12 Comments

Thanks, Priscilla. I'll be in Boulder in a couple of weeks. Will try to check out Chautauqua.

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Great, John! Our leader was Dave Sutherland, who organized the volunteers each summer. He's retired from the parks dept now, so I don't know if it's still a native demo garden or who is taking care of that little hillside now. I hope it's still pretty! Regardless, you'll love the Chautauqua trails—magnificent.

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Wonderful! Love this! Are the wild boar native to the land?

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No, they, like the deer, were introduced. There were no ungulates on these islands at all! No predatory mammals, so the birds and plants had it all to themselves.

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I heard there were no snakes either.

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None. I love snakes, but I don't miss getting surprised by a rattler, like in New Mexico. But we have no hummingbirds either! I do miss them.

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I would miss hummingbirds too. So, with the deer and boar, will the new forest always have to be fenced or will there eventually be some kind of balance?

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I assume always fencing. It would take a very long time to reduce those tens of thousands of deer, let alone the boar. And they're still increasing because hunting can't keep up with them. One of the ranches up there—the ranch where the new greenhouse is—runs a humane hunting and dressing program where they sell deer meat. And if you're local, you can drive up to the ranch and receive 2# of ground venison for free. The general store is next door to the new greenhouse, so I picked up our 2# for that day. It's the Ulupalakua Ranch Store.

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This is so great, Priscilla! I especially love the photos of seedlings then later visible plants!

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Oh, Gail, I too love the before and after so much! Those little plants are such bundles of vitality—makes me feel good just looking at the photos.

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This so wonderful!!

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Thanks, Karen, glad you enjoyed!

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