This old boat hull lies peacefully below the spreading limbs of what I think is a banyan tree on the road to Waipi’o beach.
Category Archives: Trees
Wild pig
There’s a sizeable wild pig population on the Big Island and they can be both problematic and dangerous. A while back, a local woman was attacked by a boar in her garden. She got seriously gored as well as having her leg broken.
This one was puttering around the yard in the early morning, snacking on fallen mangoes. It took him a while to notice me, but when he did, he took off at speed.
The numbers around here have dropped since hunters began making regular visits and when I do hear the pigs moving about, they’re being a good deal more cautious than they used to be.
Mangoes down, mangoes down
I posted here about the progression of our mango tree from flowers to fruit. Here’s what happens when the trade winds pick up after a couple of calm days. The lawn was empty a couple of hours before this photo, and this is just one segment of the windfall, probably about a third of what fell in that time frame.
Something had already eaten the mango in the front. It could have been a wild pig, but was more likely birds getting to the fruit while it’s still on the tree.
Cattleya orchid
I think this is a cattleya orchid, growing on the trunk of a lychee tree. This particular tree has two or three other epiphytes, plants that grow on other plants, on its trunk.
Donkey tree?
I’ve heard of monkey trees, but is this a donkey tree? Donkey in a tree? Actually, it’s a donkey under a tree, staying out of the sun.
Mangoes
In February this mango tree was in full bloom (top). Those blooms have become the bevy of fruit below. When the wind blows the thud of falling mangoes is a constant sound. I tend to duck my head into my shoulders walking under the tree.
It’s a twice a day routine to pick up the fallen fruit, or the wild pigs will make short work of them.
Green bottle fly
A green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, checks out a flower on a tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum).
Ironwood
The Common Ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia) is something of an invasive weed. It has, in my book, two distinguishing features. The first is the creaking noise it makes when the wind blows, which can be an eerie sound at times. The second is its foliage, which, under the right conditions, looks like a cascade of water.
For more information about Ironwoods, go to wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/774/casuarina-equisetifolia-common-ironwood/.
Graham's Island 