December in Paradise

Posted on December 1st, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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Far out in the middle of the vast north Pacific ocean, miles below the blue face of the sea, in the middle of one of the earth’s largest tectonic plates, there is a weakness in the miles and miles of rock that contain the molten fury of the earth’s burning heart.

At that most unlikely spot on the ocean floor the greatest forces of nature hold each other at bay as surging, molten magma meets the icy cold embrace of nature’s one essential miracle … water. There is likely no other titanic clash like this in our fair galaxy, yet it occurs far from the curious eyes of the animal kingdom’s most ingenious creations … you and I.

The results of this timeless struggle are the incredibly beautiful chain of volcanic islands we call Hawaii. The greatest of these islands is named “Hawai’i” and reaches from the sea floor to over 13,000 feet into the sky. No continent can match the size of Hawaii’s mountains in their splendid isolation, and none will even try.

Those of us who live in Waimea on the rolling green slopes of the ancient Kohala Mountains look to Mauna Kea each morning as the winter progresses, and often by December we can see her glistening crown of snow in the first blades of morning light. It is a rich and powerful sight.
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Recent rains have brought early snows, even as the pasture lands have turned from their summer browns to vivid greens under the bright blue sky. Fantastic cloudscapes stage their best shows in the winter sky. For those of us in Hawaii’s high country, this all means that it is time to revisit the wood pile out back to be sure there is enough dry ohia and keawe wood to keep conversations and laughter going long after dinner as friends and family gather round the hearth. The winter season is our most beautiful season.

On holiday mornings bird dogs are now sniffing through the high pastures as bird hunters greet the hills with burning legs and lungs. Good men and women once more rest at midday under the twisted limbs of the mamane trees where the rare and beautiful palila bird flits from flower to flower and darts about in the pukiawe thickets. They will hopefully have caught a brace of pheasant to simmer in a rich wine sauce or grill to perfection over burning coals as smiles reflect from the gleaming globes of wine glasses at a fine winter sunset.

As December rises, and our pretty little village decks out in festive, holiday ornaments, we breath deep and are happy that we have had a good year and that the time of thanks-giving has softened our hearts just in time for Christmas.

The greatest gift mother nature can give is to be able to live in Waimea, on the Big Island, in the middle of the great North Pacific, with the beating heart of the earth so near, so warm and so alive.

Call us at Big Island Buyers Brokers. We can help and are happy to do our best.

Imua,

Bill Jardine

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Thanksgiving in Waimea

Posted on November 17th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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What a wonderful holiday Thanksgiving is!

Just think, it occurs on Thursday, giving everyone an ideal excuse for a four-day weekend. It is not a religious holiday, so no one needs to pretend they are offended by not being included. It is one of those great holidays that don’t require you to guess what kind of a gift to give. It is a feast designed around a most American theme and American bird. It is hard not to have too many people over, which is what life is all about!

In Waimea, on the blessed Big Island of Hawaii, Thanksgiving has a distinct “cowboy country” feel to it. We look out across millions of acres of rolling pasture lands, brooding lava fields and verdant green rain forests, all the Kohala Coast sailing under a rich blue sky scape in the north Pacific. The days of Autumn have cooled and the nights are dark and crisp under a canopy of glittering stars. Wood fires burn brightly in snug fireplaces, and we look forward to the winter rains yet to come.

This year we give thanks for the success of our beloved and treasured North Hawaii Community Hospital, bringing high-quality medical care to the vast North Hawaii landscape where little villages cling tightly to their histories in the gentle folds of the land. We give thanks for the dynamic educational communities of Parker School and Hawaii Preparatory Academy for bringing the wonders of the world to our children growing up in paradise.

Of course we are American to the core, in spite of this generation’s recent interest in cultural identities, so we are thankful for our incredible American Constitutional democracy that has endured longer than any other democracy ever devised. Did you realize that our United States Constitution is far, far older than all of the constitutions of Europe put together? It’s true!

Growing up in Hawaii we have always had the best of every culture, the most beautiful children, the most diverse society and the absolute best environment on earth. Whoa Nellie! It can’t get any better than that.

For all of you longing to join us here in paradise, please know that anything is possible … even a national holiday just to give thanks for what we have been taking for granted.

Imua,

Bill Jardine

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How To Buy Right In Today’s Market

Posted on November 14th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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We are always amazed that people pay so much attention to how much some one is asking for a house. After all, these same folks would not get worked up over their child’s long list of Christmas wishes, and, well, wishes are wishes. If wishes were horses beggars would ride.

