Naio (Myoporum sandwicense) is an endemic plant that has a variety of forms, from ground cover to tree. The flower color can also vary quite a bit. I’ve seen pinkish purple blooms previously, but these flowers, on a shrubby plant, were all white. Naio used to be common in Hawaii, but now is much less so. It’s known as false sandalwood because the heartwood of the tree form smells similar to true sandalwood.
The butterfly in the top photo is a Western Pygmy Blue butterfly. a native of the Americas, it was first seen in Hawaii in 1978.
I work at Hapuna on the South Kohala coast and typically, during the day, clouds build up to the north and east until Kohala Mountain, Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa are obscured. That was the case a few days ago when I noticed a dense, dark patch rolling down the hill from Waimea. My first thought was that this was rain headed my way, but it looked odd. It proved to be smoke, a fact soon confirmed when the smell filled the air.
The smoke came from a brush fire, 30 miles away, in the vicinity of Pa’auilo on the Hamakua coast. Tradewinds blew the smoke over the saddle at Waimea and on down towards the ocean. The fire consumed about 1,400 acres of brush and eucalyptus trees before it was contained late the next day. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it’s been remarkably dry for quite a while so the fire danger is currently high.
The top two photos show smoke blotting out Kohala Mountain, the second one being taken 15 minutes after the first. (Compare this with the hillside under normal circumstances here.) The bottom photo, taken a little way north of Kawaihae, shows the plume of smoke over the ocean with clear skies to the north of it.
The last time I was down at Kiholo Bay I saw this green turtle in one of the pools around the edge the lagoon. When the turtle saw me, it might have felt a bit vulnerable in such shallow water. It immediately headed for the lagoon proper, at a leisurely pace, before cresting a ridge and easing into deeper water. Once there, it popped up for a breath, then disappeared into the milky waters.
The engine, prop shaft, and propeller of the SS Kauai, an old wooden steamship, that sank in 1913. Now it’s home to a variety of fish and is a moderately popular dive site.
The latest eruption at Kilauea Volcano has recently been declared paused. It was never an especially dramatic eruption, but when I went down a few days after it began (here) the sky was illuminated by the activity. In recent weeks though, the lava lake formed by the eruption crusted over completely and lava from the active vent was also hidden from view.
The photos are two views of Halemaumau Crater, taken before this latest eruption. In the top one, the collapsed floor of the crater is on the left. This is what the new lava lake was filling up. On the ridge, to the right side of the photo, is the low profile of the Jaggar Museum, which was closed after the 2018 eruption and likely won’t reopen.
The bottom photo shows the easternmost edge of Halemaumau Crater, which wasn’t greatly impacted by this eruption or the events of 2018. Consequently, the walls of the crater are quite green and the floor is dotted with plants. These plants are mostly ohia trees, which are among the first plants to grow in lava fields, in part because their roots will tap into lava tubes to find moisture and nutrients.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Kilauea’s eruptions, go to nps.gov/havo/.
Driving home from work I saw this scene in front of me on the hill leading towards Hawi. It was such a striking example of the weather around here that I was moved to pull over and take a couple of photos.
The top photo shows the blue skies and scattered white clouds I’d been working under all day, and was standing under to take the photo. The gray band is wind-driven, low cloud being blown from east to west along the northern coast of the island, and blotting out the sun in this area. Under this band it was raining and visibility was poor. The cloud is channeled in this way by the northern shoulder of Kohala Mountain. As the band moved out over the ocean it became less pronounced as it dissipated.
Turning to my right, I took the bottom photo, a rainbow formed by the sun at my back and moisture tumbling over the mountain’s shoulder.
I passed this mother and calf on the road one day. The mother was enjoying the green grass by the roadside while the calf, only a day or two old, looked bemused by everything around it. At least it looked like it wouldn’t go hungry anytime soon.
On a coastal walk, I saw this scene at the back of the beach fronting Kohanaiki Beach Club. The urge to rest was strong, but I suspect I wouldn’t have been peaceful for long.
