August 2020 Journal Photos

Bonsai After the Hurricane

For Hurricane Douglas I had pruned and/or defoliated most of my bonsai and put most of them on the ground to ride out the high winds. A week later, Saturday, August 1, everything was back to normal, so I decided to take a picture.

A view from outside the kitchen window Saturday morning.

Saturday evening we barbecued crab.

Sunday after lunch Andrea went to photograph the stream.

Wednesday morning, August 5, Andrea and I walked down to the Hind Drive bridge to photograph the stream.

Keeping an eye on the covid cases in the USA.

Friday morning, August 7, Malia sent a picture of our youngest Granddaughter, Lilli.

Saturday afternoon, August 8, I took a picture of our red plumeria which has bloomed for the first time.

Sunday morning, August 9, I took a picture of our red plumeria in context.

You can just sit thinking
On your velvet throne
About all the rainbows
You can have for your own. --from "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan Leitch, 1966

Seventy-first Birthday

On Tuesday, August 11, Andrea fixed a special breakfast of papaya and blueberries and fried egg and bacon on English muffin. There was a birthday card and a new blue lion T-shirt waiting at my place at the table. I worked out in the morning, had a nap after lunch, and read more in my Kenko essays book.

We went to Roy's for dinner to celebrate my 71^st birthday. We had the "canoe for two" dim sum sampler and the zuchinni tempura after that, along with cocktails.

We arrived at Roy's just before six and got a good table for watching the sunset. Andrea ordered a cosmopolitan.

I had a gin and tonic. Testing Walter's quinine theory for covid19 prophylaxis. Yes, the horizon really is slightly tilted.

Photo by Andrea.

Andrea's sunset photo.

My sunset photo.

A man may excel at everything else, but if he has no taste for lovemaking, one feels something terribly inadequate about him, as if he were a valuable winecup without a bottom. ... But it is best that a man not be given over completely to fleshly pleasures, and that women not consider him an easy conquest. --Kenko, 14th century Japan.

On Wednesday morning Andrea went for a walk and sent me this photo of a rainbow on Halapepe.

Keeping an eye on the pandemic. Georia deaths are rising on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday afternoon, we drove out to Makapuu, turned around at Sea Life Park, then stopped in Kuliouou to drop off coconut water for Mom
at the care home. Couldn't go in due to the continuing quarantine.

When we got back Thursday afternoon, using the new 3D pen Andrea gave me, I put red piping on the menehune ladder I had painted the day before.

Sunday morning, August 16, Andrea tries out the 3D pen she gave me for my birthday.

A highly abstract cat I made with the 3D pen.

August 16 is grandson Grayson Malmberg's birthday. Photo sent by his Dad, Justin.

Miniature Retaining Wall

Sunday afternoon, August 16, I refurbished the miniature retaining wall at the back step.

The old retaining board was split and rotten. I removed it and then excavated for the new larger board.

I painted the new board to match the house trim and screwed it to two stakes pounded in. Photo by Andrea.

I added a bucket of potting soil to the excavated and screened dirt for backfill. Photo by Andrea.

Pau.

Sunday evening, August 16, 8:30 PM, T = 98.3 F.

Monday morning, August 17, 6:00 AM, T = 97.7 F.

New Bonsai Bench

Wednesday morning, August 19, Andrea and I went to City Mill to buy boards to make a new bonsai bench to replace the old one with rotting boards, nearly eight years old. The new bench will be slightly longer and wider than the old one.

On the way back from City Mill we stopped in Kuliouou to drop of Mom's prescription at the care home. This is the view of the
Ewa ridge and cliff from the care home.

I laid out the four one-by-ten boards, six feet long, on saw horses in the back yard for painting. The old bench is in the background.

The top side is painted before lunch using the same pastel blue paint as for the house.

Cross straps are installed and more paint is applied. The old bench has been taken down from the masonry block supports.

A new pandemic order is issued by the mayor.

Completed bench with bonsai.

Another view of the completed bench.

I created a separate page to documen the new bonsai bench.

Saturday, August 22, 6:00 AM T = 97.2 F.

Saturday, August 22: two months later and the bonsai poinsettia is doing well. Also see the June page documenting the bonsai poinsettia.

Andrea converted her Dad's slides of our wedding to digital and put the photos on Google Photos.

Repairing grandson Tristan's model airplane.

Andrea converted another box of slides, a trip to Australia, again on Google Photos.

Thursday morning, August 27, I noticed my pikake bonsai was blooming when I went out to get the newspaper.

While exercising Thursday morning I photographed one of my favorite bonsai, this bougainvillea in orange bloom.

WW II Anniversary Air Parade

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, a number of war aircraft made a circuit of Oahu and I photographed those that I could. Most were too far away to be recognizable, but here they are anyway (nine photos). Saturday morning, August 29.

I walked down to East Hind Drive for better view and waited until 10:11 AM. The first one I saw.

Second one. Full zoom in (8X) with the camera phone didn't help much.

Third one.

Fourth.

Fifth. They were strung out, about a minute apart.

Sixth. Too far out to sea.

Seventh. Missed it completely, I guess.

Eighth. This one looked like a P47 and it flew right over Wailupe Valley.

Ninth, a PBY. 10:22 AM. If it weren't such a historic event, I wouldn't have wasted the photons.

Saturday Barbecue

Saturday afternoon, August 29, I set up the Big Green Egg for barbecuing ribs for dinner.

It was cooler outside, so Andrea brought her laptop outside to work on her memoir.

Hiding in the jungle behind a monstera leaf.

Sunday at Home

Sunday, August 30, 7:10 AM, T = 97.5 F.

Sunday morning Andrea received this photo from Bill, taken with his iPhone when he was here last January.

I played a 21 move chess game against my computer.

Margo Vitarelli writes in Facebook: Kapiolani Park, Honolulu, closed now, but soon to open if our Covid cases go down! Every city
should set aside as much land as possible for parks, public spaces for everyone to enjoy. In 1877, King Kalākaua designated Kapiolani
Park as the first public space in Hawaii. He named it after his wife, Queen Kapiolani. August 31, 2020. Click the image to see the full
resolution version.

Email Richard dot J dot Wagner at gmail dot com