Wow! Has it been that long?

Wow! Has it been that long? I just realized how long it's been since I posted a photo here...why have I been away so long? Guess I got super busy :) Resolution for 2012, get back to what I love and post here more often...

These young ladies where participants in Hilo's Queen Liliokulani festival down at the Queens park. Every year the festival occurs on the Queens birthday. Vendors supply tasty treats and goodies amid the many hula performers, but the piece de resisitance is a helicopter dropping a HUGE load of orchid blooms over the park! Can you imagine standing in this beautiful park surrounded by lovely hula performances, listening to wonderful Hawaiian musice while the sky rains orchid blooms? Wonderful memories :)

Gecko Brothers...

This little guy was hanging out in my conference room the other day, wonder if he thinks the "Big Gecko" will protect him? He really wanted to stay with him... we have lots & lots of geckos in Hawaii. On the Big Island there are two primary types, we call them Kona geckos (west side and I think they are actually Madagascar day geckos?) and Hilo geckos or Blond geckos. The Kona geckos are bright green with blue, red, etc... very colorful. The Hilo geckos are like this guy, very washed out or "Blond". But... the Hilo geckos change their coloration to suit the environment, kind of like a Chameleon but not as dramatic, they also have a geometric pattern along the spine which they can darken to stand out or lighten to be unnoticeable. They usually just get lighter or darker and can range from grey to brown in hue. They are very timid by nature and love to lay eggs behind switch plate covers. The Kona geckos are much more aggressive and have been known to EAT there Hilo brethren, blech! I found two eggs on top of my bag of chicken feed the other morning and I have them in a tea cup in my window sill so they can hatch, I will try to post pictures if I catch them in the act. :))

Hilo Landmark Comes Down!

It was a fire hazard, a rat trap and termite ridden! But we will still miss it! This is the corner of Keawe Street and Mamo Street, it was the site of Ohana grill for many years as well as numerous little shops and lunch counters over the decades...it really was a mess and needed to come down before some one got hurt, but it looks kinda naked around here without it :) Not sure what the owners are going to do now, really ought to leave it as parking which downtown desperately needs.

Lovely Pacific Building in Downtown Hilo Hawaii...

This lovely building is on Keawe Street in Downtown Hilo, it really caught my eye the other day. I just love all the little architectural touches on the old buildings and it is especially nice when the painter has picked them out in complimentary colors as with this one.

The wires you can just barely see at the bottom of the building secure a awning system that reaches over the sidewalk to provide shoppers a dry place to walk, this shot is of the 2nd floor...the first floor is given over to shops and a Lomi Lomi massage studio (the most incredible massage you will EVER have!).

Papaya Tree in Downtown Hilo...

Where do you park?

I park right under this cute multi headed Papaya tree every day when I go to work...its just growing wild next to the parking lot in Downtown Hilo.

Tomorrow I am going to bring a lime & a spoon! Yummy Papaya for breakfast!

Hawaiian Judicial Building Mural in Downtown Hilo...

I have posted a picture of this mural before, just from a different side...during the construction of Hilo's new Judicial Center a large ugly black wall was raised to prevent looky loos hanging around, debris blowing around, keep tools out of site, etc...

Someone had the bright idea to invite local organizations to paint a section of the wall! So now we have this incredibly cool mural that stretches around the entire building site! One entire section is taken up by paintings of the judges dogs! The building will be completed soon and I really want to know whats going to happen to all of these great paintings when the wall comes down? Some are truly art, others are sentimental favorites by young children...all are wonderful!

This shot doesn't show that much of the mural but this is the view you get while stopped at the intersection, all the lovely ti plants, etc... with the mural backdrop.

Nice way to drive in to work...

Photo courtesy of Tavina Owens, Mahalo~

Parrots in Hawaii?

This is called a Parrots Beak Heliconia and it is growing at a friends home in Hilo, I love the way the leaf grows from the beak...it looks like it is sticking its tongue out at us.

Kalani Tropicals has a wonderful site chock full of great information. As far as I know there are no endemic Parrots in Hawaii, though there are rumours of a budgie community in a kipuka on the Kohala coast.

