Nolo is on the way, expected to become a Category 3 hurricane as it nears our island. It appears unlikely to actually make landfall, and certainly not near us, but the National Hurricane Center is predicting around 14 inches of rain and 30-40 mph winds even up where we are. We did basically the same storm preparations as we did for Lala, but there were other things to do, too.
I’ve been planning for over a year to drain the catchment tank, fill the base in with more sand, and level it. It settled after we installed it and had a distinct tilt toward the garage.
Last year we were in drought, and I just couldn’t see emptying the nearly-1,000 gallon tank when water was precious. This year, it’s been too rainy and I haven’t wanted to work in the rain. I decided I couldn’t have it both ways, and drained the tank yesterday — only to have Nolo change course and become a threat, just when I didn’t have reserve water. So we got up early and HA, her son L, and I tipped up the tank, shoveled about 3 cubic feet of sand under it, and got it level. I then filled it about halfway with county water. I figure Mother Nature will do the rest as the storm passes, but it the rain fails we’ll still have enough backup.
The pesky mongoose problem is still plaguing the chickens and us. I think I figured out how they’re getting in, via a gap in the side of a wall on the sheep side of the barn which looks like it just leads outside, but it actually leads into the chicken coop. I’ve meshed over it, and we will keep our fingers crossed.
I’ve also lowered the temporary twelve-foot mast on which I had my “client base” meshtastic node mounted. So my mesh connectivity is limited just when it might be most useful, but I haven’t yet finalized plans for a storm-resistant mast. I’ll probably hoist it to the top of a forty-foot giant bamboo shoot once I’m satisfied that it’s stable.
Now, to weather the storm!
—2p
addendum 2026-09-25T11:44-10:00
Nolo is now a Category 2 hurricane but, mercifully, it has stalled well to the south of us. While it’s projected to continue moving slowly northward, it is also projected to make a sharp westward turn when it will still be about 200 miles south of us. Peak wind speeds in our area are now projected to be in the 5-10 MPH range and rainfall in the 6-8” range. If the predictions hold, all our preparations will have proven unnecessary and the storm will have little impact on us. Ka’ū will get pretty wet, but not with the ferocity of Lala. Let’s hope this turns into a boring storm.