The asking price is always the Seller’s wish, and he or she are free to ask anything that they want, so why would a Buyer care about that? Since I have faith in my Realtor community, I know that the Realtor representing that property has probably told the Seller that they will try the “high-hopes” price for a while to see how the market responds. In a normal market the response is usually negative, and in a Buyer’s market such as we have today the response is ALWAYS negative. So what should you do if you’d like to take advantage of this incredible buying opportunity? Should you wait until prices come down further? The answer is “no”.

If you wait for the elusive bottom of the market you will almost always miss it, since no one knows when it arrives … especially you, right? Another problem with waiting is that you are more likely to pick up competition for the property you want. After all, there are lots of folks just like you who would like to buy great properties at great prices, and they are waiting too!

The best plan is to get in there and make aggressive offers that reflect what you are willing to pay. Sure you may get rejected by those Sellers who still have high hopes, but even the most delusional of them will eventually come around. If you think asking prices are 20 percent too high, get in there and start making offers that are 20% below the asking price.

We do this all the time, and we have a bunch of happy buyers as a result.

Call us … you will be glad you did!

Imua,

Bill Jardine

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The Hawaiian-Brined Turkey is the Best.

Posted on November 5th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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For those of you now living on the mainland, or in Singapore, Japan or Europe, you may find it odd to discover that the Big Island is covered with turkeys. It is true; we have flocks and flocks and flocks of wild turkeys roaming in the forests and pastures as well as gobbling and strutting through golf courses and back yards! These are not the fluffy white commercial birds you see on the many TV broadcasts as Thanksgiving week looms. These are the good old American wild turkeys that fascinated the settlers at Plymouth Rock!

In Waimea, the birth place of the American cowboy, we have turkeys galore, and enough of them are caught during bird season to warrant serious thoughts about how to cook them up. If you think about it, you might want to try a wild turkey recipe on that plump store-bought bird this Thanksgiving Day. You will not be disappointed, because the magic that works wonders on a wild bird will save even the most unenthusiastic cook from ruining the holiday turkey this year.

Most folks will tell you that the biggest disappointment they have in cooking their turkey is that it came out too dry. We did join friends one year who forgot to thaw the bird before popping it in the oven, but I don’t think that is a common problem. Usually it is the “turkey-from-the-pyramids” that gets your goat, right? This is caused not only from leaving the turkey in too long but also from not having a juicy bird to begin with!

Here is how to use your own favorite recipe and have your turkey come out the way you want it too:

First thaw the turkey in the refrigerator a few days in advance. Don’t leave it on the counter or sitting in a sink full of water. That is actually dangerous. Once it is soft, take out the treats they pack in the cavities, and don’t forget the ones under the neck skin. Wash your turkey out with fresh water to make sure it is nice and clean.

Next, make a brine of a gallon of vegetable stock a gallon of water and a cup of salt. You need lots of liquid to float a big turkey but may be able to get away with less if you are very clever with large plastic bags. The brine will slowly pump moisture and flavor into your bird, so think of other wonderful things you might want to put in the brine to flavor the meat. How about oranges, or cranberries? Want to go oriental? How about a cup of soy sauce, crushed ginger and lots of garlic? I favor herbs and like to add lemon rinds, thyme and rosemary as well as slices of Maui onion to my brine, but you may have other flavors you would like. No problem!

For a real Hawaiian-style flavor think about adding guava, lilikoi or pineapple juice to your brine … that could be really good!

Soak the bird for a day in a large pot in a cooler full of melting ice. Change the ice as needed, but make sure the turkey stays cold! If you don’t have a great big pot, just use one of those plastic laundry buckets or whatever you can. In a worst case scenario you can just dump the whole thing in the cooler with the ice. It is OK, you are just trying to get those brine flavors into the turkey one way or another.

When you are ready to cook the bird, take it out of the brine, wash it off and throw away the brine. Don’t stuff the bird. Your stuffing will be much better if you cook it in a casserole dish, and you will be thankful to be able to cook as much as you want. Turkeys don’t hold very much stuffing, and if you make a good one you will want lots to meet demand. As for cooking methods, you have all ready won the battle by brining, so it really doesn’t matter if you cook slowly or not. Just cook it anyway you like. Alton Brown, they guy who moderates the American Iron Chef program, has a good recipe for brining and cooking your turkey, but there are lots of others. Anyway you do it you will be a winner!

