Phantom Pruner Strikes Again!

I headed to the Big Island this afternoon. When I got to the house the first thing I did was look for signs of the Phantom Pruner. I found that the 3 banana plants that had fruit on them were gone; they would have been ready when everyone was here for Obon. Aue!


A few minutes after sunset I happened to glance up and look in Jessie's back yard, I had seen a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a feral pig! It was a half-grown pig and 2 of its buddies. They took off when they saw me but I got a couple photos of them.


Upon closer inspection, I think perhaps it was the feral pigs that removed the banana plants; I know that Grandpa used to feed the domestic pigs banana stalks & leaves. I will have to look more closely tomorrow when there is more light to see exactly what's going on. I know I did see a lot of pig poop in the back yard earlier.

Before I even got to Maunalani this morning I was seeing interesting things. Like this police action on Waialae; there were about 4 police cars stopped along the park. I couldn't tell what they were doing.


This morning I didn't see any regulars on my walk but I did see that there is a lot of progress on Art's boardwalk; it will probably be done by the time I return. I also took a photo of Tree #4 from my usual angle as I walk past the park on Sierra.  I shortened my cool down stretches since I had a bunch of things I needed to do before leaving.

Four minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Fourteen minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

I found this avocado in the strangest place; at the top of a hill where there are no avocado trees.

Tree #4 from across the way.

One of the things I needed to take care of before I left was the weeds around the napalapalai and hāpuʻu; some of them were getting ready to set seed & that would just make more work for me later if I let them go. After I finished that, Kelly told me the irrigation line had broken in the corner, so I went to repair it. We're not sure exactly what happened but a part looked like it had been melted & stretched and it had also snapped; no water was going to get through.

Before.

After; I still have more weeds to remove.

After I fixed the irrigation line, we had a nice chat about the Kohala house, what work I was doing on this trip, and my future plans for it. We also talked about being able to find contractors you can trust. And, of course, the Phantom Pruner came up in conversation also. He said perhaps I had a "secret admirer"; I don't need that kind of admirer, it feels more like a stalker.

The Potential Most Favorite Roommate dropped me off at the airport; we kind of decided the center of the area was probably best. I used the kiosk to get my boarding pass & bag tag. But when I went to drop off my bag I found I had to walk all the way over to the far makai end of the building! But getting dropped off on that end would not have helped much; I had to walk ALL the way back to the mauka end of the building to get in to the TSA pre-check line! Aue!




While waiting for the rental car shuttle bus I noticed the Designated Smoking Area. So even though Kona is an open-air airport, you still need to stay 25 feet away from the common areas. They put the Designated Smoking Areas across the street from the rental car shuttle stops.


I took the coast road because it looked like it might be cloudy up on the mountain road. I could see Haleakala in the distance.

Checking the weather on the Kohala Mountain Road.

Maui in the distance.

While I walked around the house I checked on the  mountain apples; they are still all green. I  also looked at some of the things I need to do while here, like take measurements for the remodel of the sewing room and what the front looks like now since the Phantom Pruner has been cutting things down.

Green mountain apples.

The sewing room.

Looking at the front from across the street.

Since I had Jenny's old bug zapper in my suitcase, I was expecting TSA to search my suitcase. They did not disappoint!

Honolulu Magazine Interview

About 10 days ago Jayna from Honolulu Magazine called. She was given Dad's name by Lynn, Dad's friend Walter's daughter; she's the one who comes & plays ukulele every Monday afternoon. Jayna is working on a story about the 442nd RCT, 100th Battalion, & MIS veterans for an article that will come out in the December. We got Dad in to his wheelchair and we sat out on the lanai with Jayna. She asked both Dad & us questions; we did most of the answering. She will come back later with a photographer. I skipped the mid-morning walk due to the interview.


I had a great morning walk! It was dry, cool & breezy! And about a quarter way up Lurline I caught up with Ona & Rio; usually she walks so fast I can't keep up but Rio had to check out all the smells he missed while Ona was traveling. We walked together up Lurline until we parted ways at the circle. I had a great visit with her while we walked; Rio is also getting more used to me so he no longer barks at me or moves away. Earlier I saw LaVie walking up to the bus stop; she didn't miss the bus today. During my cool down stretches I saw Ken & the early-rising dogs; I also saw Ona & Rio on their way back down.

Eight minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Eleven minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Ona & Rio starting up Lurline.

Dad was awake & sitting in the Orchid Dining Room waiting for his breakfast; he was sharing a table with Mr. Watanabe. Later Mr. Kam joined us. Dad ate half of his fried egg sandwich, all the papaya, & all the banana. He drank 120 ml cranberry juice, a sip of coffee, but no water. He went back to bed shortly after finishing his breakfast; his okole was sore again. He agreed to  get back in the wheelchair for the interview.


Lunch today was Spaghetti & meat sauce, Italian vegetable blend, Garden salad, Fresh honeydew cubes, and Cream of broccoli soup. Dad ate all of his 1/2 peanut butter & banana sandwich but no dessert; he has never liked melons. He drank only 120 ml apple juice. I always offer Dad what is in the lunch that Maunalani provides for me; he always refuses. Except today. He wanted some spaghetti, I only put the meat sauce on his plate because I thought he would have problems with the noodles but he asked for noodles also! I was expecting him to just push it away like he did with the bento yesterday after he said he wanted to eat it; but he didn't. He ate everything I gave him!

I skipped the afternoon walk; Mr. Yamada passed about 2 pm, so I stayed with Mrs. Yamada, Shirley, & the rest of the family. I will miss seeing them every Sunday; Shirley would make all of her dad's favorite foods to try to get him to eat more. She would also make little things for the holidays; she always made an extra one for Dad, like the Christmas tree. Shirley's brother Brian & his family came in from California last night; they brought me some omiyage from Trader Joe's. I had a box of Big Island cookies for them for omiyage!

