The trees must go!

A couple of days ago, Br. Jim decided that 5 of the coconut trees near the high water tank on the campus needed to be cut down.  He’s been worried that a high wind or storm may cause one of the top-heavy trees to fall, crashing into this very important tank.

A man named Max from the nearby village of Rempi was hired to climb the trees and attach a rope near the top, so that some of the brothers could control which way the trees would fall when cut.

Br. Jim, with his trusty chainsaw, did the actual cutting, a task he’s obviously skilled at.  Each tree fell with a mighty WHUMP!, sending coconuts and friars scrambling and leaving a noticeable dent in the ground.  It also dislodged a few hundred thousand of those pesky ants that I wrote about before.

I shot some video of this ersatz lumberjacking process and posted it on YouTube.  I know Jim Fox will particularly appreciate it.  Maybe you will too.

 

[youtube http://youtu.be/f1mZ6LdLhAA]

 

This is my first little video project using my new camera. I still have to learn a few things about it.  What do you think?  Please leave a comment below.    The video resolution may be a bit low, but even at this reduced size, it took almost 3 hours to upload.

Oh, leave a comment too if you have some ideas about other things you’d like to see from the environs of St. Fidelis.  I’ll see what I can do.

The photo attached to this post?  That’s kulau, the coconut water inside the young coconuts (not coconut milk).  This is a clear water-like substance inside the coconut that is very drinkable, full of electrolytes, and quite tasty.  It has a tang to it and reminded me a little of Sprite.  Not at all like coconut.

15 thoughts on “The trees must go!

  1. More videos? Yes, please! Those poor trees, but I understand why they had to go. And the young coconut? We call that buko in the Philippines. The buko juice (not coconut milk) is delicious, and the young coconut meat (buko) is great in fruit salads and pies. Man, I miss that stuff!

    It would be cool to see you in native dress. Do they do luaus over there also?

    • They have a local version of a luau called a mumu. It’s very similar from what I understand. There’s supposed to be one on campus next week when a celebration is held for two Capuchins who will be professing solemn vows. About 100-150 family members are supposed to attend and have a mumu. I’ll do my best to film it and post it for those interested.

      • That would be wonderful! Yes, please! 😀 Enjoy the food! I’m sure there will be some form of roasted pig at this. It seems to be a very popular Island food, and I’m sure PNG would be no exception to that. 🙂

        • Absolutely! The mumu will be today, consisting of pig, fruits and vegetables. Pigs are used almost like money in the villages and to cook one at a celebration is a big deal. I hope to video it and post something soon about it and the Solemn Profession of the two Capuchin Brothers. Perhaps on Monday if all goes well.

    • Thanks! That means a lot coming from you, the media professional. I do the best I can with a camcorder and a laptop (and no formal training at all.)

  2. Love the video! I really appreciate you taking those hours to upload it. Even just a minute of video would have been enough.

    As for future subjects, anything about the food or local languages would be neat, or something related to the spirituality in the region/school. Maybe when the seminarians come back to school, we can meet a few? We could even start some sort of prayer campaign for them.

    • Those are some great suggestions Angela! I’ll keep them in mind. It will be much easier to know what to film once the students are here. Right now there’s not much going on as we get ready for the term to start in February.

  3. I loved watching this blog…Brother Jim is my baby brother and I haven’t seen him in over a year….even watching him cutting the tree’s brings me great joy.

  4. Brother Jim is my baby brother and my family hasn’t seen him in over a year, seeing him looking happy and healthy is a joy…even if he is just cutting down trees. Enjoy my brother’s guidance, he has the heart and soul of an angel.
    Jim’s little sis,
    Teri

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