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Will the Superferry Service the Big Island?

Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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There certainly has been a lot of news concerning Hawaii’s Superferry lately! The matter seems to have taken on an un-healthy “Them versus Us” political cast, and those of us not given to heated arguments must just hope that time will heal the wounds caused by hasty words spoken in anger. In the meantime it seems likely that the inter-Island, high-speed ferry will be given a chance to run between Kauai, Oahu and Maui while an environmental assessment is finally done.

The big question for those of us on the Big Island is whether or not the Superferry is likely to eventually come and go from Kawaihae Harbor, which is a part of the Waimea community. The very question stirs all kinds of worries and hopes, spicing dinners and back yard conversations with vexing questions. Much of the decision-making will be outside the realm of social implication, however. It will rest with good, old economics. For the ferry service to be successful it will have to be well-ridden in both directions, and that remains an uncertain gamble.

The development of hotel facilities on the Kohala coast of the Big Island did not really get going until the 1980’s, when the costs of developing had all ready gone sky high. As a result, our glittering resorts are expensive and are geared toward the more affluent travelers. Will the targeted ferry riders be able to afford these lush meccas? Will they want to? It seems the ferry is best suited to the family on a budget with trailer in tow.

Another unique aspect of the Big Island is its relative lack of camping-parks, where a family can park their camper and trailer boat for a weekend at the beach. Probably a whole bunch of folks on Oahu have dreams of taking the family, the boat and the RV’s to the Big Island but don’t realize there aren’t any parks to stay at while they’re here. If they come anyway, will the County of Hawaii create more camping places, or will we just have popular roadside spots where people have to make do?

The Superferry will surely be a great benefit to heavy equipment contractors, who will be able to whisk their broken machinery to town for repairs and move large equipment between the Islands to help them compete state-wide. At the moment the inter-island barges are slow and heavily burdened with work place rules that limit pickup and delivery options. Also, there will likely be Big Island produce as well as tons and tons of lava rock making its way to the City along with the school groups and dance troops. I expect Young Brothers will see a real drop in their business.

Will the Superferry hit whales? My experience in whale country seems to be typical for off-shore fishermen. We have had many close calls even at low speed. Every fisherman I know says the same thing … the likelihood of a collision is very, very high. Are we wrong? I certainly hope so!

Imua,

Bill Jardine

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The Return of the Kolea to the Big Island

Posted on October 24th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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As the days shorten and the evenings cool under sparkling stars, our thoughts turn to the wonders of winter on the Big Island.

To the unpracticed eye it may appear that the tropics change very little from season to season, but those of us who are enjoying life in paradise will beg to differ. For instance, the giant, charging Pacific Blue Marlin that lurk around our deep sea ledges have migrated away from our shores, following the vast schools of ahi south into warmer climes as the north Pacific leans away from the heat of the sun for a few months. Almost on cue we have seen the arrival of schools of mahimahi, streaking just under the waves in hot pursuit of flying fish as the Frigate Birds swoop and wheel just inches from the white caps. Instead of a summer menu of grilled ahi with Caesar salad and white rice, we are now looking forward to roasted red potatoes, and sauteed mahimahi in a silky meuniere sauce with fresh asparagus.

One of the most remarkable harbingers of the winter season, however, is the Kolea, or Pacific Golden Plover. These beautiful birds spend their summers in Alaska, where they rear their young very, very quickly before the iron vise of winter ice closes upon those rich tundra bogs, leaving just a few hardy arctic species to endure the darkness. The little fledglings must gain enough weight and strength to fly non-stop over the vast, blue face of the Pacific, 2000 miles, night and day, to reach Hawaii’s verdant pastures. Only the hardiest will survive, and no one seems to know how many are lost to fatigue in the blue folds of the sea.

Waimea, or “Kamuela” as our Post Office is named, is one of the favorite spots for the Kolea to winter, and you can see them now scooting through the pastures snagging succulent morsels or gliding swiftly across the face of the wind just a few feet above the waves of kikuyu grass that ripple down the slopes of our beautiful hills.

By late Spring the males will sport bright, golden feathers, as though reflecting the warm, Hawaiian sunlight for their long flight back to the arctic. Hawaii has been hosting winter-worn souls since long before the footfalls of the first weary travelers made deep prints in her sands. The years ahead will bring more and more as the weight of winters accumulates upon the Baby Boomers. We worry about over-crowding, traffic and fragile natural resources, while the Kolea worries only about her children and the empty reaches of the sea that lie between her two homes.

