Sunrise Birding

Yesterday was the last day of my 3rd quarantine. Today I did my sunrise birding walk; I could tell I was out of practice. I also spent as much time walking as I did talking to fellow walking friends I met along the way! I saw Wendy out watering her lawn; while we were talking Fred and Mary walked by. Later I saw Ona & Rio by the driveway; while we were talking Lorraine came by! We talked until Ona had to leave; then Yan & Lucky came by. While I was gone Yan's house was broken in to while they were fumigating it for termites! Just before I left Ken came by with Toto & Chico.

Sixty minutes before sunrise in bed.

Twenty minutes before sunrise on Waiʻalae.

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Nine minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

The hāpuʻu is doing great! And it has a new buddy, the small plumeria that was struggling has been replaced with a larger one. I'm curious to see what color this one is.

The other plumeria was only about half as tall.

Several of the construction sites I have been watching have really come along! The Maunalani reroof is moving along; they are on the wing that Dad is in. And there was one new one that started while I was gone and a house that is getting cleaned up!

This is the wing that Dad is in.

Looks like they had to remove a lot more of this section of roof.

They were just starting to frame the 1st floor when I saw it last.

Lots of work went on here at the Lanipoko house!

They are now/ starting to replace the wall & fence that the tree broke when it fell.

A nice scene on the board covering the window the tree broke; wonder what's on the inside?

Looks like this house is done!

Someone has really cleaned this place up.

I saw several cats but was only able to get good photos of Miss Paula's cats.


I weighed myself this morning before my walk; I forgot yesterday. My weight has remained stable over the week. With the addition of exercise I should now begin to burn off some of this fat.


I saw my primary care physician Dr. Pham this morning. I usually see her in September for my annual check-up but I got a call a couple weeks ago from Kaiser saying it was time for my check-up. I found out Dr. Pham is just being proactive & getting people in earlier if possible so if the COVID-19 cases spike as the quarantine is relaxed she has been able to check in with her patients. While there I specifically asked Dr. Pham if I had any underlying medical issues that would make me more at risk for COVID-19; she said age was the only one.

They now take your temperature at Kaiser Honolulu just before you enter the lobby & everyone must wear a mask. This is the first place that I have seen where they tell you how to correctly wear your mask! Chairs in the waiting room are spaced out; I have never seen the waiting room with more than a handful of people so that hasn't affected things much.



I had to have blood drawn. Usually I do it a week before my appointment so that Dr. Pham can review the results with me. I went in early so I could do the blood draw just before my appointment. But when they moved my appointment up, the request for labs was not automatically changed; Dr. Pham had to change the order so I ended up doing the blood draw immediately after.



I met Susan at Foodland Farms Pearl City to start my Medical Reserve Corps volunteering; she was also training Kit on the protocols. I am assisting in delivering supplies to households where someone has tested positive and they are in isolation. It took us about 1&1/2 hours to shop for 3 groups of people. One of the groups was 3 families living together & since it was their first time making the request they had a lot of things on their list. 

No one asked for a fish head; I just haven't seen a chinook head in a long time.

Susan & Kit shopping; 2 of the carts are for the big family group.

Here's the shopping list.

Distancing while we check out.

It was very interesting. One of the things Susan told us is if there is a request for a specific brand to get that brand even if it is more expensive; it makes it more likely the person will comply with the quarantine. Because the health district is paying for the supplies no alcohol or tobacco products are allowed. They also recommend you negotiate for healthier items but also state, "The importance of 'comfort' items is noted (desserts, low nutritional value products) and can be provided within reason and in balance with the rest of the grocery purchase."

While making the delivery we are not to knock on or touch the door or surrounding surfaces; the food is left outside the door. Contact is made via phone call and the person is asked to close the front door and not make contact with the volunteer. At one of the sites today as I approached the door there was a man smoking in the doorway; I politely asked him to please close the door. Since this was not the first delivery he realized that he was not supposed to be there, said "Sorry" and quickly complied. On our last stop, this was the first time they had received a delivery; the young mother was so excited she came out to the garage and was going to help, but Susan stopped her verbally when she was about 20 feet from the car.

I am also taking safeguards of my own so I minimize spreading anything to The Roommates. When I get back to the car I had wiped down my phone, fanny pack, water bottle, door handles, and steering wheel with antiseptic wipes that I kept in the car for when I went up to the nursing home. When I get back to the house, I enter through the laundry room and throw the mask I used and my clothes directly in to the washing machine. Then I walk to the next room, which happens to be the bathroom, and take a shower including washing my hair. I complete all this before going to any other part of the house.

When I got back I just happened to see a Facebook post by my friend Tricia; she has been making Pacific Island print face masks, including ones where the pattern matches at the center seam. They are works of art! I chose the iwa then asked her to pick another in my size, then gave her some info on my preferences for colors & subjects; she told me how much they will cost & I paid for them via Paypal. Can't wait to see what shows up!

I am getting the one in the lower left.

Lyle came by this evening after work; he started changing the incoming main line. Because the line is so deep he needs to get some other parts so he can move the shut off valve closer to the surface; not sure when he will be able to work on it again.

Lyle excavates to expose the pipe.

Lyle will be extending the pipe so it is above ground for easier future access.

After dinner I got a call from Casey; he is the coordinator for the Honolulu area MRC support services group; they received 3 new cases needing support in the past hour! I will be going out with him tomorrow to shop and make another grocery delivery in the morning. (Susan was from the Central area, we're not sure why she was given my name & number since I had not signed up for that area. But that's OK; we found out we knew someone in common!)

Tropical Storm Boris began to lose speed so it is now Tropical Depression Boris; I guess once it gets a name it keeps it while it is still somewhat organized. It is 1100 miles east-southeast of Hilo and is expected to enter the Central Pacific region some time tonight.


Here is Governor Ige's Comprehensive Public Health Plan. It was developed with the assistance of state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park. The basic pieces are testing, contact tracing, isolation, and sentinel surveillance. I have not yet heard whether I have been accepted for the latest call for contact tracing; today at noon was the deadline to submit the additional information they requested. I assume I should hear by Sunday evening at the latest if I have been selected; I don't expect any notice if I am not selected.


There were 17 new COVID-19 cases reported today for a total of 866 known positive cases. (That's why Casey got 3 new cases!) Initially at noon no new deaths were reported but sadly another person passed away later in the evening, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 18.






Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Erin, Valerie, & Mariah!