Hawaiian Poinsettia in the Wild...well, kinda wild...

I say "Kinda" wild because it is really in my driveway, which can be pretty wild if I don't get out and hack back the growth!

This is what they look like when growing in a yard, a little blemished and crinkled but still striking just the same. I received this poinsettia about 2 years ago and left it in the pot since then (I know, how lazy am I!?), I stuck it in the ground about 2 months ago and this is how it rewards me! I guess it's happy to be able to stretch it toes!

Here is a very interesting article about Poinsettias, mine is growing at about 700' elevation in Puna District of Hawaii and the most amazing display of Poinsettias I have ever seen is along the Hwy in South Kona (West side of the Big Island), I really need to get (& post) a photos of that!

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Hawaiian Ohia Tree...

Often when reading articles about Hawaii you will run across mention of Ohia Trees, but rarely are there photos of these lovely trees. This one is in Fern Acres, they tend to be tall & slim but will branch from all levels. Here is a article with a lovely story about the Ohia Tree Legend.
They can bloom at almost any time throughout the year but do have heavier blooming seasons, and when the Lehua flowers are in bloom the bees just swarm! They love these flowers so much and it makes the best Honey! They also make lovely leis from the leaves & the red flowers, but my favorite is the Liko Lehua, the new keiki leaves on the young ohia are a dusty red and smooth textured, they really show up against the green green forest. And Ohias are very adaptable, In Kau (A dryer, wind swept region) the Ohias look like Bristol Cone pine, all gnarly & bent with rugged bark, in upper Puna (lush and moderate temps) they tend to be broader and taller, straight limbed trees). They are very slow growing and can be quite touchy to adverse outside elements (like lawnmowerimpactitise) but often are the first trees to become established on a lava flow and are one of the first plants period to grow on a lava field (not including lichen & such). Pretty amazing tree...

Sour Hawaiian......Cucumber?

Don't they look like cucumbers? But they aren't, these are Bilimbi, a tropical fruit related to the star fruit.
We were offered some through Freecycle and went to a new friends house to pick them, what fun! And nowhere in all the articles I read did anyone truly explain how incredibly SOUR they are! Wow!!! I am not sure what to do with them? Good flavor but they could probably peel the paint off my car! I dipped them in salt (interesting flavor combo, kinda like salt & vinegar chips at the fair), I cooked them with sugar and they jelled up pretty good, but there was more sugar than Bilimbi at that point. I also tried to make a juice and that we were able to add to a cherry cool aide, it tasted similar to strawberry lemonade.
My friend has lots & lots, so if any one has a really good "recipe" please share...

Hawaiian Keiki and Water Hyacinth Pool...

This little sweety was enjoying her visit to Kalakaua Park in downtown Hilo the other day, she was just so engrossed in the water weeds she had found to play with. The shallow pond she is standing next to is also home to some huge Koi! It's neat to watch the flash of orange slide in & out from under the water Hyacinth, especially when the hyacinth is in bloom, the blossoms are a striking purple and it shows off against the green leaf and the black rock so nicely...

Thirsty Hawaiian Doggie!

We saw this cute couple with there doggie out to the Lava flow the other day...talk about a well prepared couple! They even had the pups water bottle packed! Now that's considerate owners...it gets real hot out there on that hike to the ocean entry but they had it covered...we need more pet owners like them!

Basking Anole...

I was out taking property photos in a sub division called Fern Acres the other day and I caught this guy checking me out from a Hapuu fern leaf. He was very calm and really not ready to abandon his place in the sun, just kept a very watchful eye on me while I got this photo.

Hawaiian Ladybug!

This little gal (guy?) was cruisin around one of the lots my company has for sale in Hakalau (on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island), she just kept landing on all these perfect items as back drops...and I just kept taking photos! We don't have many ladybugs here, I think the predator bug competition may be to much for them, or they may fall prey to the skinks & geckos themselves...whatever the reason I really enjoyed this rare visit.

Now, how did this Kayak get here?

No it wasn't a Tsunami or Hurricane Ike... I came into work the other morning to find a lovely yellow Kayak occupying the teeny tiny space between my building and the neighboring one (It's barely big enough to walk into). My office is the windows at the top of the screen to the left...the beigey pink building (official name is the Chock Building as it is owned by the Chock family).

It just looked so incongruous next to a busy street with cars, etc... (even though we are just about a block up from the Pacific Ocean/Hilo Bay) but the colors were so striking...I believe the owner works in the Blue building and stored it here for safekeeping until after work...and it was a beautiful day, perfect to get in/on/around the water!

