FLOWER SHOCK

The construction is moving along and we passed our first plumbing and foundation frame inspections on Friday. Next week we will have LOADS more images.

We have had a few days to work in the yard and have been able to enjoy all the flowers that are popping out everywhere. Here are some images (ok...a lot) that I walked around and shot today of what is blooming now. They ALWAYS amaze.

Plumeria

Rose Flowered Jatropha

Pink Tecoma

Royal Poinciana

Guava

Gingers

Giant Sumatra Lily

Heliconia

Cosmos

Naupaka

Stephanotis

Bromeliads / Pineapple

Pink Oleander

These are still unknown to us, but are more than likely weeds

DIGGING IN

This has been an eventful week with the excavator here... and it's not over yet. It all began on Monday with our excavator showing up with lots of excavatory toys that we immediately became envious of.

As he set into finding the "grade" we soon realized this was going to take longer and COST MORE than we expected... NATURALLY! But it was rather painless and we've had a great team of workers so far.

Sawing into the existing slab to check the thickness of the footing and then jackhammer it away.

The cut lines into the slab before the jackhammer fell.

Turns out the slab was pretty thick which works in our favor. Then the back hoe moves it and starts to remove some of the gravel before we can establish the grade needed to pour upon.

Excavator Mike, establishing the grade with his fancy grade measuring tool.

We thought that we were going to have all this extra dirt once we dug the new footing trenches, but turns out we were short. We ended up pinching some from the large pit in the far back part of the property.

It's a dirty job...

Excavator Mike again using a extra fancy tool for packing the dirt in the smaller, hard to reach parts of the site.

And here he is using a giant roller that not only rolls, but vibrates and sprays water.

Once the earth was all packed and the footing lines marked, what else would you expect Mike to do? Yes he went in and had to dig out portions that he worked so hard to pack. These trenches will be the perimeter and will support the exterior walls. And being that we are having a 2nd floor on part of this structure, the footings need to be even thicker.

With all Mike's work done, Jason the Mason came by and dropped the lines for the wooden forms he will be placing on Friday. After that... some plumbing and electrical lines, then a quick inspection by the county, then the concrete slab gets poured.

STAY IN THE LINES

Our contractor and excavator stopped by yesterday to map out the new foundation. We are adding a lot more concrete than I thought... not sure how I feel about that.... but hey... things are moving along.... and that's always good.

The excavation starts Monday and should go through Tuesday. After that... frame the foundation for the mason and lay the plumbing and electrical.

WORKS ON PAPER

Here are 2 announcements I did for my friend and Artist Extraordinaire, PARNELL O. CORDER. He is part of a group exhibition being held at FILOLI in Woodside, Califonia. If you are in the area and able to attend, please check it out.

Filoli
11th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition
June 23 through August , 2009

Artist Reception
Thursday July 16, 2009 5-7PM
Reservations required
R.S.V.P. to 650-364-8300 xt 298 or
classes@filoli.org

Filoli
86 Canada Road
Woodside, CA 94062
650-364-8300
www.filoli.org

...WE'VE SHED OURSELVES

Today we finally got the last bit of shed taken down and only 2 days behind where we thought we would be. We kept the majority of the walls together, but will take them apart later on when we re-use the wood for a small tractor shed in the garden. We took every single nail and screw out one by one rather than cutting them and leaving bits in the boards. While we have a good amount of design work on our plates, we saved a good chunk of change by doing the demolition ourselves. We will also be doing almost ALL of the finishing work ourselves!

We are still working on which flooring to use in the office, exterior paint colors, composite decking, sink and faucet, toilet, medicine cabinets, interior lighting and ceiling fans. The desk, work table and all bookshelves in the office will be handmade... using the new KREG JIG we just got. It looks like a MIRACLE TOOL! The desktops are all going to be laminate... that we are settling on today. They are all really great... yes... THEY, as in several... it's a surprise.

We met with the mason last week and have ordered all the doors, windows, bathroom vanity and all exterior lighting fixtures (which are my favorite pieces so far). The excavator is due to show up today to evaluate what needs to be done to modify the existing slab. With any luck, we will have the underlying plumbing, electrical and foundation finished in a few weeks. After that.. framing. Then finishing... by when? Shooting for mid August... we'll see how that plays out.

Start of the day.

One wall down...3 to go.

Bucket full of old nails.

Monkeying around.
All work and no play make Conn a dull boy.

They put HOW MANY NAILS in this one tiny board?

Last wall standing.

Site's ready for excavation. Oh and yes, we got the new propane tank Monday morning.
As you can see, it was a picture perfect day for working outside.

These 4 pics show the 4 piles of salvaged materials. There is also 1 stack of siding and some roofing that will also get re-used. This last pic is not really salvagable and is what we are planning on trashing. Not too bad.

FLY BABIES

Tuesday morning...It's looking a bit crowded in there...

Yesterday afternoon, I went out for my nest check and to my surprise, there was one lone baby standing on the edge of the nest. It reminded me of when I stood on the HI-DIVE for the first time... thinking... NO WAY AM I JUMPING MAN. In a flash he took off and landed in the grass. I heard the chirping of the others, and the parents showed up right away. I felt as though this last one out of the nest was going to be in trouble. I just imagined it being told... "We told you to stay put until we came back for you." I felt I needed to explain that it was my fault.
I waited around about 100 feet from the baby until the parents rounded up all three and took them deep into the banana patch. So that's it... 9 days after hatching and they are out and about... feathered and flying. I did not see them today, but saw mom and dad flying in and out of a Christmasberry tree all day. There were several chicks in there chirping, but I did not investigate. Thought it best to give them their space. I'm sure they will show up on the rock off the lanai soon. Adult cardinals always bring teenagers there when teaching them how to find food. Not that there is much to finding it... when it's served up daily at 7:oo AM and 5:00PM. We'll keep you posted if and when they do show up.

This was the only pic I got as my camera battery died the minute I snapped this.

Just to make sure they did not return to the nest, which I do not think they do... I went back out this morning. They left it pretty clean. I think we can give them back their security deposit.

Dad filling his cheeks on the rock off the lanai... hopefully to take it back to the family.
This is the guy that see's me walk outside and he follows me from tree to tree. He's even come right onto the lanai at times... singing for food.

Here he is at 7:00 yesterday morning... singing for his breakfast... looking in the window ... tilting his head back and forth. His next stop was right down to the railing.
I'm such a sucker. At least these won't eat us out of house and mac nut home.

NEST BRACE

As I mentioned in the last post, the nest was starting to slip and was at a precarious 45 degree angle the other day. The winds have picked back up and it was pretty unstable. I also think that as the babies grow, their weight is also affecting the shift of the nest. I really did not want to interfere, BUT, I did. I put several bamboo poles on 2 sides of the nest to shift it to a more level position and secured it with a few Ti leaves rather than string or wire. I think it will hold out but will keep checking a 2 times a day.

Ti leaf ties.

The baby cardinals are growing up really fast. I did some more research on them HERE and found out some amazing facts. It's quite interesting.
For example... Did you know...?

1. Cardinal chicks need to be fed often. The parents bring food about four times an hour. This helps the chicks grow quickly.

2. By the time they are 10 days old, the cardinal chicks are ready to fly from the nest. Today they are 8 days old.

3. Fleas, lice, mites, and ticks suck blood from the birds which could cause them to die. BUT, a cardinal knows how to fight back. It picks up several ants with its beak. It rubs its feathers with the angry ants, which squirt acid.

This was them on Saturday.

And here they are today, just2 days later. I remember when we raised Kekoa...
it was crazy how fast the feathers came in.