Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Huelo Point ... the weather vortex of Maui
"Aloha" ... the night before last we got the Fireworks display of all time.
As Jeff and I sat in the glass walled living room in the late afternoon, the thunderheads rolled in and Maui got what it rarely receives: a real, live (and lively) thunder and lightning storm. The dark purple light stealing across the ocean with the misty rain was breath-taking.
Instead of a "TV dinner", we let the weather provide our entertainment for the next two hours, coming to a climax with a C-R-A-C-K ... right over the top of our house!! (Needless to say, we both sat still for a few minutes after that one).
The power went out for a little while - lucky we always keep spare candles - but we really didn't mind the change of pace and quiet focus for the evening. Too often, all our "plug in" entertainment really doesn't give us time to be with our own thoughts - OR to even talk to each other, for that matter.
LONG LIVE THE WEATHER GODS AND GODDESSES!
As Jeff and I sat in the glass walled living room in the late afternoon, the thunderheads rolled in and Maui got what it rarely receives: a real, live (and lively) thunder and lightning storm. The dark purple light stealing across the ocean with the misty rain was breath-taking.
Instead of a "TV dinner", we let the weather provide our entertainment for the next two hours, coming to a climax with a C-R-A-C-K ... right over the top of our house!! (Needless to say, we both sat still for a few minutes after that one).
The power went out for a little while - lucky we always keep spare candles - but we really didn't mind the change of pace and quiet focus for the evening. Too often, all our "plug in" entertainment really doesn't give us time to be with our own thoughts - OR to even talk to each other, for that matter.
LONG LIVE THE WEATHER GODS AND GODDESSES!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"Huelo Pt Lookout ... green, green and always has been!"
It seems to have taken a while for people to be convinced of the benefits, both short and long term, of supporting "green" principles and industries. But we're happy to say that time has arrived!
At Huelo Pt Lookout we've been "green" ever since started, back in 1992. You as a guest will directly experience the benefits of our hard work. when we moved here, our house sat on a bare, windswept point, on soil sadly depleted by years of pineapple monoculture.
Now, Huelo Pt Lookout sits protected behind layers of windbreak and the soil is constantly replenished by three different levels of nitrogen fixing plants. Here, we've established our own little Eden, with thriving permaculture herb & veggie gardens, fruit orchards and chickens. Yes, we still have our trade wind, but these days we enjoy its coolness rather than dread the damage it may wreak!
Here, we are always working towards "sustainability":
1. We recycle, and generate almost zero trash.
2. We compost our green waste and all food scraps. (Our guests do too, though we're happy to go "dig it in" if people prefer it. Lots of guests really enjoy learning about it - so simple, easy to do, and beneficial to the soil with almost zero effort).
3. We get our energy from the sun for hot water and we're moving to expand our alternitive energy use. Naturally, we always encourage energy conservation, and use energy efficient appliances and light bulbs where we can.
4. We use non toxic cleaning supplies.
5. We use non toxic bug control - cedar oil (wonderful stuff! totally safe ... smells great and very effective).
6. We're developing "no mow" areas between our orchard trees, by mulching and planting nitrogen fixing groundcover (flowering peanut), bushes (Siberian pigeon pea) and trees (gliricidia). Bamboo generates tons of biomass which we effectively use as mulch.
7. We prepare new cultivated areas by using our "chicken tractor" - i.e. let the chickens, not us, do the hard work. (Told you we were into energy conservation, right?)
8. We're developing our own method of natural fertilizers by growing and utilizing comfrey to draw potassium from deep down in our clay subsoil. (Our soil is both nitrogen and potassium deficient). The comfrey roots act as a mini potassium pump, bringing the potassium to the leaves, which are later used in mulch, to feed the soil of course ... so round we go again ... just as nature intended. Eventually we hope we won't have to buy any fertilizers or supplements at all, as our land moves towards "balance" - nature's true state.
9. We're moving towards "edible landscaping" - a giant Eden of perennial gardens
10. We utilize "agro forestry" principles, by heavy interplanting of nitrogen fixing trees/ shrubs and groundcover
11. We serve as hosts in the WWOOFER program - Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Young people frequently stay on our property in a work exchange program, so we all take an active part in the hands on education of future generations. (Mind you, these young people are on the ball - I frequently feel I learn just as much or more from them, as they do from us!
So there you have it ... Huelo Pt Lookout ... a green eco friendly retreat that doesn't just affix the "green" label to its name. We really do what we say we do!
It seems to have taken a while for people to be convinced of the benefits, both short and long term, of supporting "green" principles and industries. But we're happy to say that time has arrived!
At Huelo Pt Lookout we've been "green" ever since started, back in 1992. You as a guest will directly experience the benefits of our hard work. when we moved here, our house sat on a bare, windswept point, on soil sadly depleted by years of pineapple monoculture.
