The dendrobium spectabile orchid is sometimes referred to as the alien orchid, and no wonder. The curly, twisted flowers are very different from the usual orchid look. In addition, the flower is hinged, which prevents it from being fertilized by flying insects but allows crawling insects access.
A strange, but beautiful orchid, it hails from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge, ‘Out of This World.’
As my blog title notes, it’s about ‘Life on the Big Island of Hawaii.’ Well, one aspect of life here is that, once in a while, one has to go to Oahu. Medical emergencies or serious illnesses often involve trips to Oahu’s bigger facilities with more specialists. In addition, some government agencies only have offices on Oahu. My recent trip was for the latter reason, but since I had time to spare before my return flight, I took the opportunity for a wander around downtown Honolulu.
This photo is a view from the central atrium of the capitol building in Honolulu. I happened to be there during a 5-day recess of the legislature, so the normally crowded space was sparsely populated. In the photo, two indistinct figures lean against a rail on the third floor, appearing dwarfed by one of four kukui nut trees (the state tree) and the mass of the building.
In response to WPC ‘A face in the crowd.’
White sand, towering palms, blue sky, and almost invisible in this quintessential Hawaiian image, a single small figure.
In response to WPC ‘A face in the crowd.’
This Erckel’s francolin appears indistinct in its cover of waving grasses, though if it makes its piercing call, that cover will immediately be blown.
In response to WPC ‘A face in the crowd.’
This last week or so my attention’s been drawn to the Chinese hibiscus flowers around here. Always a showy flower, they’re currently at the peak of their bloom. When the sun shines on them, they look perfectly stunning.
This is one of Hawaii’s emergency alert sirens. There are different styles, but I like how this one, at Kawaihae, emerges from the palm trees. The sirens are intended to warn of impending tsunamis and, these days, nuclear attack.
These sirens did not go off during the recent false missile attack fiasco. That issue concerned messages sent to residents’ phones and to radio and TV. In the aftermath of that incident, I read in a news report that “According to state officials, the watch officer had been a cause for concern to his colleagues for more than a decade and had twice before mistaken drills for real alerts. It was unclear how he had managed to remain in such a sensitive post for so long.” Not in this household. Our ‘joke’ is that a person has to kill three people here before it’s considered serious enough to be fired from a government job. I guess causing widespread panic and embarrassing the state worldwide must be roughly the equivalent.
A passion vine butterfly drinks sweet nectar from a tasselflower. I think it’s a Florida tasselflower (Emilia fosbergii), which is also known as Flora’s paintbrush.
The final post on this week’s theme of the WordPress photo challenge, ‘Tour Guide.’
These photos are from Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, otherwise known as Place of Refuge. This National Park showcases important Hawaiian history with it’s royal grounds where the Hawaiian royalty lived, Hale o Keawe where the bones of 23 ali’i were housed, and for the Pu’uhonua where anyone who had broken kapu (sacred laws) could seek shelter and ultimately forgiveness.
Here are views from the ocean side (above), of a hālau (right) which houses canoes, and of a ki’i (below) representing an Hawaiian god.
For more information about Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm.
Graham's Island 