Author: JUDY HOWARD

Realtor, lawyer, rancher, farmer, off-grid for 20+ years

Horse keeping in Hawaii

Posted on by JUDY HOWARD
Horses at top of property

Horse keeping in Hawaii is not always fun.  On the day I took this picture I had already been searching for a while.  I was sopping wet because the rain had started unexpectedly.  I had gone out without rain gear. I had just about concluded that I’d missed the horses standing under trees near the barn, when I did one last visual sweep toward the top of the property. You can barely see them in this picture, but the white spot just above the center of the picture is one of them.  They weren’t exactly stuck, but they were reluctant to come down a steep slope.   I had to go up and halter the lead mare, then negotiate with her for a while before we agreed on a path toward the barn.

Keeping horses at pasture is better for them-and usually works out well for me, since they tend to make their way back toward the barn at feeding time.

Horses heading down to barn
On a good day, they come down on their own

But it doesn’t always work out.

I keep two horses in at night. One because she is ancient and frail, and if I keep her in she burns fewer calories shivering and eats 10 pounds of senior, which helps keep the weight on her. I have to shut her in or she’ll chose to go out and lie down, and she was getting very skinny. I feed her a combination of alfalfa pellets and Purina Senior, available at Waimea Feed Supply https://www.yellowpages.com/kamuela-hi/feed-store , and Nutrena Senior Safe Choice, available at Animal Health in Waimea https://www.yellowpages.com/kamuela-hi/feed-store and Alfalfa Hay and Cubes in Pauuilo https://www.manta.com/c/mmqmk71/alfalfa-hay-cubes

I combine the three feeds when all are available because there are many times when one or more are not available, and I want her to be able to transition easily to whatever I have for her.

The other I keep in because she has chronically bad feet, and the best way I’ve found of keeping her feet in decent shape is to allow them to dry out every night. Plus, the two horses keep each other company, so they don’t get upset when the rest of the herd heads back out after feeding.  If it weren’t for the needs of those two horses, I would have let them all stay out last night!

I supplement all my horses with some alfalfa, a scoop a day of Platinum Performance, plus free choice Hawaii Horse Minerals.  The latter is especially important because our grasses have a component that binds with calcium, making it unavailable for the horses to metabolize.  The Hawaii Horse Minerals boosts the amount of calcium available to horses, so that their calcium/phosphorus ratio remains healthy.  The Horse Minerals are available at Animal Health in Waimea and, I believe, Alfalfa Hay and Cubes in Pauuilo.

Where’s the best place on the Island to keep horses?  Without questions, Waikii Ranch.  The climate is about perfect-cool and dry.  They have extensive riding trails, an arena, and a polo field.  It is difficult to get through the design review process, and expensive to build, so if you can find something already built that suits you, that may be a smarter option.  Here are some current listings: https://judy.hawaii.elitepacific.com/results-gallery/?hood=3374528&sort=importdate&status=A

Recycling in Waimea

Posted on by JUDY HOWARD

Recycling in Waimea takes some effort.  The county does not make it easy. Mixed recycling is available at most transfer stations, including the one in Waimea.  Glass and metal can be separately recycled.  The best information on what is acceptable is here: http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/

The County has recently stopped accepting plastics.  This is a nation-wide issue, but that doesn’t make it any easier to bear.  I hope a local entrepreneur will soon start a business manufacturing items using locally recycled plastics, but that will take a few years. 

Recycle Across America is doing some great work in both encouraging recycling and educating the public about how to recycle effectively.  https://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/.  I gather that plastic recycling has come to a stand still because China decided it was too costly to clean soiled plastics.  If only we had all rinsed our plastic containers!

Recycling hazardous household waste here is even more inconvenient.  There is only one day a year when the Waimea transfer station accepts hazardous household waste. Obviously, many people are going to take the expedient step, and simply discard such waste into the trash bins. The good news is that if you store your hazardous wastes up and schedule your time to deliver it to the transfer station on the right day, the people staffing the project are fantastic!  Very friendly and efficient.

Recycling in Waimea is not easy, but it is worth the effort!

The Clear Night Sky in Hawaii: A Sight to See!

Posted on by JUDY HOWARD

I just went outside a little earlier than I would have liked because one of my dogs insisted.  While I was out there, I looked up and saw the most astounding panoply of stars, meteors, and one satellite. The night sky was beautiful!

