I saw this vanda orchid (v. Robert delight) while having lunch at Waipio Cookhouse. Love the blooms and hanging roots.
Category Archives: Scenes
Signs: What’s for breakfast then?
A favorite sign of mine at a local state park. Among the usual warnings is the draconian limit on drinking hours. I mean, what’s a person supposed to do for breakfast? It will come as no surprise to know that the rule is routinely ignored and I doubt it’s ever been enforced.
Moon over Kohala
A full moon rises behind scattered clouds.
Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve
Petroglyphs can be found at many places around the Big Island. The most extensive display is the Pu’u Loa field at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but the Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve also has numerous examples. More than 2,000 petroglyphs, dating back hundreds of years, have been identified. Not all are visible from the area where visitors can go.
Somewhat weirdly, the field is found on the north edge of Mauna Lani resort. This means that in order to see these examples of ancient Hawaiian history and culture, it’s necessary to drive through a swathe of condos and golf courses.
The bulk of the petroglyphs are found at the end of a hot, half-mile trail, bordered by kiawe trees, which are notorious for their long, sturdy, footwear-penetrating thorns. It’s an easy hike and well worth a visit if you have any sort of interest in the history of the island.
Partial solar eclipse
We had a partial solar eclipse yesterday afternoon. I thought about going somewhere to see it, but the vog was thick, I didn’t have anything to safely watch it through, and my camera isn’t set up for taking such photos. So I stayed home.
When I realized the eclipse had started, I made a hole in a piece of cardboard and went outside. Sure enough, I was able to project a tiny image of the eclipse onto the front door. Later, when the eclipse was reaching its peak here, with around 70 percent of the sun obscured, I went outside again. I was about to deploy my cardboard pinhole, when I noticed a larger image of the eclipse already showing on the door. It hadn’t been there earlier.
It turned out that a hole on the edge of the roof was perfectly aligned for projecting the image at the peak of the eclipse. A few minutes later, clouds rolled across and the image disappeared. A case of being in the right place at the right time, at least, for that little hole.
Tree heliotrope and potter wasps
On one of my coast walks I was surprised to find a tree that I visit regularly, abuzz with wasps and other insects. The tree is a Tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum) which, as the photos suggest, is hardy and salt tolerant. This was the first time I’d seen it with striking tentacles of flowers and berries, hence it’s other common name of Octopus bush.
The majority of the wasps attracted to the tree were potter wasps, specifically Eumenes bollii I think. They were focused on their task for which I was grateful, since I was shoving my camera quite close to them on occasion.
Big surf
These photos are from the Kohala coast, which is somewhat screened from big Northwest swells by the other islands. I took them around the time of the 31st Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave surf event at Waimea Bay on Oahu. Eddie Aikau was a legendary big wave surfer and lifeguard at Waimea Bay.
It’s the 31st year for the event, but only the ninth time it’s actually been held because the waves have to be big enough for it to ‘go.’ Apparently, the surf this year was the biggest ever. I watched on my computer, which is about as close to waves of that size that I’d want to get, unless I wanted to test just how comprehensive my health insurance is.
There’s a common expression that has emerged from this event. While discussing the dangerous size of the waves before the first Eddie contest, Mark Foo, a professional surfer said, “Eddie would go.” It’s a phrase that resonated and is now applied to many things in Hawaii.
For more information about Eddie Aikau and The Eddie event, go to quiksilver.com/surf/events/eddie-aikau/.
Abstracts: Watercolor
Water in a tide pool looking like a watercolor.
