There are a lot of bougainvillea blooming currently, creating swathes of color where they’re planted as hedges or borders. I’ve been surprised by the scarcity of bees and other pollinators around the new flowers. Perhaps this is just a factor of the area where I see most of these flowers.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Turning point.’ (See more responses here.) Since this is a photo blog about the Big Island it seems appropriate to post some photos from my first visit here in 2010, a visit which was the catalyst for the move to the island. There was no ‘ah ha’ moment, but these photos give a general idea of some of the things that appealed.
The top photo is Pololu beach on the North Kohala coast. Second photo is a Hawaiian green turtle resting on the black sand beach at Punalu’u County Beach Park. Third photo is tropical foliage next to a small cascading stream. Fourth photo shows some small lava breakouts in the flow that was active at that time. Conveniently, that activity was about 100 yards from the parking area and only 10 feet or so beyond where I was standing. The bottom photo is a view of Two Step, a popular snorkeling spot, from Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.
With its big heart-shaped leaves and prominent white veins, Philodendron × ‘McDowellii’ is a quintessentially tropical plant. This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
This variable lady beetle was one of two scuttling around on a bird of paradise flower. The flies seemed very interested in it and kept checking it out. There were also flying ants and a wasp on the flower, drawn by the nectar no doubt.
A busy leafcutter bee forages on aptenia cordifolia flowers. Aptenia cordifolia is an iceplant that comes from southern Africa.
Wilsonara orchids are a kind of hybrid oncidium orchid. This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
One of the vulnerabilities of living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is that any big disruption of commerce, here or on the mainland, due to natural disaster or otherwise, could result in shortages here. Toilet paper and Spam would likely be the first things to be snapped up, but basic foodstuffs would soon follow. Having a variety of productive farms on the island would be a big help in such a situation.
Sage Farms, an organic farm that’s been in business here for 20 years, is one such enterprise. Their fruits and produce are available in local stores and farmers’ markets. The farm is one of a network of small growers in the area whose goal is to make the Big Island less dependent on imports from the mainland.
It might seem like farming would be easy in Hawaii. Most things grow readily, but that also includes weeds. In addition, pests also thrive and can be voracious. Currently, rat lungworm is a big concern. Recently, students at Kohala Middle School showed that a slug which carries rat lungworm parasites is now established in this area. This slug is just the latest challenge to the farmers of the area and the island in general.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Fresh.’ See more offerings here.
When I see mourning geckos out and about during daylight hours I worry for them. They’re nocturnal and daytime is the domain of the gold dust day gecko, which has winnowed the numbers of other geckos in Hawaii.
I like mourning geckos for the patterns on their skin and their eyes, which are metallic-looking. This gecko has, at some point, lost its tail, and grown a new one, but the new colors haven’t quite filled in and the break point is clearly visible.
Graham's Island 