I have been trying to figure out where the trees that the White Cockatoo perches in are located. Starting with the photos from the viewpoint that I previously posted, I have marked which trees I think I am looking at on a Google Map. Finally, I have photos from street level as I walk through the neighborhood; except for Tree #5 which can't be seen from my walking route. I have kept the same color codes for the arrows.

L to R: Tree #1 (red), Tree #2 (blue), & Tree #3 (yellow).

L to R: Tree #2 (blue), Tree #3 (yellow), Tree #4 (orange), & Tree #5 (green).

Google Map showing sightline to trees.

Tree #1 on Matsonia, as seen from the lower part of Lurline.

Tree #2 on Matsonia, as seen from the intersection with Sierra.

Tree #3 on Sierra, as seen from the opposite side of the road.

Tree #4 on Wilhelmina, as seen from the intersection with Sierra.

When I got home I picked a bunch of jabong to take to Kokua Market. When I went to drop them off Abdul was not in but John was. I found out John is newly emigrated from Canada and also interested in herbology & mushrooms. After I returned from Kokua, I picked the papayas that had a little hint of yellow starting. I harvested 10 papayas; Jenny will take 6, I left 2 each out for Lois & Marcus to pick up when they come by.

Eight jabong on their way to Kokua Market.

This week's harvest of 10 papayas.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to George!

Cat Run, Part 2

The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes and I worked on putting up the shelf end of the cat run after he returned from work; I was supposed to work on it with The Potential Most Favorite Roommate while I waited for the Terminix guy this morning. But the Terminix guy came about 9:30 and The Potential Most Favorite Roommate got called to go in to work early for an emergency, so we had to change our plans. We did get the shelf end up; now only the netting needs to be stapled in place. We stopped before finishing it because we needed zip ties and there was a Pokémon Go that needed capturing at 6:30 on the 7th Avenue bridge. (More on that later.)


During my morning walk Ona & Rio caught up with me while I was on Lurline near the top. She said they had a great time on their China trip; I am hoping to hear more when we get together with Steph & Lorraine later in the summer. I also saw LaVie earlier; she had just missed the bus. We saw her again as we were getting to the circle; she was walking while she waited for the next bus. Then I saw her a 3rd time as she got off the bus at Waialae and started back up the hill; I was on my way home to wait for the Terminix guy. Again. I texted to let her know I saw her; she texted back, "👋 ... I missed the bus twice 😆"

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Ten minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Spotted Dove remains; I think it flew up a little too late and hit the grill.

While I was doing my cool down stretches I also tried to locate the trees that the White Cockatoo was using as perches. It favors certain trees; if I can figure out which ones they are, I can also check them out from the street level while I walk and possibly see the White Cockatoo from a different angle and at a closer range.

L to R: Tree #1 (red), Tree #2 (blue), & Tree #3 (yellow).

L to R: Tree #2 (blue), Tree #3 (yellow), Tree #4 (orange), & Tree #5 (green).

It began to rain at the end of my cool down.

While I waited for the Terminix guy I did a small load of laundry; I wanted to wash my Patagonia UPF shirt so I could use it while working on the Kohala house. I hung the clothes out about 9, before the Terminix guy came. It wasn't Kimo today, it was Charles; he checked the inside first, then went around the outside of the house. By the time Charles was done, the clothes were dry! With the heat and light breeze it took about 1&1/2 hours to dry! How hot was it? Here's what my car said as I got ready to leave; once again it had been sitting in the garage for several hours before I took this photo.

Temperature in the shade at the house.

Temperature at Maunalani under the sun.

I had to skip my mid-morning walk. Even though Charles came earlier than I expected, by the time he was done I didn't have enough time to get there to do my walk before I would need to go in to help Dad with lunch. When I was signing in, I noticed that Shirley & her mom had not signed in; I was apprehensive about getting to the room. But Mr. Yamada was still there, sleeping peacefully. Mrs. Yamada, Shirley, & Guy showed up about 5 minutes after I did. And Guy brought me a bento from an okazuya place near where he works! They're such nice people!


Shirley's friend Dale stopped by & brought her a vegan Surfer Bowl salad from Leahi Health. It looked & smelled pretty good; I think I'll have to try it!


Lunch today was Kalua pork with cabbage, Steamed rice, Tossed salad, Bread pudding, and Chicken gumbo soup. I offered Dad the bento & at first he said he wanted it but then he pushed it away and ate his 1/2 peanut butter & banana sandwich. And 2 bread puddings!


Once again I skipped the afternoon walk; Mrs. Yamada needed someone to talk to again. I ended up giving them a ride to Guy's office so he wouldn't have to come all the way back up to Maunalani to pick them up. On the way back I stopped at Kokua Market to check in with Abdul; he was gone but John said to bring more pomelo in!

My roommates are doing their best to teach me about popular culture. Tonight, after picking up the zip ties at City Mill, I met them on the 7th Avenue bridge to learn about Pokémon Go; a Cresselia needed to be fought and captured. There were a whole lot more cars parked on the bridge than I have ever seen before! And then a bunch of walkers showed up; there were at least 20 people there trying to capture that Cresselia! After DT and The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes captured the Cresselia we went back home. I still have no idea what it all means. 🤷

Getting ready to find the Pokémon.

It's the bridge over the freeway.

Some of the other people playing Pokémon Go; there were at least 4 other cars there.

Eighty-seven seconds to go.

Fighting the Cresselia.