Cuckoo for Coconuts

TRAINING SEASON

2009-07-09T14:18:00.003-10:00

The new website I designed for TIGER ATHLETICS is finally up and running. You might remember the business cards and logo I designed for them a few months ago. Stop by and have a look.

Next up: The TIGER blog and sister site IGNITE ATHLETICS.

UP-GRADE

2009-07-08T11:28:00.008-10:00

As of today we have the 2nd floor on as well as the sub roof and deck. Stairs may go up tomorrow.

I must say... we are super excited we put all those windows in... the mountain and sunset views are amazing as are the peek-a-boo ocean views. Stay tuned ....

Front/West wall.

Back/East wall

Inside the upper office looking out the North facing windows and our peek-a-boo ocean views which you can also see when sitting at the desk which is the wall to the right in this shot.
Our biggest concern now is...
HOW DO WE PAINT ALL THE WAY UP THERE UNDER THOSE EAVES??
Maybe we will hire someone after all.

WATCH OUT FOR THAT WALL!

2009-07-08T10:53:00.007-10:00

I have been trying to get a few good pics of the baby cardinal and it's parents for the last week now, but have not had much luck. You might remember the nest we found with 3 eggs in it back in May. Well it looks like one of the three babies has survived.

Baby is in front chomping on a red berry and mom behind keeping a watchful eye.

It has been hanging out with mom and dad under our bedroom window chirping up a storm and eating the berries from the asparagus fern at the most ridiculous hour of like 5:30 AM.

Well this morning while sitting at the kitchen counter enjoying my coffee, I heard a thud then saw a streak of gray go across the window. I looked down to the ground and there was the baby flat on it's back... knocked out cold.

So what do you suppose I did? Yep, I went out and picked it up. It was really out of it. I immediately took it around back and put it on the table under the trees. Poor thing was so out of it, dozing in and out. After he started to come to, I walked away and just left it there hoping mom and dad would show up.

Dad finally came to the table and was very attentive and concerned. He would hop right up to it and chirp, then hop to the edge of the table and look back as if to say" Well, come one."

After about 30 minutes I started to walk out towards the table and they both took off.
YAY!

WALL TO WALL WALLS

2009-07-01T23:12:00.010-10:00

Things on the construction front are moving along at a rapid pace. Our lumber delivery arrived on Monday morning during a downpour, but the day soon turned sunny and all was good. The builders showed up a little after lunch and began prepping and cutting for Tuesday's raising of the walls. I did not expect for all 4 lower walls to go up in one day...BUT THEY DID. WOW!

Wednesday was spent laying the floor joist for the upstairs office and the sub-flooring a well as installing the interior walls on the first floor storage room. Thursday will bring the raising of the upstairs walls and quite possibly the roof.

By the way... the workers listen to some pretty amazing tunes that are totally up our alley.
Depeche Mode, Iron & Wine, Amy Winehouse, The Scorpions, New Order, Belle & Sebastian, ELO and Morrissey just to name a few.

Here are a few images from the last 3 days.

North wall

East wall

South wall

West wall

The toilet room.
As in a room just for the toilet.

Headers ready and waiting for all the windows and doors.

We bought this tent at Costco for the guys to work in and hang out under during the blazing hot days. Thinking we just mught put it to good use afterwards... maybe a party tent?

SAN FRIEND-CISCO

2009-06-30T10:00:00.007-10:00

Detail of Tom Bonauro's Home
photo from sfgirlbybay

A blog I have been following lately is sfgirlbybay by Victoria Smith. Good thing too, as 3 of our favorite people have been featured in the last 2 days. Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom of Curiosity Shoppe and graphic artist Tom Bonauro.

I meet all 3 while working at Todd Oldham back in NY. Lauren and Derek moved back to SF to open their shoppe about 3 years ago and have had a curious group of followers since. Tom has lived there as long as I have known him and has quite an amazing eye! He is working on a new monograph of his work so make sure to check out the preview on his online portfolio.

Tom has designed some of the most beautiful graphics around and we are lucky enough to own a few of his pieces. Even the envelopes are amazing. I just received a few new pieces this year.

