Tag Archives: Beckys Squares

Misshapen Milo

A milo tree shaped by the wind at Upolu Airport Hawaii

This Milo tree was planted at Upolu Airport several years ago to provide shade for those visiting the area. The picnic table was positioned around the same time and chained to the tree so that no one would nick it!

Fast forward a few years, and the tree has grown and does provide shade, but it’s not what one might think of as a typical shade tree. The robust trade winds that blow here have given the tree its odd shape, a 90° bend not being typical of Milo trees growth. However, it still produces the most lovely blooms that I’ve posted about before here.

It will be interesting to see what it looks like in another five years. Probably a somewhat larger version of this photo, unless the winds get the better of it.

Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

Oddities in the water

A manta ray in the waters off Hawaii

Today marks the start of the last week of this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here. The ocean is full of oddities so I thought I’d include a few here.

Above: A Manta Ray encounter is always something special, but there’s no getting away from their odd appearance. This one has the added wrinkle of one of its cephalic flaps being damaged.

A Bluespine Unicornfish in the waters off Hawaii
A Titan scorpionfish in the waters off Hawaii
A Clumpy Nudibranch in the waters off Hawaii
Hawaiian zebra blennies in the waters off Hawaii

Top left: Bluespine Unicornfishes not only have a horn protruding from their foreheads, they have dayglow blue scalpels at the base of the tail and an array of expressions that are mostly odd.

Top right: Who knows how many scorpionfishes I’ve swum past? Masters of disguise, I could stare at a spot where one is perched and not see it. Even when I do see one, it’s not always clear that it’s not just a rock, as this Titan Scorpionfish illustrates.

Bottom left: Nudibranches are inherently odd looking, and this Clumpy Nudibrach is no exception. It suggests to me some top chef’s idea of an exotic entrée, but one that keeps sliding off the plate!

Bottom right: Blennies are indisputably odd, but absolutely endearing. The Hawaiian Zebra Blenny is no exception and, in addition, has an uncanny ability to launch itself into the next tidepool if someone disturbs it.

Home away from home

An old couch and bathtub abandoned on the coast of Hawaii

Who wouldn’t want to relax here a while on the couch before taking a soak in the tub? Alas, the tub wasn’t hooked up and sitting on that sofa might be an unpleasant experience. Truth is, these were dumped here by someone. It happens more often than one would like to think it does, and this area is a favorite spot for it, possibly because no one lives around here.

The tub disappeared quite quickly. I suspect someone took it to use as a cattle drinking trough, but it could have gone for other uses. A bit of effort by the person who dumped it could easily have made this connection without the eyesore interim. The couch, however, just sat there.

Recently, I was walking along the coast here, after not visiting for a week or two, and I noticed another pile of trash next to an existing one. A bit farther on was an old boat filled with tires. It’s getting worse, I thought. But I saw that the dirt road had been graded and, on a subsequent visit, saw cleared areas, and the boat and sofa were gone. This wasn’t a surge in dumping, but the start of a cleanup effort. So a big hooray to whoever is responsible.

Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

The Big Galoot

A house gecko in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Love Your Pet.’ See more responses here.

Since I don’t have a regular pet, the next best thing would be The Big Galoot, our resident House Gecko. He (or possibly she) has been the dominant gecko in the house for several weeks now. House Geckos are nocturnal, but The Big Galoot does not seem to have seen that memo. He makes appearances at any time of day.

Nocturnal geckos tend to be very shy. If they’re caught out in the open, they scoot to shelter. This appears to be another memo missed by The Big Galoot. When I see him, he tends to remain in place and looks at me with a puzzled expression. There have been occasions where he has held his position so long that I’ve wondered if he was still alive!

The behavior of The Big Galoot has brought to mind the memoir, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. In it, Frank’s father, who hails from Northern Ireland, is described as having the ‘odd manner.’ This seems, to me, to be a perfect description for The Big Galoot!

Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

A house gecko in Hawaii

Ring-billed Gull

A Ring-billed gull flying in Hawaii
A Ring-billed gull catches a fish in Hawaii
A Ring-billed gull catches a fish in Hawaii
A Ring-billed gull catches a fish in Hawaii

I saw this bird at the ʻAimakapā Fishpond in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. At first I was just focused on a fairly large bird flying toward me, but then it swooped around and down and plucked a fish from the water. It took off again and carried its prize to a rocky strip jutting into the fishpond, where it duly devoured it.

I realized, through this process, that this wasn’t a bird I was familiar with, but I thought it looked like some kind of gull. Back home, my bird book indicated it was most likely a Ring-billed Gull. It introduce the bird with this information: ‘Gulls prefer broad, shallow tidal zones, conditions not found on tropical islands. This fact helps to explain why few gulls occur in the Hawaiian Islands.’

I used to live in Washington State, where gulls were everywhere and a nuisance in many of those places. It’s odd to now live in a place where so many introduced species thrive, but not gulls. Few gulls are seen here and those that are tend to have arrived with the help of winds or shipping. Hopefully, in the spring, it will find its way back to the mainland where it belongs.

Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

Golden waters

Smoky skies cause golden light on the waters of Hawaii
Smoky skies cause golden light on the waters of Hawaii
Smoky skies cause golden light on the waters of Hawaii

A good while ago, I posted photos of smoky skies around Kawaihae, which were the result of a large brush fire up the hill from there. I intended to follow up with more photos and then forgot, which is nothing unusual.

Here are a few more photos from that time, taken from Spencer Beach Park. The smoke in the air resulted in golden light on the waters, which is the one and only time I’ve seen that in my 10 years here.

Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

Three Nenes

Three nenes in Hawaii

I saw these nenes in the sugar cane field above Upolu Airport. Not only are there an odd number of them, which is odd in itself since I usually see them in pairs, but the one at the front is sporting a tracking box in his back. I’ve seen two nenes in this area with these boxes, though there are undoubtedly more around. It’s been nearly two years since I saw this bird with the tracker and more than a year since I saw the other two.

Posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.