11-18-2018, 08:47 AM
This morning I woke up, excited, energized, ready, willing, and after I finished my first hot cup of coffee, able to join in as part of the solution. Yesterday I discovered, the best way we can remove ourselves from the destructive power of forest fires, is if we march ourselves directly into the woods and start raking.
Here in Puna almost all of us are blessed with trees on our property, but cursed with the danger that lurks beneath them. Trees are clearly no friend to the environment, especially when they burn, so each of us must do our part in minimizing the damage they cause, mostly when no one is looking.
After some initial experimentation I soon implemented a two step approach, first skimming my lawn rake lightly across the surface, then for a deep clean right down along the forest floor, I used a metal garden rake.
My neighbor called "aloha! good morning! as he worked away under his gigantic avocado tree, right near the property line, pretty much worthless as far as I'm concerned because its fallen leaves are nothing but concave rain catchers and breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Oh sure, it's nice when he brings over buckets of buttery avocados one month a year, but what about the other 11 months? That's what I'm talking about. Anyway we both stopped for a moment and he told me about a Scandinavian raking technique he heard mentioned on the radio or TV, highly recommended by the President of one of those small countries up at the North Pole, which supposedly allowed you to Finnish the job faster, or something like that. Later, when I went inside on a break, I Googled it for more details, but the President of Finland said he's never head of such a thing. Later if I have time I'll check if it was Sweden. Or maybe Norway.
Well, if any of you have better suggestions, tips or general advice on how we can do our part here in the deep, thick leaf littered forests of Puna, please let's all help #RakeAmericaGreatAgain.
Here in Puna almost all of us are blessed with trees on our property, but cursed with the danger that lurks beneath them. Trees are clearly no friend to the environment, especially when they burn, so each of us must do our part in minimizing the damage they cause, mostly when no one is looking.
After some initial experimentation I soon implemented a two step approach, first skimming my lawn rake lightly across the surface, then for a deep clean right down along the forest floor, I used a metal garden rake.
My neighbor called "aloha! good morning! as he worked away under his gigantic avocado tree, right near the property line, pretty much worthless as far as I'm concerned because its fallen leaves are nothing but concave rain catchers and breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Oh sure, it's nice when he brings over buckets of buttery avocados one month a year, but what about the other 11 months? That's what I'm talking about. Anyway we both stopped for a moment and he told me about a Scandinavian raking technique he heard mentioned on the radio or TV, highly recommended by the President of one of those small countries up at the North Pole, which supposedly allowed you to Finnish the job faster, or something like that. Later, when I went inside on a break, I Googled it for more details, but the President of Finland said he's never head of such a thing. Later if I have time I'll check if it was Sweden. Or maybe Norway.
Well, if any of you have better suggestions, tips or general advice on how we can do our part here in the deep, thick leaf littered forests of Puna, please let's all help #RakeAmericaGreatAgain.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
