The ohia flower is the official flower of the Big Island. It’s an appropriate choice for the volcanically active island since the ohia is one of the first plants to get a foothold in lava flows. When the bright red flowers are in bloom they give a splash of color to the otherwise black lava flows.
It’s been wet here lately and, when conditions are right, that translates into snowfall on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
This week’s WordPress photo challenge is to choose your favorite photo taken in 2017. I’m going with a photo that I haven’t posted before (though below I offer a few of my favorites that have run).
This is Sriracha, a female Bengal tiger and cousin of Tzatziki, a white male tiger. Both can be found at Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo. What I like about this photo is those huge paws, the quiet movement, and the sense of great power that could be uncoiled at any moment.
For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org.
As far as favorite photos already posted are concerned, I offer a few here:
Top. A gold dust day gecko drinking from a bird of paradise flower is a blaze of color (posted here).
Second. This photo captures the awesome spectacle of the lava firehose from Kilauea Volcano pouring into the ocean (posted here). Currently, while the flow is still active, lava is no longer entering the ocean.
Third. I was happy to snap the moment a passion vine butterfly laid an egg (posted here). This was taken on the same day as the gecko photo above, so a banner day for me.
Fourth. I like all the photos in this post for their color and how they capture something of this most Hawaiian of dance (posted here).
Finally, I love this gargantuan blenny for its name, and was very pleased to get this photo, since the fish is apt to dart away and the shallow water was rocking (posted here).
Another post on the WordPress photo challenge theme of ‘serene.’
To me this Mauna Kea scene, of an empty landscape in early evening light backed by pillow-like clouds, is quite serene. But is it really? Those fluffy clouds could contain the kind of turbulence that throws airplanes around, and the pu’us are evidence of volcanic eruptions in the past. Still, it does look serene.
Many times when I travel on Old Saddle Road, there comes a point where I’m exiting the clouds or disappearing into them. I like to take photos in this zone, experimenting as the level of the clouds comes and goes.
The top photo has that transition from clouds to clarity, but I also like the ethereal quality of the lower photo as patches of sun illuminate the pastures below.
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
The rounded domes of the two Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea gaze out over the clouds to Maui – and a bit farther afield too.
Above: The sign by the start of the trail to Mauna Kea summit.
Below: Two disrespectful people and one more on the way, dwarfed by the scale of the volcano.
These views of the trail across Kilauea Iki Crater, taken from the rim of the crater, give some idea of the scale of Kilauea Volcano.
Above, a group of people, looking very small, walk the trail across the crater floor.
To the left, smoke and gases from the active vent in Halema’uma’u Crater can be seen. Halema’uma’u Crater is part of the Kilauea Caldera which is much, much bigger than Kilauea Iki Crater. And, yes, that same group is still visible on the trail in this second photo, along with several others hiking the trail.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/. For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it’s eruptions, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html.
