Vicky Durand’s Adventure Blog #7

March 25, 2023

No company this week, but It has been a busy and productive week with ground leveling work, tulip tree stump removal, gravel delivery, carpentry, a trip to town, and planting.

The shed walls are now all up. Little holes are cut in the metal siding where they will be cut bigger for the black windows and doors . Hopefully they will arrive mid-April and be installed in May. Chris laid out the boards for the dividing walls and they will go up this next week. Chris is also bringing his tractor to instal the metal sliding door that goes on the tool shed. When the cedar wood patios are on it will be a better look.

I was able to get contacts for two new workers from my friend Erin. Cliff, a tree trimmer, cut the hau bush out of the monkey pod tree. The hau was strangling the tree which is at the entry to the trail to the pool and waterfall. Derek came and we started stacking piles of hau. My goal is to get one more lo’i cleared for planting our beginning coconut project. I will either burn the piles or get a chipper in to finish the job. While up there I peaked under the dense thicket of hau to see another old rock wall just fifteen feet above. I am hoping to work on that next. Cliff is coming today to trim the meringue tree and the Pride of Burma before they get totally out of hand. When Bob and I planted these trees twenty years ago we had no idea just how big they would grow. Now, they have to be trimmed before they get more unmanageable and eventually fall over. A sixty foot Pak Lan and white shower tree will be next.

I am starting to think of some areas for landscaping. Sunday I followed some chocolate growing farmer friends Bob and Karen to Julie and Alex’s remote nursery an hour away to look at their exotic fragrance plants and hard to find fruit trees. Getting to their place was quite a trip with the last part being a three mile trek on a very bumpy gravel road that included crossing a stream bed which floods and makes impassable during a heavy rain. Julie and Alex are often marooned there.

In addition to a small order I have ordered some native white hibiscus for the driveway and a few more fruit trees. With help we managed to plant a fairly large orange tree and have a lemon, tangerine and another smaller orange to go in the ground this week. The ground has a lot of rocks so planting is a challenge. Chris needs to bring his big machine to dig some holes. Sutton, my neighbor, gave me some Hawaiian purple potato starts and they are now in the ground. Today I am hoping to weed eat an area and plant some of the squash starters for a ground cover.

I decided on a solar package this week and the panels will be delivered in a few weeks. I also looked at and chose flooring-a koa colored laminate and it all has to be trucked out by Bradley. Nothing is easy here, but I am loving this project and the small community.
Mostly nice community. Cliff is in the tree trimming and the neighbor just started screaming that the branches were on his fence so I had to dash up and get my battery extension chain saw and start cutting branches through the fence wiring. Thanks gosh bought bought the best equipment so I was able to do the job. Now we just have to hike down through his pasture and throw the branches back over the fence.

The Jungle Spa last week was a delight after I finally found it. Much to my surprise I had a great haircut from Bobbi. Everybody is settling in and getting very comfortable. I just put a lean to on the greenhouse for shade and rain protection.

Last eve my new friend and neighbor Sutton and I drove into town to listen to Hawaiian music and have pizza. It was pleasant and interesting coming back home on a dark country road and walking back up my gravel driveway.

Haumana is my constant companion and under foot a bit too much. She also likes to sit on the chair next to me at cocktail time. And, she is getting big. She thinks she is a lap dog and loves to sit on my lap. She is great company and so personable.

Time to sign off for this week and get this published. There will be some major things happening next week. Thanks for tuning in and please leave a comment.

Aloha,

Vicky