This photo is for those who believe the sun always shines in Hawaii. Not the case, and when it does rain, this being the tropics, it can be torrential. Here, rain sheets down in front of a panax hedge. Panax is widely used here for hedges, growing into a thick, dense barrier. It’s easy to grow, too. One just has to cut off a stick, push it into the ground, and a new plant will soon start growing.
Posted in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Leaves.’ See more responses here.
Recently, I was driving to work, enjoying a robust pink sunrise, when I came across the scene in the top photo – flashing lights and a line of traffic. I thought there had been an accident, but when I drove past, I could see most of the vehicles were fire trucks. The air was acrid with smoke and I saw flames here and there. The land there is scrubby and dry and while there isn’t a lot of vegetation, what there is burns easily. I drove on to work.
When I returned home late that afternoon, I thought I’d check out the scene of the fire. I was surprised to still see smoke rising in several places, and nobody around. Cars on the highway drove by, barely slowing down. I got out and had a wander along the roadside and then ventured into the ashy ground, all smoky and warm (middle photo). What I didn’t see was any firefighters.
I wondered if I should call 911. Perhaps the fire was thought to be extinguished and had rekindled in the wind. Before I made up my mind, a large yellow truck emerged from a cutting down the road and began spraying water onto the area beside the highway, which was where I was standing (bottom photo). I decided it was a good time to return to my truck.
When I drove on, I saw a clutch of firefighters gathered along a dirt road branching off from the cutting. They were there the next morning, and the next afternoon as well, when I still saw smoke rising from the area. It was three days before they left and the smell of burning hung in the air for a good while afterwards.
On the dry (west) side of the island brush fires can be a problem. Just a few days ago, this fire started near the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway, east of Puako. The fire jumped the highway and traffic was stopped for a couple of hours. In the photo, the highway can be seen to the left of the heaviest smoke.
Shortly after this fire occurred, a second brush fire sprang up alongside Māmalahoa Highway, a few miles inland. This too caused the road to be closed for a while. Since these two roads are a major part of the belt highway, which circles the island, traffic chaos ensued.
While some brush fires are the result of lightning, carelessness, or accidents, these two fires were probably deliberately set. Over the past few years there has been a spate of such incidents and no one has been caught or charged with arson. Unfortunately, I suspect that record will not change for the two most recent fires.
A lot of cargo for Hawaii is delivered by ship to Honolulu on Oahu. Cargo for the smaller (in population) islands is then distributed by inter-island barges. One of their ports of call is Kawaihae, on the west coast of the Big Island.
When the tug and barge arrives at the port, a second tug is sent out to hook a line onto the stern of the barge, so that it can help check the momentum of the barge. The tug at the front stops towing and assists in this braking process. Once the barge has pretty much come to a stop, the two tugs push the barge around until it’s alongside the jetty for unloading.
These photos show some of that process. Above: entering the port and slowing down. Below: both tugs begin to push the barge.
Posted in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Between the Lines.’ See more responses here.
This rainbow appeared when I was snorkeling and conveniently arranged itself over a rock I was swimming by. Even a couple of water spots on the camera housing were artfully arranged on either side of the rock.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Twins.’ (See more responses here.)
These are the two telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea. Keck 1 began operation in November, 1990, while Keck 2 made its first observations in October 1996. Each telescope’s 10-meter primary mirror is made up of 36 segments, hexagonal in shape. Not that these segments are small themselves. Each one is 1.8 meters wide and weighs half a ton.
The telescopes can accommodate a wide variety of instruments, such as cameras and spectrometers, and are considered to be the most scientifically productive in the world.
Graham's Island 