The mock orange next to the house has bloomed again. It does this several times a year, sometimes just parts of it, sometimes all of it. This latest bloom was the whole tree and when that happens the bees come out in force. Step outside, and a low hum fills the air as well as an intense aroma.
I take lots of photos, trying to capture something of interest to me, such as a bee approaching a flower (top), helicoptering in to land (middle), and getting stuck in (bottom). In the bottom photo, I was struck by the flat underside of the bee, not something I’d noticed before.
Pluchea carolinensis is also known as sourbush and cure-for-all. This latter name probably comes from its medicinal use in its native range, which is the tropical Americas. It’s a member of the aster family – Asteraceae.
The plant was first reported in Hawaii in 1931 and on the Big Island in 1933. It’s believed to be an accidental introduction, possibly associated with shipping to Hawaii and within the islands. The onset of World War II prompted the plant’s spread through the Pacific, probably in military shipments.
On the Big Island it’s most often seen in drier coastal areas, but it can tolerate a variety of climates and conditions. These photos were taken on the Puna Coast Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.
This humpback whale art was painted in 2016 on a fence around the local car tow company, which is located in the heart of downtown. There’s also a whale tail farther down the fence.
This image has been on this wall for as long as I’ve lived here. It was getting very faded until recently when this vibrant new version appeared. It was only then that I noticed that the image is painted on some kind of canvas and attached to the wall.
For authentic street art it’s hard to beat Blake’s Corner, where a variety of ever-changing small bits of art can be found amongst a small patch of aloes and other plants, at the end of a covered walkway.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Street Art.’ See more responses here.
Here’s a tour of some of the street art in beautiful downtown Hawi. The actual walking tour would take you about the same amount of time as it will to read this post, since Hawi is not a big place. But, it being an arty community, there’s a fair bit of street art in a small area. As for graffiti, I posted a bit of that just the other day (here).
I posted about a mural in progress a while back (here). This is another mural on one of the solid fence sections that surround the concrete slab, all that’s left of the Hub Pub after it burned down.A mural on the side of Hawi Post Office, painted by local high school kids, which I previously posted in 2018 (here).
I’ve posted photos of shoals of little fish before, making the assumption that these were juveniles of some fish species or other. However, this year the local snorkeling spot has been thick with these fish. It’s not been unusual for me to get in the water and find myself surrounded by a swirling ball of fish. It can actually be quite disorienting.
Because of this bumper crop, it occurred to me that I really should try to identify these fish. I think the answer is that they’re Hawaiian silversides, an endemic species. The problem is that there are a couple of other possible species, the goldspot sardine and the Hawaiian anchovy. Short of catching a few and examining them in the light of day, it’s hard to tell them apart.
Regardless of species, it’s been fun interacting with the shoals. Swim toward them and the shoal will part, then recombine behind. Point a camera in their direction and they jet off in another direction. It’s best just to float in the water, with the camera pointed in the right general direction. Then they’ll get quite close and I’ll snap a photo or two hoping something will turn out.
In the top photo, a shoal surges by in front of me. Below, the silvery stripe along their bodies can be seen.
Places and things that have seen better days are likely to be vandalized or tagged with graffiti. On the North Kohala coast, there’s an old fishing shack with a couple of derelict vehicles nearby. At some time in the fairly recent past, the scene has been accessorized with a paint job. I think Noak Dom is the name of the graffiti artist who painted these.
Graham's Island 