" and "Hawaii" lava stones were placed at far LEFT.

Oh dear!  So, we thought it was done...then more beautiful lava chunks were found, again, along the newly reclaimed back property.  Notice the addition to the RIGHT side...now we ARE done !

Disappearing Garden Shed

 Aloha from Volcano! Waaaay back in August, Phil suggested that we needed (she needed) a garden shed so we began thinking about how to do it so that it would blend into the beautiful Forest Garden in front of the house. It is 8x8', has windows on all sides and a charming front and back doors and porches. The most important thing was that we wanted it to blend into the forest of ohia trees so choosing the right colors of paint was a priority.

Front door - dogs in the shadows

Here are photos of how we selected those colors, and views -- looking at it from the house, front and back doors....and finally, one of the "disappearing garden shed." It has a long working table, shelves for seedlings and a fold up table-cum-lounging bench. Enjoy....

This is the view of the shed from the house

P.S. (10/23) Phil has decided it needs a better name than "shed" -- so he has named it "Toll House" but all Lunel can think of is cookies.  Our propane delivery man even tried to give us a 25-cent coin. When we looked up an Hawaiian word for shed we found kamala, but we can't do that!

Back porch -- railing to be added

From all sides it really does blend into the forest!

It's OCTOBER?!?!

It shouldn't come as a surprise anymore - but it does. Dark so early and the sun...coming up in the wrong place but creating  that lovely 'certain slant' across our world. The other day we had four inches of rain in just a few hours and today it was a gorgeous 76 degrees. We are using these beautiful warm days to finish up several new garden beds - getting small plants in the ground to get a good start before winter comes.

Knees are continue to heal under vigorous hydro-therapy in the hot tub and careful exercises. Phil's been making more beautiful wood art and Lunel's done some new collage pieces as well.  (Again, as mentioned in the previous blog -- we're not happy with the changes in the blogspot format and are trying to begin a new blog -- til then...pictures as follows:

BLOG DISAPPOINTMENT

So the blogger program we have used for YEARS got "upgraded" -- at least that's the word they are using, despite dozens of complaints about the problems with the new program. For years we've added to our blog regularly as an easy way for our friends to catch up on the latest HAYSMER happenings...  It was quick, easy to use and even easier to add photos and make adjustments for photographs and format.  NOT SO NOW

• What follows are a few pictures -- but little explanation because it's so difficult to use.
• Photo of Lunel working in the garden on the 3-month anniversary of knee surgery
• Phil - harvesting bananas from our yard
• Beginning construction of a garden shed in the "Forest Garden" (directly in front of our house)
• Garden feature using large lava stones from our yard to create a Haysmer-version of the celestial navigational stones on the slopes of Mauna Loa.

Prescription for Survival

 Perhaps this says it all:

Six Weeks Post Knee Surgery

42 days later just look at this happy girl in her garden weeding.

"Blue Nitrile Warriors" 

St. Phil was there to "spot" Lunel going down the stairs, and managed to rustle up her garden bench, her walker, a bucket and her favorite tools and a big glass of iced tea for a sunny day.

Although it was due to hit today, once again, the Big Island of Hawaii was spared a direct hit from hurricane Douglas, thanks in part to our two 13,000+ volcanoes Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Spending less than one hour, taking great care producing 1/2 bucket of weeds, she went in to rest, massage and ice the knees and is planning NOT to repeat the task tomorrow -- even though the bed was not completely weeded. (Good grief, is she finally learning something about moderation??)

Last week she received an inquiry from the Hilo Medical Center's Bone and Joint Clinic to provide copies of her "Blue Nitrile Warriors" collage. Phil got them printed on Friday and they'll be in the mail Monday. She dedicated this piece to the staff there who took such excellent care of her during her stay.

Meanwhile, we're remaining vigilant about Covid19 precautionary measures, limiting trips to Hilo and keeping friends and neighbors at appropriate distance. As so many slogans indicate, we may be alone (for now) but we ARE "together" -- just in a very different way.

Take care, be safe!

Hawaii Artists

Native birds we see in the forest:  I'Iwi  ( E - E VE)

One of the many delights about our relocation to the small town of Volcano is that the community is rich with artists of all kinds -- glass, wood, painting, sculpture, writers, performers and numerous native Hawaiian practitioners of botany, art and hula.

Commission piece for a friend

With the construction of our new art studio last year, Phil has continued his exploration of wood art carving and painting and has pieces at Michael Jayme gallery in the charming village to the north, Honaka'a (520-270-7462)

With friends helping with the gardens and housework during Lunel's knee surgery recovery, Phil's happy to be back in the studio. As soon as Lunel can better negotiate two sets of stairs, she's looking forward to being in the studio with Phil.

Here are a few of his newest pieces.

Haysmer Hale Le'a Update

Besides the knees there IS actually other news. The garden Lunel worked on so lovingly in early spring is responding well to our comfortable summer 70-75 degrees. Although we loved our former home in Leilani Estates before the 2018 lava flow, it was too hot much of the days in summer time. So much has changed -- not only our home, the weather, there's Covid19 to contend with. The state of Hawaii now has over 300 cases -- and before you think that is small potatoes, our count is up 50% like many other states.

Lunel in the dog-yard. Dogs from left: Tuxedo Tudor, Uncle Poko, mommy Lani

But now, onto the KNEES!  Today marks one-month anniversary of Lunel's bilateral knee replacements. An interesting point is that although the total knee joint was replaced, she still has her original knee caps! Anyway, stitches are out, bandages are off and today she went down the stairs (with Phil spotting her carefully) to meander out to the close-by dog yard. We have an physical therapy office here in Volcano where she will begin a professionally guided recovery program.

Although we are at home 95% of the time, we are friends with many of our nearby neighbors and enjoy safe conversations along the driveways or from the front porches. We are so happy not only with our sweet "Hale Le'a" -- house of gladness, we are equally happy to have a real neighborhood of friends here in Ohia Estates, as well as old pals from the old neighborhood.

STAY SAFE, 
PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS

ALOHA FROM PHIL AND LUNEL

Onward!

It's been three weeks since Lunel's bilateral knee surgery and she's up and moving. Yesterday was pretty exciting as she make numerous trips around the house using a cane rather than the walker. Physical therapy at home was the right decision, but until she can handle stairs to get out to her garden, she's house-bound.

For a couple weeks Phil was doing double duty and a fine job of it too, but it was taking a toll on his energy. Fortunately we have a friend who does housekeeping who is able to come a couple times a week now so Phil can be in his favorite place -- our delightful art studio.

It has been interesting for Lunel to move at such a slower speed than she is used to, but as always, she puts 100% into any challenge. She's decided to call it "Slot Speed" and even bought a cute sloth puppet on-line much to the curiosity of the corgi dogs!

The state of Hawaii, and in particular the Big Island has been pretty pro-active about control of Covid, but even here we see numbers rising. Residents are most concerned about visiting vacationers who may wrongly think that because of our lower numbers, it is "safe" to be thoughtlessly unsafe.

Love to you all -- take care, be safe!