A bee forages on a mock orange. When the plant is in bloom, the aroma is thick in the air.
Bee on a mock orange
Category Archives: Plants
Yellow lantana
I mostly see the multi-colored version of lantana, but there are other colors including this yellow one.
Abstracts: Swishing seaweed
I hadn’t noticed these grasses or seaweeds before in an area where I snorkel regularly. But one day, there they were, swishing back and forth with the movement of the water. They weren’t around long, the sea floor soon being returned to its previous mix of sand, rock. and coral.
Orange hibiscus
Hibiscus come in a variety of colors including an unusual blue one. I particularly like the delicate orange shade of this flower.
Abstracts: Rain
This photo is for those who believe the sun always shines in Hawaii. Not the case, and when it does rain, this being the tropics, it can be torrential. Here, rain sheets down in front of a panax hedge. Panax is widely used here for hedges, growing into a thick, dense barrier. It’s easy to grow, too. One just has to cut off a stick, push it into the ground, and a new plant will soon start growing.
Posted in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Leaves.’ See more responses here.
Moss on a tree
Moss grows on a tree in the Kalōpā State Recreation Area, on the northern end of the island. Hawaii might be in the tropics, but the elevation of Kalōpā, combined with it being on the wet side of the island, means it is home to vegetation more associated with my former home in the Pacific Northwest.
Mourning gecko on a bird of paradise flower
The title says it all, but the markings of the gecko, and in particular its eyes, make this photo for me.
Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Our National Parks.’ See more responses here. There are two national parks on the island. One is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park which encompasses Kilauea Volcano and Mauna Loa Volcano. The other is the somewhat lesser known Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, which is also known as Place of Refuge.
There are two parts to the park, which are separated by an imposing rock wall. On the inland side of the wall are the grounds where Hawaiian royalty made their home. The water side of the wall was the place of refuge. Anyone who had broken the law or kapu faced the death penalty, but if they could reach a place of refuge they would be forgiven by a priest and allowed to return to their normal lives.
At one end of the wall is the Hale o Keawe temple, surrounded by ki’i (wooden statues). This structure houses the bones of many Hawaiian royalty or ali’i, which are believed to give the place great power or mana.
For more photos and information on this site about these parks, click on the tags for Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park or Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at the bottom of this page.
For more information about Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm. For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.
Graham's Island 