Animal Update

What's a farm without animals? And even when I'm not farming, animals have always been an important part of my life. Here's what's new on the animal front hereabouts:

First and foremost, Miss Pinky Pie is about to have piglets any time now! Her due date is today, but most likely this will happen during the night. This will be Pinky's first litter. You can read more about it here on my pig blog. We haven't had a litter of piglets for over a year now, and are looking forward to meeting the 4th generation born and raised here on our farm. Stay tuned for updates!

My chickens are still going strong. I'm debating whether or not to add new chicks this spring. I need to decide if I want to keep up this level of egg sales or scale back a bit. At 3 dozen eggs a day, it's a lot to deal with when customers skip a week or go on vacation. (The store I was selling the excess to moved to Hilo during the big lava scare.) I'm leaning toward just letting the flock thin out a bit with age, until it reaches a productivity level more easily handled. On the other hand, I still get new people seeking out these eggs - maybe I need to keep the supply going... decisions, decisions...

Spirit horse is doing well on the land. He came with the place and he still has free run of it as he's accustomed to. That will change once we get it cross-fenced. Sometimes we see him when we go up there, sometimes we don't... he lives up to his name.

 
Both kitty-cats are content in their respective homes: Kona Boy here at the house and farm, and Blackie up at the Banana Shack on the land. Cats will always have a special place in my heart and these two have definitely purred their way in. Not to mention, they earn their keep by keeping the rodent population in check. Very important work on a farm, or anywhere really.

A completely new addition to our menagerie is quail. A feed customer had some extra quail she didn't have time for, so she offered them to me, and after a brief online research, I accepted. These pretty little birds are Coturnix quail. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better, and possibly increasing the flock. They are a little skittish, but are also quite curious and supposedly can be tamed. They lay sweet little speckled eggs. Right now they are temporarily housed in the chick brood pen which happens to be just the right height required for these birds. They tend to jump straight up when startled and can break their necks if they get their speed up before hitting the roof. Hence a low ceiling is needed - or an extra tall one they can't reach, like, for instance, an entire pen area in the barn... see where this is going?

[turns out I still need a photo of the bees, sorry about that]

It turns out the first livestock on our new land is not beef after all, but bees! We got a hive of honeybees from a friend who enjoys getting others started on apiary adventures, just in time to pollinate the mango flowers... maybe we'll actually get mangoes this year! Mike is really excited about this latest hobby, and since there is quite a market for local honey, it may actually pan out. The hive is situated in a perfect spot underneath the Grandmother Mango tree - how cool is that?

Enough!

This wishy-washy back and forth of the lava flow (oh wait, now it's not flowing...) is enough to drive one mad. But we have come up with a solution: we're resettling into our home. It sure feels good.

Pictures have been hung back on the walls, books are back on the shelves... all the little touches that make a house a home. It's definitely better than living out of boxes in bare rooms.

The lava flow is moving so slowly, barely managing to inflate the area already covered. It hasn't even reached the highway yet, and doesn't look like it will in the foreseeable future. Shops and stores are moving back into their former locations and Pahoa town is reviving.

After all these months of anxiety, it is good for our spirits to settle back into our own flow... tending the farm and livestock, fixing up the ranch, gathering with friends and family.

Please don't worry: There will be plenty of time to repack should that become necessary. I'm saving all the boxes, just in case.

And even though we are no longer in the vacation rental business, we do still have a guest room, so come on over!

Goodbye 2014...

... but so far we haven't had to say goodbye to Pahoa-town or our home.

The lava keeps flowing, but it's taking it's own sweet time. We sure don't mind that! We've gotten used to the whole "hurry up and wait" mode, always on the alert, but also taking time to gather with friends and to tend the garden.

I've had to unpack a few items that were needed since the first mad dash to get away from impending doom has passed. Who knew it would take four months and counting? Mike has returned to the perimeter fence-building project on the new place: three sides are finished now - more on that in a future post.

Basically, our situation is more of the same: we check the flow status online every morning and evening... keep an eye on the maps and on how close the helicopters are flying overhead... say goodbye to more friends as they move away... and wait as patiently as we are able. Some days are easier than others, but we're getting pretty good at it by now.

I'm including this morning's video from Mick Kalber and Paradise Helicopters. These guys do more overflights of the lava flow than any of the officials seem to do, and they always have the most informative visuals, accompanied by lovely Hawaiian slack key. No need for a voice-over to interpret what you're seeing, their blurb below will help if you're unfamiliar with the area.

