Salvaging Sheep

The state is conducting periodic helicopter sheep shoots on Mauna Kea to control the population. These feral animals are destroying the native Palila bird's habitat. Some see the hunt as a sad and savage event, my husband sees it as an opportunity. Our freezer is now full.

The sheep salvage sounds like an experience I wish I wouldn't have missed. A helicopter herds the animals into one area then someone in the chopper shoots them all. The bodies are then loaded into a sling and flown to a field where trucks of salvagers like my husband eagerly wait. A massive ball or legs, horns and filthy fur is placed in the grass and a free-for-all ensues as the meat lovers charge towards the pile of carcusus.

Meat Grinder

Chris managed to bag two sheep this way. We ended up with about 40 pounds of meat that we divided equally into roasts, steaks and ground sheep. A highlight of the project was using Chris' homemade meat grinder. Yes, homemade. He was at a farm auction years ago in Oregon where he purchased for five bucks some meat grinder attacments. An American made motor salvaged from a broken down GE dryer, a board and some wiring and wa-la! I am told this meat grinder has served him for years and has even processed a bear.

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Camping Couple

We returned to the camp site we scouted out last weekend. It turned out to be a winner- we didn't see anyone else there except for one boat of divers down shore a ways. Stars shone bright last night and whales entertained us all day long. We're also stoked about our brand new tent.

Romping Around in Rocks

Chris and I did a quick after church hike last weekend to scout out a new camp spot. We didn't immediately find a trail to our destination and wandering all the way there across a`a lava seemed hopeless. Then we spotted the trail that made the hike possible. I'll never know how the first Hawaiian settlers could walk in this stuff wearing nothing but banana leaves.

High Surf

Chris and I parked at the end of NELHA road and walked to Pine Trees and back Saturday . Kohanaiki was closed for high surf so there was no traffic on the road. It made for a pretty nice afternoon stroll.

Pine Trees is beautiful with myriads of SUVS locked out of the gate:

Accomplishments

I've been working hard lately and I feel good about it. I am the writer for West Hawaii Today's new real estate magazine, West Hawaii Real Estate "Live Big." We published the first issue Wednesday with Kelly's beautiful design, my articles and enough ads to support a 12-page section. The challege now will be keeping up with deadlines. I'll need copy for a new issue every other week while keeping up with a lot of other duties.

Another accomplishment came Sunday when I played viola with the Kamuela Philharmonic. I have played with similar groups in the past, but this group is the most skilled orchestra I have ever had the pleasure performing with. We rehearsed all day Saturday and held a dress rehearsal Sunday before the concert. It was exhausting, but also exhilarating from the moment our bows hit the strings until we finally peeled our sweaty behinds off the seats to take a bow at the end of the show. We played the Overature to Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, Ma Vlast (second movement) by Bedrich Smetana, and we accompanied Boris Konovlov, an unbelievably amazing pianist, on Sergi Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 3, which is one of the most difficult pieces written for piano. It was incredible! What an opportunity!

Thanksgiving again?

Chris and Larry went hunting up Mauna Kea this weekend and Chris brought home two turkeys. He shot one young turkey earlier in the season and we ate it up in one meal. These recent turkeys were more like the 14-pound birds you'd find in the store. We cooked one last night and it will last for several meals. It has pretty good flavor but the meat is lean and dry so gravy is recommended.
Nice white meat:

Country Caving

We usually cave at low elevations in lava fields. But recently Chris' former co-worker, Jeff, arranged for us to check out a cave on a private ranch mauka of Kainaliu at about 2,500 feet elevation. The cool air, grassy fields and mountain views were exciting enough for me, so I wasn't too dissapointed when the cave turned out to be a dud. It only went about 100 yards. On our way back to the car, a woman spotted us and told us about another cave on the property. That one was a winner! It branched off in several places and Chris started marking the turns with dollar bills so we could keep track of where we had come from. Part of it was stand-up, but there was also duck walking and crawling. Roots stretched from the ceiling to the floor, which is something our lower elevation caves do not have. This cave also had the unique feature of a cow skeleton, which was different from the goat skulls we're used to kicking around in. We spent about an hour in the cave exploring every avenue. A good time was had by all in this lava tube we nicknamed, "two dollar cave."

A lava drip ceiling hides the top half of Chris:

Hau`oli la Hanau

Happy Birthday Andi's blog, who turned three yesterday. We celebrated with one of my favorite desserts- yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Mahalo to everyone who logs on to enjoy this silly little website. I hope it brings joy for years to come.

White Mountain

Chris and I visited the 13,796 foot summit of Mauna Kea today for a frolick in the snow. I got four runs on my snowboard, Chris driving our trusty Jeep was my ski lift back to the top. The snow was the mountain's best I've ever ridden in, but it was practically white-out conditions. The summit area was socked in with clouds and it was snowing. I couldn't see lumps in the snow and I couldn't see more than maybe 15 feet in front of me. It was a bit creepy but still pretty fun.

We also played with a saucer sled, threw snowballs and people watched. We saw all sorts of people- local folks riding boogie boards and anything else that would slide and some pretty creative winter clothing. Our favorite was a long teri cloth bath robe, which is very likely the warmest garment that person owns. The other type of person on the mountian is the transplant to Hawaii who is well versed in winter weather-snowboarders with all the gear and even some skilled telemark skiiers. It amazes me how much winter gear resides on the island for such an opportuinty as this.

Hau`oli Makahiki Hou, Hawaiian style

We welcomed 2009 with plenty of smoke and fireworks. Duane and Michelle had their annual New Year's party. Since Duane is a fisherman, the food never dissapoints. Last night's meal included Duane's ahi and mahimahi as well as sheep sausage (locally hunted) kalua pig (also locally hunted) and buffalo- obviously NOT shot locally!

Chris and Duane prepare a string of firecrackers for Midnight:

Rich Man shows displays his tae kwan do skills with this makeshif bow staff:

Happy Couple

Chris' dad draws a picture every year for the family Christmas card. This year he created a card with an image of our wedding day. Pretty neat, huh?

More Hunting


Chris and I hunted game birds at Puhakuloa Training Area last weekend. The hunting was pretty slow, but Chris did manage to bag a Japanese Quail. The highlights were the view and finding strange Army debris on the ground. I am a bit surprised they open an Army base when they're not using it so civilians can wander around with guns and shoot at animals. We had an amazing view of snow covered Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, as well as the bright blue ocean, Hualalai and Haleakala on Maui. That alone was worth the price of admission (or the waking at 4:30 a.m. on a Saturday)

Taking a break and taking in the view, here's me with snow covered Mauna Kea behind.