Dead Rat in the Middle of the Road

Well, not quite. It was at the bus stop at the edge of the pavement. And it wasn't quite dead. Actually, it was very much alive! During my mid-morning walk, as I was completing my lap around Maunalani Circle, I noticed the body of a rat at the bus stop. As I started to get my camera out because, you know, I take pictures of dead things for you. It moved! In fact, as I moved towards it, the rat looked up at me and started to move away towards the hedge. It did not run, it sort of sauntered even as I walked up to it trying to get a photo. But it was camera shy and my phone is slow to get to camera-mode, so I wasn't able to get a photo of it. Then as I was nearing the end of my walk coming up Lurline approaching the bus stop I looked for it again, but didn't see it. But wait! What's that in the shadow of the tree? It's the rat again! And once again it sauntered under the hedge as I came up to it. I checked; I had about 10 minutes to spare so I decided to do the field biologist thing and wait for it to come out again. I set myself up, waiting behind one of those watering bags they put on trees, propping my camera hand up against the tree so I was in position to take a photo when it emerged from under the hedge. I waited. And watched the spot where it had disappeared under the hedge. Being an experienced biologist, and having watched many Wile E. Coyote cartoons, I also looked behind me. Five minutes. No rat. Ten minutes. No rat. Oh, well. That's how it goes in the field biologist business!


Why am I so interested in this rat? I got a pretty good look at it and it did not look like the rats that we caught in the attic. And it also did not act like those rats, it sauntered off rather than scurrying off as I approached. I'm pretty sure it was a brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) rather than a black rat (Rattus rattus) which is what the attic rats were. On future walks I will have to be more vigilant around the bus stop and see if I can spot it again. (I don't want to leave food because I do not want it going up to people at the bus stop looking for food. They might not be as interested in seeing it as I am.) The rest of my mid-morning walk was less intriguing; I didn't see any regulars but I did see the pair of Saffron Finches by the park and a Manu-o-Ku (Gygis alba) flying by as I was heading up Lurline.

Saffron Finches (Sicalis flaveola).

I started my morning walk a few minute earlier than I usually do, but since there were few clouds in the sky it was still light enough there was a lot of bird activity. I saw Lorraine on her way up Sierra, but no other regulars this morning. Even Jake was not in his front yard this mornings. I did find, however, that the Red Junglefowl (Domestic Type) once again left its calling card at the covered viewpoint; this one was larger than the last one.

Eleven minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Six minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Chicken poop.

Dad was awake and eating breakfast in the Plumeria Dining Room. Since he was in the wheelchair I asked him if he wanted to go look for Popokilani; he did, so we headed outside. We ended up sitting at the open air outdoor viewing area for a while.


When we went in I needed to use the bathroom so I left Dad in the Castle Living Room, where Ki'ini was leading the residents in exercises. When I returned, Dad was sort of following along so I just sat along the side until he decided he didn't want to do that any more.


As we were leaving he wanted to go outside again. So we did. This time we found Popokilani but she only stuck around long enough to find out whether we had treats for her; she left when she found we had none. We probably spent another half hour outdoors until Dad's okole finally got so sore he couldn't ignore it any longer. He went back to bed and slept until lunch!

By the way, it's called the Castle Living Room after Ethelwyn Castle, the woman who left the property to become a residence for seniors needing care.

Lunch today was Beef stir fry, Brown rice, Tossed salad, Lemon meringue pie, and Split pea soup. Obviously this is not brown rice. Dad ate his half a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, about half of the pie, and all of his Breeze.


As Ken was leaving after lunch he said he saw me walking by his place this morning; he said he was wondering how cold I must have been! I told him I warm up after about 5 minutes of walking so it was fine. He said he had just gotten up and it was still feeling quite cold to him! He has a fireplace in his house to warm it up when it gets "cold".

As I mentioned a few days ago, sometimes it takes me a while to figure things out. I was a little faster this time in figuring out why I gained so much weight last week; I have cut my walking back to 2 times a day rather than 3 times but did not cut my caloric intake back by 1/3. Duh! So now I need to make a decision to restrict my intake or continue with the 3 walks. I think I will continue with the 3 walks, I enjoy being outdoors and active!

On Sundays and Wednesdays Dad is scheduled for a shower in the late afternoon. Usually he takes his shower; tonight he was resistant. CNA Chivas even came by about half an hour later and we could not convince him to take a shower today. It will now be up to Curtis to see if he can get Dad to take a shower on Wednesday.

Dinner tonight was Japanese chicken and veggie curry, Steamed rice, Banana cream pie, and Shrimp corn chowder. I was hoping for brown rice since at lunch the menu said "brown" but it was just "steamed", but no such luck. So I ate my curry without rice. The shrimp corn chowder was actually quite good, though I couldn't find any corn in it.


