New Year's Eve

This morning started out good but then got a little wet. There was no precip when I got out of the car or when I took the photo at 7 a.m. A short while later it started to drizzle; I saw Steph shortly after that. We talked for a short bit, then went our separate ways for about 5 seconds. Steph called me and said Lorraine was coming our way; we waited for her and the 3 of us walked together for a while. It poured a couple of times; we waited it out at the bus shelter and later on under a tree. We also checked out the ditch; it was running the fullest I have seen it but the entire channel was still not full.

Eight minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Selfie at the bus stop while waiting for the rain to stop. L to R: Lorraine, Steph, & me. I need a new hat!

Sunrise on Sierra from under the tree while waiting for the rain to stop.

I made another deposit to the karma bank. Today was gray bin pick up day; while it was drizzling I closed 9 gray bins that didn't close properly when after they were emptied and 1 green bin that had blown open.

Three open gray bins and 1 open green bins.

I think the rain and gusts made the birds seek shelter; I only saw 7 species and 41 individuals during my morning walk. During my cool down stretches I saw 6 species and 44 individuals, the ground and vegetation was wet but it was not actively drizzling & the gusts had died down. I changed one of my cool down stretches so I was facing the upper lot & could watch for birds; previously I would bend over and touch my toes to stretch my hamstrings.

My new view while I stretch my hamstrings.

Dad was sitting in bed with his breakfast; he hadn't touched a thing. I was immediately able to get him to eat a piece of papaya but that was it; he said he could feed himself. I made a chart in the Journal for us to keep track of his eating for the week.


Dad didn't want to get out of bed to do the Namaste massage this morning so I let him sleep while I did my mid-morning walk. My rash guard was still damp from the morning walk so it was a little cold putting it on; once I got out in to the sun with it everything changed. It took only abut 5 minutes for the sleeves to dry out; I made one lap of Maunalani Circle and they were dry! I was down my the park about 15 minutes later when I noticed that the main body of the rash guard was now also dry. I saw Leslie & Ipo just as they were getting back home from their walk. I also met Maisie & her dog Daisy; she is a very responsible owner. Daisy gets very excited to see people & other dogs; Maisie works with her to keep her attention focused on the walk rather than pulling & trying to run over to other people or dogs.


I checked the ditch twice today. Once on my morning walk when it was actively drizzling and then on my mid-morning walk after it had stopped raining.

During the precipitation event.

About 3 hours after precipitation event.

Susie made mandoo this morning for the cooking demonstration for the residents. They do this a couple times a month. Generally if I am walking by they pull me in and give me a sample also. It was very good.

L  to R: Seluvaia, Susie.

Lunch today was Seafood pasta primavera, Succotash, Garlic bread, Tossed salad, Chocolate pudding, and French onion soup. The soups here are interesting; sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not. And it isn't the type of soup either. I liked the French onion soup the last time but not this time; it needed salt. I am wondering whether they make 2 batches of soup, one with salt and the other without; sometimes they give me with salt, other times without salt? Dad ate half of his half a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for 25%; he didn't touch the chocolate pudding and drank only about 60 ml of the Boost Breeze.


My afternoon walk was dry but pleasantly breezy. Matthew drove by and waved; he was in a different vehicle than I have seen him in before. This is number 3. The first vehicle was a silver truck with racks. Then I saw him in a big, old, black station wagon. Today it was a small silver car. Just before I got back to Maunalani I saw a family of Red-crested Cardinals and a flock of Java Sparrows.

Red-crested Cardinals (Paroaria coronata).

Java Sparrows (Lonchura oryzyvora).

I did a little more shopping after I left Maunalani; yesterday I forgot to pick up more chocolate chips for the cookies.

For dinner I ate the entire Maple Bourbon Bacon chopped salad; the one that is supposed to be 3 servings. I also had 6 pieces of sushi. And guacamole and chips. It may not have been a balanced meal but it was tasty!


The Potential Most Favorite Roommate made a terrarium for a friend of his. He used succulents from his collection.

