More Karma Credits!

I waited in the car this morning for about 5 minutes before the rain slowed down to a drizzle; my walk started a little later than I usually do. It drizzled for much of my walk but three times it got heavier so I took shelter; the 1st time at Ken's, the next 2 times at the only covered bus shelters on my walking route! I did see Steph on my way up, but she was actually walking back to her house so I did not see her later. Today was gray bin pick-up day; because of the precipitation I closed bin lids and did 61 of them! I did not see the rat or the Manu-o-Ku on this walk; but to be fair to them, they were on my mid-morning walk yesterday not the early morning (sunrise) walk.

Seven minutes before sunrise in the parking lot waiting for it to stop raining.

Four minutes before sunrise on Maunalani & lightly drizzling.

Twenty minutes after sunrise on Sierra. It had actually stopped drizzling but I forgot to wipe off the lens.

Karma credits waiting to be collected!

There was a great rainbow as I was walking in to Maunalani. I took a photo and sent it to Czar for the newsletter.

The rainbow ends at the front door to Maunalani.

I have changed my drive up to Maunalani; I am now taking Lurline instead of Sierra. Since that is the section of my walk that I have seen the Manu-o-Ku it might be because there is a nest tree in the area; by coming up just before sunrise I might see it leaving the tree! But it could also be showing up in this area because it likes the wind pattern along that side of the hill; I'll have to pay more attention when I see it to see if I can figure out what is going on with the wind at the time. I'm not sure if I should go down Lurline when I leave; I can't see as much of the sky as I can when I am going uphill. (Sorry can't show you photos of the difference since I am driving and there is a bus that comes down that narrow street.)

Dad was asleep in front of his breakfast as usual. He ended up not eating a thing and just drinking his Breeze supplement. Then he went back to sleep.

My mid-morning walk was dry and productive! At first it seemed like it was trying to rain; I could feel a few sprinkles but it quickly dried up. On my first pass by the bus stop I did not see the rat though I might not have looked exactly where I ultimately did find it. As I was coming up Lurline at the end of my walk the angle I approach the bus stop is different, so it may have made it easier to spot the rat. This time it appeared to be asleep; I took a bunch of photos. Then I poked it with a little stick; it woke up! But it stayed in the same spot, then fell asleep again. My first thought was that it might have been poisoned so it was in the midst of dying; I decided I needed to do the afternoon walk even though Curtis is still under the weather & won't be here this evening. After getting a really good look at it and photos, I now think it might actually be a black rat (Rattus rattus). (The link has a good comparison between the black rat & the brown rat.) I also saw a broken branch that was not there during my morning walk.

Here's what the rat looked like as I approached it.

I was standing behind green bag yesterday, aiming camera to left towards shelter. Rat is in corner of larger brown patch.

This is what it looked like immediately after I poked it with a stick.

In much less than a minute it went back to sleep.

This branch wasn't broken when I passed by during my morning walk.

By the way, I think I need to put my phone in a plastic bag before my next wet walk. It looks like some moisture got in to the broken LifeProof case. I should probably put the phone and case in a bag of rice when I get home tonight. This is the first time since I broke the charging door a few weeks ago that any moisture has gotten in and that includes walking in much more rain than there was this morning!

Lunch today was Chicken fettucine alfredo, Key West blend vegetables, Tossed salad, Orange pound cake, and Minestrone soup. I have decided I need to skip desserts, even the chocolate ones and cheesecake, until I get myself back down to my previous lowest weight. Dad quickly polished off his half peanut butter & jelly sandwich when he woke up; he also finished the Breeze supplement. But he didn't touch the pound cake.


Just after lunch they called a Code 500 at the 3rd floor reception. We have found out that means there is a medical emergency and they crash cart should be brought to the are. The crash cart contains a bunch of other stuff so sometimes it is not as critical as it could be. There was a Code 500 yesterday also; I never found out what it was.

My afternoon walk was also dry and productive! The rat was not at the bus stop, so I was unable to check if it died. Maybe it woke up and sauntered away. Dunno. But, I did see another Manu-o-Ku! It flew almost directly overhead as it headed up Lurline then veered to the east & started heading up to the top of Maunalani Heights! I am now more intrigued with finding out where it is going. A Manu-o-Ku would not be over land except to got to a nest site; none are known to be on Maunalani Heights. I need to see if one of the people I have met who lives up on Maunalani Circle will let me check out trees from their house; the people I am most friendly with are too low on the hill to see trees that it might be going to.


Dinner tonight was Beef broccoli, Brown rice, Vegetable of the day, Apple crisp, and Cream of vegetable soup. Dad ate about half of his half egg salad sandwich and half of his Plus supplement. He did not touch the apple crisp dessert. I decided to skip the walk after dinner; since Dad slept a lot he stayed up longer than usual; I was leaving around 8 pm and it was drizzling. The temperature was also a little cooler than usual.



I finally made my car reservations today; I was waiting to see what the weather would be like. The current 10-day forecast is not showing any snow so a regular 2-wheel drive car will be okay. Lows will be below freezing but day time highs will be mid-40's, chance of precip is 0% to 20% and it would come as rain. If it was going to snow I was going to have Kai pick me up in the trusty old Subaru and drive it around while I was there. I did some checking to see whether keeping the car for a few hours past 1 week would significantly change the cost; it did but it was slightly lower! Go figure! In Kona an extra few hours gets you a higher cost; I guess there is more of a demand for cars in Kona.

Prices for rental from 02/27 to 03/06.

Prices for rental from 02/27 to 03/05; it's a little bit more for 6 hours less!

Prices for a rental in Kona from 02/27 to 03/06.

Prices for a rental in Kona from 02/27 to 03/05; it's less for 6 hours less.

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the start of this blog! For the reason how this blog started, click here. For the very first thing I posted, click here. I hope you have enjoyed these last 3 years of my ramblings! Let me know in the Comments what you have liked about this blog and where I can improve. Mahalo!

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Paul, Greg, & cousin Justine!