Category Archives: Plants

A wild pig snacks on mangoes

A wild pig snacks on fallen mangoesA wild pig that has been eating fallen mangoes

If yesterday’s post was a hog in name only, today’s is the real thing.

It’s mango season again. While the tree in the yard isn’t quite as bountiful as last year, it’s still dropping mangoes often enough to make me cringe when I walk under its canopy. I try to pick up the fruit on a daily basis, but don’t always succeed. Not that it remains on the ground long.

Fallen mangoes are a draw to numerous birds, which can be seen pecking away most times I look out of the window. And, of course, the wild pigs love them. They usually visit overnight and all I see of their visit is a littering of chewed mango pits.

This pig was an early morning visitor, but still around well after sunrise. When I saw it, I got my camera, eased out of the back door, and started snapping. I never know how creatures will react to my presence. Some, such as grey francolins, scurry off as soon as they think something’s going on. This pig, on the other hand, didn’t seem too bothered, snuffling her way across the yard in my direction until she looked me in the eye and decided enough was enough, scooting through the hedge into the neighbor’s yard.

Notice, in the second photo, the mango lipstick on the pig.

Hawai‘i ‘amakihi

A Hawaii Amakihi about to feed on mamane flowers.A Hawaii Amakihi about to feed on mamane flowers.

‘Amakihi are endemic honeycreepers and the different islands have slightly different versions of the bird. The Hawai‘i ‘amakihi is very similar to the Maui ‘amakihi, but the O‘ahu and Kaua‘i birds have more noticeable differences. They’re one native bird that has adapted relatively well to changing habitat and introduced diseases including avian malaria.

This one was feeding from bright yellow māmane flowers at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail on the southwest slope of Mauna Kea.

 

Rose grape

A rose grape blooms in Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
This week’s posts are in response to the WordPress photo challenge on the theme of ‘evanescent.’

A few times a year, I like to visit Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, which is just north of Hilo on the east side of the Big Island. It’s a wonderful garden, set in a fairly deep gully, with a wide array of plants.

In tropical Hawaii, plants do well year round, but there are still seasons. Different plants flower at different times, so each visit is different. The nice thing about this is there’s always something new to see, such as this rose grape (Medinilla magnifica). The downside is that when I get home and look at my photos, I realize I don’t know what half of the plants are. So I figure I’ll see if I can find a tag next time I visit. But next time, the plant’s not flowering so I have trouble locating exactly what I was looking at.

Ultimately it boils down to me making a mental note to come back, same time next year, when it will be flowering again. Unfortunately, my mental notes have no chance of surviving that long, so the next year I see the flower again, take a new photo, and it’s not until I get home that I realize I already have a photo, still don’t know what it is, and will need to return next year etc., etc., etc.

But the thing is, I don’t really mind this. I just enjoy being at the garden, and appreciating the moments while I’m there.

For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.

Doritaenopsis hybrid orchid

A Doritaenopsis hybrid orchid at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
As with most of my orchid photos, I include the words ‘I think’ when it comes to talking about what it is. I think this is a Doritaenopsis hybrid. Doritaenopsis orchids are a cross of Phaleanopsis and Doritis orchids, in this case Champion Lightning and Chianxen Magpie. This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.

For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.