Category Archives: Places

A stump-toed gecko goes for a ride

A Stump-toed gecko on a truck windshield.

For a recent hike, I got up at 4:15 a.m. in order to reach my destination when the gates opened at 6 a.m. I was about 10 minutes into the hour-long drive when I noticed something on the windshield. At first I thought it was a leaf that had lodged itself in the windshield wiper. But then I recognized that it was a gecko.

This isn’t an unusual event. Many times, I’ve been driving in daylight and seen a gecko emerge from under the hood, looking a bit stunned, and flapping in the breeze. In these circumstances, if I were a good person, I’d stop the vehicle, get out, and usher the gecko to safety. The problem is that, for the gecko, safety is usually back under the hood. That means, when I drive off again, I’m likely to see the gecko back on the windshield five minutes later. An hour’s drive could take two.

Sometimes the gecko will head back under the hood or shelter behind a wing mirror. In this case, the gecko hung on where it was. When I stopped at junctions and once, for a longer period, at a traffic light, the gecko stayed put. It says something to the amazing stickability of geckos that I’ve never once seen one flying off into space.

When I reached my destination, it was still there. I got out and took this photo. I’m pretty sure it’s a stump-toed gecko, which is nocturnal. It could also be described as a stunned gecko.

When I returned from my hike, a few hours later, the gecko was gone. It might have jumped off or gone back under the hood. Either way, it did not reappear during the drive home.

 

View from Pu’u Wa’awa’a bench

This bench is one of two on the summit of Puu Waawaa, and this is the view looking north toward the coast and the Kohala mountains.

Benches are the friend of pedestrians everywhere. One nice feature of the hike up Pu’u Wa’awa’a is that there are several benches where one can not only rest, but also enjoy spectacular views – if the weather cooperates. This bench is one of two on the summit and this is the view looking north toward the coast and the Kohala mountains.

Great frigatebird

A great frigatebird flies along the North Kohala Coast.

I often see great frigatebirds on my afternoon walks along the North Kohala coast. Usually, they’re coming from the west with the wind and sun at their backs. I rarely spot them until they’re passing me and by the time I’m organized, they’re disappearing into the distance.

My nadir in these encounters occurred recently. I was watching a turtle from the cliff when a large shadow passed over me, quite startling me. I looked up and around and a great frigatebird swooped by, maybe six feet directly overhead. My best chance for a close up zipped away into the distance, but I had to laugh. It was almost like a cartoon encounter.

This is a different bird, one I saw early enough to get a decent photo.

Solanum linnaeanum

Solanum linnaeanum or Apple of Sodom

Solanum linnaeanum is also known here as apple of Sodom, and in other places as devil’s apple. These names are a sure sign that the plant is not well regarded. It has prickly leaves, poisonous tomato-like berries, and grows like a weed in pasture lands. That’s where I found this one, next to an old corral.

Hawaiian blue butterfly

An endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly at the Palila Forest Discovery TrailAn endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail

This endemic Hawaiian blue butterfly was flitting around at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the southwest flank of Mauna Kea. This one is, I think, a female with its bright underside and uniformly brown top.

The butterfly is also known as the Koa butterfly, since its caterpillar feeds on that tree. I don’t think Koa trees are found in the trail area, but ‘A‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa), an indigenous Hawaiian plant, does grow there and that’s another plant the caterpillar will eat.

Better Days: Old Pu’u Wa’awa’a blockhouse

The interior of an old building on the Pu’u Wa’awa’a trail.

A few days ago I posted (here) about the view from an old blockhouse on the Pu’u Wa’awa’a trail. Today, I’m taking a look inside. As I mentioned before, the building is now a shelter for livestock with assorted detritus on the floor, but light through the empty windows still casts a bright image on the painted walls.

For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.