Welcome to Hawaii
We arrived in Hawaii on March 1, 2005. That was the first time
Valerie and the girls ever saw the place.
Yes, as if quitting my cushy programming job and totally changing my
lifestyle wasn't crazy enough, I also moved my family to a house they
had never seen, in a place where they had never lived, to start a
lifestyle none of us had ever experienced. Luckily my
family trusts me and I seem to have made a good choice. We all
love it here. The transition is a bit dramatic but after a
little adjustment it seems that we'll be able to live here happily
ever after.
We beat our furniture here so we spent the first few days in an empty
house. We had sold most of our furniture before moving and
purchased a loveseat and hide-a-bed couch that were already in the
house. That meant that we at least had a place to sleep those
first few nights. The previous owner also left behind some patio
furniture, kitchen ware and other stuff we needed. The cleaning
lady had picked a beautiful bouquet of flowers, all from our property.
Before moving here, I knew I'd be busy but I had a difficult time
imagining exactly what I'd be busy doing. I knew that one of the
first things I wanted to do was drive the tractor around the farm. (the
farm came with lots of equipment, including a tractor, ATV, diesel
riding mower, chainsaw, sprayers, leaf blowers, etc.) To my
dismay, when I got here I discovered that the ATV and mower weren't
working. At least I knew what my first project was going to
be. Most of my tools where still in the cargo container floating
their way across the ocean but I had been smart enough to bring a few
essential tools with me. I got started on the ATV right
away. I cleaned the carburetor, replaced the spark plug, starter
relay and fuel shut-off gasket. I knew that being a good farmer
would require me to also be a part-time mechanic and I took the ATV to
be my first mechanic challenge. It took several days before I got
all the parts but I did finally get the thing working. I immediately
took Valerie and the girls for rides around the property.
I didn't have time the first day on the farm to ride the tractor like I
had planned. I did find time on the second day. I took it
for a spin around the house then up back along the upper fence. I
was still not too familiar with the layout of the farm and I turned
down a hill I shouldn't have. It looked fine at first but it got
narrower and steeper as I went. The tractor started sliding
sideways and I couldn't get it turned or backed up the way I wanted.
I was wedged between the electric fence and a row of coffee trees.
The fence was on but it's no match for the big old tractor tires.
The tractor didn't even notice that the fence was there. Which is
good otherwise I may have never gotten the tractor out. So my first
lesson on the farm was how to get the tractor unstuck. My second
lesson was how to repair the electric fence.
While I was busy breaking things, Valerie was busy getting familiar
with her new garden. The soil here in Hawaii is very
different. Since it was all lava a few short millennia ago, it's
very rocky. Once broken down, lava makes great soil. It's
rich in nutrients and it's very porous so it drains well. The
soil in Valerie's new garden was in fairly good condition. Her
first task was to remove all the weeds. Weeds grow fast around
here. Look away for a second and they'll soon be taller than the
coffee trees. But Valerie had her garden whipped into shape in no
time. Emily helped some too. Emily wanted to plant carrots
for her new bunny that we've promising she can have soon. We've
held of for awhile now but there's no way Emily will let us forget our
promise.
Sarah has been busy exploring the property too. She had been
looking forward to being able to wear shorts all year long while
running around barefoot and climbing trees. The giant avocado
tree out front makes the perfect climbing tree. Sarah also soon
discovered that our neighbors have horses. We had warned her
about the electric fence and she was being very careful to not touch it
while trying to pet the horses. Unfortunately she got a sticker in
her shoe and as she bent down to remove it, she reached out to steady
herself and KAWAAP. No permanent damage but she definitely won't
touch the fence a second time.
Click on images with a border for larger version.
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While I was busy breaking things, Valerie was busy getting familiar
with her new garden. The soil here in Hawaii is very
different. Since it was all lava a few short millennia ago, it's
very rocky. Once broken down, lava makes great soil. It's
rich in nutrients and it's very porous so it drains well. The
soil in Valerie's new garden was in fairly good condition. Her
first task was to remove all the weeds. Weeds grow fast around
here. Look away for a second and they'll soon be taller than the
coffee trees. But Valerie had her garden whipped into shape in no
time. Emily helped some too. Emily wanted to plant carrots
for her new bunny that we've promising she can have soon. We've
held of for awhile now but there's no way Emily will let us forget our
promise.
