September 30,2023

Welcome to Blog #35

WOW! Life has settled down somewhat after getting caught up after last weekend’s big move. It has been a week of little, but important strives ahead. The office is getting organized and ready for work.

I now have a big heavy duty farm gate that is installed correctly so it easy swings back and forth to open and closes without falling off on the ground. The next step is getting the solar opener and closure installed so the remote will open and close from the truck.

The solar shed is built and the solar will be installed today baring no rain. Cory has to get on the roof to install the panels so it cannot be wet. I bought standing seam metal roofing so the panels just snap on without drilling holes in the roof. When this is up and running life will take on a new dimension. I now have to run the gas generator everyday for a few hours to compensate for the failing Eco Flo solar generator.

On Wednesday I made the trek to Kahalui to pict up small black stones for in between the patio pavers. At one point I thought about gathering them from the beach, but the locals do not like this so decided to purchase them from Indo Lotus. I had to drive back gingerly as the twenty bags of stones weighed 800 pounds. Luckily the truck is heavy duty and is built for heavy loads. The patio is now mostly finished except for the two ends which can be filled in after the gutters are on.

I also picked up two sheets of bamboo plywood to finish one wall. The yellow and white ginger were in full bloom all along the drive which is a beautiful site. The trip back gets long, but that is a small price for living here. And once the building is complete the trips will be few and far between.

Yesterday was a big day as I unwrapped my Speed Queen washing machine and did my first two loads. It has been eight months struggling with trying to keep clean.

The solar panels are going on the roof as I am writing this. I will soon have lots of needed electricity as the days are getting noticeably shorter

We have also been cleaning up all the paper and many boxes from the shipping that have littered the yard. The cardboard boxes are broken down and used as a first step on weed barrier for planting the coconuts. There were boxes and black garbage bags filled with paper everywhere. I found some African gardenias and yellow hibiscus at the farmers market yesterday so am getting space to plant them. Planting space is limited as there will be more excavator ground work needed before I have free spaces to plant.

Well, I think it is time to bring this to a close and get it out there. I keep getting distracted with things going on here and the afternoon is moving on.

The cats are all having a great time exploring all the newness happening here. My new friend Sharon from the Maui Humane Society came to visit this week.

Thanks for tuning in and best wishes for a great week.

Aloha Vicky

September 25,2023

Welcome to Blog #34-two days late

It is FINALLY happening! Ten large crates of my “stuff” were delivered Thursday afternoon by Sam at Redo Trucking. Sam is the man who brings in all the food and materials for the Hana Hotel and Hana Ranch. His biggest truck could only bring half the load in one trip from Royal Hawaiian Movers storage in Kahalui. It was quite an operation as he was able to get up this challenging driveway. Then one at a time he unloaded each crate with his forklift.

Just about the same time Thursday evening I picked up Edwin and Silipei, my helpers from Oahu. They were absolute life savers and I could have never done this without their help. It only took a day to unload and Sam was back Saturday afternoon to pick up the empty crates and return to Royal Hawaiian.

It is now Sunday morning and it was so busy during the last days I could not write until this moment. And, actually it is now Monday morning and I have been totally swept away putting the crate contents into places. There have been many many boxes each packed with lots of paper. Royal Hawaiian did such a great job wrapping everything to the max! I have only found one wine glass broken.

Chris, the builder has his tools still inside and the solar equipment is inside so the space is very crowded. Edwin and Silipei are super hard workgoiers and they started 6:30 Friday morning and we were still working late Sunday afternoon just in time to catch the plane back to Honolulu. It was a moving marathon! Besides unpacking and moving furniture to make room for more and more being unloaded they were putting shelves together while I was unpacking, throwing boxes and papers outside and putting things on shelves. I have ended up with quite an accumulation of family heirlooms. They will all make an impressive coconut research institute-Koali Niu. Besides Indrajit expertise we are planning on having visiting scholars come here to share knowledge.

