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.

June 2012 CGR Report

Leslie BBQ'ing in the Bunkhouse

Drilling in the power poles

Gwen eating her breakfast on the railing

After a long flight from DC, Mike & Leslie ended the day eating at our local bar in Hilo.  Mike's work at the CGR started the next morning. 

Mike's first week was starting the Big Projects.  The foto shows them drilling in solid "blue basalt" to set in our line of power poles.  Seriously BIG toys!!! 

The next highlight was the arrival of Gwen  She now watches everyone in our condo. The 2nd week Mike started living out of the Bunkhouse and cutting the jungle on the front side...local wildlife (boars and goats) are NOT liking the changes!! 

Mike found a massive Norfolk Island Pine where the local bats roost on the edge of the Ranch.  We're happy that the bats are keeping our bug population in check.  

June's goals are finishing the Bunk House & framing in the Hacienda!

Ranch Hands Inagural Issue May 2012

Welcome to our inaugural newsletter to our Ohana (Hawai'ian for an extended family... the island way) as we start trying to "live our dream" on the island of Hawai'i.

 •  Mike started in November 2011 blazing a trail into the jungle to our building site!

•  December & January was all the prep work for foundations, cess pool, fences & water tanks.

•  In February Leslie was testing the fit of the Mini in the "Bunk House".  Da guys been building away ever since!

•  The big Foto is this week's view of the "Hacienda" going up & the "Bunk House" almost enclosed!!!

•  Mike just spent 4 days felling trees to clear the path to run our power line.

•  Monthly updates to follow!!