I could really gush about the 3 of them all day... but I will just let you view their images and see for yourselves how amazing they are.

FOR ALL THE TREATS L,D +T.

Here are a few of the Tom pieces that grace our kitchen. More like these as well as a few books and framed envelopes are waiting to go in the new office. Most are 2 sided, and it was a real chore to decide which side to display. I may find a new way to display them so that we can take advantage of both sides.

Jar of chicks were actually a gift from Lauren and Derek.

"SWEET"

Printed on wood

"ONE"
Etched into brass

This is a bar of chocolate that I have kept in the fridge for about 8 years now. It says OKAY.

I love having a little piece of art in the refrigerator.

"from the sky"
Printed on wire screen.

"halo"
pressed into a Heath Ceramic Tile

"ALRIGHT"
Enameled metal

"seems to APPEAR"
Carved in graphite

Click here to read the piece on Lauren and Derek - Love and Curiosity -
that Victoria wrote and photographed

for UPPERCASE MAGAZINE.
photo from sfgirlbybay

And here to see the feature on Tom's home.

UNEXPECTED GUESTS.
photo from sfgirlbybay

POUR IT ON

2009-06-25T17:01:00.014-10:00

This past thursday we had a break from the rain just in time to allow for the new cement slab to be poured. It's the first major step in converting our old tractor/car shed into an office space. It will also house our electrical and water utilities.

I like this pic Conn shot from the roof of the house. You get to see the whole layout of the form. The existing slab is the remains of the foundation of the shed that we had to take down to make way for the new slab.

The stairs are all formed and reinforced ready for the cement to be poured in.

Here you get to see the masonry crew transporting the cement to the back of the slab because the truck's chute wouldn't reach that far. The white stuff is a glue to help the new cement adhere to the old slab.

From the front you can see the whole masonry crew (sister too!) shoveling and getting the cement to fill all the nooks and crannies of the form.

Smoothing it out to make it nice and level. The gray conduit coming up from the slab is for the electrical connections to the inverter.

And voila! We blinked and they were done! The metal braces you see in the front are for the 6x6 posts that will hold up the stairs and balcony for entry into the office.

Here's a view of the finished slab from the front of the house. You can see where we tied in the new slab into our existing front walkway.

Love this shot of the finished stairs.

Framing is set to start monday so stayed tuned for pictures of that sometime toward the end of the week.

GARDEN PROGRESS

2009-06-24T20:45:00.007-10:00

This isn't anything new. In fact this group is quite old. Some day that blackberry lily on the left WILL bloom. When, is anybody's guess. I heard they usually bloom the second year but we're going on 2.5 years. To the right of that there is a small potted pineapple. Then some pineapple mint and the giant rosemary.

This pic shows the hacked up hibiscus hedge. It was starting to grow into the garden to i had to cut it back. I've since chopped off the top greenery. I went a little lower than the last time I trimmed them around January 1st. Conn usually frowns when he sees how much I cut them back but in another 6 months I'll be trimming it back again. It still amazes me how quickly nature recovers here.

Roma tomatoes. Tasty sauce and bruschetta.

Lima beans. Never grew them before. They proved hardy though i need to plant twice as many to get a worthwhile yield. Now waiting to see of the plants gives us a second crop.

This is a lethal pepper that sneakily found it's way into the garden. Lesson in proper seed packet marking. We're not into hot spicy things so this will remain pretty to look at.

Yay bell pepper! I leave them for as long as possible so they can turn red but they usually start to show signs of age before then. So they make they're way into a sausage and pasta dish, or vegetable fritatta.

Bottleneck gourd. These have proven difficult to grow. Gangbusters the first year, but since then hardly any yield. I have to be vigilant with the organic pesticides on this for it survive.

Fennel. Rough start with the seedlings on these. Now what to do with them?? Suggestions welcome.

More tomatoes. Tough to say whether these are Better Boys or Beefsteaks. One thing's for sure, they were delicious.

FLOWER SHOCK

2009-06-20T11:54:00.010-10:00

The construction is moving along and we passed our first plumbing and foundation frame inspections on Friday. Next week we will have LOADS more images.

