working on the wall at ma'o farm
ma'o farm's land dedication ceremony
offerings on the heiau
lualualei valley
Is that Lingle's bodyguard or is that guy cutting some basil?
arriving in hilo
and the farm
Taste of the Range
Jan and Amy
Peace Parade (1000 cranes for peace)
Deb doing some crane folding instruction
Jan and John
Bit washed out, eh?
Spin's store, Symbiosis
Deb and Ben, and da cranes...
The festival, at Honokaa high school
... after a long day ...
Hawaii Sheep and Goat Workshop
Portable fencing demonstration
Foxy Roxy not straying too far from the barbie
Judging animal confirmation for breeding
The boys, Onslo and Sherman, wondering when they'll get access to the ladies.
Looking at parasites ... yum.
Poop in tubes
A Sunday at 69: Zepher pulling his dump truck of toys back to the car.
Volunteering with NRCS - Amy and I head into Laupahoehoe Forest Reserve
...where we dug a hole to look at the soil profile
i want to get one of those ferns for my front step...
doing our part to help the forest ... eating the invasive strawberry guava
score. jam.
Roland visiting from the East West Center ... checking out the view from my new 'home'
his granddaughters
Rosie
sherman, a recent arrival from oregon
morning at the farm: 6:30am
Rosie, itching
overflowing catchment... good times
drying wool
a few sheep out there are named after Harry Potter ... including an actual Harry Potter who got his head stuck in the fence all day yesterday. apparently the grass on the other side was that much greener...
check out that sky!
keeping the population down: where the kids go tadpole hunting ... the chickens love them
FOOM: fresh ovine organic matter - sheep, cow, and chicken poo (Jan's latest product - fetches a good price at market)
pre-building
the compost bin, before mini-moo found it...
evidence
looking in at the new tent site...
Spin and John, working on the tent platform
Removing a housewarming (literally) present before the deck goes on...
building the steps
got steps (aka a good place to sit back, have a Guinness, and dissertate ;)
putting on the tarp. tarp beam #1.
sunday: after three days of tarp up, i step outside during half time of the vikes/packers game. as i take this i realize the tent beam don't look so good ....
and i realize i won't get to finish watching the game...
back to the garage to build a better beam
bolts, screws, pvc for tarp chaffage ... this one better hold.
on the inside
annie, wondering why she can't come in. (she rolls in poo)
guard dog, roxie
it's coming together... justin, notice the birkie cow bell hanging outside ;)
the only downfall: when the horses are eating it can get stinky ...
even got wireless to work out here on the 10000 year old computer!
pumpkins last 2 days here after you carve them. ;(
Hamakua Alive, an agricultural fair in Paauilo
Deb doing some chicken education
Ben with a potato
The plant guru - I now own a fig tree ...
Spin and Zepher checking out worm composting
the wyss family
kaye and keiki kalo (baby taro)
sally and keith with their native plants
kia'i
hmm ... should i get the gmo free papaya or stick with this squash i got ...
coconut chris and his stash
love it.
more good kid education
farm tour at the discoe tea farm
ben and his compost
deb and one of her kids
chicken harvesting at the farm. john goes in through the roof of the mouth to 'scramble the brain'. supposedly gets rid of the nerves. (vets, got a more biological description?)
then the throat is slit and it drains
then they're dipped in hot water for a minute to loosen the feathers
showing a local kid how it's done
i thought i could kill one ... but all i could bring myself to do was help pull the feathers off
roxie licking up the blood
the neatest part was finding the eggs inside
the eggs yolks, pre embryo (white) formation
the embryo is formed and it's starting to calcify. check out the yolk sack on the right with all the baby yolks.
relaxing and eating the honeysuckle nectar
an egg that would have been layed that day
Friendly Aquaponic Farm (baby lettuce) with the tilapia tank back left
Aquaponic taro
check out those happy roots, soaking up fish poop
Suzanne with their home system demo garden
The home garden's fish tank ... and a fisher ;)
the product, sold to Costco in Kona
settling tank for the fish poop
Tim at the hatchery tanks
roxie sneaking a nap in inside the tent
getting ready for the craft cruise and wool dying...
Velma, working the wool.
Velma is 99. yeah.
mayor Billy Kenoi at a talk story in Honokaa
lots of folks are concerned about 750 acres of county land about to go on the market
