Leave one large unripe mango on the ground and wait for the arrival of seven small piglets. Watch them bat the mango around, trying to snare it in their small jaws. There are no rules in this game, so pushing and shoving is common, as is running around for no clear reason.
The winner is the one who snags and keeps the mango.
It’s a strenuous activity so a post-game rest is advised.
After a recent downpour, the mangoes on the tree in the front yard were left wet and glistening and dripping with raindrops.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Wildlife.’ See more responses here. I thought I’d go with a couple of photos from the air, on land, and in the ocean.
First up, a couple of native Hawaiian birds, a palila above and a pueo below.
Next, a group of goats blocking a trail in South Kona, above, and a wild pig snaffles a mango and runs off with its prize, below.
Finally, a pod of spinner dolphins that I encountered in the wild while snorkeling. This scene was made more poignant for me by having recently seen dolphins in a small pool doing their thing for tourists at one of the resorts here. I couldn’t bring myself to take a photo of that.
A pair of green anoles mate on the rough bark of a mango tree. During mating, the male bites into the skin on the back of the female’s neck and keeps a firm grip throughout.
Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Trees.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Under the Trees.’ See more responses here. Here are a couple of photos for this theme. They’re both under the trees and they’re both barbecue-related when you think about it.
The top one shows people sharing a barbecue meal under the trees at Spencer Beach Park. If this post featured ‘Smellovision’ you’d know it was a barbecue without me writing anything at all.
The bottom photo shows the six little pigs that have been daily visitors to the yard this past couple of weeks. They come for fallen mangoes, scampering out from the cane grass and racing around below the mango tree searching for fallen treasures. There are often one or two on the ground and the lucky ones bolt back into cover with their prizes. Their antics are a continuing source of entertainment. Mind you, it’s not all fun and games. There used to be seven little pigs!
Also posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Trees.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Fallen.’ (See more responses here.) Usually I respond to these challenges with a single subject, but this month I’m taking a different approach, so here are some ‘fallen’ images.
The top photo, taken earlier this week, is of a bus shelter that had fallen off its base. It got that way thanks to some strong westerly winds that blew here for a couple of days.
The second photo also owes its origins to those winds. The mango tree in the yard has another batch of fruit and the wind dislodged a fair number. Pigs and chickens got some of the fallen fruit, but I was still able to gather a considerable number in good condition. However, as the photo shows, there are still more on the tree.
The third photo shows fallen coconuts at Kiholo. While a lot of coconuts are harvested, there are also many that simply fall off the tree and either rot, or sprout to start another palm. Coconuts were brought to Hawaii by the ancient Polynesians, but they might also have arrived naturally as they’re capable of drifting large distances across the ocean, and then sprouting on making landfall.
A drupe is a fruit with a single stone or pit at its center. The fruits of mango trees are drupes, such as these two dripping with water after a hard rain.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘From Your Window.’ See more responses here.
There’s a very large mango tree in the yard, which is an erratic producer of fruit. Some years, there’s not much. Other years, the tree looks like an overdecorated Christmas tree. In those times, it’s best not to spend much time under the tree, particularly when it’s windy, because the thud of fruit hitting the ground is frequent (though, standing under that tree is risky any time, since large branches are prone to breaking off).
When fruit does start to fall, wild pigs move in. There are always windfalls available and the pigs love this easily-accessed treat. The pig population around here varies, mostly depending on whether hunters are active in the area. Pigs are nocturnal, so do most of their foraging at night, but the younger ones are more likely to venture out in daylight hours, either because they haven’t yet learned how dangerous that is, or because it’s harder for them to get a look-in when the big pigs are around.
This year, there have been as many as nine pigs in the yard at one time, but this younger pig was out by itself. As there were quite a few mangos on the ground, it was being quite choosy as to which ones to eat. Hard ones will be shunned, unless that’s all there is. This mango was just right, and the pig was tucking in until something disturbed it and it ran off, but not without its prize.
Mostly the pigs are a source of entertainment and don’t bother me. The exception is when they roam past the bedroom window in the middle of the night and get into arguments, grunting and squealing. They also have a very ripe smell, which drifts in through the open window. Fortunately, they’re easy to disperse. I just do my large, angry dog impersonation, consisting of a few loud barks, and they disappear like they’ve been shot out of a cannon.
Graham's Island 