Chibi is not liking the liquid prednisolone that I have to give her orally every evening but she is liking the canned food that I have been feeding her. I am keeping her in my bedroom tonight since she identifies that as a safe place. S'mores is sleeping on the couch, oblivious to the fireworks. Luna is out of her carrier and pacing around the bathroom acting normal most of the time. If you try to pet her she gets hissy; so I am ignoring her. She is coming up to me and checking me out.  

Luna.

Later tonight Nikki and I are going up to Maunalani to watch the fireworks shows; there will be 3 that we can see from there. Two of the shows will be in the Waikīkī area, the third will be in Kāhala. If photos come out okay they will be in tomorrowʻs post.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Amy & Trevor da Mouse! Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanaʻo #35 to Terry & Pam!

Sirens Again

As I was finishing up my cool down stretches this morning I heard sirens coming up the hill. And I could see them, too; they were coming straight up Wilhelmina Rise. The firetruck & ambulance got there rather quickly. I talked to CNA Sharmayne in the parking lot. We found out it was someone in the Castle Wing who was needing assistance.

The emergency vehicles lights can be seen near the bottom of the photo by the roof.

The emergency vehicles at Maunalani.

In other sad news, Mr. Suzuki passed on Friday; I had gotten to know his daughter Susan and her husband Clem. When I came in just before dinner that day I noticed that his bed was empty and his name tag was no longer by the door. I asked one of the CNAs and she confirmed he had passed.

I started my morning walk a few minutes before sunrise. On the way up I had driven past Steph & Lorraine; I saw them on Maunalani Circle, then later near the bottom of Lurline. They had noticed that I was walking a little slower today than usual; I told them about doing the Checklist-a-day Challenge. I am getting better at entering the eBird data; I was able to do it while talking with Steph & Lorraine. I saw 11 species & 125 individuals on the morning walk. In the upper parking lot during my cool down stretches I saw 4 species & 39 individuals. I saw one of Paula's cats; she has 3 that are formerly feral.

Six minutes before sunrise.

One of Paula's formerly feral cats.

Dad only ate about 2 bites of his scrambled eggs but he drank all of his supplements. I have been writing down what he eats in the Journal. I have also been writing down when I refill the wipe warmer. I find data to be reassuring. I read an article about the benefits of journaling. I think my blogging is sort of like journaling, though I don't do it exactly as it is described in the article. Hopefully, I will still get the benefits. It's become sort of like walking to me; sometimes when I'm in the middle of writing it feels tedious, but it feels good after I've finished doing it.

Dad wanted to sleep after breakfast again, so I let him sleep while I did my mid-morning walk. Even though the sky was totally overcast I was having problems seeing the screen. It must be the orientation of the light rays hitting the screen, oh well; I'm getting better at entering the 4-letter quick entry code for each bird I have been seeing.

Not sure what plant this is from, I'll have to look for this one.

During my cool down stretches a Red-vented Bulbul almost immediately flew onto the 2nd floor landing; it looked like it had been chasing a moth on to the landing. I saw 2 species & 5 individuals.


As I made notes in Dad's journal I noticed that the inside covers had information on references. The front cover had internet references; the back cover was what I recall my notebooks having.

Inside front cover.

Lunch today was Baked glazed ham, Baked sweet potatoes, Steamed corn, Oatmeal cookies, and Minestrone Soup. My ham was chopped; I am hoping I did not get a resident's meal by accident and they got my unchopped meal. Dad ate just 1 piece of his sandwich and drank almost all of his Boost Plus supplement but hardly any of the Breeze.


During my afternoon walk it was somewhat overcast & gusty; I saw 9 species & 111 individuals. eBird has a section called Bird Academy. The eBird Essentials course is free but the others range from $29.99 to $239.99. eBird Essentials is a 3-hour course so I will have to set aside a block of time to get started with it.


I did some shopping after I left Maunalani. I had to get plastic table cloths, a pork butt, order the sushi, and salad fixings. I went to Ben Franklin to get the plastic table cloths, I opted to get a roll of plastic material because it was cheaper than buying separate table cloths. And since I intend to host the New Year's dinner annually it makes sense to get the roll. The rest of the things I got from Foodland.

One of The Roommates put up a sign on the back door to warn visitors about the cats.


Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Bria!

