The Big Island

I live on the island of Hawai’i, most simply call it the Big Island.  It’s bigger than all the other Hawai’ian islands combined.  It resembles a mini-continent with such different climates from tropical rainforests to the cold mountain of Mauna Kea.  You can surf, boogieboard, snorkel, paddle board or swim along the shore or out in sea.  If you like golf, there are lots of golf courses for you and your friends to enjoy.  It’s a great time to come to Hawai’i in the winter, Humpback Whales come to Hawai’i to give birth to their calves,  by May they will go back to Alaska.  You can get a better view of the whales by boat or somewhere high along the coast.  In the summer, the water is so clear that you can see all kinds of fishes even without goggles!

Landscapes include one of just about everything: mountains, high sea cliffs, rolling pastures, deserts and rainforests.

My favorite things to do here are at the beach like being pulled on the boogieboard by my father and then sliding along the sand and spinning!  I love to see the green flash right after the sun goes down.  I also love seeing the humpback whales spouting and holding Jackson chameleons.  Here on the island, we have lots of farmer’s markets.  We go to the Hawi one to share our homemade eats and treats and some of my artwork.  The best thing is meeting my friends and playing around the market!

I love it here on the Big Island living with my family and my chickens!

Aloha from Rachel.

Stripes’s Adventures

Hi, my name is Stripes and I had lots of adventures.  My first adventure was fighting for pecking order with my brother, Pecky.  I lost and ended up with a red face and swollen eye.  Rachel’s mother tried to stop us from pecking, but our mother, Rosie was mad at her, so Rachel’s mom didn’t try to stop us anymore.  My second adventure was when I was on top the compost pile in the chicken run and spotted our neighbor’s truck coming up the road.  I honked to tell the other chickens.  My third adventure was the worst.  I was lost for three days, on the third day Rachel found me under a tree  and Rachel’s mother took care of me with coconut milk and then I got better and stayed close to the house and liked to follow Rachel’s mother when she visited the run.  My fourth adventure was one day while I was walking near the stairs leading to the deck and it was so windy that I was blown onto the deck and against the deck rail.  Rachel yelled to her mother “there’s a dead chicken on the deck,” but I was not dead.  Rachel’s mother checked on me and I opened one eye and looked up to her and she said ” Stripeypoo, are you all right?” she then picked me up  and took me out of the windy spot so Rachel could take me back to the run.  My fifth adventure was going to a new home in Hawi with my brother, Pecky, because Rachel could only keep one rooster.   I hope Rachel and her mother come and visit me soon.

Aloha from Stripes and Rachel!

Introducing My Chickens

I have six chickens, a mother hen and five chicks.  Rosie the mother hen, she does not let me pet her and I do not like her as much.  The two black chickens are Ringo and Blackie.  Ringo used to have a ring around her neck and now it’s covered with black feathers.  Blackie, who I call “Angry Face,” is like Rosie.  The two grey and white striped chickens are Pecky and Stripes.  Pecky is our big rooster who crows 28 times in the morning.  We call him “the big boy.”  Stripes is a big eater of all the chickens and when they go to sleep, I come over to pet them; but, stripes doesn’t let me pet him at all.  The last one is Stretch.  Stretch is my favorite chicken of all, he is the prettiest chicken of all my chickens.

Aloha from Rachel.