The night sky here is glorious when we can see it!  Here on the East side of Waimea, there are many nights when the stars are obscured by clouds, but that makes the brilliantly clear nights all the more of a treat.  I love to use my Skyview app: https://weloveweather.tv/top-6-astronomy-apps/

There is a reason some of the most powerful telescopes in the world are perched on Mauna Kea, always within view from Waimea.  The skies are usually clear at the top of Mauna Kea, and there is much less light pollution here than in many places on the North American continent.  While we have winter storms at the summit, the weather is more benign than in many other places that would offer so little light pollution.

Other things I take for granted, but should not:

The quiet.  It is 5:13 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and I can hear occasional drops of condensation landing on my porch roof from my house roof, an occasional coqui frog, and my dog chewing on her treat-filled kong bone.  That’s it!

The temperature.  It is in the high 60’s, both indoors and out. What a lovely temperature it is!  As we progress toward fall and winter, the night time temperatures will drop a bit, and it may get as low as the high 40’s at night for a week or two.  The days will tend to be clear and warm-they may even reach into the low 80’s.  The weather patterns shift in the fall, and our trade winds decrease.  That reduces the amount of rain and clouds we have, and results in warm days, and cool, crisp nights.

The friendliness of this place.  If you treat people here with respect and kindness, it will be repaid.  Smile, and you are extremely likely to receive a smile in return. I believe that sometimes people come from other, pushier, places, and become frustrated with the “courtesy dance” we engage in here.  It is true: transactions, even those as simple as whether you turn into traffic first or wait for me, can take more time than they would elsewhere.  And if you are the type that wants to always be first, please stay away!  You will be miserable here, and you will make everyone around you a little less kind and happy!

What is there to do?

Posted on by JUDY HOWARD

Mauna Kea in the distance

What is there to do in the Waimea area?  We have beaches, which are both beautiful and offer almost endless opportunities for fun.

We have golf courses, and many places to hike.

We have whale watching, canoe paddling (and combining those two is a sublime experience), and scuba diving.

You can surf, wind surf, SUP, fish, or hunt for birds or pigs.

We have rodeos, polo, and cutting and reining competitions, along with various other clubs for other riding disciplines.

We have glorious farmers markets, and many excellent restaurants.  We have a theater, and talks sponsored by the two observatories with offices in town.

There are many houses of worship, and lots of opportunties to volunteer or engage in civic activities.  It is sometimes not easy to figure out which organization needs which kind of help, but checking with the school offices and hospital is a good place to start.

But our cultural events are limited, we don’t have huge shopping malls, endless shopping choices, or massive movie complexes. People do move here and then move away, saying there “is nothing to do”.

What is there to do?  It depends on what you’re looking for. The Big Island is definitely more attractive to active outdoorsmen (and women) than to people who are accustomed to having multiple cultural events and shopping opportunities to chose from. It is also more attractive to those who are willing to forgo frequent visits with friends and family and are open to learning about different cultures and making new friends!

Big Island Weather

Posted on by JUDY HOWARD

Two of my rescue pups. One snaps with joy, the other tends to piddle. But you can see how green the grass is

It changes from minute to minute, and is different from place to place! I live on the “wet” side of Waimea, also euphemistically referred to as the “lush side”, “emerald side”, “green side” etc.  We tend to have wetter weather from January through September, but there have been many summers when we have suffered from drought. On any day of the year, it may sprinkle for a bit, and then the sun will come out.  At other times, such as last night, we can have torrential rain and wind.

We are on the windward side of the Island, while parts of Waimea are on the leeward side.  Those areas are much drier, but tend to have much more wind.  And not 20 miles from here, in Waikoloa, the County has been battling a brush fire for a couple of days. They had enough rain earlier in the year to promote growth of grass and brush, and now that is has dried, it has become fodder for fires.  The fire department has that one under control now, but they’ve closed a road connecting Waimea and Kona, leading to some serious traffic delays.

Recently I was driving up the Hamakua Coast from Hilo, and encountered blinding rains along the way.  When I got home, less than 15 miles from the area where it was pouring, everything was dry. Whether on the windward or leeward side, it varies from spot to spot, season to season, and day to day!