Random Thoughts – Page 2

A Personal Moment

Lives are often measured by the great events that take place during our short spans of existence. Wars, revolutions, social movements, mark both the great saga of human history as well as our personal stories.

Syringes loaded with SARS-CoV-1 vaccine await use at a vaccination clinic — Syringes loaded with SARS-CoV-2 vaccine await use at a vaccination clinic

The COVID pandemic will certainly be such an event. An event with worldwide impact, so many changes, so many lost.

While the start of the pandemic was slow, the events unfolding over weeks and months, I can mark it’s end as today. At least in a personal sense. Today I received my second dose of the Moderna vaccine, a moment I will likely remember, a moment that forever marks my personal journey.

Receiving the second dose of SARS-CoV-1 vaccine — Receiving the second dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

This pandemic is not done, with me or the world at large. The pandemic will still have impacts, and the deaths continue, years from now when I look back this moment is where I will likely consider it done, at least in a personal sense.

For much the last year Deb and I have lived quietly, marking time, staying home. Re-discovering the small joys in life… Cooking, gardening, spending time under the stars with a telescope.

Time to move on with life. The timing seems even more appropriate in that I start a new job on Monday. I can plan for events more than a few weeks away, even consider some travel further than the shores of this small island.

It may not be over, but in my life, in my mind, it is over.

Big White

Got her.

Feral Pig — Another feral pig hauled out of the back yard.

This pig was one of the two I am trying to catch, all that remains of the original eight in the group. One big white pig and one young black, they have evaded my trap for over a month, sometimes stopping by, but hesitating to step into the wire cage.

A bit of a surprise… Contrary to my assumption big white was female.

While she had been quite shy of going into the trap, a bait tray loaded with banana peels, pineapple scraps, and sweet potato peelings had proven irresistible. The trap slammed shut just after 4am. Lightly dozing I heard the plywood door drop and knew immediately that I had caught another pig. Oddly this pig was silent, no squealing to wake the neighbors.

This time I had help loading the pig, my parents are visiting for the holiday. Trapping and handling a feral pig is another story to tell when they get back home.

There is only one pig left of this pack, a mid-sized black that is the last of the litter mates. He was hanging around when we removed the older female this morning, is still hanging out in the area. Got the trap right back into position and baited in case.

Another Night, Another Pig…

Two in a row!

After going almost two weeks without catching anything I get two pigs in two nights. As usual the pigs came in to check on my compost pile. The sliced up apple proved too much a temptation and into the trap he went.

I have been been using apples from the sales rack our local village market. There is a shelf at the back where spoiled produce is placed at cut rate prices. A bag of bruised apples for a dollar makes good pig bait.

As you can see there is another pig outside the trap in the video below. Actually I think there are three more remaining in the neighborhood after this one. One big white spotted and two more smaller black pigs. The trap will be reset and ready tonight!

Pig Problems

I have had it with the pigs, stealing my ripe tomatoes crosses the line!

A feral pig trapped and ready for removal — Mama pig… Big, mean, and seriously not happy about being trapped.

The pigs have been around for months, but the damage had previously been minor. A mother and a litter of piglets caught on camera.

As the piglets grew in size so has the damage. Thus I find myself in the pig trapping business and learning the art of baiting pigs. It is not easy, pigs are wary critters.

The trap comes from a local guy who works for the village association, the result of a few emails to put us in touch. He stopped by a morning later with a very nicely made pig trap. Every few mornings I send him a text with an update, and occasionally a pic of the latest catch.

Nine-O-Nine

I was looking for another photo and came across a few I had forgotten about. In 2002 the Collings Foundation flew several WWII aircraft into Tucson International Airport and provided tours.

Each year the foundation took a few aircraft and toured the country, allowing visitors to tour the aircraft and for a more substantial donation provide sightseeing flights. For those who simply toured the aircraft on the ground they allowed something special, allowing guests to climb through the aircraft and see the inside.

As the airport was just a few minutes from work I had to take advantage of this opportunity. Deb met me for lunch and we headed over together to see the aircraft.

SARS-CoV-2 Negative

For now.

SARS-CoV-2 Test Results. Negative... This time. — SARS-CoV-2 Test Results. Negative… This time.