Roof Top Bougainvilleas In The Flossie Rain...

This is a quick glimpse of the roof top outside my office, Scott put these gorgeous Bougainvilleas in pretty pots on the roof top when we moved in a few months ago and we all sat back and waited for them to die... Turns out, they LOVE it! The Hotter the better! Look at them blooming and they are growing like mad as well, you can now easily see them from the street, where as when they were planted you couldn't hardly see them at all.

Hurricane Flossie is giving us plenty of rain and a little wind but that's pretty much it, the weather right now is definitely no worse than some we get during the rainy season, so it is looking like the Big Island is going to miss the Big Hit once again...Thank Goodness!

You may have heard about the 5.4 earthquake we got Monday night? That was just Pele rumbling and stretching a bit, the quake occurred near the Pu'u O'o vent of Kilauea volcano, it is still active and providing us with more land each day, thanks Madam Pele! Over all we had a few crooked pictures and some cracked drywall...not to bad. I would rather the "sleeping giant" lets off steam this way then swelling and swelling to someday go pyroclastic on us! Really, its all good...some cigarettes & rum and everyone is happy! (for the volcano goddess silly! But I'll take any extra rum...)

Do Clown Figs Taste Funny?

Ok...I know that joke was a real groaner, but I could not resist.

This gorgeous plant is called a clown fig and it is growing at a friends home in Hilo, it is probably the most beautiful plant i have ever seen! Truly gorgeous, about 20 feet tall, 10-15 feet side to side and very full & lush...

I have not seen anything rating that the figs are safe for human consumption, but the birds sure seem to enjoy them...

Hilo Farmers Market, Home of Mikie's Creations!

This is Mikie...she makes wicked good jams & jellies! Seriously, they are good...I have won blue ribbons at County fairs for my jellies and they are nothing compared to hers! Imagine having Tangerine marmalade on your toast, or Lilikoi jelly...maybe you would prefer starfruit or jaboticaba? She also makes other goodies (like the best Pickle relish I have ever tasted!) and she markets her wares from Hilos own Farmers Market, we try to go to the market at least once a week to pick up fresh fruit and vegies (& chilled haupia (coconut jello, its better than it sounds!) Today it was ripe lychee, so juicy & sweet, yumm... and Mikie is always there with a full supply of ono goodies...and most importantly she always has a big smile and a bigger heart!
I apologize but this photo is not the best one I have ever taken...it definitely is the problem with the photographer not the subject matter!
If you would like to order assorted goodies from Mikie contact me and I will provide her e-mail to you...they are really worth it! Much better than anything you will ever pick up at the store! Mahalo~

King Kamehameha day...

This huge (14 feet) statue of King Kamehameha can be found at Hilos' Wailoa State Park, Monday (King Kamehameha Day) he was decorated with many gorgeous leis at a special ceremony...these leis can be 30-40 feet long and are made from Maile (vanilla scented green vining leaf), white and pink aromatic crown flowers, Pikake (Jasmine), plumerias, orchids and more. you can smell the complex odors of all of these flowers mixing from 50 feet away...

King Kamehameha was an incredible though very war like man, especially for his day and age...he was responsible for unifying the islands of Hawaii under one rule (except for Kauai), and for the Great Mahele of 1848...Mahele means "sharing" and it was due to Kamehameha's attempt to emulate the European custom of owning land (yes it was primarily a economic situation), that all Hawaiians as well as Europeans received the ability to own land individually, before this only the Ali'i (chiefs) where allowed to possess land and even then it was fairly tentative.

In 1848 the land was portioned out between the Ali'i families and certain favored others...it really didn't come into the hands of very many commoners until the Royal families began selling of portions to pay for debts or to gather funds to pay for homes/lifestyle/trips to England, etc...

This statue and the 3 others like it have a fascinating story, to read more about it, please click here. Mahalo~

Fabulous Wailuku Falls!

I occasionally go outside of the strict city limits of Hilo for my photos (I usually stay within a 20 minute drive or so), but this one is definitely with in the limits of Hilo...this lovely series of falls are on the Wailuku river (wai refers to water and luku has connotations of danger, so Wailuku means "dangerous water", sadly this is very true and we lost a Malahini (new resident) just a few months back), yet every one swims and plays in this river anyway, and you can see why!