We have had a few days to work in the yard and have been able to enjoy all the flowers that are popping out everywhere. Here are some images (ok...a lot) that I walked around and shot today of what is blooming now. They ALWAYS amaze.

Plumeria

Rose Flowered Jatropha

Cosmos

Bromeliads / Pineapple

Pink Oleander

These are still unknown to us, but are more than likely weeds

DIGGING IN

2009-06-11T16:38:00.006-10:00

This has been an eventful week with the excavator here... and it's not over yet. It all began on Monday with our excavator showing up with lots of excavatory toys that we immediately became envious of.

As he set into finding the "grade" we soon realized this was going to take longer and COST MORE than we expected... NATURALLY! But it was rather painless and we've had a great team of workers so far.

Sawing into the existing slab to check the thickness of the footing and then jackhammer it away.

The cut lines into the slab before the jackhammer fell.

Turns out the slab was pretty thick which works in our favor. Then the back hoe moves it and starts to remove some of the gravel before we can establish the grade needed to pour upon.

Excavator Mike, establishing the grade with his fancy grade measuring tool.

We thought that we were going to have all this extra dirt once we dug the new footing trenches, but turns out we were short. We ended up pinching some from the large pit in the far back part of the property.

It's a dirty job...

Excavator Mike again using a extra fancy tool for packing the dirt in the smaller, hard to reach parts of the site.

And here he is using a giant roller that not only rolls, but vibrates and sprays water.

Once the earth was all packed and the footing lines marked, what else would you expect Mike to do? Yes he went in and had to dig out portions that he worked so hard to pack. These trenches will be the perimeter and will support the exterior walls. And being that we are having a 2nd floor on part of this structure, the footings need to be even thicker.

With all Mike's work done, Jason the Mason came by and dropped the lines for the wooden forms he will be placing on Friday. After that... some plumbing and electrical lines, then a quick inspection by the county, then the concrete slab gets poured.

Oh, remember that pit we pinched the dirt from? Well we back filled it will a pile of palm fronds we needed to relocate then buried all that under a new layer of dirt. The mound in the back was extra and will come in handy for potting and gardening.

STAY IN THE LINES

2009-06-07T11:52:00.000-10:00

Our contractor and excavator stopped by yesterday to map out the new foundation. We are adding a lot more concrete than I thought... not sure how I feel about that.... but hey... things are moving along.... and that's always good.

The excavation starts Monday and should go through Tuesday. After that... frame the foundation for the mason and lay the plumbing and electrical.

WORKS ON PAPER

2009-06-05T08:50:00.004-10:00

Here are 2 announcements I did for my friend and Artist Extraordinaire, PARNELL O. CORDER. He is part of a group exhibition being held at FILOLI in Woodside, Califonia. If you are in the area and able to attend, please check it out.

Filoli
11th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition
June 23 through August , 2009

Artist Reception
Thursday July 16, 2009 5-7PM
Reservations required
R.S.V.P. to 650-364-8300 xt 298 or
classes@filoli.org

Filoli
86 Canada Road
Woodside, CA 94062
650-364-8300
www.filoli.org

...WE'VE SHED OURSELVES

2009-06-03T22:31:00.006-10:00

Today we finally got the last bit of shed taken down and only 2 days behind where we thought we would be. We kept the majority of the walls together, but will take them apart later on when we re-use the wood for a small tractor shed in the garden. We took every single nail and screw out one by one rather than cutting them and leaving bits in the boards. While we have a good amount of design work on our plates, we saved a good chunk of change by doing the demolition ourselves. We will also be doing almost ALL of the finishing work ourselves!

We are still working on which flooring to use in the office, exterior paint colors, composite decking, sink and faucet, toilet, medicine cabinets, interior lighting and ceiling fans. The desk, work table and all bookshelves in the office will be handmade... using the new KREG JIG we just got. It looks like a MIRACLE TOOL! The desktops are all going to be laminate... that we are settling on today. They are all really great... yes... THEY, as in several... it's a surprise.

