Category Archives: Scenes

Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset’

Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset’ at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset’ at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I’m pretty sure this flower is Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset.’ I saw the plant at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden where some plants have identifying tags, but many do not.

What I really liked was how the flower caught the sun, illuminating both the exterior and interior. Coupled with its rounded form, both in profile and looking into the mouth of the flower, it’s a sensuous, vibrant plant.

For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.

Abstracts: Bluff

A bluff formed by heavy rain.

Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

This formation caught my eye, reminding me of the rounded bluffs of the Southwest. This bluff, though, is just bluffing. It’s the result of heavy rain on a large patch of silt and dirt, in an erosion control area.

Rose jatropha

A Rose Jatropha on the Big Island of HawaiiA bee forages on a Rose Jatropha flower on the Big Island of Hawaii

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I’ve posted photos of rose jatropha before (here). In fact, those photos were of this same plant, but probably not the same bee. They were taken later in the day on a previous hike. These photos were taken in the early morning when the light was better and the flowers were just starting to open.

The flowers really glowed and the bees, well they had to work a little harder, burrowing down into the bloom, but obviously with great success.

Wo On store

The old Wo On Store in North Kohala.

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

Early morning light illuminates the Wo On Store at Halawa. This was one of many shops in North Kohala back in the sugar plantation days. A lot of these businesses were run by immigrants. The name ‘Wo On’ means ‘harmony and peace.’ The building now houses the Rankin Gallery.

Pu’u Wa’awa’a goat

A goat stands on the steep sides of Puu Waawaa on the Big Island of Hawaii

The theme of this week’s WordPress photo challenge is ‘Glow,’ so I thought I’d use that as my cue for the week’s posts.

First up is a goat clinging to the precipitous side of Pu’u Wa’awa’a. I particularly like how the goat is looking at me, but casts a crisp, more profiled shadow in the early morning light.

On the downside, there must have been a dozen or so goats in the area and, between their avid grazing and scampering about on the exposed slopes, they contribute greatly to erosion. My time watching them was accompanied by the constant sound of small rocks tumbling down gullies and puffs of dust and dirt churned up by their hooves.