Imua!

Bill Jardine
Big Island Buyers Brokers - An Exclusive Buyers Agency

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Fall, Firewood, and Grilling Pheasant in Hawaii

Posted on October 21st, 2007 by Bill Jardine

blog-shot.jpgFor those living in the northern reaches of our blessed land the seasons present loud signals to announce the beginning of one season or another. For instance, there is a whole bunch of mud in the Spring, along with budding flowers and sweet-scented air. In Hawaii we can find mud and flowers all year around.

When Summer rolls into town on the North American continent, there are fields of corn, wheat and alfalfa to go with the water melons and gathering thunder clouds. Nothing much like that meets the eye in Hawaii, where summer is more closely associated with glittering schools of ahi tuna far off shore under gathering clouds of sea birds.

In Hawaii’s high country, Fall means that nights will soon be cold and stars will glitter so brightly that they will seem ready to fall from the sky. It is time to gather fire wood, and Kiawe wood is a favorite choice. Most people don’t have a clue where the ubiquitous Kiawe tree came from. It seems for all the world like a very close relative of the South Western Mesquite tree, but it didn’t really come from the USA at all!

The Hawaiian Kiawe tree is actually native to Peru and is an import from the gardens of Versailles in France! Yep, the first kiawe was planted in 1828 by the first Catholic priest in Hawaii, Father Bachelot, right next to his church on Bishop Street in Honolulu. It was grown from a simple seed, sent from the gardens of Versailles in France. Kiawe and the natve wood, ohia, are my favorites for sweet-smelling and long-lasting firewood.

As October turns to November, the bird hunters will load their excited dogs into their trucks and head out to the highlands, up the slopes of towering Mauna Kea, to search for the profusion of game birds in the high country scrub and pasture lands. The Hawaiian Ring-neck pheasant is a treasured prize, along with Chukar Partridge, and African Francolins. A long day in the field often leads to head-scratching in the kitchen, as the cook pokes through arcane and often inappropriate camp recipes! Here is a good one for all your suffering hunters’ wives out there:

Take the best of the skinless meat and soak it in a mixture of buttermilk, salt, minced garlic and a couple of minced up canned chipotle peppers … use your own proportions. When you are ready to cook everything up, drain off the buttermilk but strain out the garlic and chipotle. Rub the meat with olive oil and the salvaged seasonings and throw the whole lot on the grill for five minutes per side. Don’t forget to warn everyone about the shotgun pellets!

There is just so much most folks don’t know about living in Hawaii … it is not all palm trees and hula skirts, afterall. One of the best ways to find out what you are in for is to talk to an Exclusive Buyers Agency, where your private information will remain private! The best one for the the high country of the Big Island is Big island Buyers Brokers, of course!

Imua,

Bill Jardine

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Beauty and the Beast - Hawaiian Ag Subdivisions

Posted on October 10th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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One of the interesting real estate products in Hawaii is the agricultural subdivision. Some of them are extremely nice, featuring large rolling pastures sparsely dotted with fine homes on what used to be scrubby grazing land. These subdivisions may or may not be used to produce agricultural products, but they sure do benefit the property tax people!

Not long after the first Republican Governor since the 1962 took office, the State Legislature overrode her veto of a State Bill that denied a developer’s right to restrict obnoxious agricultural practices within a new agricultural subdivision. This was a bill designed to help the small farmer but may well have sounded a death knell for new agricultural subdivisions.

Before this bill was passed over the Governor’s veto, the Codes Covenants and Restrictions (CC&R’s) of the subdivision would usually restrict obnoxious agricultural practices, so that everyone’s peace and property values were secured. It is not hard to see that new agricultural subdivisions without these restrictions are far less attractive than the old ones where the restrictions remain in place. For instance …

Let’s say that you have bought a very nice lot in an agricultural subdivision and intend to build your dream home on it. In order to purchase the lot you had to out-bid another buyer who now feels slighted and unhappy. He buys the lot next to yours - the lot on the upwind side of yours. Before you know it he is raising pigs and fighting cocks on his lot in full compliance with the agricultural zoning. Are you still going to build your dream home? Perhaps not.

this is just one more reason you should get an Exclusive Buyers Agent before you begin your adventure looking for a great property in America’s most desirable retirement area. Yours truly is a great choice for the Kohala Coast of the Big Island as well as Waimea, our country’s first cowboy town.

