Banana Rustlers!

I did a more thorough investigation and discovered that much of the damage to the banana patch was done by the feral pigs. But there were signs of human damage as well. When I talked to Jessie later in the day she told me that someone had come from the back and stole all her bananas! That explained the human damage I saw, which did appear to be done by someone reaching over the fence. So the Banana Rustlers are guilty and the Phantom Pruner is innocent. I will have to be strategic as my remaining banana plants bear fruit and select for keiki that are farther from the fence.

The Phantom Pruner has never left a bunch of debris after pruning.

This is clearly signs of something digging around, not pruning.

This is definitely human-caused damage, though not as neat as the Phantom Pruner.

This used to be a nice stand of heliconia.

I found a baby hāpuʻu hiding in the debris.

Sunrise was at 5:42 this morning; this is the earliest sunrise I will see here this year. It is 6 minutes earlier than in Honolulu and while I am here it will remain this same time. When I return I will be able to sleep an extra 6 minutes! Then on the 15th sunrise will start to become later by about a minute. I saw 10 species today; there was 1 new species, the Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos). The first time I saw one was in July 2013 at Volcano National Park; they were extremely nonchalant about people since you can't hunt in there.

Eight minutes before sunrise on Kynnersley.

This Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) strolled within feet of us! July 2013.

I also saw some flattened fauna; specifically a cane toad and a centipede. I did not think I would find much because although the speed limit (35) is higher than on Maunalani (25), there are way less cars going by; perhaps a handful this morning. I also checked out the cell tower closest to the house; its about a quarter mile away. And saw a pig-resistant gate.

The pink part at the bottom says, "Mauka". Not sure if it the name of a band or what; does not appear to be about direction.

I also did an early morning walk through of the yard to identify any other pig damage. I found a new trail they have been using, its near a trail I blocked off earlier. There was fresh pig poop near the macadamia nut tree; I think that is the big draw for them right now. The orchid that the Ikaikas gave for Mom's hatsubon is sending out a flower stalk; I hope it is blooming at Obon. I also found that the orchid under the jaboticaba is one we used to call "popcorn flower"; I'm not sure what its real name is. I will try to move a keiki in to the anthurium garden on to an old hāpuʻu stump that is currently bare. The feral pigs have also made another trail under the fence near my bedroom window; they dug out the heliconia getting in the the lawn near there. That was one of the chores on my To Do List that they have made easier! The heliconia were brushing against the car when I drove by.

The new trail is on the left; old trail on right (with stakes).

Fresh pig poop.

Flowering stalk on orchid for Mom's Hatsubon.

"Popcorn flower"; there are at least 2 orchids called "popcorn". I need to do more research.

Pigs dug the heliconia tubers out of the grass, making one of my clean-up tasks easier!

Last night I sprayed a wasp nest near the back door; its the same one I sprayed on my last visit. It got a little larger and was actively being used. But not any more. This is a favorite spot for wasps to build a nest, I think I have had to deal with it a total of 4 times now. If the nests are not near places like the back door I leave them alone because wasps help keep insect populations in balance.

The nest post-spraying.

Some of the former occupants of the nest.

I called and left messages for the 2 guys that Chris recommended to do the fence. I had been calling since Friday while I was waiting at the airport. One had a full voicemail box, I left a message with the other. I finally got through on one line but it was sort of a wrong number; it was the guy's wife! She gave me his real number but the voicemail box on that one was full also! Aue!  I called his wife back and asked if I could leave a message with her. It was amazing, I got a call back in a matter of minutes. I guess if he sees it is her calling he answers. I met with Orion a couple hours later; he will send me an estimate and a start & end date for the fencing project. He also found 2 other spots where the pigs are getting through the fence from Jessie's yard, he will fix those also.