My evening walk started pleasantly. There were similar number of cars on the road tonight. There was a light, cool breeze to keep my cool while I walked.

Ten minutes after the end of civil twilight on Maunalani.

The end of nautical twilight on Sierra.

I took some photos to use as reference photos for paintings.

Seven minutes after the end of civil twilight.

Nine minutes after the end of civil twilight.

Waiahole Poi Factory

We picked Elena up at the Zoo this morning; we took her to Waiahole Poi Factory for lunch. Elena had the Kalua Pig with Squid Luau and Poi, I had the Laulau with Squid Luau and Poi; I also ordered a side of the Ho'io salad for everyone to share. And of course we had to have the Sweet Lady of Waiahole! Elena liked the food and is planning on bringing a friend who is coming to visit later in March to Waiahole Poi Factory.

Elena at lunch at Waiahole Poi Factory.

Clockwise from top L: lomi salmon, laulau, ho'io salad, squid luau, and poi.

Sweet Lady of Waiahole.

I was able to do my sunrise walk; I saw Steph and Lorraine this morning. The moon was still out when I started my walk. I also found a new patch of Chlorophyllum molybdites on Sierra near the park.

Moon, eleven minutes before sunrise.

Ten minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Thirteen minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Chlorophyllum mushrooms.

The gills have a green tint from its spores meaning it is C. molybdites, an inedible species.

Curtis had texted me in the morning saying he was "nursing home sick", meaning not so sick he wouldn't go to work but still concerned that he might still have something he could pass on to a resident. I told him I would go up as soon as we were done with lunch. When I got there CNA Frances told me that Dad had a restless night and did not eat much for breakfast or lunch. He was also very tired and had slept a lot.

Dinner tonight was Barbecue pork chop suey, Sauteed eggplant, Brownie, and Chicken jook. I had to wake Dad up; he only ate the brownie and his Plus supplement. Then he went back to sleep.

I started my evening walk at 6:59, four minutes after the end of civil twilight. There was a nice light  over the city. Tonight there were more cars that passed me than last night. Although the temperature was in the low 70's there was a light breeze that made it a pleasant walk.

Three minutes after the end of civil twilight.

Five minutes after the end of civil twilight.

When I begin planning for a trip to the Seattle area (or elsewhere) I add things to my electronic calendar with the time that things will happen. For example, lunch with ENVS on Friday at 11:45 am is put down in the calendar at 11:45 am. Hawaiian time (GMT-10:00). It makes it easier to wrap my head around the hours in the day. The night before I leave I change the time zone to GMT-08:00 (or wherever) so when I get there I get reminders at the correct time so I am not late for things! (In your Google calendar it is to the right of the date when you are in the appointment options screen.)

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Mickey!

One Widowmaker Gone

As I was driving up this morning I saw Steph heading up Wilhelmina Rise again; I also passed Ona as she was just starting down Sierra Drive. Later, as I was walking I met up with Steph as she was getting to the top of Sierra; while we were talking Rosie & Daisy, whom we met yesterday, went by! I later saw Steph as she was on her way down Lurline and I was on my way up. I noticed that the widowmaker I was most concerned about is no longer hanging in the Norfolk Island Pine on Lurline; it looks like the person who cleaned up the downed limbs at the base might have also knocked the widowmaker out of the tree because everything is nice and neat around the tree.

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Eleven minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Look! No widowmakers!

I've been keeping an eye on the invasive fern; I have permission to remove the fronds with mature sori. But when I tried to remove 3 fronds the other week I found that the strong gusts we were having had broken off 4 fronds, only 2 of which I was planning on removing. Since I didn't want to make it look scrawny I left the last frond with the intent of removing it when the 2 very young fiddleheads I saw were unfurled. Today I looked again and found there are actually 5 new fronds! I will have to see how they're doing next week before I leave.

Three of the new fronds starting to rise above the old fronds.

They look very artful, too bad this species is so invasive!

Dad said he was done with breakfast when I arrived. He had eaten about 25% of his fried egg sandwich but he drank all his Breeze supplement. He was awake and talkative for much of the morning; he was less hoarse & also coughing less than he did yesterday. I have not heard back on the blood test results yet.

My right knee was a little uncomfortable when I started my morning walk; it wasn't painful. It was just letting me know it was there and it didn't like having to do the heavy lifting climbing up parts of the Mau'umae Trail. I think I will throw my Biofreeze into my backpack so I have it available to ice my knee after each walk. And, yes, it is the same knee that I injured in September 2017 when Dad fell. About halfway through my walk my knee was no longer uncomfortable; walking helped circulate the synovial fluids & made it feel better.

