Monday, January 23, 2012

Simply Put

If we were "religious" this would be ours. Covers our political views as well.
Created by Bruce Edwards December, 2011:

"Not so Almighty"
~Amen

Sunday, January 22, 2012

New Neigh-bors

We heard, about 2 years ago when we first started talking about moving into our place here, that we might get some new neighbors next door. Well, it finally happened:



Just moved in last evening. It's the field right next to us.


Tracy paid a visit this morning in her jammies welcoming them to the "hood'"

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Brother John

John came to visit for the first time in mid January.

Somewhere along the Hana Hiway


Maui Sunset taken by John from our front yard!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

*****More Firsts In the Yard*****

We seem to have had a lot of them over the last 6 months and here are a select few:




8/29/2011
Turmeric flower. Grows well here, the root is a tasty spice and very very good for us humans. We were amazed at the beauty of the flower and it stayed beautiful for about a month. Turmeric is sometimes referred to as the poor man's saffron.


Closer view



First Kabocha Squash 
10/8/2011
These are sometimes referred to as Hawaiian Pumpkins here.


The inside story - very delicious
Our patch grew out in all directions easily covering a 50 foot radius. The plant is still producing with at least 3 still on the vine. Total harvest will probably be around 12 -15 of them. Size ranges from biggest like a bowling ball on down.



First rather gnarly sweet potato harvest
10/13/2011
Pretty ugly pile, but we did enjoy a few good meals with them included.




First Compost Harvest
10/13/2011
Perhaps the most exciting "First" of all. The soil here needs lots of amending causing us to be diligent about composting. We call it "Food for the food" - every scrap of organic waste is collected and used. This was our very first look at the results.

We were thrilled to see such luscious soil. No bad odor, filled with bugs and bits, beautiful stuff.


Knowing how our chickens love the bugs Tracy couldn't resist bringing Blondie over for some snacking ... worms, ants, ant eggs, potato bug types, cock roaches, beetles and even centipedes were all there doing their part in the composting process. Blondie wasted no time gobbling them up and continuing the cycle by giving us poop and fabulous eggs!


One last look at the joy!

Author's note: If all this raving about compost and natural cycles rings a bell it might be because you've read, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. If you have not read it and this sort of thing sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend it - it has changed my life, altering my perception and consciousness regarding our natural world today. 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Liliko'i

As you may have noticed from previous posts, I have a liliko'i disorder (aka Passion Fruit). I have a passion for them, indeed! They grow on a vine so we built a special "fence" and planted 3 of them - all started from seeds gathered here. This brief post is just about two different kinds of rather beautiful flowers that appeared on our vines at different times and obviously indicate different varieties.

7/25/11



11/26/2011
We extract the juice from the fruit and freeze it in ice cube trays and then store the cubes in zip locks. Used for drinks, marinades, syrups and our fave: Roasted Liliko'i Chicken.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Full Moon Over the Koa Tree

'Twas the December, 2011 full moon that was also a full eclipse.

From our back yard. Caught this just after sundown between clouds which eventually covered our whole sky so, no eclipse at our house but the next day we heard from many people on the island that is was one of the best ever!