Category Archives: Scenes

Signs: Heavy water

This sign guards what is presumably Hawaii’s heavy water plant, though why such a plant would be halfway up the side of Mauna Kea is a mystery. Or perhaps the sign is just a warning that it would not be a good idea to pick up the large water tank behind the sign. Either way, the sign made me smile.

Cement tanks at sunrise

When people think about Hawaii, one of the things that comes to mind is wonderful sunsets and sunrises, such as this one, with the sun rising over the cement tanks. Well, maybe not that last bit, but that’s what’s happening here, the cement tanks in question being at the port in Kawaihae. And it was still a lovely sunrise.

Farm stands

There’s a good deal of small scale agriculture on the Big Island. Many of these enterprises grow fruits and vegetables, which are sold to local restaurants, grocery stores, and at farmers markets. Several of these small farms also sell direct to the public. One or two have setups much like regular stores, but most have small farm stands.

The farm stands operate on the honor system. Fruits and veggies are displayed, a price list is posted, often on a chalk board, and buyers leave their money in some kind of small cash box. I don’t know how often those cash boxes are emptied, but even if it’s only once a week, no one’s going to make a killing by stealing one. There’s rarely a lot on offer at these smaller stands, but what there is is fresh, organic, reasonably priced, and very local.

Posted in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Fruit.’ See more responses here.

Hawaii Amakihi

Recently, I walked around the Palila Forest Discovery Trail on the slopes of Mauna Kea without seeing any palilas. The mamane seeds that they feed on were either dry and brown or just starting to form, so a return in a few weeks might bring more luck. But there were other birds flitting around, usually easier to hear than see, especially in some areas where the tangle of branches make it hard to see anything.

This endemic Hawaii Amakihi was one of them, but then it landed on part of a branch where I happened to have a clear view. I snapped two photos before it once more vanished. I like how this photo makes it looks like the bird is settled in for the long term rather than the momentary landing and take off that actually occurred.

Captain Cook Monument

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Whereabouts.’ See more responses here. ‘Whereabouts’ means ‘the place or general locality where a person or thing is.’

My whereabouts are the Big Island, Hawaii, which is also the place where Captain James Cook, of the British Royal Navy, lost his life on February 14, 1779. He was killed by native Hawaiians with whom he was involved in a dispute over the loss of a cutter from one of his ships. I won’t go into a detailed history here, but more information about Captain Cook can be found at www.captaincooksociety.com/.

Captain Cook’s whereabouts were often uncertain, in that he was an explorer who visited unknown or little known places around the world. Not only did he sail to far flung places, but he made excellent, detailed maps and charts of the places he visited, which made him highly thought of in the British Admiralty, and which made it easier for future travelers to know their whereabouts.

Between 1768 and 1779 Cook made three voyages around the world. The first two focused on the search for the theorized southern super-continent of Terra Australis. The third was intended to find the Northwest Passage across the northern part of North America.

It was on this third voyage that Cook became the first European to officially visit Hawaii (as opposed to other European commercial ships that were believed to have been there before). He sailed on to the north to attempt (unsuccessfully) to fulfill his commission before returning to Hawaii.

This time he anchored in Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island (official name, Hawaii Island). He was well received, in part because his arrival coincided with a Hawaiian festival for the god Lono. After a month, Cook left to resume his voyage, but when one of his ships lost a mast, he returned to Kealakekua Bay.

Unfortunately, by then the festival for Lono was over and his return was not greeted with the same enthusiasm. Soured relations led to several incidents culminating the theft of a ship’s cutter and the incident that led to Cook’s death. However, the killing of Cook did not diminish his standing in the eyes of the Hawaiians. In 1874, the Captain Cook monument was put in place and, in 1877, the land on which it stands was deeded to Britain by Princess Likelike as a sign of respect.

The top photo shows the monument, surrounded by a chain supported by twelve cannons from HMS Fantome. The second photo shows the inscription on the monument. I particularly like the bit about how he discovered these islands, islands which were occupied by a substantial population governed by an established royal line. The third photo is the plaque marking the spot where Captain Cook is believed to have been killed. Below is the location of that plaque in relation to Kealakekua Bay, which is the water beyond the rocks in this photo.

Dark macadamia nut orchard

Just in time for Halloween is this photo of a neglected macadamia nut orchard. The trees have become so overgrown that no sunlight penetrates the dark interior except around sunset and sunrise, when it slants in, low to the ground.

Happily, work is underway to resurrect this orchard. While I was taking photos, workers gathering fallen nuts moved through the deep shadows, their low voices adding to the spooky nature of the scene.