Subsistence Farming - Hawaii

1- INFRASTRUCTURE

Pond House (new ferro cement building w/barrel vault roof- our main living space)

make form for plastering the gable edge
dig footings for reflecting pond/catchment
dig footings for entry
pour last (3rd) layer of concrete on the barrel vaults and apply water proofing
plaster/burnish interior and exterior surfaces
continue building rock retaining wall between pond and building
decide on design […]

evening rain farm meals from the land, some we have regularly, most we have tried when we had the ingredients and some are ideas (modifying other recipes i have used from the continent with tropical ingredients).

green drink (katook, honey, ginger, lemongrass, mint, perennial cilantro, ice, water, lemon or lime w/ a quarter of the skin) […]

food related for the main homestead:
maybe a cow or two in a few yearshedges to hold a flock of sheep in the orchards
the driveway turned into an enclosed pasture for horses or sheep
corn crop for drying and millling
peanut crop
sugar cane crop
sweet potato patch
more taro patches from roof or sink runoffs
pond plants (water cress, water chestnut, […]

i can appreciate the pull of the world which makes hunting for wild mushrooms become a chore instead of a delight. this school year i have changed my primary focus from eating sustainably on the land to focusing on high school-level home schooling with our 14 year old daughter.
come september, the first thing i noticed […]

Kath just turned 50 and my gift to her when she comes in January for a visit will be an art piece. i will crate a shallow wooden box, paint the inside surface with a face. i will purchase a beautiful simple gold chain bracelet and attach it to the face above the third eye, […]

i never thought this way would be my way. really.
in fact i decided to leave hawaii, ticket in hand until i met scott.
all it takes are a few days of horizontal rain, wet socks (inside the house), rat shit on the rim of my iron teapot or another ruined tin of dragon pearls jasmine tea […]

getting ready for h.s. is thrilling and scary. we started this week. scott is doing math (interactive math), i am doing life skills (a workbook by dave ellis called Master Student), art class (Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain) and large animal anatomy (i figured why not start to tackle the stuff vet […]

still here
we are slowly converting our temporary buildings into “permanent” ones. peace of mind.
we have an intern here from nyc and one from sf. this is quite a change in geography and life style for both of them. the one from sf milked the goats and now won’t even consider tasting the milk after having […]

the vet was out a few weeks ago and gave our injured horse malia the thumbs up. he said there is NO sign of lameness from her injury. he gave us the ok to take her riding, so lauren and i took java and maila on a brief jaunt around the neighborhood.
malia is a sweet […]

i actually have an issue with prayer in schools ONLY because it generally means CHRISTIAN prayer. what would allowing (only) christian prayers in a non religious, tax payer supported institution be saying to the jews, the hindu’s the moslems etc. who have a right to their religions practices being valued? it reeks of colonialism […]