Now, Huelo Pt Lookout sits protected behind layers of windbreak and the soil is constantly replenished by three different levels of nitrogen fixing plants. Here, we've established our own little Eden, with thriving permaculture herb & veggie gardens, fruit orchards and chickens. Yes, we still have our trade wind, but these days we enjoy its coolness rather than dread the damage it may wreak!
Here, we are always working towards "sustainability":
1. We recycle, and generate almost zero trash.
2. We compost our green waste and all food scraps. (Our guests do too, though we're happy to go "dig it in" if people prefer it. Lots of guests really enjoy learning about it - so simple, easy to do, and beneficial to the soil with almost zero effort).
3. We get our energy from the sun for hot water and we're moving to expand our alternitive energy use. Naturally, we always encourage energy conservation, and use energy efficient appliances and light bulbs where we can.
4. We use non toxic cleaning supplies.
5. We use non toxic bug control - cedar oil (wonderful stuff! totally safe ... smells great and very effective).
6. We're developing "no mow" areas between our orchard trees, by mulching and planting nitrogen fixing groundcover (flowering peanut), bushes (Siberian pigeon pea) and trees (gliricidia). Bamboo generates tons of biomass which we effectively use as mulch.
7. We prepare new cultivated areas by using our "chicken tractor" - i.e. let the chickens, not us, do the hard work. (Told you we were into energy conservation, right?)
8. We're developing our own method of natural fertilizers by growing and utilizing comfrey to draw potassium from deep down in our clay subsoil. (Our soil is both nitrogen and potassium deficient). The comfrey roots act as a mini potassium pump, bringing the potassium to the leaves, which are later used in mulch, to feed the soil of course ... so round we go again ... just as nature intended. Eventually we hope we won't have to buy any fertilizers or supplements at all, as our land moves towards "balance" - nature's true state.
9. We're moving towards "edible landscaping" - a giant Eden of perennial gardens
10. We utilize "agro forestry" principles, by heavy interplanting of nitrogen fixing trees/ shrubs and groundcover
11. We serve as hosts in the WWOOFER program - Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Young people frequently stay on our property in a work exchange program, so we all take an active part in the hands on education of future generations. (Mind you, these young people are on the ball - I frequently feel I learn just as much or more from them, as they do from us!
So there you have it ... Huelo Pt Lookout ... a green eco friendly retreat that doesn't just affix the "green" label to its name. We really do what we say we do!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Living in Paradise: what? you're still here?
"Aloha" - my name's Sharyn Stone (no, not the movie star ... but I used to run a video store if that's any help!) With my husband Jeff, we moved to Maui in 1992 and started something everyone dreams about - a small Bed & Breakfast, called Huelo Point Lookout - here on Maui's unspoiled, non "touristy" north shore.
Living in what everyone thinks of as "paradise" can be challenging, to put it mildly.
I was chatting with an old friend in the neighborhood yesterday. And a comment she made set me thinking. "Sharyn, I'd lost your number, so I looked it up in my address book." (Yes, she still has one of those. And, I'm embarrassed to admit, so do I). "And as I went through it, I realized that almost all the people in it were no longer here. But you're still here. I'm glad."
It's quite an experience, moving to "paradise". What I've noticed over the years, as people come and go, is that unfortunately, people bring themselves with them. And here where it is so spectacularly beautiful, all our personal issues can no longer be ignored. Guess it's like an advanced workshop in metaphysics - and you sink or swim ... back to the mainland.
So what does it mean for YOU? Living in Paradise? Have you ever done it? What made you pursue the dream in the first place?
For me, it was easy. I'm a gardener. And in Hawaii's climate, everything grows! But once you're here, you have to earn a living, right? You know when you're really here by measuring how long it's been since you've been to the beach! THEN you know ... you LIVE HERE!
Are you thinking of moving here? visiting? Then be sure to touch base with us!
Living in what everyone thinks of as "paradise" can be challenging, to put it mildly.
I was chatting with an old friend in the neighborhood yesterday. And a comment she made set me thinking. "Sharyn, I'd lost your number, so I looked it up in my address book." (Yes, she still has one of those. And, I'm embarrassed to admit, so do I). "And as I went through it, I realized that almost all the people in it were no longer here. But you're still here. I'm glad."
It's quite an experience, moving to "paradise". What I've noticed over the years, as people come and go, is that unfortunately, people bring themselves with them. And here where it is so spectacularly beautiful, all our personal issues can no longer be ignored. Guess it's like an advanced workshop in metaphysics - and you sink or swim ... back to the mainland.
So what does it mean for YOU? Living in Paradise? Have you ever done it? What made you pursue the dream in the first place?
For me, it was easy. I'm a gardener. And in Hawaii's climate, everything grows! But once you're here, you have to earn a living, right? You know when you're really here by measuring how long it's been since you've been to the beach! THEN you know ... you LIVE HERE!
Are you thinking of moving here? visiting? Then be sure to touch base with us!
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