We met with the mason last week and have ordered all the doors, windows, bathroom vanity and all exterior lighting fixtures (which are my favorite pieces so far). The excavator is due to show up today to evaluate what needs to be done to modify the existing slab. With any luck, we will have the underlying plumbing, electrical and foundation finished in a few weeks. After that.. framing. Then finishing... by when? Shooting for mid August... we'll see how that plays out.

Start of the day.

One wall down...3 to go.

Bucket full of old nails.

Monkeying around.
All work and no play make Conn a dull boy.

They put HOW MANY NAILS in this one tiny board?

Last wall standing.

Site's ready for excavation. Oh and yes, we got the new propane tank Monday morning.
As you can see, it was a picture perfect day for working outside.

These 4 pics show the 4 piles of salvaged materials. There is also 1 stack of siding and some roofing that will also get re-used. This last pic is not really salvagable and is what we are planning on trashing. Not too bad.

FLY BABIES

2009-06-03T21:38:00.007-10:00

Tuesday morning...It's looking a bit crowded in there...

Yesterday afternoon, I went out for my nest check and to my surprise, there was one lone baby standing on the edge of the nest. It reminded me of when I stood on the HI-DIVE for the first time... thinking... NO WAY AM I JUMPING MAN. In a flash he took off and landed in the grass. I heard the chirping of the others, and the parents showed up right away. I felt as though this last one out of the nest was going to be in trouble. I just imagined it being told... "We told you to stay put until we came back for you." I felt I needed to explain that it was my fault.
I waited around about 100 feet from the baby until the parents rounded up all three and took them deep into the banana patch. So that's it... 9 days after hatching and they are out and about... feathered and flying. I did not see them today, but saw mom and dad flying in and out of a Christmasberry tree all day. There were several chicks in there chirping, but I did not investigate. Thought it best to give them their space. I'm sure they will show up on the rock off the lanai soon. Adult cardinals always bring teenagers there when teaching them how to find food. Not that there is much to finding it... when it's served up daily at 7:oo AM and 5:00PM. We'll keep you posted if and when they do show up.

This was the only pic I got as my camera battery died the minute I snapped this.

Just to make sure they did not return to the nest, which I do not think they do... I went back out this morning. They left it pretty clean. I think we can give them back their security deposit.

Dad filling his cheeks on the rock off the lanai... hopefully to take it back to the family.
This is the guy that see's me walk outside and he follows me from tree to tree. He's even come right onto the lanai at times... singing for food.

Here he is at 7:00 yesterday morning... singing for his breakfast... looking in the window ... tilting his head back and forth. His next stop was right down to the railing.
I'm such a sucker. At least these won't eat us out of house and mac nut home.

NEST BRACE

2009-06-01T08:48:00.006-10:00

As I mentioned in the last post, the nest was starting to slip and was at a precarious 45 degree angle the other day. The winds have picked back up and it was pretty unstable. I also think that as the babies grow, their weight is also affecting the shift of the nest. I really did not want to interfere, BUT, I did. I put several bamboo poles on 2 sides of the nest to shift it to a more level position and secured it with a few Ti leaves rather than string or wire. I think it will hold out but will keep checking a 2 times a day.

Ti leaf ties.

The baby cardinals are growing up really fast. I did some more research on them HERE and found out some amazing facts. It's quite interesting.
For example... Did you know...?

1. Cardinal chicks need to be fed often. The parents bring food about four times an hour. This helps the chicks grow quickly.

2. By the time they are 10 days old, the cardinal chicks are ready to fly from the nest. Today they are 8 days old.

3. Fleas, lice, mites, and ticks suck blood from the birds which could cause them to die. BUT, a cardinal knows how to fight back. It picks up several ants with its beak. It rubs its feathers with the angry ants, which squirt acid.

This was them on Saturday.

And here they are today, just2 days later. I remember when we raised Kekoa...
it was crazy how fast the feathers came in.

WINGING IT

2009-05-29T08:53:00.004-10:00

Have a look at this post and the one from yesterday. It's pretty remarkable how much the feathers have come in on the wings in one day. Cuter and cuter by the second.

New Window Link

EYE OPENER

2009-05-28T09:26:00.005-10:00

One of the baby cardinals has started to open it's eyes. All are doing well and they are all sprouting feathers. I'm just worried that tiny little nest is going to get too crowded soon and it looks like it's starting to lean to one side. Keeping a close eye on that.