Punaluu Honu catching a few ZZZ's

Well, he really isn't sleeping, more like recharging...they come up from the depths to warm up and get some sunshine. This guy was hanging out at Kau's Punaluu beach...very cool place to enjoy the "Big Blue".
The sea turtles are always a awesome sight...I have been snorkeling and had one come up on my side and gently bump me (a little nerve wracking when you are out in the water with your face down!), I backed away (you aren't supposed to touch them or even be close to them because they can get diseases from us...) and he scooted right in front of me to start munching the algea on a rock I was in front of! Guess I was holding up the line to the salad bar! ;)

Aloha Hoyte and Joyce! Here is a Plumeria for you...

Early the other morning as I was getting ready for work we had a bit of a cloud burst so I waited to leave until it was over...as I was dashing to the car I saw that my Plumeria had bloomed and was sparkling in the dawn sunlight with the rain beaded up on it so prettily... so I just had to get a photo. I wish I could share how lovely it smelled, sweet, fresh and fragrant.

Aloha Hoyte and Joyce...hope you enjoy the plumeria, if you scroll through the photos there are some shots of the kids as well... All my love, Trevella

Where do Red Landscaping Cinders come from? Well, from Hawaii's red lava of course...

The other day I was in the Big Islands Kau District in a HUGE subdivision called Hawaii Ocean View Estates (HOVE for short) and we ran across this cinder pit. HOVE has a number of cinder pits operating with in it's borders, but this one is especially colorful! We were so struck by it that we had to pull over and get some photos.

You can see the "nibble" marks on the pit walls were the equipment has been pulling down more material, and check out all the different colors...I remember as a kid helping my mother do yard work and make colorful flower beds with red cinders, I was no stranger to red dirt (coming from Colorado) but this was a entirely different animal. Mom explained that it came from a volcano but she really didn't know much more than that then.

So now when you pick up a bag of Hawaiian cinders for your landscaping project, no matter what color...you have a good chance of having seen one of the pits they may have come from!

Beautiful Kehena Beach in East Hawaii...

I was out in Kalapana Seaview estates today taking photos of a land lot I just listed when my Broker suggested we stop by Kehena Beach...I had never been to Kehena Beach before (it is our, ahem..."clothing optional", beach in east Hawaii. Actually, almost any beach on the Big Island of Hawaii tends to be fairly "clothing optional"...) and Aunty Betty (my fellow agent) agreed we should go...so we did!

What a gorgeous little hide away! A bit of a climb down to the beach but very much worth the hike...with in 5 seconds my shoes were off (just the shoes, I swear...) and my toes were in the water, ahhh...so nice. We took all of 30 minutes to hike down and back up, but it was a fantastic refresher in the middle of the day. I love my job! No, everyday is not like this, most are 7:00 AM to after 7:00 PM on computer and phones, etc... but days like this make up for it! And I am just thankful to have a job, period!

Merrie Monarch Island Princess on Horse back...

Aren't those Leis gorgeous! The orange one around her neck is actually 3 braided strands of the Ilima flower which is about as big around as a dime! So what you see here is thousands of those little flowers strung back to front.
The Lei makers art is just incredible! Hours and hours of effort for something beautiful but not durable, most leis will last for only 1-3 days! But they are so worth it while you have them...
Soon it will be May day and in Hawaii May day is Lei day and we have the lei competitions...I will post some photos of the incredible creations that get entered into the competition. Look into my Archives and you can see some from last year...

Hawaiian Cowboys!

This Paniolo is a attendant to one of the island Princesses, great parade & look at that gorgeous lei!

Hilo Hawaii's Merrie Monarch Parade...

Merrie Monarch is over for another year... and the response waivers between relief that all of the chaos is over, TO regret that we have to wait another year to enjoy it again! On the very last day we get the PARADE! And as with all parades, the horses are the stars...and in Hawaii we have the Paniolos (Hawaii has had Paniolos since around 1793!), so here are some photos of "Cowboys" and Cowgirls ;)) Hawaiian Style!

The leis that the horses wear are matched by their riders leis and are beautiful beyond belief!

Over the next week or so I will be focusing on more horsey photos, as well as pics of the Hula competition at the Edith Kanakeole Stadium in downtown Hilo.

Hawaii's Thurston Lava Tube...

