April 2013 Ranch Hands

March saw us move into the Hacienda on St. Paddy's Day & with cold ones on the lanai...  water's flowing, just a long list of finish work for the next month!!!!!!  Barb & Emily arrived for a warm visit!

Tons of plumbing & electrical progress let us move in on St. Paddy's Day ...  making the old schedule after all!!!!!

Leslie is still tiling the master bath while Mike does all the trim & finish work.

Leslie got her "dream kitchen" and Gwen got her "birdie dream"......  there is now a walk-in free-flight aviary, it's 5 feet wide, 15 feet long & 6 feet tall.....  Gwen & her new "roomie"....  a Moluccan cockatoo male named Angel share it......  listen to "Jurassic Park" and you can guess what we hear in the evening!!

We celebrated getting the Hacienda IOC with a couple days on the island of Kauai, where they filmed "Jurassic Park"!!!!   Amazing scenery & boogie boarding!!!!

March closed with Barb & her daughter Emily visiting the Big Island to thaw out from Pennsylvania!!!

Ranch Hands March 2013

February is the shortest month, but it was a long sprint on da' Ranch...  the Hacienda now has decks on every side & a massive water tank... we're almost in there!!!

Animal adventures galore.....     one duck had 18 ducklings!!  It's gettin' a little crowded around here!!!

Our rescued Border Collie "Buddie" is now the "Big Dog" of the ranch.... he's healthy, gained weight & is an endless bundle of energy... we both try to keep him occupied!!! 

Over 1,200 square feet of decking now surrounds the entire Hacienda....  The decks are "pau"!!! 

 Leslie's been creatively tiling & even had a local craftsman etch petroglyph designs in some!!  Two rooms done & she's on the last!!!!

Another adventure was constructing a 10k gallon water tank on the lava flow behind the Hacienda....  lots of new skills learned!!!

Next month the plumbers finish our water system & Mike finishes the kitchen!!!

Boars: x

Mongoose:  LIV

Ranch Hands February 2013

Statistics: Boars: I. Mongeese:  LVII

January saw continued changes as we work multiple projects across da' Ranch...  the Hacienda now has the back side decked, the guest bath tiled & appliances going in...

More animals joined us, but the biggest change was "Buddie", a Border Collie. We now have company no matter where we work on the Ranch!!!

Leslie is now tiling three rooms while Mike has been painting supports and laying down the deck which goes completely around the Hacienda.  No rest here!

We added another stretch of fencing to enclose "the front 40".  The 3rd paddock will get fenced in February & the "back 40" starts the month after!!

The chickens started laying eggs in January so less things we need a grocery store for.  The largest meat chicken dressed out at 9 lb, 2 oz!!!  They are luvin' the weather here too!!

The next big step is building a giant concrete water tank & then all the plumbing goes in!!!

January 2013 Ranch Hands

December was another month of steady progress...  the Hacienda now has flooring, is painted, has base boards & even kitchen cabinets!!!

December was 24/7 of steady progress in the Hacienda so we could get the furniture delivered!

The Hacienda got laminate flooring throughout, the lights were installed, every room got painted & the kitchen cabinets got installed!!  Next month it's countertops & tiling bathrooms!!

Out on da Ranch Leslie stays busy with critters and plants. The rabbits had another litter of 10 bunnies, the ducks are all sitting on big nests of eggs and the sheep are getting larger all the time!

Leslie's first bamboo experiment has a new 30+ foot shoot of black bamboo!!

Our surprise was catching a 150 lb Boar in the back side of our land that she dressed out - adding another 50 lbs of meat in the freezer!!

The next big steps here are water tanks, pumps & finishing the plumbing!!  No rest for us!!

Tally:
Boars: I
Mongeese:  XXXXIV

RanchHands December 2012

We got "reinforcements" this month!! Our sheep birthed twins, then 50 new chicks arrived, and the rabbits had a litter of 11!!!! Mike's continuing to work on the Hacienda & living on Motrin!!!

November saw drywall finishing, texturing, primer paint spraying & windows and doors all over the Hacienda.  Next month is flooring & kitchen installs!!!

Leslie's progress with the animals is amazing!!!!  The latest census has Gwen and 90 other critters!!

We've been actively going after the mongeese that stalk our chickens.....  little angry teeth in fur... it remains a daily task to defend the home front!!

The freezer is getting filled with meat from the herds & Leslie's gardens are growing well down here in the tropics...  she just expanded them by a factor of 3 so lots more planting to go!!!

The December steps are flooring, kitchen install, electrical & plumbing installations & finally furniture deliveries!!!

November 2012 Ranch Hands

"Critter Ticker": 2 humans & 43 animals
Mongeese:  XV

October raced by at the CGR!! On 1 October, we took over the lead for finishing the Hacienda!!  Mike hired the son of a friend as his helper & runs the projects every day requiring lots of Motrin for pain!!!!

This month was a constant 7 day a week drive to install the interior drywall, with mudding and taping too!!!  Mike & his crew installed 102 sheets of drywall .....  having walls is BIG progress!!!

Leslie has been actively managing a growing critter count & adding large gardens for food...  the farming progress is amazing!!!!

