These photos were taken at Lapakahi State Historical Park. This year, North Kohala was awash with Painted Lady Butterflies and the park was no exception. The butterflies were all over the Ma’o flowers and pretty much anything else that came into bloom.
We got this African basil plant when the usual kind we grow was not available. It was an OK substitute, but when the other kind returned this one got planted in the garden. It’s thrived in its new location, producing these lovely stalks of purple flowers.
The house next door has been empty now for several months and is falling into disrepair. But this white hibiscus, at the front of the house, is flourishing with neglect. It’s loaded with blooms, with new ones unfurling in profusion. It almost makes me overlook how bad the rest of the house is looking. Almost.
These silhouetted trees made a nice foreground for a bold sunset.
At Upolu Airport, there’s a mock orange hedge and through it grows a passion vine. The hedge used to be trimmed once in a while, but the flowers attracted to all kinds of insects and was teeming with life. Passion Vine Butterflies laid eggs there and their caterpillars ran amok munching on leaves.
These days the hedge is kept trimmed and is the poorer for it. It’s basically lifeless. I see the odd butterfly, an occasional caterpillar and that’s it. So Passion Vine Butterflies, which I used to see all the time, have thinned out considerably in that area. However, I did spot this one feeding on Blue Heliotrope flowers not too far away.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Historical.’ See more responses here.
Here are a few more photos from this year’s celebrations commemorating the birthday of King Kamehameha I, the king who united the Hawaiian islands. The ceremony began with a welcome blown on conch shells.
The procession was led by the four Royal Societies in Hawaii. They are descendants of Hawaiian Ali’i including King Kamehameha I himself. Ali’i were the ruling class who were seen as the link between the people and the gods.
Hula dances were performed honoring the king. Hula was created by early Hawaiian settlers. It is often accompanied by chants and the movements are a visual representation of those chants. The subject matter can be anything from light entertainment to a sacred honoring of a god or goddess. Western missionaries disapproved of hula and encouraged Hawaiian rulers to ban it, but while there were some restrictions it was never driven completely underground as happened with some other traditional Hawaiian activities.
See more photos from the Kamehameha Day celebrations here.
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.
I saw this endemic Hawaii Amakihi on the slopes of Mauna Kea, feeding at Mamane flowers. The Hawaii in the name refers, not to the state, but to the island of Hawaii, otherwise known as the Big Island. There are different species on Oahu, Maui, and Kauai.