Over the weekend we did have time for some fun. Derek, who also came to help brought bananas and a batch of coconuts.We drank the water and ate the coconut. Friday night we joined a group of friends for pizza and music. And, we had some great meals around the fire.

I have almost finished my patio with the white coral pavers. I always think of Trudy while I am placing the stones as she was so good at this. Wednesday I am going to pick up small black pebbles to place in-between the stones.

And, one last note my friend Karen who is a great designer gave us the idea of putting a vertical grave branch along Kinau Wilder’s pottery repair table which I am using for an island. This would provide a cool way of bringing electricity down to the island. Monday Chris cut the branch, but we needed an army to carry it closer to the shed for drying.

The other work in progress is the shed for the solar unit. The solar will be installed next week and I can hardly wait for this to happen.

Ok, jobs are calling and I have to get going now to finish some work. Everybody seems happy dashing around the yard and laying in the bushes. The days are getting shorter and we are getting more rain now. And, it is just a few days until Blog #35 will be sent out on Saturday. Sorry to be off schedule with this. Hope you tune in for the #35.

Aloha Nui,

Vicky

September 9, 2023
Welcome to Blog #32

It has been a busy and productive week. Jit arrived last Saturday morning and while here he helped me with a lot of tree trimming and also planted a small ti hedge at the entrance to the driveway. We also had some planning sessions for our next planting in the next few months.

We were getting lunch at the Thai food truck in town and we ran into Angelina, a friend from Oahu who worked with Jit and Manu on the Molokai coconut project. This was quite synchronistic as she just moved here to be with her sister Kahea and and she loves coconut projects. The next day when we drove down the way to see them we met some Kipahulu residents who own property with coconuts and they welcomed Jit to come and get seedlings.

On Monday we had our first coconut seedling give away. The Little Yellow plane flew to Hana airport and took the first group out to kahalui. She could only take sixty two pounds so the other half were left in car of the airport manager till she could return for the other bag. She brought out a scale so she could tell exactly how much to take so as to not overload the tiny plane. And, as it was the bag was jammed into the small space behind where the pilot and co-pilot sat. After loading the coconuts we gave them a ride back to the food trucks as they were getting something to eat and then going to the beach and hitch hiking back to the airport.

This week I heard from Sally, a classmate’s sister telling me that their coconut tree at Pokai Bay was being attached by the beetle. The bay is named after the Hawaiian chief Pokai, who is said to have brought the first coconut tree to Hawaii. “Ka Uluniu o Pokai” is the famous coconut grove that once lined the backshore. Luckily she reached out after reading the past week’s blog to give me this news. We think this tree is a descendant of the famous coconut variety that was one of Queen Emma’s favorites. Supposedly the variety is know for it’s sweet water. Sally’s mother was a friend of my mother and she gave mother a tree from Pokai which is planted in our Makaha yard. A tree which is also heading for trouble with the beetle. Indrajit is going out to check Sally’s tree and see if we can rescue some nuts along with the nuts from our tree. We will bring them here to safety at our pu’uhonua.

Wednesday I made the trek into town to pick up building supplies and marketing. There were ten 10 foot black plumbing PVC that got strapped on the top of the truck rack. It is always a tad hairy doing this. This time about a half hour before Hana the straps loosened and I could see a few pipes coming forward. I had to coast very slowly into Hana town center and ask my friend who works at the I Love Hana store if she knows anyone that can help retie the shifted and falling off pipes. Luckily Chico, a large Hawaiian man, gruffly came to my rescue and I made it another twenty minutes home with the pipes intact.

The wall behind the sink went up along with some cabinets. The sink and shelves are coming soon.

Thursday morning on my often usual visit to instagram a woman named Lisa Bromfield caught my attention as she was discussing synchronicity. I think She has some very interesting topics that she brings to light during what can be trying and uncertain times we are now living in. She is a Energy Healer, a Reiki Master, a Spiritual Life Coach, and Inspirational Speaker. Check her out on Instagram Lisa_Bromfield_inspire. We connected by phone yesterday afternoon for some insightful conversation.