Testing eBird Checklist App

I finally loaded the eBird app on to my phone; I had to delete 3 videos since I have not been able to figure out how to download them to my laptop. The app did slow down my walking from 2.8 mph to 2.5 mph; it took me 36 minutes today versus 33 minutes yesterday to do the same route. Here's what the morning checklist that I submitted looks like online. I saw 10 species and 57 individuals.


I started my walk about 3 minutes before sunrise; it was also overcast so it wasn't too bright. As I was driving in I had seen both Steph & Lorraine, separately, walking down the hill; I did not cross paths with either of them while I was walking. In fact, I saw no regulars this morning. But that was probably a good thing since I was distracted trying to figure out how to use the eBird app while I was walking.

1 minute before sunrise on Maunalani.

From Sierra.

Earlier I had mentioned that I was going to try to identify the slugs that I find. I have tried, but have found out that the 2 most common species have highly variable color patterns and can only be definitively identified by dissecting and looking at their sex organs. So I won't be identifying slugs I see. But here's one to illustrate twisted biologist humor.

Q: What do you call a slug that has been run over by a car? A: Platyhelminth! (platy = flat, helminth = worm)

For breakfast Dad ate most of his papaya but only 2 bites of his scrambled eggs. He drank all his supplements.

There is definitely a difference in birds seen between the morning and mid-morning walks. It is also more difficult to do data entry because of the glare on the phone screen. I saw 11 species & 68 individuals; one was a large flock of Java Sparrows (Lonchura oryzivora). As I was starting my walk I saw Mike & Henry for the 3rd day in a row. They were on their way down to the park so Henry could have some social time with other dogs. Later Suzette stopped as she was driving by.


I took a photo of the ironwoods (Casuarina equisetifolia) that are just below the park. The wind moving through the branches has a different sound than it does moving through the leaves of other trees; it reminds me of the Big Island where ironwoods are along either side of the Kohala Mountain Road.


Mushrooms are beginning to come up in several lawns. So far the ones i have found look like they might be Conocybe species which are not edible. And even if they were, they're kind of small so you would have to pick a bunch of them. Not really worth it.


Lunch today was Chinese style steamed fish, Steamed rice, Sesame garlic eggplant, Tossed salad, Almond float, and Egg drop soup. It looks like they ran out of Almond float and gave me fruit cocktail instead. Dad ate half of his peanut butter & jelly sandwich for 25% and half his supplements.


The weather during my afternoon walk was similar to the mid-morning walk but a slight bit warmer. Still a lot of glare on the phone screen; in fact I accidentally added a Black Swan to my checklist and said I saw 17 Kolea! Not! I corrected those before I submitted my checklist. By the way, you can set the language in eBird to one of about 60 languages; one of them being "English (HAW)" meaning that Hawaiian names are listed along with the English and scientific names. I'm using that one; it will help me learn the Hawaiian names of the species I see. During my afternoon walk I saw 10 species and 120 individuals; there were flocks of Java Sparrows and Scaly-breasted Munias (Lonchura puctulata).


During my cool down stretches I have also been noting what birds I see. Because I am only spending about 10 minutes and I am stationary I see far fewer species and individuals. But I can use the binoculars so I can get a better identification on the individuals that I do see. I am thinking I might just do a checklist for the morning walk, then checklists for the cool down stretches for the other 2 walks. I'll be doing checklists for all my walks and cool downs for the next couple of days and see how it goes.

I took a photo of Luna tonight. Right now she's being isolated in the bathroom for a week or so to get acclimated. When I first saw her I thought she was full Siamese but after she was out of the carrier I could see that she was only half Siamese. She is about 8 months old. Hopefully she and S'mores will become good playmates so that Chibi can get a break.


Hauʻoli lā Hānau to my niece Sarah and also to Jesse, Lynne, Eric, & Ava! And also my Fitbit which is 1 year old today.

Rain Has Arrived

It began to rain this morning. A lot. This is the front that was supposed to have arrived yesterday but held off until today.

Rain on Date Street.

Fortunately for me I was able to do my morning walk unhindered. I met Steph along Maunalani Circle, we walked down together until where she goes down Monterrey. We saw LaVie twice and Lorraine later on; usually Lorraine only walks on Saturday & Sunday. Later I saw Leslie & Ipo; she was walking earlier today since she does a hike with friends every Friday & needed to get Ipo's walk in before going on her hike. It was dry during my entire walk.

