The late afternoon sky from old Saddle Road looking down toward the South Kohala coast.
Tag Archives: Saddle Road
Wild turkeys
One of the joys of driving the old Saddle Road from Waimea towards Hilo, is that one will almost certainly see groups of wild turkeys. These birds were introduced to Hawaii almost 200 years ago and are going strong still.
From what I’ve seen, the question of ‘Why did the turkey cross the road?’ is best answered by, ‘To get back to where it came from.’
From a driving perspective, encountering these birds gives me a chance to yell, “Get out of the road, you turkeys,” which must be the mildest form of road rage.
Cattle and pu’u
Cattle graze on dry grassland near Waimea. A pu’u is a hill or cinder cone in Hawaiian.
Bee on fireweed flower
Last week I posted here about the fireweed biocontrol moth, secusio extensa, which has been introduced into Hawaii in an attempt to control the spread of invasive fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis). On that same walk I saw lots of fireweed flowers such as this one, busily being helped to propagate by this bee. Such is the battlefield.
Fence line
Late afternoon on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea with a fence line stretching away toward the ocean. Of course, they all do that on an island.
Pueo
I was driving home on the old Saddle Road late one afternoon when I saw that the light offered some photo opportunities. The area is one of rolling hills, pastures, and pu’us, which are old cinder cones. As I got my camera out I saw a pair of pueos, Hawaiian short-eared owls, flying toward me at a good clip. I tried and failed to get organized, almost strangling myself on the camera strap.
Luckily, one of the pueos settled in a field, not far from the road. I edged over to the fence and snapped a couple of photos. Then I eased down the fence line, trying not to fall in the hollow mounds of grass that bordered the fence. The pueo kept an eye on me while also scanning the surrounding area, it’s head swiveling around in that disconcerting way that owls have. Eventually, it decided I was too close, or too annoying, and flew off further into the field.
I’ve seen pueos several times in this area; the open pastures are a favorite habitat. Pueos, which are endemic to Hawaii, are active during the day. They usually hunt in the early morning or late afternoon, but they might be seen at any time during the day. Regardless of when I see one, a pueo sighting always leaves me feeling good about my day.
Mars simulation mission site
This little dome is where simulated Mars missions take place. Currently there’s a crew of six living in the dome on a 365-day mission, the longest such experiment to date. The previous crew lived in the dome for eight months.
The dome, at around 8,000 foot on the north side of Mauna Loa, is situated a little way off the Mauna Loa Observatory road. In the photo below it can be seen about ¾ of the way up in the center.
For an interesting article on the Mars simulation mission and its context in history see newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/20/moving-to-mars. For information about the current, and former, missions, see hi-seas.org.
Graham's Island 