Vicky Durand’s Adventure Blog #5

Vicky Durand’s Adventure Blog #5
March 8, 2023
 
Welcome to Blog #5
Even though this blog comes out on Saturday I am starting early as today is especially important. Today is International Women’s Day and I am celebrating my gratitude and opportunities. To me this means women going out and doing the work that is in their heart .
Having just weathered a night and early morning with huge amounts of rain and cold wind my purpose is still foremost. Normally this would not be such an unpleasant situation, but the direction is coming straight into my tiny house.

In spite of this I keep the big picture in mind-the reason why I am here??
For me Andy Warhol summed it up with his quote.
The idea is not to live forever, but to create something that will.

Why did I choose dealing with the winter elements to begin work on a last chapter???Any additional thinking is not needed for me to step out of my comfort zone to pursue a new mission. It was almost two years ago when Bob left me saying, “you will know what to do with this special piece of land-this āina”. He trusted me to do the right thing with the land that once flourished. It was a breadbasket with loi’i kalo and growing other foods under the rule of the Hawaiian kingdom.   During this time the Hawaiians had over a hundred different varieties of coconuts that were all used for special purposes. This knowledge has been forgotten and lost in history.   

A few hundred years later, I have come here with a vision and a mission to reveal the true beauty and the potential of this land that is hidden under an overgrowth of hau, African Tulip, bamboo and other weeds. Centuries-old Kanaka Hawaiian farming methods are still in tact waiting to be reactivated and brought back to use again. ‘Āina that once fed a nation must and should come back to growing food again.
 
The coconut revitalization project is only one step toward establishing food sovereignty in a land that once was known for abundance-‘āina momona! To me, this is what it meant when Bob looked in my eyes and told me “you will know how to do the right thing with this ‘āina.” 

We have had some beautiful sunny days now and we are all much happier. I got a drinking fountain for the cats and Casper is drinking. They say cats need a lot of water to prevent kidney disease.

Finally, after weeks of waiting all the tankless propane water heater arrived and I had my first hot shower here which was a great event after six weeks.
The lumber arrived to separate the tool shed from the library and the end panels are being put on so it will soon have walls. Yesterday I had lunch in the shed with the builder Chris, his helper Daylan, and Haumana.

My cut corral path to the shower is almost finished. This week I will get some garden edging to put along the sides so the stones stay in place during heavy rains.

I am having some delicious meals here. The Friday farmers market has the freshest mahimahi ever. This was dinner last evening. There are also wonderful baked goods along with home grown vegetables and fruit.

Other than a couple days of bad weather it has been a great week and I look forward to some real progress with this coming week. My young student helper friends, Megan, Alana and Eli, are missing the cats and coming out to visit Sunday and Monday. I have been meeting new and like-minded interesting people and also enjoying the peace and quiet here.

Looking forward to the events of the coming week. Please make comments on Word Press and let me know who is reading these blogs. Stay tuned for Blog #6 next week as I think there will be a lot of progress to report.
With Gratitude and Aloha,
Vicky