Chicks Ahoy!

I saw Henrietta this morning with a bunch of chicks following her. I was only able to count them by looking at the photo; there are 7. Five days ago when I returned Jessie thought there were 8 chicks so 1 seems to have been picked off by a predator. I'm glad Moʻo going after Henrietta yesterday did not result in more of the chicks being eaten by predators.

I have my bed situated so that when I open my eyes I am looking out at the morning light on the ironwood trees along the top of the gulch. This morning they had a warm pinkish glow from the sunrise.

Ten minutes after sunrise.

Fran came over this morning to pick puakenikeni & calamansi. There were not enough open puakenikeni flowers for a lei & she also did not want to go up the ladder to get them. I had just finished my PT exercises for my knee & was icing them so I could not help. She was going to drape the lei over Lem's photo for a heavenly birthday celebration tomorrow. The calamansi is because it seems to help her acid reflux; she picked 5 pounds.

I went to the Opening at the Kohala Artists Co-operative this evening. I did not know the artist but decided to see what kind of art was being presented. I think it was acrylics; there were too many people standing in front of the artwork for me to get a representative photo. 

A double rainbow accents the Art Opening sign.

I got a Civil Defense alert about the hurricane early this morning. This may be the 1st of many to arrive in the coming days.

In the late afternoon there was a brief downpour; then in the evening there was a light drizzle. I think it's a little early for it to be the leading edge of Hurricane Kiko which crossed over in to the Central Pacific region around midnight last night. At the usual storm movement speed that means the center of the storm is about 3 days away. When I checked the infrared radar & water vapor imagery they clearly show a system to the north that is probably the source of the small bit of moisture. Hurricane Kiko, which is about 860 miles east-southeast of Hilo & moving west-northwesterly at about 12 mph, is not affecting our weather yet. Currently a Category 4 Hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 140 mph, Kiko is expected to decrease in speed as it enters an area with cooler waters. Hurricane force winds extend out from the center about 25 miles, with tropical storm force winds extending out about 70 miles.

Currently looks like it will be closest early Tuesday morning.

Infrared radar & water vapor imagery shows how large Kiko is in relation to the state.

The next eruption episode of Kīlauea is now predicted to start some time between the 14th & 21st. As they collect more data, the scientists will refine the window when they think the next episode will begin.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Rosario! A me ka Hauʻoli lā Hānau Lani e Lem & Susan!