Dad was restless this morning so I cut my mid-morning walk short since he did not go down for his nap until about 10:30. I decided to check out exactly how long my Maunalani Circle only walk is and how many minutes it takes; yesterday I told RN Fred it was about 0.6 miles and 12 minutes based on when I went to the Mau'umae Trail head and split the walk in two. What were the results? According to my Samsung Health app it is 0.58 miles and took me 12:55; I was pretty close with my estimates! Fred might start walking it right after work to get himself motivated to walk; he said he feels too tired when he gets home to do anything so I suggested a short walk immediately after he got off work and before he got in his car. I know I donʻt feel like doing much walking once I drive home; on the drive home my brain sort of gets to thinking the day is over and now it is time for a shower & sleep!


When I got back RN Sierra told me that when she went it to give Dad his meds just before lunch she found him diagonally across the bed and with 1 foot on the floor. That seemed to be as far as he could move himself; he told her he had to go help his friend get his car. Earlier in the morning he said he had to go to the bathroom so he could go home. For the next couple of days they will have someone in the room with him when I am not here so they can check if he is still trying to get out of bed.

Lunch today was Pork fried rice, Pacific vegetable mix, Tossed salad, Fresh strawberries, and Egg drop soup. Dad slept for a while, I think he was tired from trying to get out of bed. When I finally woke him up he immediately ate all of his half a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, half of his fresh strawberries, and all of his Breeze supplement. Then he went back to sleep.


Dinner today was Sesame ginger fish, Brown rice, Spinach with garlic butter, Unfrosted banana cake, and Italian wedding soup. Dad slept alot after lunch, I think his attempts to get out of bed tired him out. When I woke him up for dinner he ate nearly all of his half an egg salad sandwich and half of the unfrosted banana cake. He drank all of his Plus supplement.


Because I didn't walk at mid-morning, not significantly any way, I walked before I went home. Civil twilight ended at 6:55, nautical twilight at 7:21. Dad was very awake and talkative this evening so I started walking at 7:30, about 16 minutes before the end of astronomical twilight. In other words, it was dark. I was able to see the weekly fireworks in Waikiki from the park. I also saw the lights at Ronnie & Douglas' house, they were beautiful! When I got back to the car I checked the temperature, things are back to normal.

Ten minutes after nautical twilight on Maunalani.

The fireworks in Waikiki.

Lights at Ronnie & Douglas' house.

My eating has been somewhat out of control this week and my weigh-in this morning showed it! I gained 2.5 pounds over the last week! And that was with walking 8.2 miles for the Great Aloha Run! I need to control my eating better than I have been. Especially because I usually gain weight when I am off-island, which I will be starting the middle of next week. Auwe! On the positive side, I won't need to go to Goodwill to get another pair of long pants while on my trip!

A week or so before I go back to the Seattle area I send out an email to friends and family to see if I can get together with any of them. I did that today. Almost immediately my friend Beth sends back, "Freedom Fund Gala is on March 2nd @ 6:30 pm". I asked, "... can I come in black jeans ... I have no gala clothes here." She says, "Hey you accepted the first community service award in black jeans so they're ok with me!" So I guess I am going to a gala. In black jeans. I guess I was kind of infamous for wearing black jeans. And hiking boots ... but that's another story.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Shannon!

Washer Fixed!

On Saturday the washer broke; it was making loud banging noises even when it was empty. Today the technician came just before lunch and fixed it in 2 minutes! The Potential Most Favorite Roommate said his overly large load of laundry that was unbalanced apparently caused the motor to jump off the brackets stabilizing it, causing the loud banging noises. The technician popped it back in to place; all done! Now The Roommates will be more careful about overloading the washer!

(Photo & text by The Potential Most Favorite Roommate)

The dry weather has made for beautiful morning skies, though I wish the trade winds would return so there is a little breeze to keep me cool. This morning, as I was on my way up I saw Steph heading up Wilhelmina Rise; I also saw Ona & Rio below the park. While walking I saw Ona & Rio just as they were starting on the circle and I saw Steph by the park. I met Rosie & her long-haired dachshund looking dog Daisy as they were coming up Sierra. Just as I was finishing up my walk I ran in to Steph again; she had met Rosie & Daisy and found out that Rosie & Lauren might have a friend in common! I also saw Ken working on his yard; he has been out every dry day trimming various things around his yard. No wonder his place looks a lot neater than ours!

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Eight minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

This Spotted Dove came to watch me do my cool down stretches.

