This phragmipedium orchid is Eric Young 4N, a hybrid of Mont Millars and Sorcerer’s Apprentice. It belongs to the family of slipper orchids and was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden near Hilo.
For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
I think these are Cook pines, but what I liked was that there was a long line of extremely tall trees that formed this abstract kind of wall.
A smaller whitemouth moray eel displays the feature that gives them the name. An eel will typically open and close its mouth in this way, but it’s not an act of aggression. It’s how they breathe, the motion pumping water over the gills.
This pose, with much or most of the eel hidden in a crevasse or coral head, is also typical. It’s how I make most of my sightings. But every so often I’ll see an eel in open water or passing from one hiding spot to the next. It’s usually a fleeting sight as eels can zip along and disappear into the tiniest of cracks.
In response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Water’ (more responses here) I thought I’d post something very Hawaiian. Most widely-seen surfing images feature a surfer cruising through a barrel of blue water or sliding down the face of a terrifyingly steep wave. But many people enjoy getting out on the water and having fun on whatever waves are available.
The Big Island isn’t known for its surfing spots in the same way as Maui and Oahu, but there are still plenty of surfing enthusiasts. Good, rideable surf often leads to an increase in people calling in sick to work.
These photos were taken at Honolii Beach Park north of Hilo, a popular surfing spot on the east side of the island and a good spot for kids to get to grips with the sport.
Here’s a view of part of the golf course at the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort on the Kohala coast. Besides the usual trees and bunkers to challenge golfers, there’s a generous sprinkling of goats. I liked the pastoral feel of this photo, but if I were a golfer and my ball came to rest within a club’s length of some of these goats, I’d be inclined to drop a new ball a safe distance away.
Boiling Pots is part of Wailuku River State Park, in Hilo, along with Rainbow Falls. It features a series of small falls and pools. So why the name? When the river runs fast, those pools roil and bubble as if boiling.
The park overlooks these pools and access to the pools is forbidden, hence these signs. However, people go down there all the time and a few die every year. When people do get swept away, rescue divers usually spend 24 to 48 hours searching the river, at some considerable risk to themselves. Sometimes the body turns up several weeks later, swept into some unlikely spot. Sometimes it’s never found.
Driving towards Kawaihae, I noticed the inter-island barge a mile or two short of the harbor entrance. But instead of heading in, it was stooging around, going in circles or possibly figure eights. Clearly the harbor wasn’t ready to receive it. Still, there are many worse things that can happen than being obliged to make gentle loops off the coast of the Big Island on a beautiful sunny morning.
I was very pleased with this photo for several reasons. First is that I was lucky to notice the Japanese white-eye flitting through the foliage at all. Second is that I saw where it landed. Third is that I was able to focus in through a tangle of leaves and flowers. And fourth is that this is the only shot I got before it took off again.
Graham's Island 