Sunrise from Maunalani.

From Sierra.

On the way home I saw The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes sitting at the bus stop; it took me a moment to realize it was Friday and he should be on his way to work. So I turned around and picked him up; he overslept and was late for work. It was on the way back from dropping him off that it began to rain so it was a good thing I gave him a ride so he could stay dry.

As I was on my way home from dropping The Roommate off I got a call from the scheduler; I was having an estimate on getting Dad's house painted. The estimator was sick today; we rescheduled for next week. I ended up having time to take care of the laundry (I put it in the dryer since it was raining), eat a little breakfast (mmmm, poke for breakfast), and relax a little.

Then it was off to the Cat Clinic; its now Chibi's turn to rack up the vet bills! She is still favoring her left paw and recently she hasn't been eating the amount of food that she should be. While we were waiting for the vet she started coughing, then she was having trouble meowing; it was like a hoarse whisper. Dr. Dean checked her out and found some swelling in her throat; more tests were necessary to find out why.

Are they gone?

The artwork in the exam room that we were in.

After leaving Chibi at the Cat Clinic, I did my mid-morning walk. It was cloudy like the morning walk. And it was dry; although it had started raining just after the morning walk, it dried up around the time I took Chibi to the vet. But during my walk, when I was at the farthest point away I could hear the thunder rumbling in the Waiʻanae Mountains. It started to spritz while I was walking; but again it stayed relatively dry until I was back in the car and on my way home. After I heard the thunder I found 2 green waste bins & 1 garbage bin with their lids open; I closed them so they wouldn't fill up with water when the rain began and earned some karma credits!

Looks kind of ominous.

If you were reading my post last week about the Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis) and wondered about its size as compared to the other possible dove it might be, here's a photo of them together. The one on the left is the Spotted Dove, the 2 on the right are Zebra Doves (Geopelia striata). The size difference is very noticeable.

That's how I knew it couldn't be a Zebra Dove.

The Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are getting back at me for saying I had never seen them on O'ahu! I saw a pair today up on Maunalani Circle. Once I start doing the Checklist-a-day I will be able to see whether they are showing up seasonally or are a year round resident.

Female on left, male on right.

Dr. Dean called later in the day, Chibi's x-rays were fine; no masses were seen in her throat and the shot of her shoulder showed no impingement there either. They drew blood; those results won't be back until tomorrow. She got a prednisolone shot today and needs to get oral prednisolone every day for the next few weeks. She goes back in on 01/11 for a recheck.

Between the end of my walk and picking Chibi up, I cleaned out the dining room. Well, most of it. Today the dining room is cleaner than the living room; it is s mess because The Potential Most Favorite Roommate switched out the old vertical blinds which were too short for the big window, to one that is properly sized for the window.

Dining room, looking southerly.

Dining room, looking westerly.

Living room, looking westerly. Chairs are from the dining room.

Living room, looking easterly. Vertical blinds are being replaced.

Dinner at Maunalani was Chicken adobo, Steamed rice, Pacific blend vegetables, Baked custard, and Garden vegetable soup.


I was planning on doing a third walk later in the evening since I gained 1.3 pounds this week and 1.8 pounds last week. Tomorrow is the 1st anniversary of my using the Fitbit. Over that 1 year time I have lost 10.8 pounds or an average of 0.9 pounds per month (though if we were talking about this on November 30th it would have been a total 14.5 pounds lost). I'm fine with the 0.9 pounds/month; I'm not fine with having gained 4.2 pounds back over the last 4 weeks so my overall loss is not as good as the 1.25 pounds/month that it could have been. I'll be trying harder this year as I try to lose another 15 or 25 pounds as needed to get to feeling healthier.

In case you're wondering about the 3rd walk, it was raining so I skipped the walk.


Mary Ellen sent me these photos. She took our sons out to breakfast at Piroshky & Crepes this morning. They look like they need their coffee!

L to R: Kai, Simon. (Photo by Mary Ellen)

Turkish coffee! (Photo by Mary Ellen)

Hau'oli lā Hānau to Jennifer!