I forgot to mention that while I was at the airport yesterday, I got a call from RN Fred. He wanted to know if it was all right to move Dad over to the window bed! I said, Yes! Then I texted Curtis & Shirley to let them know about the change. Shirley texted back, "That makes me happy to hear that. On the way taking my Dads [sic] body out I saw Kaweka [sic] and also asked him and he said not to worry!"

While waiting for Orion, I picked flowers to take to the haka. I was apparently a little distracted at one point. When I sliced through one of the stems my thumb was a little too close. It was interesting, as I was almost done with the cut I heard myself thinking, "My thumb is too close." Then I cut it. Aue!

I stopped cutting very quickly so it didn't go too deep.

While I was waiting for Orion I also picked a gallon of limes to start another batch of salted limes. I started prepping the limes after my late dinner. I'll pack them in jars tomorrow morning and set them out in the sun at the end of the ramp during the time I am here.

Limes after the initial salting. They will sit overnight, then be packed in jars tomorrow with more salt.

After Orion and his helper Kawika left, I went to the ohaka. The portulaca are still hanging on; if they can get through this summer they should be able to last year round. I'll have to see if I can find some other drought tolerant potted plants that might be able to survive with little human intervention.

My maternal grandparents.

My great grandparents & grandaunt.

I went to Sunshine True Value to pick up a bunch of supplies for repairs and clean up. A big item was 9.6 cubic feet of cinders to cover the weed cloth in the area right next to the house that I want to keep clear of vegetation. It is for the area under the front bedroom & my bedroom. I needed 19 bags, they only had 8. I could special order them but I won't be here when they arrive, so I will just come in the next time I am here and pick up whatever they have until I have the area suitably covered. By the way, the weeds I did not pull but just covered over with the weed cloth during my last visit mainly died; only the ones at the very edge survived so I will have to pull them before I add the cinders.

The Sunshine crew loading up the 8 bags of cinders.

I also dropped in to the Hawaii Wildlife Center. I will be returning next Friday to pick up small carriers to take back in my suitcase. They will also be sending some vitamins for delivery to Feather & Fur. I will also be able to meet Heidi, the new wildlife rehab technician who is replacing Alexis. I spoke to Alexis earlier in the week, we discovered that we would probably be passing on the highway yesterday as she made her way to KOA to leave and I was driving up to Kohala.

I went to see Uncle Kazu to talk about taking him out to lunch tomorrow for his birthday, he will be 94 years old! While there I ran in to Sugi, the physical therapist who said he could arrange to be there on our next trip to help coach Uncle Kazu about getting in to the car. But he doesn't work on Sundays, so we did a dry run today. I'm glad we did. It turns out Uncle Kazu's leg is getting weaker and he had some difficulty. Sugi said he needs a slipper or shoe to help him slide his foot around so he can turn easier to get in to the car. Sugi also said a car with a higher seat would be better. We changed our birthday lunch to Monday since Sugi will be there; I will just bring ice cream tomorrow for a small birthday celebration. We discovered that June 2nd is also Sugi's birthday!

Sugi helps Uncle Kazu position himself to transfer to the car.

On the way out of Kapaʻau I stopped to pick up lunch at L & L Barbecue. I was originally going to go to Kings View but there was a very long line of tourists waiting to get ice cream. While at L & L, I took a bunch of photos of town. Yes, its that small that I can stand in one place and get photos of almost all of the town!

The Sakamoto Building is at the northwest end of town.

Just east of the Sakamoto Building is the Nanbu Building; Holy's Bakery used to be in this building.

The bus shelter is east of Nanbu, further east is Kings View Cafe building, then the old Bond Library at the northeast end.

The Kapa'au Veterinary Center is on the south side about middle of town, next to L & L Barbecue.

It started to drizzle while I waited for my lunch.

The Atkins Mini BBQ Plate. The Regular also has a piece of kal bi and another egg.

I didn't do much today, I was very tired. I was only going to take a short nap after my late lunch. When I woke up it was 8 pm! Aue! I have a lot of work to do tomorrow to catch up!

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Leigh & Kendee!