Category Archives: Animals

Upon reflection

I saw this praying mantis on a window reflecting the nearby hillside. That and the strong shadow of the mantis is what I like about this image.

Here’s where my garden grows

A gecko on a wax ginger at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden — A small Gold Dust Day Gecko climbs over a Wax Ginger. The small yellow parts are the flowers and the red mass is bracts.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Plant Life.’ See more responses here.

Here are a few plants seen on my last visit to Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden. For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

A Heliconia Longissima Red Wings at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden — Big leaves on Heliconia Longissima Red Wings

Towering trees at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden — Big leaves on Heliconia Longissima Red Wings

A powderpuff flower at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden — A Powderpuff flower growing from a mossy trunk.

A red ginger at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden — A Powderpuff flower growing from a mossy trunk.

Foliage reflected in the lake at at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden — There are plants on land and reflected in the water.

It’s not blood, but it could be

A mud dauber wasps prepares a looper caterpillar before taking it to her nest to lay eggs on it

I saw this mud dauber wasp trussing up a looper caterpillar on a bright red fire bucket. The wasp doesn’t kill the caterpillar, but immobilizes it. It will then be stashed in the wasp’s nest and have the wasp’s eggs laid on it. What happens then is the stuff horror movies are made of!

When push comes to shove

Two cats squabble at a food bowl in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Furred and Feathered Friends.’ See more responses here. Since I don’t have a pet, I was readying a selection of bird photos, when I observed this little scene where I work.

We have six cats there and twice a day we put food out in several bowls. There’s enough for each cat to have a bowl to themselves. But these two, Moon, on the left, and Grayson, invariably ‘share’ a bowl. When I say ‘share,’ I mean they push and shove each other rather than taking turns. Moon will often insert her whole body between Grayson and his food. Grayson has been known to raise a paw. But they never seem to fight, just needle each other, over and over and over….

Cow on the run

Heading down for my walk at Upolu, I saw this cow on the loose. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but the main road is a mile up the hill and the escapees rarely get that far.

This one gave me a suspicious look as she passed. Perhaps she was trying to get rid of the ever-present cluster of flies on her back!

Kamehameha Day in the pink

Yesterday was the birthday of King Kamehameha I, the first king to unite all the Hawaiian islands under one leader. He was born in North Kohala, and every year the community celebrates his birthday with ceremonies at his statue in Kapaau and with a parade.

The parade features Pa’u riders representing all the main Hawaiian islands. Each island has an official color and flower. Maui’s flower is the Lokelani rose and its color is pink.

Hawaiian men and women started riding horses, soon after their introduction to the islands in the early 1800s. Sidesaddle riding was common for women in those days, but it was never introduced here. Women learned to ride the same way as men. They wore a Pa’u skirt, 12 yards of colored cloth wrapped in such a way as to preserve their modesty and dignity while riding astride their horse.

Lei about to be draped at King Kamehameha statue

Lei being draped at King Kamehameha statue

The ceremonies include draping leis over the arms of the statue. These leis are made as a mark of respect, by groups and organizations. It can be a tricky business getting the leis into place, especially when there’s a good breeze blowing as there was yesterday.

Posted for this week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme of ‘Pink.’ See more responses here.

Gecko on a banana flower

This week’s Sunday Stills Color Challenge theme is ‘Pink.’ See more responses here.

Here’s a Gold Dust Day Gecko exploring a banana flower, looking for water or something sweeter. Weather permitting, I hope to have another pink post tomorrow!

Gecko with eggs

A house gecko on a window with eggs visible

I saw this house gecko on the outside of the bathroom window one night and took a couple of photos. Nothing remarkable about that. True, the gecko is securely attached to a slick vertical surface with those magic feet it has. And yes, the window could use a clean!

But look at the belly of the beast and there are pale, round shapes. Those are gecko eggs. They usually lay one or two eggs at a time and they can be anywhere. I’ve found them in light fixtures, window frames, cupboards. The list is endless. Any place that appears dark and quiet is a likely depository.

Many get broken or eaten or otherwise destroyed, but the supply of geckos is not running out. The hatching time for the eggs depends on the species of gecko, generally running from one to three months. Baby geckos are tiny, looking like there’s no room for internal organs.

In this house, they scamper around for no apparent purpose and I rarely see them catch anything to eat. One thing they learn very quickly if they’re to survive, is that they had better watch out for larger geckos because big geckos will eat little geckos like snack crackers!

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii