The Sounds Of Silence

The Sounds Of Silence was Originally Posted on June 28, 2011 by lavarock

A few things have happened since moving back to the farm full time. First, the dogs are a bit more laid back. That may change over time, however especially O`Lena is a bit more reserved than she was a few months ago when we left. Koa is almost always laid back!

I still have not called to have the cable reatteched, so I’m still relying upon the cellphone for a modem. I have to get my cable internet working again so I can connect all the phones again. I brought the last of them home the other day and they stand ready to attach to my PBX again. I had to replace a fuse in its power supply after the electrical problem.

I have been watching old video tapes and am amazed at the good quality of movies I recordeda decade ago off my big dish onto very long playing VCR speeds. It is a lot better than I expected when watching on a large LCD TV.

A big problem here on the Big Island is the noise of the coqui frog, which appeared in the islands a while back. It is a very small frog with a very loud voice. A search will give you more info on the thing, but only being near one will convince you that one frog nearby is one too many. It hollers “ko KEE” which is how it got its name. One frog hundreds of feet away can keep you awake. Hundreds or thousands can drive you insane. It is reported that here in Hawaii, with no preditors for the frogs, they can number 20,000 per acre! Cicada noise would pale in comparison.

We have been trying to quickly rid ourselves of the pest before it destroys things, yet there is at least one group trying to protect the things. That group must be crazy, really!

Control measures include a number of nasty chemicals. Many of them are regulated and some are used to make explosives. I opted for changing the PH of the ground where the frog must walk before climbing the tree near my bedroom. I dumped about 13 pounds of baking soda near many of the trees and hope that the sucker walks on some. The adult male is the one making noises and does that to attract the female. She can be quite prolific in laying eggs for new frogs so you want to control them early.

If I have to resort to citric acid (yes like in orange or lemon juice but stronger), I will have to spray the trees to hit the frogs while they up there, rather than try to find them on or under the leaves.

Wish me luck.