All last week I was suffering mild respiratory symptoms… Sore throat, stuffy and hoarse, mild muscle aches. Of course one immediately considers the worst case, that somehow despite being careful I had contracted COVID-19.

Not out of the realm of possibility, after a long summer of almost no cases our island has had a rash of infections over the last few weeks including a few deaths. The virus is clearly here and in the community.

I got swabbed on Saturday, and after a weekend of wondering I finally got the results on Weds evening.

Oddly enough I found the result while on the phone with my parents. I had told them about the symptoms and testing a few days earlier and they were calling back to hear the results. While I had not gotten an email notifying me of results, I checked the lab web portal anyway while on the phone. Two simple words… Not Detected.

All clear… This time.

While that was a relief to me and my parents they passed on family news.. My brother has tested positive and is now quarantined for a few weeks. While he has shown no symptoms and is fine, I am glad to hear he is taking the diagnoses seriously.

Hurricane Morning

Arousing a bit before sunrise I lay abed and remembered… Isn’t there supposed to be a hurricane?

Hurricane Douglas from Windy on 26 July, 2020 — Hurricane Douglas windspeeds from Windy on 26 July, 2020

Um? No wind. No rain.

As I read the morning news I listened to a light rain start, even now an hour later it is still just a soft light rain, not enough for me to stop watering the plants yet.

Hurricane Douglas is centered about 70 miles northeast right now, just off the Hamakua Coast. It appears that Hawaii Island will be spared any real hurricane conditions. Quite a change from forecasts a couple days ago that predicted a direct strike.

Maui, Oahu, and Kauai may see much more of this storm, otherwise it is a very quiet Sunday here in Kohala.

Update: It is now late afternoon… No rain beyond that bit of light rain in the morning, no wind. It has actually been eerily calm all day.

First Storm of the Season

Here we go again.

Hurricane Douglas approaches the islands, GEOS West infrared image at noon, 25 July, 2020

Hurricane Douglas is the first hurricane to threaten the islands this season. The storm was a strong category 3 but has weakened a bit. It still packs 100mph winds and is expected to remain a hurricane as it passes.

Fortunately the path has shifted to the north slightly over the last 24 hours. The storm is now expected to miss the islands by a bit. Not by much, but enough to avoid hurricane force winds making landfall.

What we do expect is tropical storm force winds and heavy rain. We are ready for the winds, I secured everything yesterday. The rain? We could use some rain. The best outcome would be a day of good soaking rains on our side of the island.

Yet Another Leak

The joys of home ownership continue, but at least not our house this time.

A split PVC fitting sprays water from the house main water supply line.

Walking alongside the house I hear running water so I stop and listen. The sound is obviously a bad leak somewhere, but the sound is not coming from our house. Rather it is the other side of the hedge, under Bill and Gail’s house!

I push through the oleander hedge and listen again, yup… a leak.

Walking around I find Gail home and tell her about the leak. I crawl under their lanai to find a small muddy swamp and the leak right where the main line comes in from the street. Fortunately Bill is in already Kona, a few phone calls and a visit to Lowes and he is headed home with the right part for the fix.

It takes Bill and I ten minutes to make the fix, cutting the PVC, screwing in a new fitting, gluing the old line into the new fitting right where the PVC line from the street changes to copper for the house. Bill hands me parts while I play in the mud. We spend more time chatting than making the fix, waiting for the PVC glue to cure before applying pressure to test.

No problem with the repair, it was done right from the start. A problem solved and a good start to the day.

Banana Patch MkII

Back in February it was necessary to perform a distasteful deed… I cut down all of my bananas and used herbicide to kill as much of the root mat as possible. The reason? The plants had been infected with Banana Bunchy Top Virus.

The back yard banana patch has been leveled

The virus stunts the growth of the each stalk, with the leaves becoming dwarfed and bunched up at the top giving rise to the virus common name. Nothing to do but to kill the entire clump, wait a while and start over.

That wait is ending. Over the last week I have dug out the banana patch and prepared it to be a productive bed again.

To this end I have dug a small pit where the old patch was located. About twelve feet by eight, and about 18″ deep. This will be the new banana patch.