Kou (Cordia subcordata) is a canoe plant, brought to Hawaii by early Polynesian settlers. This is the caterpillar of the Kou Leafworm Moth (Ethmia nigroapicella), which feeds on Kou leaves and is doing a thorough job by the look of it.
Near the end of yesterday’s swim, I was greeted by this sight in the top photo. Spinner Dolphins coming my way. They were traveling at a leisurely pace as they dipped down and glided beneath me. After they passed, they came back up near the surface of the water and I thought they might loop around again, but instead they continued on their way.
Still, it was a lovely encounter, and my first with dolphins in quite a while. Swimmers are supposed to stay 50 yards away from dolphins because they might be sleeping even while they’re still swimming. However, when they pass by like this, there’s not much a swimmer can do, unless they have connections with someone on the Starship Enterprise!
A couple of days ago, on my way home, I had to stop in the vicinity of Waikoloa Resort to photograph this sunset.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Ephemeral.’ See more responses here. Captions on the photos.
This netting is designed, not so much to catch the wind, as to not get blown away by it. It was surrounding a project to build a new water tank for agricultural use, to replace the Kohala Ditch, which no longer holds water.
I saw these two Blue Goatfishes hunting with a Bluefin Trevally one morning, and particularly liked the look I got from the goatfish in the center!
When Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii to work in sugar and pineapple plantations, they brought with them their zori sandals and these caught on with the locals. Hawaiian companies began making their own versions and they soon became the quintessential island footwear, worn by everyone, everywhere. ‘Slippahs’ is the Hawaiian ‘pidgin’ word for these sandals and it’s the name most people use for them today.
In Hawaii, it’s considered polite to remove you outdoor footwear before entering a home, rude if you don’t. Inside, people either go barefoot or have indoor slippahs, which is what these are.
Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card. See more responses here.
Floodwater conduits under the road just below the visitor information center on Mauna Kea. I wouldn’t be standing there if it was raining hard.
