BLOG #116
November 23, 2025
Thanks for tuning in. The days and weeks have been racing by and I am behind on blogging due to many distractions. There has been so much going on that I want to tell you about. Last week it was a choice between working in the garden and writing a blog, and I was on a roll and couldnʻt resist continuing a long awaited project.
Several weekends ago we had a big push forward here. My helper friends, Edwin, Silipei and Indrajit, came over from Oahu for four solid work days. They did work that would have taken months for others to do. They cleared away years of a banana tree debris where the dead stumps and leaves had just been dropped on the ground making a big mess. They cut some overlapping breadfruit trees to make room for the Outstanding tentalo that is going to be put up soon. The vegetation on the hill was encroaching on some of the coconut trees and that all got cut away. These were just a few of the things they did to make things better around here. The Kawasaki mule came in very handy.
Indrajit came with his new assistant and planted three new coconut trees so we now have eight varieties and 27 trees in our gene bank. We will be sharing the off spring of these trees and the related knowledge. They worked on the hill clearing around each of the planted trees making space so the weed eating does not reach and damage the trees. Ten of the coconut seedlings were dug up and donated to Waihee Hawaii Land Trust niu nursery. They also dug up all the remaining taro and replanted on the restored rock walls. Lots of forward movement…
My neighbor Karen gave me two Hawaiian breadfruit keikes so we got those planted. In a few more weeks I will be selling papayas as the trees are full of fruit-the really good orange variety.
We all took turns cooking and we had some great meals. Edwin cooked breadfruit and he and Silipei ate that practically every meal for four days.
I am thrilled with my squash crop which has totaled about 500 pounds of harvested and sold squash. Just yesterday I delivered another 100 pounds to an upscale produce shop in Kula. I figure each of the 5 planted seeds yielded 100 pounds of squash. I also gifted a lot of squash and will continue to do this as it is so rewarding. I am now planning on getting the ground ready for the next crops and will branch out to butternut and Honey Boat Delicate. Pretty exciting for me!!! A squash farmer at this ripe old age.
In the last week we have had plenty of rain-actually too much as parts of the yard are mud. Mana runs around gets her feet muddy and into the house. I will have to get some bricks for the back yard as soon as possible. I have also had run ins with 3 centipedes in the last two days. Eaks!!
Cleo is back and we finally got all five of the white gutter pipes painted chocolate brown. They donʻt stand out as an eye sore now. We have also completed the oiling of the wooden beams for the tentalo. Now anxiously awaiting the tent construction.
Everybody seems pretty happy. Frida is pictured in her new favorite place this morning. She has come a long way since I found her on the side of the road dumped by some heartless person. My friend Kathleen who is a vet teck helped me save her from near death.
Better run for now.
“Where coconuts grow humanity flourishes.”
Aloha Nui,
Vicky
Wave Woman: The Life and Struggles of a Surfing Pioneer by Vicky Durand 