Dad ate about 1/4 of his fried egg sandwich and drank all his Breeze this morning. He sounds less hoarse and was more awake this morning. They did the blood draw this morning; they will let me know when the results are back.

My mid-morning walk was also dry and windless, which made it a little hotter. I saw Suzette in the distance.


Lunch today was Beef stew, Steamed rice, Garden salad, Tapioca pudding, and Cream of broccoli soup. It turned out they had brown rice and steamed corn instead. They gave Dad the soup instead of tapioca pudding, so I gave him my pudding. He only ate about 1/2 of his half sandwich and drank all his Breeze supplement; he was also more perky during lunch.


I have done a little more research about collagen supplements. It turns out the salesperson last night gave me incorrect information, or perhaps Vitamin Shoppe did not train staff properly and have the store arranged incorrectly. I specifically said I was looking for collagen to help rebuild cartilage in my knees; she took me to a certain section of the store. She said collagen was also in another section for its effects on skin & hair. The information I found this morning says that collagen Type I and III are for skin & hair; Type II is for joints. The collagen supplement I bought (and used) last night contains only Type I and III, the other collagen supplements in that area of the store also only contained Types I and III. I know the container says the one I bought is also for joints but that doesn't match what I have read. I donʻt know what the collagen supplements in their skin & hair section contained since I never checked that section out. I guess I will have nice hair & skin now! But since I also want knees that don't hurt I ordered a collagen Type II capsule from Vitamin Shoppe; it was on sale and it ships for free. (Getting in and out of Ala Moana Center was not fun; on-line with free shipping is much more appealing to me!)

CNA Chin came by to see if Dad wanted to go upstairs for the exercise session she leads with Korean taiko drums. It turns out Chin also did the Great Aloha Run! She actually ran most of it; after mile 6 her knee started to hurt so she walked for a mile, then ran the final 1.2 miles to the stadium. She has been doing he GAR for about 25 years now. Running.

I skipped the afternoon walk, my knees need a rest after the short walk on the Mau'umae Trail. Some of the papers I read said collagen supplementation worked in some participants in as little as 4 weeks, but 8 weeks is more common. I hope it works for me, I really would like to be able to do the Mau'umae Trail, and not have sore knees the next day or so.

When I got home I did my laundry, which was actually almost 2 weeks worth of laundry since the washer broke the day before I usually do my laundry. I had run out of UPF tops for walking and only had a couple pairs of clean underwear left. Since The Roommates still had laundry drying in the dryer I hung my laundry out on the line. While there I saw that the last orchid Mom got as a gift is blooming again and the last orchid that she raised is still blooming.

The last orchid Mom was given as a gift.

The last orchid Mom raised.

We're trying to get the new kitties to use the Cat Genie. The Roommates have been moving the regular cat litter box closer to the Cat Genie; today it was moved so it is right next to the Cat Genie. Luna has walked in it twice though she hasn't used it. The plan is to not clean the regular litter box so that they use the Cat Genie because it will be clean. It should be a quick switch after that. My cats made the switch really quickly.

Luna & S'mores checking out the Cat Genie.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Vickie, Barbara, Jackson, Amelia, & Darwin!

Temperature Back to Normal

I spoke with RN Sierra when I arrived this morning. She was off yesterday, so I filled her in on why Dad did not go to the dentist for the extraction. She had also noticed that he was sounding a little hoarse this morning, I asked her to have Dr. Gries stop by when he was doing rounds. Sierra came in later to check Dad's temperature, it was normal.


The morning walk was under very clear skies! So it was dry; I saw a lot of regulars today. It started with Steph on the circle, followed by Ona & Rio about 5 minutes later. As I was completing the circle and starting down Sierra I saw Suzette; she asked me if I knew about the Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) down by the park, she had looked it up in her bird book. Then down at the park, Dan was turning in to the parking lot as I passed by. Everyone was enjoying the dry, sunny morning!

I think I saw Venus as I was getting ready to leave the house.

Full moon visible at the start of my walk.

Eight minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Twenty-three minutes past sunrise on Sierra. I talked to a lot of people this morning.

This is Jake. He lives next door to Kelly & Abby.

Popokilani wanted to be inside the physical therapy building.

Dad was asleep in front of his breakfast; he had not touched a thing before I arrived. When I got up he still sounded froggy but he said his throat did not hurt any more. He ended up only drinking about 120 ml of Breeze.

It's official! We will be doing the Pineapple Run 10K in May! I emailed yesterday and found out that I can walk instead of run. I mentioned it to Steph when I saw her this morning, she's going to talk to Lauren; they might join us for the Pineapple Run! I think I will look for a walk I can do every quarter so I can keep challenging my body; I think I will keep it at 6 to 8 mile events for this year. Although if I could find a very, very, very short run ...

