Apparently 3 fissures have opened up on Mauna Loa over the course of not quite a day. The original one was in the summit caldera Mokuʻāweoweo, then there were 2 along the Northeast Rift Zone. Only Fissure 3 is currently actively flowing; it is at about the 10,000 foot elevation, about 10 miles from the highway. There have been some great shots of the lava flows in West Hawaii Today. They show a lot more than the USGS webcams.
By comparison here are the USGS webcam photos. For most of the cameras, during the day there is much less to see than after dark. The thermal images capture much more of the extent of the eruption but there is only a thermal image camera at the summit caldera Mokuʻāweoweo.
Hoa hānau Leiani can see the glow from her home in Waimea.
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(Photo by Leilani)
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Thanks to all of you who texted or emailed your concerns for our safety. During one of the exchanges I also checked in with a friend who had asked about coming to visit in March. A mutual friend is interested in coming along if they can get a cheap companion fare. Good thing I have this additional warning; the 2nd bedroom for guests needs some work to be habitable!
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There is a bed somewhere under there!
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The Roomba is still confused about where it needs to clean. I have made it re-map the house several times since we rearranged the living room & moved the base for the Roomba. That has not helped. I may have to move it back to its original location to see if that makes things better.
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The west half of the house.
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Had to send it out again to get the east half.
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I went to Lapakahi State Historical Park today to talk with Dane. There are some changes happening in his office; he will no longer be able to help with cataloging the artifacts from Lapakahi. I will be meeting with him at Hapuna on Wednesday to finish up what the last tray that we had started, then I will be working solely with Tracy on the artifacts.
It was raining almost all morning; when it wasn't raining it was drizzling. I was going to pick more tangerines for Dane but did not want to be standing on the top of the 8-foot tall ladder when it was wet & slippery.
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Drizzling at 8:53 a.m.
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Still drizzling at 9:23 a.m.
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I took a series of photos along the drive to Lapakahi, documenting how the weather changes as you go around the point from the wet side to the dry side of the island.
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On Akoni Pule Highway near Kynnersley Road at 11:50 a.m.
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Outskirts of Hāwī at 11:52.
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Approaching downtown Hāwī 20 seconds later.
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Climbing hill out of Hāwī at 11:54.
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Near access road to Upolu Airport at 11:55.
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Coming around to leeward side of island at 11:56.
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On leeward side of island at 11:57; note change in vegetation.
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Twenty seconds later things begin to get much drier.
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Near access road to Kapaʻa Beach Park at 11:59.
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Near access road to Mahukona at 12:01 p.m.
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Approaching Lapakahi at 12:02; note how it is even drier than Mahukona.
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There was a roadkilled feral pig on the way to Lapakahi. I donʻt usually see dead feral pigs on the dry side of the island; usually they are on the wet side with feral goats being more common as roadkill on the dry side. It was also an adult which is also uncommon; usually its the smaller, less experienced feral pigs that get flattened.
It has now been about a week since I have been letting the kittens out of the bathroom & in to a limited part of the house; for now they can roam through the hallway & the kitchen. I have increased their roaming time to about 20 minutes; I do it just before I feed them so that they have an incentive to go back in to the bathroom by their own choice. I also reinforce the action with voice commands in Hawaiian. I do it both for their morning & evening feedings. Hoʻokoa, Paʻipaʻi, & ʻAlani all eagerly explore the new areas; they are now racing around the hallway & kitchen as well as the bathroom. ʻŌhuna has only cautiously made it to the bathroom door; the hallway is still too scary for her.
The kittens are now all using the Cat Genie with no problems; even ʻŌhuna uses it without issues. I think they all like that it is very clean most of the time. I do really need to have 2 units though. Although I have it set to cat-activation for cleaning it does have a 10 minute period that it waits before it starts. During that time, if another cat enters the Cat Genie it resets the timer. This allows for all 4 of them to use the Cat Genie before it starts up; which is okay if it is a mix of pee & poop. But if all 4 of them leave a solid deposit it sort of overwhelms the Cat Genie & it does not clean as well; I usually go in & manually start another cycle to get the rest of it cleaned. (Cat Genie does recommend 1 unit for every 2 cats in the household.) My plan is to get a 2nd unit after the renovation of the sewing room is completed & I have a small space specifically designed for the Cat Genies to occupy. Yes, my cats are spoiled!
Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Jace!
