My Butt is Kinda Numb

But it was worth it! I dropped The Potential Most Favorite Roommate off at the airport at 6 this morning; then headed to Maunalani. I wanted to get to the park as early as possible so I could sit & watch for birds in the early morning. I actually heard more avian activity at 5:30 as we were leaving the house than I did at 6:20 when I arrived at the park, but that can't be helped. The biggest discovery that I made is that the bird below that I saw on Monday is not a hwamei; it is a female White-rumped Shama. Which means I was wrong about it not having been seen by me at the park, but it makes a lot of sense now. They are about the same size and both have long tails; while the shama does not have a white eye ring & stripe, it does have a light rump. On Monday I only saw the one bird; this morning I saw both the male and female flying & foraging together. Its kinda like with ducks; the females all look a lot alike (drab brownish mottling) so you have to see who they are hanging out with to know what it is. Now I know what the female White-rumped Shama looks like! (I had seen one briefly when I originally saw the pair about 2 months ago, but had forgotten about it.)

Female White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus).

So the bird from Monday is not #19. However, I did find #19 today! I just don't have a photo of the Rose-ringed Parakeet; it flew through the park squawking but never landed in the park. I think I also saw a Manu-o-ku fly by, but it was not flying right over or through the park so I am not counting it on my bird list for the park.

It was hot last night. So hot in fact that it was 80 degrees F when we left the house. At Maunalani it was only 74F.

At the house.

At Maunalani.

Lunch today was Pork long squash, Steamed rice, Tossed salad, & Sweet corn haupia. The dessert was haupia with sweet corn niblets in it.


It's so hot when I get home I don't feel like eating dinner. So what I have been doing is drinking 8 ounces of coconut water with 1 teaspoon psyllium followed by 8 ounces of Ultrasoy then 12 ounces of cold water. Today I added 1/4 of one of the papayas that grew in our backyard. It fills me up and doesn't heat up the house when I prepare it. Plus I get to eat our homegrown papayas!

One of the neighbors provided more information about the woman seen wandering the neighborhood. The neighbor fed her and had a chance to observe her more closely; apparently the woman is homeless and has some mental health issues. The neighbor suggested that the Neighborhood Security Watch come up with a response plan so that people like this woman can be put in touch with agencies that can provide the help she needs. I like the way that neighbor thinks! I will have to find out who she is and meet her.

I am half way through with the course of doxycycline that I am taking for the suspected Rocky Mountain spotted fever and/or tularemia that I have been exposed to via the tick bite that I got in Michigan. (My symptoms more closely resemble Rocky Mountain spotted fever than tularemia.) Most of the blotches are no longer red; they are that unappealing yellowish-greenish-purpley color of an old bruise that is healing. Most of the time the most recent blotch that appeared on the back of my right upper arm a few days ago does not itch. I have been very diligent about taking the doxycycline in order to wipe out the bacteria that are causing these wonderful blotches. Throughout this I have never had a fever; does that mea n my immune system is working well? Or not working well enough?

My list to make sure I get all the meds in a timely manner.

Happy Birthday to Kathy, Gregg, Margaret, & Everett!