I found this hawk moth caterpillar crossing a walkway, and ushered it to safety. I’m not sure exactly which moth it is the caterpillar of, possibly Swinhoe’s Striated Hawk Moth (Hippotion rosetta) or Pale Striated Hawk Moth (Hippotion boerhaviae), both of which have been recorded in Hawaii and are very difficult to tell apart.
A couple of days ago, I saw this sliver of a moon rising over Mauna Kea. I didn’t have my tripod, so wedged myself as still as possible against a van. The close up shows that technique isn’t perfect, but still kind of interesting.
An endemic Hawaiian Noddy glides over the ocean off North Kohala.
Nothing says tropical quite like bananas with their huge leaves, upward pointing fruit, and large purple flowers.
A follow up to yesterday’s post, my commute yesterday was surprisingly good. Once I got to work though, things went downhill. Driving rain, rivers where they shouldn’t be, wading pools popping up everywhere. Oh, and thunder and lightning, a rare occurrence in these parts, in abundance.
The day was short and I left for home in another downpour, amid rumors of road closures and an overturned semi-truck on my route. Once I passed Kawaihae (where I did see the semi trailer conveniently off to one side of the road), the rain eased and getting home was a breeze. I even managed a trip to the gas station in blazing sunshine.
But later, the skies darkened, lightning flashed, and thunder cracked directly overhead. And rain lashed the house, driven sideways by gusts of wind. I think this was the hardest rain I’ve seen since I moved here. The photos don’t capture it, cowering as I was safely inside and taking photos through increasingly blurred windows.
According to the forecast, the system should pass overnight, and I will be very happy to wave it goodbye.
Yesterday, a strong storm system moved across Hawaii from the west. On the Big Island, for most of the day, the weather was quite mellow, but the darkening clouds over Maui did not bode well. In the late afternoon, the bad weather finally arrived. The skies darkened and rain lashed down. When I left work, I had headlights on and drove with care. Just north of Kawaihae, the downpour increased in strength and I turned my windshield wipers to full speed.
I’ve never seen so much rain falling here, an area that gets 10 to 15 inches a year. Every little gully on the hillside was flooded with rainwater. About halfway home, I saw brake lights ahead, a blue police light, and a line of cars not moving. I couldn’t see whether this was an accident or something else.
The line of traffic soon started moving again and this was the scene I came to. A river of water flooded over the bank, washing debris into the road, and cascading down the slope towards the ocean. A policeman directed one way traffic and soon I was urging my little car through the torrent, water spraying up on both sides. I was happy to make it to the other side.
Back home, the weather was less extreme, but the system is supposed to hang around through Monday so who knows how this morning’s commute will be. If I don’t post again, you’ll know it did not go well!
A little clump of weed, or some such thing, catches the light as it floats by.
A view of Mauna Kea Resort and beach, with Kohala Mountain in the background, looking north from the coast path.
Graham's Island 