It is like this thru out the majority of the river and all of the bends and slides make it seem like an especially gorgeous water park, this is just below the old KPUA radio station and is very challenging to get to...as you can see the valley walls are very steep here and that largest fall is a 20'-30' drop, most people don't make it to the bottom pool. (Enlarge the photo and look at that lava on the pool sides, its like it was sculpted by the water while it was still hot!)

I was able to get this photo while I toured a lovely property up at the top of the valley...after viewing the home we took a leisurely amble thru a well maintained back yard complete with lily ponds and flowering ginger plants, down a shady path to the edge of the drop off where a considerate homeowner had set a chair at the perfect viewing position,very nice! So relaxing...I really would have a hammock strung right at that spot...

Man Gets Eaten By Big Screen!

My new office is almost complete!!!

It is located in downtown Hilo and just last night the big screen for the conference room was installed (it looks like poor Scott was eaten by the screen! We warned him about playing to much video games!), Standing is John Petrella (the Principle Broker & Owner of Local Hawaii Real Estate), Larkin Hathaway is to the left offering her support (A agent & she is actually enjoying a good laugh at Scott and Johns expense), Galyn Williams (a agent and the person responsible for the gorgeous remodel on this office space) is just behind John and Scott (right out of the frame, oh well), and yours truly, Trevella Williams (Also a agent), is behind the camera where I prefer to be...

We are so very excited to be moving into our new office...I will post a photo when we are all moved in.

I just can't wait!

Queen Liliuokolani Park by the sea shore...

This lovely little red pagoda/bridge is in the Queen Liliuokalani beach park, not far from downtown Hilo. This cute little pagoda is accessed by a path that winds thru the park and has many entries and exits, there is a small bench seat on either side of the pagoda and it is not unusual for a couple of Kupuna (respected elders) to sit and talk story while they enjoy the cool breezes coming off of the water, this great park is much loved and used by the local populace. It is chock full of idyllic nooks, comfy benches and picture perfect photo opportunities around every bend in the path. A great place to spend the afternoon...and it even has a authentic Japanese tea house where you can receive lessons in learning the intricacies of the tea ceremony...very cool, very fun and very beautiful.

May Day Is Lei Day in Hilo...

May Day is Lei Day at the Palace Theater in downtown Hilo! The Palace Theater hosted a wonderful festival on Sunday; live music, fantastic performances, ono grinds, and a beautiful lei contest with a silent auction of the leis to benefit the Palace restoration efforts. Some days it is very challenging to pick only one photo! So click here for more! One of the neatest leis was completely edible! Made with endive/arugula/cherry tomatoes/scallots, etc...drop the whole thing in boiling water & you would have soup!

These striking blue windows with leaded panes are on the East Hawaii Cultural Center on Kalakaua St. in downtown Hilo, its a grand old building right across from the King Kalakaua Park. The Cultural Center contributes to so much in Hilo...regularly they have free performances in the park and its a great outlet for those interested in drama and performing.

Turtle Pond on Keawe street...

This little jewel is hidden away inside my office building in downtown Hilo...if you look closely you can see a turtle sunning itself on the center rock stack, it appears to be a red eared slider (the kind you buy for $2.00 when they are the size of a silver dollar) this guy would overlap your average dinner plate and probably tips the scale at over 5 pounds! There are three very happy turtles in this pond and too many tilapia and guppies to count. This pond is the perfect zen counterpoint to a busy office building, perhaps we can enact legislation for all office buildings to have a pond ;}

When life gives you lemons...

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade, right? Well what do you make when you get a really ugly safety wall in front of a County construction project? Why a beautiful mural of course! The pictured portion is only part of the entire "mural" that covers approx. 8-10 city blocks, the safety wall is in front of the new Hawaii County Judicial Center and numerous businesses, schools, groups and individuals signed up to do their part in beautifying the blank wall, the subject matter varies from the judges pets to the union coming to Hawaii. Very diverse and interesting, a real testament to the community spirit...I only hope that they auction off the portions or something instead of taking them to the dump when its all said and done.