There was a paddle out for Lahaina yesterday at Hamoa Beach. Unfortunately I missed it, but even the clouds were in heart shapes.

This evening is the bon dance at out newly renovated Buddhist Temple. It is really a classic place and a huge community turnout. Today we are also celebrating my dog Haumana’s second birthday. Hopefully some maturity will follow now.

Time to end this and get back to some jobs awaiting. Thanks for tuning in. Wishing everyone a great week! Love hearing from those who respond.

Lots of progress is going to be made in the next two weeks which I am really looking forward to. Alexia, a new friend, sent me this picture with Lucky and I have no idea how to crop.

Aloha Nui,

Vicky

September 2, 2023

Welcome to BLOG #31

WOW, this seems like a milestone. To think it is also the last official weekend of summer. Already I see the days getting shorter, cooler winds, and day light running a tad latter in the morning. And, It has been another week that has come to end very fast.

I woke up this morning with no power. I can easily do without lights, but I need my Starlink to work so there is access to the internet. I have also come to realize that in this life off the grid, there is always something not working and needs fixing. Luckily there are people here to repair things. I have lots of water now and this is how it fills with each little rain.

The shed floor is now finished and looking super dup. The window and door trim is almost all completed and they are here on this Saturday morning working to complete that job. Yesterday the third sliding door and the bamboo ply for one wall was delivered. Earlier in the week I picked up the cabinets and plumbing materials. In a couple of weeks the refrigerator and patio roofing be in and then ta da……my things in storage will be delivered and I am launched at the end of this month.

This is how they primed the framing before painting and installing.

Indrajit is flying in this morning and we will plan and strategize for the coconut planting. We are in the process of working on a logo for Koali Niu and a web site among other projects.

Yesterday Bradley’s boys came to take out more hau surrounding the six tulip trees. This had to be done before Bradley can come in with his big equipment and take the trees out. Then the next steps of ground preparation and planting can be worked on. Jit is also going to gather some coconut varieties from the nearby areas. And, hopefully there will time for some swims as I haven’t been to the ocean all week.

A new adventure this week was that I took a quick trip to Oahu for a lunch meeting and to advocate for a project I have gotten interested in. It is our former governor, Linda Lingle’s Women’s Prison Project. This is a project to lighten the sentence and create rehabilitation for women who have been guilty of non-violent crimes and who have children. Luckily she has taken this project on as Hawaii’s sentencing process has complicated efforts to reform the broken prison system. See Civil Beat article Sept. 1, 2023. Hawaii is the only state that assigns the Parole Board the responsibility of setting minimum sentences for felonies. This is what determines how long before a prisoner is eligible for parole. The women have really taken a hit hit on this because the Parole Board is composed of discriminating, ruthless, and biased men who are running amok with some unfair sentences. I listened to a couple recording tapes of the hearings and was appalled at the tone as well as the outcome.

Revisiting Oahu and a club that I used to enjoy going to made me so happy to get back here as fast as possible. I was able to accomplish this thanks to Hawaiian Airlines and Uber.

So, it has been another full week of moving forward. The animals are all loving their new life.

Happy Labor Day weekend and thanks for tuning in. My stats say over 300 people are tuning in, but only a couple respond.???
Aloha Nui,
vicky

August 26, 2023

Welcome to Blog 30!! seems like a milestone……….

Almost hard to believe this is documentation for so many weeks here. Each week has been a wonderful rewarding and on going challenge. It reminds me of our early camping days at Makaha where we communed with nature. After mother built the house it was never the same feeling. So, I am savoring each day/night and might do a semi camp life style forever-or at least as long as possible. I learned that once you start living under a roof with walls and windows life changes. We continued the night beach fires, but they were only occasional. I am hoping to have a nice fire pit here in the back yard to burn wood and enjoy the night skies that are full of glory.