TAKE A LITTLE OFF THE TOP AND SIDES

2009-05-28T09:25:00.000-10:00

This past week we got the roof taken off and all of the siding taken down. This week we are in the process of taking down all of the framing. It is our goal to have the whole thing down by Monday, which is exactly where we thought we would be at this point in the game. It's been a pretty easy process. The weather has been dry which always helps, but it's also been so HOT that we put off working on it. More pics soon.

The future view from this room. This wall will be all glass. 1 Giant picture window, a 6'foot tall jalousie and a glass door to the right.

CAKE BREAK!

EGG-CELLENT NEWS!

2009-05-25T09:47:00.005-10:00

The third and final Northern Cardinal egg hatched today... exactly 12 days from when the mother laid it. I am happy to report that all 3 birds are doing well and the 2 from yesterday are becoming active. I managed to get a quick shot and this short vid while mom was away. I like to get in and out of there as quickly as possible... but the thought of a short vid was too hard to resist.

WE MADE THE PAPERS!

2009-05-24T21:36:00.010-10:00

Look who's in Maui Weekly! Our short stint planting "Orchards for Animals" made the local paper. Conn's image of Penny the baby goat is featured on the front page and in one of the photos that accompany the article, you can spot us in the background.

EGG-CITEMENT

2009-05-24T19:42:00.004-10:00

John and I went on a late afternoon hike today (pics soon) and I realized I forgot to check on the nest today. So when we got back, I stuck the camera up in the tree to have a peek inside. Yes... they've hatched... well 2 of 3 have. They look so fragile without feathers.

Because the camera really distorts the scale, I stood as high as I could on my tip toes and looked in. There they were... softly breathing and fast asleep... and no bigger than 3/4 of an inch. Look at how giant their eye sockets are. Maybe #3 will hatch tomorrow. CUTE!

OK... They look a bit scary...but in a cute way. Right?
I'm a sucker for a baby bird.

WE LOAVE DESSERT!

2009-05-23T21:05:00.008-10:00

I was up bright and early today and started baking these Triple Citrus Buttermilk Pound Cakes at 7:30 AM before it got too hot. It's the same recipe I used for the Orange Version a few months ago, but this time I used lemon, lime and orange zest. I made a double batch and added chocolate chips to the second half. I was curious about what the batter weighed, so I pulled out the scale... IT WAS 5lbs. I got one large loaf, 4 mini loaves and 4 mini bundt loaves. We were invited to a party last minute so we took some of the mini's. I'm so glad I made extra, but that meant I needed to give them a little personality. I glazed them with Triple Citrus Icing, placed them on a banana leaf mats and garnished them with a thin banana stalk tied with a banana leaf knot. The large loaf was decorated with young lemon branches and rested on a banana leaf mat. It takes very little effort to dress them up, but makes for a pretty dramatic presentation. Be creative... use what you can find... orchids, lemongrass, citrus peel curls or leaves. As long as they are not poisonous of course. Have I mentioned we love dessert? I think it's time for another slice now.

ALL IN THE PHAMILY

2009-05-22T11:48:00.006-10:00

We know it's been awhile since we mentioned Kekoa, but we have no news to tell. He's been heard at Leilani Farm Sanctuary, but not seen. So I guess that's good news.

We have seen his mom and dad almost every day since Kekoa went to live elsewhere and it's been great fun. Big Mama is almost never out from her nest under some Norfolk Pines, so it's pretty exciting to see her out and about. Big Daddy is out carousing daily making all sorts of noise. Big Mama , being very skiddish always makes a run for it when she spots us. Big Daddy on the other, who used to runoff is now getting comfortable with our prescence. We only watch them from afar and do not have any plans on inviting into the house.

I camped out for about 20 minutes to get these shots. They are the first and only shots I have ever gotten of the female.

Big Mama is very much the Plain Jane so as to not draw attention to herself and her young.
She's quite large... almost as big as the male, without the long tail. She is always walking in front of Big Daddy. He protects her fom a distance.

