October 10, 2026
Thanks for tuning in if you have not forgotten about the blog by now with the many weeks absence. I am still here working my way through always trying to move forward on my many projects. I just had another big birthday and I think all these projects keep me going. It is almost like “running from death”. Anyway, I am just glad to be alive with all the many years accomplishments, memories, projects, heartaches, all making many memories. When I think back about my life I am even amazed myself that so much happened and I survived. It is an odd time when so many of my cherished classmates from our Punahou class are sadly no longer with us.
It has been awhile since my last post. I don’t want to give this up, but I am now trying to recap my thoughts on the last weeks events.
We survived all the storms and hurricane warnings pretty well. While many lost electricity I was fine here being off grid. All I needed was gas (which is over 9$ a gallon here in Hana) and my generator to work. After a cleaning it is now is good shape. Luckily we did not have much wind and there were sunny hot days in between the storms. Actually the Big Island shields us from the bad stuff.
My bunk house is now remodeled with bunk beds, a new floor and getting pretty fancy. This was the little shack Bob and I put together and stayed in while we were clearing the lower half of this property.
My friends Edwin and Silipei came over on Labor Day weekend to push projects forward. Among the projects were a new green house cover as the plastic was deteriorating after the past three years. The also did a lot of clearing and ti leaf planting along a fence to hold the cane grass back. The Mannie Brothers (sp?) who own the Hotel Hana Maui bought a new plane to bring people out.
And, speaking of the hotel they redid the bar and are now welcoming locals with dinner Wed. to Sat. nights and music. It is a fun and popular gathering place now.
We are moving ahead planting taro on the old Lo’i. James and his family came out for a planting and it is growing very well. We are going to work on a grant for planting all the terraces and hopefully become big taro growers in the next years while waiting for the coconuts to produce.
We finally got our new 4 wheel drive lawn mower to mow and reduce some week eating expense. Not sure about many of the Hana young men getting Mohawks? James found it on Marketplace in good used condition so that is a big bonus. Since all the clearing the main job is maintenance. Indrajit is coming back next month to search out more coconut varieties to plant.
I am at war with the snails around here because they eat my garden and carry disease. I collect them in the eve when they appear, put them in a bucket of water and redone them far away. I do the same with mongoose-set traps, catch them and re home. I cannot kill them as most people do around here.
I was honored to attend the Kapuna lunch at the Hana Kamehameha Pre School with James and Moe’s three year old Teava. It was so cute to see all of them.
Sadly, a Hawaiian woman down the street had to move to a care home in Kahului. She left over fifty unfixed cats that we are now dealing with. My friend Sharon the Humane Society officer out here is slowly trapping and getting them “fixed”. A few of us are taking turns feeding them until we can find homes and figure it out. I brought one little black cat home (Sophie) that was crying and very friendly. A lot of the cats were sick as she was feeding them ramin and not cat food.
Meanwhile a few of us have formed a non profit animal rescue team called HART-Hana Animal Rescue Team. We have some land and will buy the cat fencing from PURRFECT fencing to fence a large area and hope to create a place like is on Lanai. It is a big project, but we are working towards the goal.
The film Niu Forever has been excepted into the 46th Honolulu film festival and will preview October 28 at the Kahala theater. It will also show the 29th and 30th. This film has been five years in the making and highlights the work of Niu Now with Indrajit Gunasakara and Dr. Manu Meyer. Very exciting!!!!
Alana, a friend and helper from Oahu came this week to work with our local vet Dr. Krista and help me with the cats. Alana is applying to vet school so this is an opportunity for her.
Dr. Krista
Better wind this up and see if I can get the pictures on. My computer died last week and I am working on an old one until my new one arrives this next week. Luckily most of my data was stored in the cloud so I still have it.
Thanks for tuning in.
Aloha Nui,
Vicky
