Coffee farm notes June 20th

Braund farmhouse

We arrived at the farm June 11th.  Today, June 20th, is the first time I’ve had to sit down and gather my thoughts.  As soon as we picked up my car 1 1/2 hour drive away on Monday the 13th, we no longer felt like tourists.

Entry

Kevin and Katie went to Hawi for the June 7th weekend for their last vacation in Hawaii. They pretty much stayed to themselves the rest of the week organizing, packing, saying goodbye to friends, and showing us a few things around the farm. Kevin got us hooked up to the internet and printer. They left Thursday morning the 16th, taking an early morning swim before they left.

The telephone company came by the next day to repair the phone lines and internet which went out a couple weeks ago in a huge electrical storm that put out the lights for awhile. We now have internet (DSL) and a phone line, but we can’t get very good reception on the phone either because they really didn’t fix it or the phone is so old it don’t work.

The plumber came a few days ago to put in a new pressure pump and replace the PVC lines with copper. He is coming back tomorrow to replace all the faucets that turn water on and off under sinks, toilets and the washer.

turkeys and coffee plants

Silverio and his family have come a couple times to spray for weeds, but it has been raining a lot and it isn’t supposed to be applied when it is rainy as you can imagine.

Kitchen shelves

I have been cleaning. First I take everything out, then clean, then put it all back. The refrigerator was first. Then the kitchen shelves (no cupboards, it would be too moldy). We had several bags of trash. It took me three days to do the kitchen.

We encountered a mouse (rat?) problem along the way. Rats nest in Mac nut trees and are endemic to these farms. A cat is handy and can be borrowed from the humane society when necessary.

Looking for rats

Today I cleaned out the guest bedroom closet. There are several plastic bins there used for storage. Turned out they are full of extra linens. Unfortunately, some of them had to be disposed of. But you can do it humanely.

The solid waste transfer station has an area that you can donate items no longer needed or in good repair. That’s where the blender with no lid and the rice cooker with no lid went as well. One day I saw several infant and child car seats and strollers all lined up in front of this area and Mothers picking them out to take with them. A sign said they were free. They looked in very good shape, and was a nice service to the community.