Pineapple Run 10K route. (Screen shot from Pineapple Run website.)

I talked to Brenda today; she is one of the administrators at Maunalani. She and several members of her church walk the Great Aloha Run; she has done it several times already. It turns out she crossed the finish line about a minute ahead of us! She also had seen the early accident at the GAR; it was a woman who tripped over one of the road turtles! I also talked to CNA Eena today, she is going to see if she can walk the Pineapple Run 10K with us!

My mid-morning walk was very sunny and there was no breeze. Due to all the precipitation we have been having it has been a welcomed change, though I can see it quickly becoming too hot for me. I saw Marcus driving up for his shift at Maunalani; I will have to check in and see how he is doing with his walking.


Dr. Gries stopped by before lunch. He listened to Dad's lungs and put in orders for a chest x-ray and blood tests. The x-ray technician came by in the afternoon, the blood will be drawn first thing tomorrow morning.

Lunch today was Pork tofu, Steamed rice, Peas & carrots, Garden salad, Macaroon bar, and Chicken gumbo soup. Dad did not eat any lunch either, he just drank about 60 ml Breeze. Once again, he slept most of the time.


For my afternoon walk I decided to begin exploring the Mau'umae Trail; I wanted to find out where the bench was. I have heard there is a good view of the sunset from the bench. Unfortunately I didn't find the bench; I thought the app on my phone said I had gone 0.7 miles when it was actually telling me I had 0.7 miles more until I reached 1 mile! That's what happens when I don't use my reading glasses! In my defense, that was the first time I checked the app out to see how how much distance I had gone so I was thinking in that mode rather than in the "how much more do I have to go" mode. It looks like I can change the units to 0.1 mile increments rather than 1 mile increments for my next attempt at finding the bench; it would then let me know when I have completed each 0.1 mile segment. I think I was really close, as I was leaving this guy was coming in with his dog, he kind of pointed out which rise it was on the other side of; I think that was the rise I had stopped at. All total it took me 35 minutes to go as far as I had and get back to Maunalani so it appears I could at least get out to the bench and back in my usual time frame. But if I leave it for my last walk after Curtis arrives, I could take more time to get out to the bench and check things out.

The white sign is for what's inside the fence.

You have to squeeze past some old stumps at the start of the trail.

It opens up past the stumps. There is a house on the right side.

At the end of the fences. I don't remember the trail being so full of roots.

Looking off to the right after the end of the fences.

At the end of the forested area.

Looking easterly down in to the valley to the east of Maunalani.

These cacti were along the edge of the area where I stopped to take the previous photo. I think they are Stapelia sp.

Further down the trail. I don't remember the trail being so rutted.

Looking northwesterly at Palolo Valley.

This is from the same spot as the above photo, but looking straight ahead along the trail.

This is from the same spot as above, but looking to the east.

At the end of the trail seen above. Still no bench.

This is what's on the other side of the end of the trail above.

The bench is apparently just "down the trail" from here.

Dinner today was Sweet & sour chicken, Brown rice, Steamed corn, Gingerbread, and Vegetable Florentine soup. Dad ate about 1/2 of his half an egg salad sandwich and half of his gingerbread; he drank 240 ml of Breeze.


I noticed this as I was finishing my dinner. I think I will not go on the Mau'umae Trail if I am going to be coming back in to the building. I forgot how much material my boots can track in; Thelma doesn't need me to be making more work for her! Auwe! I also noticed that my knees were a little uncomfortable. Due to the steepness of some parts of the trail when I was returning I had to have all of my weight on one knee while I lifted my entire body weight on that knee. I can feel a little "something" in my left knee that I injured in September 2017 when I was trying to lift Dad when he fell in the yard; I slipped on the wet grass & twisted my knee. Then I reinjured it a couple months later in November when I was climbing up a bulkhead and had all my weight on that knee.


Generally, when I get a phone call in Dad's room, I walk out to the 2nd floor landing so that I don't disturb anyone. I got a call after dinner, so I went out to the landing; I accidentally locked my self out. While waiting for someone to let me in I saw what looked like a painting on the wall.

This is actually an opening in the wall looking southerly towards Leahi and the easterly edge of Waikiki.

My knees started to get a little uncomfortable as I sat still; it was a familiar feeling. I decided to get more collagen to help rebuild the cartilage in my knees. I'm not sure how long it will take to build more cushioning in my knees; I'm thinking once a month I will try the Mau'umae Trail and see how they feel.

Collagen Peptides from the Vitamin Shoppe.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Chris, Gus & Rebecca!