As 2022 comes to an end, we thought it would be a good time to post an updated look at the many wonderful non-human beings that inhabit our little piece of paradise here on the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii. In no particular order: Here’s Penny, our now HUGE one year old […]
When and why honeybees sting — and when and why they don’t. At Paradise Meadows, home of Hawaii’s Local Buzz, we have about 25 beehives. Most folks find bees fascinating, and some folks are terrified of bees. We thought it might be interesting to learn about when and why bees do and don’t sting people, […]
Hawaii is a truly magical place, and our little piece of paradise here at Paradise Meadows is a beautiful tropical rainforest. But there is one thing that tropical rainforests like ours have too much of. Bugs. We are, however, blessed with a totally organic, sustainable method of pest control in the form of tiny lizards called geckos.
At Paradise Meadows, home of Hawaii’s Local Buzz, we have 28 free-range Muscovy ducks. They are (or can be) great farm animals, eating all sorts of bugs, slugs, snails, and even invasive Coqui frogs when they can find them. However, there can easily be too much of a good thing. One thing you learn relatively […]
Thanks to the generous donations we’ve received from folks visiting the farm, we’ve been able to purchase more parrot “toys” more regularly than we’ve been able to afford in the past. “Toys” is an odd word to use for the items we give our birds to enrich their environments and enhance their lives, because the […]
Looking back through some of our old farm pictures reminded us that we dragged our 1940-something red Farmall tractor up onto the rock wall at the entrance to the farm SEVEN YEARS ago! No, we can’t believe it either. The entire event took several hours of pushing, pulling, figuring, refiguring — and several minutes of […]
Building a brand based on local agriculture in Hawaii is harder than it looks. Building a brand, and building a business, are things we know something about. Scott, our “Big Kahuna”, is an inventor and serial entrepreneur who has had both successes and challenges throughout his long career. Lili, our “Marketing Guru”, has spent most of […]
At the beginning of May we noticed nests popping up all over our banana patches near the house, which is where our mommy ducks prefer to lay their eggs. We assume it feels very safe. The leaves of the banana trees provide good cover from airborne predators like hawks, and the proximity to the house […]
Sometime in March, 1999 a remarkable cat named Sam was born. We’re not sure of the exact date, as Sam was adopted from the Hawaii Humane Society as part of a BOGO (that’s a “Buy One, Get One Free”) special. A friend wanted a cat, and convinced Scott to take advantage of the BOGO special […]
The Last Time It Rained This Much, Noah built himself a boat! (paraphrasing Wilfred Brimley‘s line from Absence of Malice — if you haven’t seen that movie, you really should. But we digress…) This year, February came in like a lamb, and is going out like a very ornery (that is, a very windy, rainy) […]