Wild Pigs

There are many wild pigs on the island, but we rarely see them in our area. Hunting pigs is fairly common in wooded areas, but they can wander into almost any area.

There had been a few sightings of pigs in the area by some of the workers earlier in the week, and today a whole herd decided to pay us a visit.

The wild pigs are usually dark brown or black. These pigs may be escaped domestic pigs or a mix of wild and domestic (the sow looks to be at least part wild). These pigs weren't particularly afraid of us, so they might be used to being around people.

Looking for something to eat in the compost pile

Office ceiling day 2

After another day's work, three sides of the ceiling are almost done.

The white circle is where the ceiling fan goes

Office ceiling

For the office ceiling, rather than drywall, we decided to put in pine board.  This is what the ceiling looks like now--it's the inside of a four-sided pyramid.

After about a full day's work, one side is nearly done.  The prep work (getting set up, bringing the 16-foot boards up the stairs, etc.) took a significant part of the day. Staining and finishing all the boards took several weeks.

Glow From Lava Visible at Night

The glow of the lava is reflected off the smoke at night and we can see it from the second-story windows. These are long-exposure shots - it isn't this bright to the naked eye.

More Smoke from Brushfires

The brush fires caused by the lava flow are still burning, and the smoke is visible to the southeast.

Brush fires caused by lava flow

Since late June, the lava from Kilauea has been flowing to the northeast, towards the town of Pahoa, rather than its usual direction of southeast into the ocean. The lava has been pushing through some forested areas, and even though it's 8 to 10 miles from us, we we see smoke from the brush fires.

The hazy area below the clouds in the center is smoke.

At night, we can see the glow from the lava and the fires reflecting off the clouds and smoke. This is a long-exposure shot of the glow.

 This is a closeup view.

A view of the night sky

The Milky Way

Electrical finish work

The electrical fixtures, outlet, and switches are installed. There's still a few things that need to be installed, however, so the power is not yet turned on.

Lights over kitchen island

Living room fan

The fan from directly below

Dining room light

Exterior lights (with boxes of flooring ready to be installed...)

Plumbing Fixtures Installed

All the plumbing fixtures are installed. Next is the electrical.

Kitchen sink

Disposal

Main house shower

Main house bathroom toilet 

Master bathroom sink

Master bathroom shower

Hot Water Solar Panel and Water Heater Installation

The solar panels for the hot water are installed.

The panels (they're about 4' by 8')

The panels installed on a sunny area of the roof

This is the water tank for storing the hot water. It holds 120 gallons. When the temperature of the water in the panels exceeds the temperature of the water in the tank by a certain amount, a small pump circulates the water until they equalize. As long as it's sunny, this process continues on and off throughout the day until the water in the tank reaches about 150 degrees F, which should be hot enough to stay hot overnight and into the next day. If it's cloudy for two or three days in a row, the water is heated electrically.