Leslie sheared some sheep to help them cope with the tropical temperatures!!  Yes, wrestling sheep is becoming part of the workout program here!!

We butchered our first chickens with them dressing out at an average weight of 6+ pounds - and they were only 8 weeks old!!!!!!

The next big steps are finishing the drywall, installing windows & then the flooring!!

October 2012 Ranch Hands

Wow, September was a busy time at the CGR!! Our animals are growing & definitely keeping us on our toes!! The construction is entering the "seriously hands on phase" for Les & Mike!!

It was "rough in" month as the plumbing & electrical crews came in on top of the framers... all good progress!!

The decks & railings were added and we turned the house over to the painter's to finish the month.

We added a ram to our sheep herd & have started hunting the mongooses stalking our chicken & waterfowl.

Later in September Mike got another part of the pastures cleared of trees and we got a larger paddock fenced for the sheep... they are grazing & Mike no longer has to cut vegetation there!!!

Leslie's sister Pat visited the Ranch in September & even helped pick out our ram!

The next big steps in the Hacienda are drywalling & tiling!!

September 2012 Ranchhands

Carroll Guava Ranch
"CGR"
In Keaau, Hawai'i

September 2012
Latest Census "Critter Ticker": 2 humans & 38 animals

August was wet & warm, and a BLUR of activity for the CGR!! Various animals kept joining the staff, complete with their pens / pastures / coop's and fences. The Hacienda really started taking shape with its' roof and walls going on!!!

Thru the month of August the framing crew added rafters, purloins & we "hung the iron" of our metal roofing.
The 3,500 square feet metal roof made so much shade, sitting on a slight rise it looks awesome from the road & has caused folks to stop & gawk!
The census at the CGR just keeps rising....  This week we hit a new high...  The new "critter ticker" will be on every issue!!!
Later in August we got all of the exterior walls nailed on & all the "hurricane straps" installed!!
We finished August with getting the plumbing installation started before the Labor Day weekend!!!!!  Next in will be the electrician, painter & dry waller!!!!

The new census number is in

The ranch is now up to 21 animals.
8 chickens
5 ducks
3 sheep
2 geese
2 rabbits
And 1 parrot

That means we are out numbered over 10 to 1.

Sent from Leslie's iPad

Ranch Hands August 2012

July was a productive time; decks sprouted around the Hacienda, the Bunk House gained basic plumbing & adding electricity changed our life a lot!!! All progress, just more to do!!!

So we finally officially retired from the Army.... we spent that day raising trusses on the Hacienda!!!

The census at the CGR just keeps rising.... July started with 1 human & 1 critter and ended with 2 humans and over 12 various critters!!

The whole Ranch has electricity now! Stringing 450 feet of our own power lines across the "front 40" was QUITE an adventure all its own!!!

The whole area took notice when we brought in a huge crane to swing up the massive beams & trusses.... Mike likes using the big tools to jump start progress!!

The Bunk House changed a lot when Leslie & Gwen moved out full time!!! Civilization has now reached the Bunk House!!!!

The next goals are fences for pastures, adding sheep & raising the roof!!!! More pix to follow!!!

Trying a new way to post to our blog via email

Our lives changed Friday with the edition of eight chicks and two goslings. Leslie went to buy only 3 chickens. Thank goodness they are small chicks so they all fit into the coop that we built. But the two goslings were a surprise. The male is already huge at one month old. They are still puff balls and are just starting to get tail feathers. We love them even though they want to be with us all the time.

Leslie has finally moved out to the bunkhouse to help care for the menagerie. Which means she has to get up at 0530 like everyone else. And with Leslie came Gwen who gets to spend all of her time outside. She has also had to get up early which she doesn't seem to mind. She just wishes it got dark sooner because she is exhausted by 1830.

All the plants are doing well. We have even planted sweet corn which is just starting to come up. Hopefully it continues to rain every night like it has been because it would take quite a while to water everything by hand. Mike installed another 55 gallon rain barrel increasing our capacity to over 110 gallons. We have been going to a large open air farmers market by us and purchased fruit trees each time we have gone.

We'll continue to keep everyone posted on our successes as the house goes up.



Hacienda Progress

Lychee Tree

Moving Lava Rocks

June was a very busy time, walls going up, vehicles & possessions arriving, Bunk House getting lots of finishing touches, the list is long!! But steady progress day by day, just more to do!!!

1.  All our vehicles and most of our "stuff" arrived in 5 different batches.... and for once - nothing was damaged, go figure!!!
2.  Mike's learned "drywalling" in the Bunk House, as well as making attic storage there. Gotta luv that new nail gun!!!
3.  The Hacienda gained its' walls this month! Amazing to see the blueprints we made last fall "sprout" up in "2 by 4"'s!!!!
4.  Leslie started "farming"... planting vegetables & fruit trees, as well as starting pasture coverage for the animals to come.
5.  The boars & goats had some tuff lessons as the humans established dominance over our part of the jungle (w/ BB's)!!
6.  July's goals are adding animals to the "staff", the massive deck & trusses to the Hacienda & plumbing to the Bunk House.