You too can live in Paradise … just be smart about it!

Aloha

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Coqui Frogs - An Unexpected Problem?

Posted on September 26th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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Aloha from Paradise, where unexpected beauty can blend with unexpected, ear-piercing screeches!

Just imagine that you have bought your dream home on the banks of a lovely tropical stream. You are looking forward to your first romantic night under a sky full of stars, the champaign is chilled, you settle on the screen porch to take in the sunset sky and the sweet scents of tropical flowers that drift through your new home. As dusk settles and the gentle prodding of the champaign works its magic, you find your fingers entwined with your loved one’s, and a soft kiss fits the moment.

Suddenly some small creature screams from within the forest canopy! You are shocked to your shoes and leap to your feet in disbelief! Something is being killed out there! Within seconds there are more and more screams until the night is filled with an avalanche of sound driving you back in terror! Welcome to the thing the nice real estate lady didn’t mention … coqui frogs.

These tiny little things invaded from Puerto Rico a while back and have turned the tropical nights into a screeching mess on the wet, windward side of the Big Island. There have been lots of efforts to eradicate the little things, but so far they seem to be holding their own. Naturally there are organizations who are on the side of the invaders and would prefer that you just enjoy your evening with ear plugs.

Along with the coqui frog, there are many other things about paradise that you need to know before you plunk down your retirement dollars on the perfect tropical cottage. Probably the best way to deal with these things is to use an Exclusive Buyers Agency. If you have your own Realtor who is familiar with the area you are targeting, you are much more likely to have some one working for your interests and your interests alone. It is a good way to avoid the cost of a law suit as well!

Imua,

Bill Jardine

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96743 - One of Hawaii’s Most Valuable Areas

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by Bill Jardine

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The little village of Waimea, nestled at the foot of snow-capped Mauna Kea, is anything but the sleepy little cow town it first appears to be as your brightly-colored rental car soars 2000 feet up to the cool highlands of the Big Island. Although there have been cowboys in Waimea since long before they appeared in the American west and cattle ranching is still a very prominent industry here, there are many surprises waiting in this jewel box of a town.

Recently identified as one of our country’s most valuable zip codes, Waimea has attracted the famous and successful from all over the earth, and it is not uncommon to see a famous face shopping for fresh produce in rubber slippers or well-worn cowboy boots - like everyone else. Imagine how nice it must be for a celebrity to be able to get in their car, buy groceries, pick up some mail and go home without a fuss.

One reason Waimea has done so well is that it has a great hospital, built by the people of Waimea with the help of many generous donors, not the least of which was Earl Bakken, who’s visionary health care plans bloomed here in paradise. The North Hawaii Community Hospital has been a godsend to the people of North Hawaii and the Kohala Coast and has even caught the eye of the vaunted Cleveland Clinic. As a result of mutual interests, the two health care facilities have now formed the Bakken Heart Brain Institute, bringing the brightest researchers into the community.

The world’s finest astronomy facilities are located on Mauna Kea, and two of the very best maintain their head quarters in Waimea, The Keck Observatory and the Canada France Telescope Corporation. It is not unusual at all to see scientists frolicking in the summer sun, whizzing Frisbees into the trade winds as the Waimea breezes blow the complications of the deep universe right out of their minds!

So many come to Waimea to enjoy the fine restaurants found scattered about. Everything from inspired Tuscan fare at Cafe Pesto to Hawaii’s original regional cuisine at Merrimans awaits the hungry visitor and local alike. Add to that two wonderful private schools, Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Parker School, and you have a combination that simply cannot be duplicated in our entire country. No wonder the very successful among us choose to have homes here!

There is a dark-ish cloud on the horizon for this bright little hamlet, however. Waimea, like so many other little towns and villages across the earth, grew up around an intersection. It has been the cross roads of the Big Island for traffic flowing from Kailua-Kona to Hilo for many generations, but that will soon change. Within the next few years a new cross-Island corridor will be completed to replace the dangerous old Saddle Road that runs between the ancient volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Built largely with Department of Defense funds, this new high-speed roadway will likely attract much of the traffic that Waimea folks live off and complain about.

Will the creative and bright people of Waimea wake up to this threat and start thinking of themselves as a location that will have to compete for visitors, or will the community slide into memory as one of the greatest places that used to be? Stay tuned, intrepid reader. Stay tuned!

Imua!

Bill Jardine

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