This is the second of two posts about the creation of the conference table for the Media Studio. It is a table made of Formosan Koa in an unusual style. Here is a look, over many months, into the building of the table base, the completion of the top, and the adding of the copper end plates to the top cross members. Enjoy.

Jai Ganesha!

Today we take time to appreciate the monasteries greenhouse, from which so much of our fresh produce is sourced. As some may know, tomato plants can only go do long before they must be replanted in order to continue their usual production. This month we are just beginning to see the fruits from our newest tomato plants. Also our lettuce and other greens are being produced continuously.

While the monastery has no female residents, and non-monastic members (both men and women) leave the property by 6PM, the ladies are actively involved in Sivathondu in the public areas. They are in immense help to the monastery. Being clerks at the MiniMela and being temple hosts. They also help the Pilliyar Kulam with tags for items and other chores related to the Minimela.

The members take take turns dealing with the tide of visitors, which has grown to over more than 3,000 month every day from 9-12 noon. They have to answer questions of the wide-eyed tourists who know nothing about Hinduism, "What is that Dancing God?" Answer serious queries about the monastery from Hindu pilgrims, "What sampradaya does this temple follow?"

And act as polite policewomen. "No photos allowed the temple... Can you please put on a sarong? Don't put your feet out while sitting. No, you can't do go Iraivan, to do that come on a tour day...." This list of questions go on and on. They have become quite the diplomats.

All the monks really thank you all for this service. You have no idea how much it is appreciated! Thank you!

The end of the summer and beginning of fall is a incredible time if abundance in tropical fruits, as we have shown you before. Here is more!

Some Formasa Koa trees on our own property had to come down. They were huge and we milled them out in large slabs. They were kept in a dehumified container for nearly a year. They naturally took their own shape over time with twists and curves.

Now our team is work hard to make them flat. Jointing, sanding and planing them. They will be assembled to make a new table for the conference room in the media studio.

Electric vehicles take a lot less work than combustion engines. But they still require maintenance.

The Siddhidata Kulam has for years cultivated the best papaya from seed. Here is Yogi Adinatha with a ten-pound papaya! Yes, we weighed it. Ten Pounds!

The biggest donor to Iraivan is? Guess what? The Rudraksha Tree! Each month the Wailua Mission prepares the rudraksha beads grown on San Marga for sale. The proceeds from the Mini-Mela go to the Iraivan temple. We just had "Rudraksha Day" on July 27th.

At the quarterly meeting of the Hindu Heritage Endowment, June 10, 2019, the stewards approved a new endowment called the Kauai Aadheenam Feed the Monks Fund. This fund was jointly created by Poumagal Pillay Mootoosamy of Montreal, Canada and Padmini Samuthiran of Singapore. They both came up with the idea and the minimal funds to start the endowment, at just about the same time. We have created a new web page for this endowment: you can go here to contribute

The stewards and staff discussed the financial statements for the first quarter of 2019. This involves comparing the investment returns with the traditional benchmarks and reviewing various documents, bar charts and graphs. The principal of HHE is invested with Halbert Hargrove of Long Beach, California. Over the long term, the HHE investments are expected to steadily gain while there may be short term losses, depending on the market. They meet at the Princeville Resort. Gurudeva thought this was the ideal setting to visualize abundance for over 75 HHE funds. The hotel lobby is the venue, and the lobby looks out over the Hanalei Bay and surrounding mountains. It is truly inspiring.

To go to Himalayan Acres, which is what we call the agricultural endowment lands on the south side of the river across from Iraivan, requires that we drive one mile north of the Aadheenam and then take a left to go west and across the river.

To make that crossing we go over a ford that has about 10, two-foot culverts buried in concrete that take river water under the flat surface that provides a bridge over the rocky base of the river. Of course, when the river is in spate, then 5 feet or more of water flows above the ford, and we cannot makes the crossing.

Recent floods blocked the culvert with rocks and even when the river was low, we could not cross.

Acharya Arumugaswami, who heads the noni operation, was determined to clear the culverts which make ford crossable ever when the river is a little high. Off we went for adventure on dry, sunny day to see what could be done.