"Since our overflight last Friday 12/26, lava has crossed the firebreak road (cut from the top of Apa`a Street to Ainaloa) and advanced about 40 yards towards the Pahoa Marketplace. It is now four-tenths of a mile from the Malama Market and moving slowly, but steadily. Numerous small outbreaks were visible upslope of the flow front, mostly on the surface of the active flow rather than in the trees. Much more activity continues in and around the trees several miles up near the geothermal pad site. Some surface activity also continues to be seen near the Pu`u `O`o vent... a skylight remains open there as well. As scattered as the flow appears now, the flow front does not appear to be stopping, but the level of descent and sluggish nature of the flow front would indicate that although it is less than a half mile away, it will still be some time before it reaches either the Pahoa Marketplace or Highway 130."

 

It's Getting Real All Over Again

I've been meaning to post, but what would I say? One week it looks like the flow is abating, the next it's full steam ahead. Do we go ahead and trim the out-of-control Chinese orchid tree and cut back the fishtail palms out front... or concentrate on further improvements to the Banana Shack? The flow front moves to the north... no wait, it's curving back around. Maybe we have time to finish the perimeter fence after all? The lava meanders about in a fairly flat area only to find a crack and burst forward again. Every time I postpone writing here, I'm glad I didn't give an update that would be outdated a few short days later.

But the time has come. Although the flow stalled last month, just on the brink of town, it hasn't stopped. At all.

The yellow dot shows the flow front as of this morning. We are at the top right of the image.

Now the newer half of Pahoa town, the Marketplace with all the more practical shops, is the target. The active lava front is within one mile of the grocery store, medical clinic, auto repair shop, hardware store, gas station, propane & battery shop, among others - all are located in this Marketplace area. Plus, the highway junction is right out front.

Once the highway is cut off we will have to take a longer, slower route to the outside world and anywhere north of us (Hilo, Lori, beaches, friends, all other parts of the island, groceries, building supplies, etc) via the newly reopened and graveled Railroad Avenue, then back up to the highway through another subdivision.

Dashed blue lines on this one depict alternate routes: Railroad (extends on both sides of Hawaiian Beaches) & Beach Road.

Quite soon after that, if the flow keeps going, it will cut across Kahakai Boulevard, our access to the highway. At that point, we will have to take Railroad in the other direction, up through yet another subdivision in order to reach Pahoa and our land.

Obviously, at some point before all this happens, we need to have most of our stuff moved away to the safety of the Banana Shack. But exactly when? No one knows. This flow is so unpredictable, as is usual for a pahoehoe flow on this side of the island where the terrain is so varied, full of earth cracks, old lava tubes, and a jumble of previous long ago flows.

Some have asked why we don't just move already... move on... get out of harm's way? There are several reasons: insurance requires our home be occupied to a certain extent; we can't sell out (who would buy in front of a lava flow?); it's a huge job to move the farm animals, as well as the household, and all - we don't want to do it before we really have to (the flow could stall again, or could just take its sweet time to get this far down, or even could take another route); there's the worry of vandalism and theft; and besides, it's far more comfortable here. We will stay as long as we can safely do so.

Meanwhile, it's the Christmas/Yule season with all it's attendant expectation and goodwill. Having a small child to share the excitement and wonder makes it all the more special. I've been enjoying this season to the fullest! I went ahead and decorated, and put up a tree full of cherished ornaments, each one with a story behind it. It will still be a while before the lava comes knocking on our door. The little bits of normalcy and cheer are a welcome reprieve from the anxiety of impending lava.

 

No time to post... Lava on the way

The lava is just about to hit the first houses in Pahoa town. We are prepping the banana shack, packing our home, and saying goodbyes to friends as we all scatter on the winds of big changes happening to our lovely district.



You'll likely have seen images on mainstream news now that it's closer to being the sensation of the week. But I thought I'd check in, however briefly, to let you know we're still here, but not for long.

This slow-motion disaster is taking its toll on everyone's nerves, but it is also affording us time to come to grips with the new reality: Pahoa will never be the same, if it will even exist. Puna District will be cleft in two: those behind the flow and those on the Hilo side. Saddest of all, for me, is that our kids and we will be on opposite sides. There are graveled connecting roads in place and being constructed - and we are most grateful for that! It means not being totally isolated behind the flow - but the drive times to just about everywhere will be much longer. Oh well, we're kind of used to that, coming from the mountainous Inland Northwest.

So many paths for our thoughts to wander down in the midst of the turmoil the lava flow is causing. We have shut down the vacation rental, obviously. We are down to just one pig, Pinkie Pie, who is (hopefully) bred (this time). She will come with us to the new land, once we build a place for her, after we finish up a place for us. One more load of feed is due to arrive today or tomorrow, and will no doubt be sold off quickly. We are no longer offering farm tours. The store where I sell excess eggs is closing, so I'm not sure what to do with all my chickens. Our food crops and trees are just coming into their full production here; it's a harsh reality that they will likely be gone ere long and we will have to completely start over again from the ground up.

I'll be back once the pace isn't quite so exceedingly stressful here. In the meantime, all good thoughts and prayers are most welcome, not just for us but for our entire community.