We are all still reeling and full of sadness from the fire devastation in Lahaina . Every day more disturbing news comes out about the horrific event. Hana town is now a different place with very few tourists around and mostly waving locals in their trucks on the road. The many food trucks are all mostly shut down and it will be devastating for the small and larger business owners. Luckily the Friday Hana Farmers market continues with a bounty of local produce, hand made items, and baked goods. It is a lovely community event with a weekly meeting place for locals. The Humane Society showed up yesterday with free food. The first Friday has been a concert series put on by Hana Arts. This next Friday Paula Fuga will be in concert which should be great as she has so much energy and spunk.

There was some wonderful news this week! I am a recipient of the Kauhunani Community Reforestation Grant given by The Division of Forestry and Wildlife for our Koali Niu Project. I am thrilled as this is the first (of hopefully more) recognition and support for our work with niu-reforesting and planting varieties of coconuts along with a gene bank for disapearing varieties. This grant will kick start my pu’uhonua project to rescue some of the coconuts being decimated by the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) on Oahu.

The beetle was first detected in Hawaii in December 2013 on the Joint Military Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Oahu. It is now spreading all over the Island of Oahu with wild fire speed. This contamination is mainly due to the amateur authorities’s using a method that did not work on Guam. And, they are now taking their hands off the problem. They have wasted millions of dollars and are now not having the courage to take responsibility for delivering false hopes. They did not take the appropriate action when they had the opportunity to eradicate CRB when it was only on the military base. This is what the trees look like before their death.

Now this problem has been comfortably passed on to others, and it has become their problem. In my longtime home at Makaha Beach there is a descendant tree from the well-known ancient Uluniu of Pokai Bay. Today, some of the coconut trees from this original ancient grove are scattered around the area of Waianae. In the mid 1950’s my mother was gifted a baby tree from Pokai Bay. Today, I was notified that the CRB are rapidly moving into the Waianae and Makaha areas. Now my precious Pokai niu has become the prey of CRB. Our sirens have gone off and we see this is an emergency that needs immediate attention. Hopefully a solution can soon be found as this is another regulatory nightmare.

On a happy note my newly planted native hibiscus produced the first flower. My papayas are producing the best ever Sunrise fruit and the bananas went off with more than could be eaten.

The floor is almost completed in the new shed and it looks beautiful. Everything will finally come together mid to late September.

The cats all seem happy. Lehua showed up last week after being missing since arrival. I rescued her, her brother and mother as beautiful blue eyed beautiful kittens from the Boy Scout Camp on Roundtop Drive. She is starved for affection now. She was also in the hot attic for three weeks of the St. Louis Drive house before getting her here. The cats love the piled up hau chips.

Thanks for tuning in. Wishing everyone a glorious coming week.

August 12, 2023

Under the circumstance here on Maui this is an extremely difficult blog to write. My activities here seem almost meaningless with what has happened and is still happening in Lahaina-armagenden. From what I hear on the news on the death toll is not even close to reality. The terrible devastation and loss is beyond words. Besides the loss of life and structures there was so much valuable early Hawaiian history there in Lahaina all up in smoke-only ashes now. I was actually tempted not to write this blog at all, but for the records I need to keep documenting the week’s progress here at Koali Niu and moving forward. So, I start this #28 blog with a very heavy and sad heart just after the wonderful land blessing memories from two weeks ago.

I had a hard time with the pictures last week so am going to put a few more that were air dropped and should go in easier. A surprise of the blessing was that Elliot Kalima, the significant other of my new friend Carol, is related to Kumu Leiohu. They had a lovely meeting.

After weeks of waiting two sliding doors were installed in this week. They look really great and in case of more hurricanes I am pretty much secured. I am waiting now for the third one which was an after thought to be delivered mid September.

Work progresses on the ocean side patio roof. There is even work today being done on the cross beams so when the roofing arrives it will go right on in one day.

Bradley and boys spent a couple days here taking out the hau and tulip roots. Now the job is to spread out the hau chips that are in piles and get rid of six more tulip trees.

