This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Walk in the Park.’ See more responses here. These photos are from my last hike at what is officially known as Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park. The hike took place under heavy skies, but the clouds hovered just above the top of the hill and the rain held off until late in the walk.
Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.
The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 175. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Orange and Gold.’ See more responses here. First up is a very orange Passion Vine Butterfly taking a break.
Next, orange is the official color of the island of Lanai, represented here at this year’s Kamehameha Day celebrations.
When I was putting this post together a few days ago, I thought a sunset photo would be a nice way to wrap it up. I trolled through my files before picking a suitable one out, and was on the verge of processing it, when I happened to glance out of the window and saw this developing. Another reminder to live in the present and not the past!
A week ago, I posted (here) about a Wiliwili tree flowering at the foot of Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a. Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) is endemic to Hawaii and grows in dry forests on the leeward side of the island. Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a is one such place. While I’ve hiked here several times before, this is the first time I’ve seen a Wiliwili flowering.
Wiliwili is unusual for an Hawaiian tree in that it’s deciduous, dropping it’s leaves during summer droughts. It’s pollinated by birds, but on this day bees were the primary visitors.
Wiliwili seeds are easy to germinate and grow but, like many Hawaiian plants, it has been in decline, losing out to more robust non-native plants and to herbivores. The arrival in Hawaii of a a gall wasp, Quadrastichus erythrinae, greatly exacerbated the situation. However, biocontrol responses have been effective and the situation has been stabilized.
Graham's Island 