A few minutes after Big mama walked past, Big Daddy made his way across the back yard after hanging out in the garden. Notice a broken tail feather.

BAD BOYS

2009-05-22T11:29:00.006-10:00

Ok... so it is with SOME SHAME that we report... John and I have made secret trips to McDonald's... BUT WE HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE.

You know the apple pies they sell back there on the mainland? Well here in Hawai'i they make VERY SPECIAL tropical varieties. Depending on the time of year they have Banana, Mango, Haupia (coconut) + Taro.

The first one we tried was back in March. We were a bit skeptical, but were pleasantly surprised.
It was banana... not just a strange gelatinous pudding type filling... but real chunks of banana. Last week we tried the TARO, which is a purple root vegetable that POI is made from here in Hawai'i. The taro was even BETTER than the banana. We intend on on trying every version... so stay tuned.

Banana Pie

Taro Pie

POWER-HOUSE

2009-05-16T22:03:00.006-10:00

Wednesday John and I, with the help of our electrician moved the solar panels from the roof of the shed to the yard so that we can start tearing down the shed. It was an all day affair on one of the hottest days of the year so far. We scheduled Friday as the day to relocate the batteries, invertor and re-wire the whole system in it's temporary home on the lanai along with the water pump, pressure tank and filtration system. All is back up and running now and we are ready to start taking down the walls. We are hoping for one more good day of rain before we take the roof off because once we take that away we will not have a way to catch water... that is until I make a temporary roof over one of the three tanks. But rain does not look to be in our future over the next few days.

The panels on the existing shed.

The pier blocks and wood supports that will hold the panels in the front yard.

One 10 panel array down... one to go.

Here comes the second array of 10.

Pitch perfect. They actual get more sun down here later in the day than on the roof... the palm tree was beginning to cast a shadow on the s lower panels. That should be taken care of when we put them on the new 2nd story office.

The charge control, inverter and solar boost in it's old spot in the shed.

The 12 batteries that power the house. These babies each weigh about 100 pounds. Those yellow rope handles came in quite handy.

The power cables were run through pvc pipe. We had to place several feet under ground where it spanned the driveway.

Everything in it's temporary home. Once the batteries were in place John covered them with hinged doors to help keep them clean and dry.

More updates soon.

EGG-SIGHTING!

2009-05-14T12:34:00.011-10:00

John was out behind the garden on Tuesday and noticed a small nest in the MILO TREE that we planted from seed about a year and a half ago. Later that afternoon he took me out to show me. We casually looked in at it, but did not see anything. I went back later that evening to have a look and stuck the camera in the branches for a quick shot. That's when I noticed the 2 small eggs. I knew it had to be 1 of about 5 types of birds so I googled them all and found out that they are NORTHERN CARDINAL eggs. Wednesday morning I went back out for a look and saw the mom sitting low in the nest. She took off as soon as she saw me, so I took the opportunity for another shot. Now there are 3 small eggs. We will be keeping a close eye on them to make sure they stay safe. John has already told me that I cannot have a baby cardinal as a pet. HMPF!

The nest is just to the right of the yellow leaf.

Each eggs is about the size of a malted Easter egg and spotted like one too. Notice how the outside of the nest is rather rough, but the inside is very delicate.

We are are also in the process of removing all the trim from the shed and have come across dozens and dozens of gecko eggs in the grooves of the siding. They are what I believe to be HOUSE GECKO eggs. I also found a few much smaller eggs that are more oval in shape that I think are green anole eggs.

They are all glued down or on the walls with an almost super-glue like substance. I have had to pry a few loose in order to move them to a new location but have lost a few in the process. I have read that you need to keep them in the same position they were glued in so that that don't drown in the egg. I've done what I could to save and safely move them to a new spot. Gecko's are GREAT for keeping bugs at bay.

Here are a few pics of a resident House Gecko that hangs out nightly on our living room window feasting on bugs drawn to the living room lights. Don't you wish you had the ability to walk on walls and glass?

This is a GREEN ANOLE and 3 of the eggs I found the other day when I was moving a potted plant. I relocated them under a small pile of rocks and now they look as though they have hatched. These are not nearly as round as the house gecko eggs and are not glued into place.