Wings for Wildlife

This morning I helped transport a Nene that had a broken leg. It was found on Kaua'i, flown to O'ahu for surgery, now it is on its way to Hawai'i Island for recuperation. I volunteer for the portion of the Hawai'i Wildlife Center's (HWC) Wheels for Wildlife program; we pick up animals & drive them to where they need to go to. Most of the time I am picking up wildlife at the veterinarian's office & taking them to the airport to catch a commercial cargo flight to the Big Island; once I picked up a bird that was at someone's home & took it to the airport. Today I picked up the Nene from the vet and took it to a private pilot who is part of the Wings for Wildlife program. Bill, the pilot, volunteered to fly the Nene to Upolu Field, which is about 15 minutes away from HWC. This will be a lot more convenient than having to go to the Kona Airport which is about an hour away.

Parking lot at the end of Lagoon Drive.

I remember flying in and out of Upolu Airport when we first started visiting Grandma & Grandpa on the Big Island. Later we had to go to the Waimea Airport. And finally we ended up at the Kona Airport. I was in college before I figured out the reason: as planes got bigger they needed longer runways to land & take off. Upolu & Waimea aren't able to handle the big jets; they're still active and are used by smaller aircraft.

Upolu Airport, c. 1960. (Photo by Dad)

Before I went to pick up the Nene, I did my morning walk at Maunalani. After I was done with dropping the Nene off with Bill, I went back to Maunalani and did my mid-morning walk. Curtis was with Dad; we had already changed our schedule so he could take his car in for servicing before Patrick had called yesterday. Everything worked out great!

The resurfacing of the courts seems to be moving along well. I saw that they were also adding more features to the play structure; I'll try to get photos of that tomorrow.


Every Wednesday and Sunday afternoon Dad is scheduled for a shower. There is a special chair that they put him that is waterproof. Although Dad complained when CNA John wheeled him in to the shower, once it started he liked it. He is always so relaxed once he gets out of the shower, he falls asleep as soon as they get him back in to bed.

Last night Curtis sent me a photo of the new appliances that were installed  in their kitchen that afternoon.


I listened to the Harry Dresden short story Something Borrowed this afternoon; it is in the collection of short stories called Side Jobs. Later in the evening, I started on the novel Proven Guilty.

Happy Birthday to Eddie & Natalie! And Happy 31st Anniversary to Curtis & Lori!