I harvested about eight squash which the locals call pumpkin. They cook the squash with pork and it is a desired dish. This will be a continued crop and I might even have to open a stand at the farmers market with extras. I heard it is good for dogs so am also going to add it to Mana and Ehu’s meals. Maybe the cats will even like it?

Luckily so many are reaching out to help those in need and supplies are heading in by air. I am trying to figure out what I can do.

Thanks for tuning in.

Aloha Nui,

Vicky

August 7, 2023

Welcome to Blog 27

It has been a grand and glorious week starting last Friday when my daughter Marcie arrived in Hana and we met them at Hana Farms for salad and pizza. This was the beginning of many fun activities.

I covered Sat. lunch in last blog. My architect Mireille and husband Harold flew in and we all had dinner at the Ranch restaurant Saturday night. A new treasured friend, Carol, had the haku lei made and surprised me at the restaurant.

Sunday morning my two friends and major helpers Alana and Megan arrived on the early plane into Hana.On the way back we went to the bay to see the Saturday unveiling of the Queen Ka’ahumanu statue. Ka’ahumanu was the daughter of the Great Maui King Kekaulike and Ha’alo’u. She was born in a cave just around the corner from the Bay. The statue is a beautiful addition to the Bay which is a meeting, swimming, canoeing and resting place.

Sunday afternoon Indrajit arrived with Jessie (kalo specialist), Brittany (voyager) and film maker/producer Alex. They all helped with some stuff here and trimmed the lichee tree so we could eat lichee.

Sunday eve we had dinner for twelve and that was a task with a camp kitchen, but it turned out really great. After dinner we all sat around a big bon fire while Alex filmed us talking about our coconut project.

The land blessing on Monday was beyond fabulous! After six months of talking on the phone and planning a date, it finally happened! Lei’ohu Ryder along with her partner Maydeen ‘Iao drove out from Kula. Lei’ohu is a Hawaiian spiritual leader, visionary, singer/songwriter, healer, and educator. They are truly Kumu with amazing Aloha. They did a magnificent job and it was the best having them along with so many friends and family here on this special land. After the ceremony we all enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by chef minded farms under the fragrant Pak Lan tree.

Over the next days everyone slowly drifted back to their own places. I miss them all, but I am very happily here on my pu’uhonua with wonderful memories along with big dreams and plans for the future.

What especially comes to mind today as I write this is the famous quote from mother. “You are today where your thought have bought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts have taken you.”

Wishing everyone similar thoughts and thanks for tuning in. I am so sorry that many of the wonderful pictures were taken in video and I am having trouble loading them into blog. Maybe by next week I will have some help.

Aloha Nui

Vicky

Welcome to Blog #26

This is going to be super short as I have family here and am waiting on some old friends to arrive.

One of the best things about this week is the chipper was here Monday and Tues and the hau piles are now mountains of hau chips. The chips will have to be raked out in between the rock walls for the planting. There is still a lot of wood Debre to be removed by Bradley’s backhoe.

The patio beams are going up and looking super gorgeous. Chris is fitting them together with notching so there is no ugly metal bracing.

Bradley came yesterday and took the pile of sand up mauna so the front yard is looking better.

There are still two big piles of beams covered with a tarp that we need to look beyond. I had hoped to get the front yard cleared out of building materials for the blessing day, but no luck.

My daughter Rennie and her husband Billy were here for two nights camping with me and so nice having some family around. They hiked up the new trail to the pool and waterfall yesterday.

Saturday our very old friend from Montecito days Keoki Raymond came out with his daughter Melissa. When Melissa was three years old and the girls were five and six they all played together. Now they are all in their mid to late 50’s and had not seen each other over all the years. My step daughter Sarah (who had also not seen Marcie and Rennie for years) joined us and we had a wonderful reunion lunch at the Ranch House.

So, now this is going out two weeks late due to all the company and activity. I am moving on to Blog #27 which is also late.
It has been a whirl wind of fun and the next blog will tell about it.

Thanks for tuning in.
A hui hou,
Vicky