Category Archives: Scenes

Lava trees

Lava Tree State Monument is in the southeast part of the island, within half a mile of the edge of last year’s flow. As the name suggests, it has some good examples of lava trees.

Lava trees are formed when molten lava coats a tree, burning the wood, and leaving just the cooling lava shell that surrounded it. There are two ways this can happen. One is when a flow surrounds the trees and then drains away. The other way is for falling lava to cover and burn the trees.

The lava trees in Lava Tree State Monument were formed by the first of these two methods. A lava flow in 1790, as high as 11 feet, surrounded ohia trees in this part of the island, and burned the wood away. When new fissures opened soon after, the lava in this flow drained back underground, but the lava immediately surrounding the trees had cooled enough that it was already hardening, so it remained, retaining each tree’s shape in its center.

The photos show lava trees in the park, a closer view of one showing the hollow center, and a view of the hollow core where new plant life is taking hold. In some cases, this new plant life is new trees growing out of the old, hollow lava trees.

For more information about Lava Tree State Monument, go to https://hawaiistateparks.org/parks/hawaii/lava-tree-state-monument/.

Gecko on a bird of paradise flower

Near the entrance to Upolu Airport there is a clump of bird of paradise plants. When the plants are in bloom I make a point of checking out the flowers as they are a favorite of the geckos. I’ll often see geckos on the flowers, especially if they have not yet begun to fade.

In this case, I saw this smaller gold dust day gecko licking nectar off a flower. The gecko noticed me after a few moments and fixed me with its gaze. It never took its eyes off me, but neither did it stop feasting on the nectar.

Monk seal and pup

Last February, I posted about a new monk seal pup being born on the island (here and here). I’m happy to report that the pup, Manu’iwa, continues to do well. Now, her mother, RA20, has returned to the same site and given birth to a new pup.

The new pup is just over two weeks old and so far the signs are good. The pup is nursing well and the mother is being very careful around it. When Manu’iwa showed up to see her new sibling, the day after it was born, RA20 quickly put a stop to the meeting. Monk seal mothers are very protective of their pups.

Mother and pup will likely spend about six weeks in the area before RA20 leaves the pup to fend for itself. During that time, she will lose weight while the pup gains and they will be a lot closer in size than they area currently.

These photos were taken in the early afternoon when the pair were resting and not much was going on. Morning is the best time to see them being active.

North Kohala libraries

The new public library in North Kohala, Hawaii

Today’s post is in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘For the Love of Reading & Books.’ See more offerings here.

The top photo shows North Kohala’s relatively new public library, which opened in 2010. The library features wind and photovoltaic energy systems as well as a rainwater catchment system. These features helped it gain LEED Gold Certification, the first state building in Hawaii to do so.

The photo below shows the Bond Memorial Library, which served the area from 1929 until the new library’s opening. This building was much smaller – 1,610 sq.-ft. as opposed to 6,000 sq.-ft. for the new building.

When the library moved from the old building to the new, more than 1,000 volunteers lined the road to move the books by hand over the mile plus distance. This echoed the story of King Kamehameha the Great who organized a human chain 20 miles long to carry rocks from Pololu Valley to build Pu’ukohola Heiau near Kawaihae, though I don’t think King Kamehameha’s rock carriers were volunteers.

Back in 2014, there were plans to convert the old Bond Memorial Library to a cultural/historical museum for the area, but nothing has happened yet and the old building still sits there, unused as far as I can tell.

The old Bond Memorial Library in Kapaau, Hawaii.

A walk through downtown Honolulu

The Mission Memorial Building was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Protestant missionaries in Hawaii, something of a mixed blessing for the locals.
The lovely red brick Hawaiian Brewing Company building.

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Photo Walk.’ (See more responses here.) I thought of a few options, but my visit to Honolulu last year seemed to fit the bill. After I’d conducted my business there, I spent the rest of my time on a photo walk through downtown.

I’ve posted some photos from this walk before. To see them just scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Honolulu’ in the tags.

The Sky Gate sculpture was built to celebrate the celestial event known as “Lahaina Noon,” which is when the sun is directly overhead and vertical objects cast no shadow. This occurs twice a year in Hawaii, usually in May and July. In the case of this sculpture, the wavy top casts a perfectly round shadow on the ground.
The art deco entrance to the Honolulu Fire Department headquarters complex.
These water fountains at the Hawaii State Capitol building are shaped like hibiscus blooms, which are the state flower.
Two contrasting tower buildings with a plane flying overhead.
A woman in red enters an elevator at the Hawaii State Capitol building.
Little Bo Peep has sheered her sheep apparently.
Huge banyan trees in the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace.
‘Iolani Barracks housed the Royal Household Guard.
‘Iolani Palace was the home of Hawaiian royalty until they were overthrown by American businessmen backed by the U.S. military.
This was something of a mixed blessing for the locals.