Just a green bottle fly perched on the edge of a leaf, but I liked the colors and the shape of the leaf.
Green bottle fly
Category Archives: Plants
Jacquemontia sandwicensis vine
Jacquemontia sandwicensis is a low-growing groundcover which requires little water and is salt tolerant, which makes it ideal for growing on the coast. The little blue or white flowers bloom year round. One of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), it’s endemic to Hawaii, where it’s known as Pāʻuohiʻiaka.
Hibiscus tiliaceus
This was going to be my last response to Becky’s April Squares challenge, but I punted it back a week. These are the beautiful, bright flowers of hibiscus tiliaceus, which is known as hau in Hawaii. It’s a canoe plant, brought to Hawaii by the early Polynesians, who used the wood in their canoes and the bark for cordage and medicinal purposes.
The flowers only last for a day, starting out yellow and becoming orange and then red as the day wears on. As the lower photo shows, different colored blooms can often be seen on the same plant depending on where they are in this progression. These were at Kohanaiki Beach Park.
Green anole shedding
I noticed something on the cane grass, with a strange shape and some kind of long beak. I wondered if it was a new bird, but then saw it bobbing its head up and down and puffing out the dewlap at its neck. It was a green anole and it was shedding. The ‘beak’ was a chunk of old skin sticking out.
By the time I got my camera, the ‘beak’ was gone, but there were still areas around the head to be dislodged. Sometimes it can take quite a while to remove the last bits and pieces. This anole moved on to complete the job in a bit more privacy.
On the water
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Water.’ See more responses here.
First up is a patch of water lilies on Lily Lake at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens, which reopened at the beginning of April after being closed all year. My wife and I visited last Friday and it was great to be back. As usual, I took a bunch of photos most of which still need processing.
Second is a sailboat running before the wind on the blue Pacific.
Below that is a pair of canoeists paddling along the island’s northern coast. Yesterday, I saw several vehicles going by with canoes, probably headed for Keokea Park, where they can put in safely, possibly for a race. One of the vehicles pulled in to the likely landing spot, where surf was crashing over the parking lot. The driver didn’t look too enthusiastic. I don’t know whether the race took place or not.
Fourth is that quintessential Hawaiian pastime – surfing. Watch out for those rocks!
Finally, a pair of northern pintails coast on a pool of water at Upolu. These used to be seen in large numbers in Hawaii, but not so much these days.
Medinilla magnifica
For Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge for April (more responses here), I have this rose grape (Medinilla magnifica). It’s a gorgeous flower, but considered something of a noxious weed in Hawaii.
A bright I’iwi
On my last hike on the Pu’u O’o Trail, off Saddle Road, I soon ran into a man and his son staring at a tree a short distance away. The man explained that they’d seen an i’iwi, a native Hawaiian honeycreeper, fly into the tree and were hoping to see it again. I waited with them for a while, but saw nothing and decided to move on.
A little later I ran into two men coming out of a kipuka, a cluster of old vegetation that has been bypassed by lava flows. One of them, looking pretty pleased, held out his camera and said they’d just seen an i’iwi and he’d got some good photos. He mentioned the spot where they’d seen the bird, so I headed into the trees to have a look. Nothing. It was beginning to look like it was going to be one of those days where everyone else has a wonderful experience except me!
But not long after, I saw a flash of red and then this bird settled on a branch and began to add its song to the loud chorus of bird songs in the kipuka. One thing about i’iwis is that if they’re around, they’re easy to see, their bright red plumage standing out against the green background.
After the bird flew off, I carried on with my hike. When I returned half an hour later, the bird song in the kipukas had diminished considerably and I didn’t see or hear anymore i’iwis.
Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ See more responses here.
Gecko games
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘National Kids and Pets Day.’ See more responses here. I mentioned to Terri that I might have a hard time with this one, not having kids or pets, and she suggested I could use the ‘pet’ geckos around here.
So here’s a gold dust day gecko playing hide and seek with me from a bird of paradise flower.
Also posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ See more responses here.
Graham's Island 