My daughter & I went for a hike the other day in the Thurston Lava Tube, and this photo is of yours truly at the very end of the lava tube, I am sitting on what was originally the flowing lava that filled the "tube" before the flow "petered out" (anyone know where that term came from? It is very fun to say ;}) As you can see, the roof of the tube and the top of the flow meet...I laid on my tummy & could touch the back wall with my fingertips. It is very cool and moist but not wet in the tube and if you turn off your flashlights and just sit for a while you begin to see images in the dark as your eyes struggle to adjust to the total absence of light. And pretty soon you can hear your heart beat, & then the person your with's heart beat...pretty surreal & very cool.

And this is my daughter in the same place...notice our flashlights, most important thing to take on the hike!

This end of the tube is past the "public" area, most people stop at the gate thinking they are not allowed any further. Not true, the gate is not locked and you just need closed toed shoes and flashlights to hike the rest of the way in. There is one good sized gallery that I want to go back and explore further.

The public section is a fun quick hike for most visitors, though I feel that the electric lights and such rob it of some of it's charm...I do understand why it had to be done after watching the dichotomy of people visiting the tube though...one lady even had a oxygen tank!


This hike is worth the trip, and it's especially fun to take the chain of craters road and look at all of the different pukas, Kiluea & Puueo gets all the press but over the years there has been a lot of action on this mountain and it is a good reminder to us all that this system is still alive & kickin.

Check out this link for a neat site I found when surfin around for more info on the Lava Tube Click here and then go to the "where the name came from" link. And this link has some nice photos...

Visiting Hawaii's "SAFE" lava flow...

This is some of the kids getting smarmy for the camera when we hiked out to the Lava flow...it was like a whose who of Hawaii out there that Sunday, everyone was stopping to visit with family/friends/neighbors/co-workers, etc... all we needed was cold beer & pupus to make it a right old party! Yes it was a little irreverent but there was actually a lot of awe & respect for the power of Mother Nature/Pele/God, etc...and people were watching out for each other, so that was cool.

One commenter asked if it was safe to be this close? Excellent questions with a quick answer...NO! It falls under the category of acceptable risk and that's a personal choice. People always want you to tell them that it's going to be A-ok and no one will ever get hurt...well, that's just not true. This volcano is not "TAME" or safe, or dependable, etc... we really do not know what it is going to do next, Click Here for article. And we need to keep that up most in our minds, even when we are trekking out to be amazed!

And yes, I felt a lot safer than if I were, oh, say... skydiving or something...but that's just me...

Hawaiian Lava Monster...

The lava formations have always fascinated me, so this is a wonderful opportunity to catch nature in the act, so to speak. It's shape brings to mind so many diffrent things, kind of like cloud watching, what do you see?

Volcanic eruption reaches the ocean...Hawaii flocks to see...

The steam plumes you can see in the back ground are from the fresh lava hitting the ocean...very cool! And as you can see, approximately half the population of Hawaii was on the Lava flats to see the most recent "toe" of the current flow! 2-3 mile walk from parking but very much worth it & everyone was in a very good mood. You can see the Live Lava right behind the folks in the picture. We saw lot of incredible formations and many offerings...I will try to post quite a few of them over the next few days.

Hawaiian Bull?

This is not the best quality picture as the light was very low...but I think this is one of the most gorgeous bulls I have ever seen...and that's coming from a old farm & ranch girl! The most beautiful bull I have ever seen was a simply enormous cross breed Brahma/? (Maybe Charlei) bull that was silver with black points (Like a Siamese cat), he had so much dignity (or maybe it was just his size?!) and had a beautiful face. I saw him in the sale ring at a auction in Western Colorado 8-9 years ago.

But this guy was hanging out near a property I was previewing in Waikea Uka, looks like he is used to getting his evening treat at this fence...a couple of cows were hanging around as well and the were very comfortable with my vehicle being so close, not skittish at all, must be pretty used to it.

Hawaiian Butterfly...

This little guy came to visit when I was doing some yard work...He stayed on this monstera leaf for the longest time while I worked around him...I don't even know what kind it is, but I so enjoyed him (her?).

Sunrise at Queen Lilli Park...

I just happened to be a few minutes ahead of schedule this morning...and whenever that happens I like to take a quick drive around Queen Lilli park in Hilo. It is a ocean park but is very well protected from ocean waves & such...the ocean is just across a small road, maybe 20-30 feet from the main park and continues down one side of the park for approximately a half mile.

This gorgeous park is scattered with benches for sitting and contemplating, around every corner there is a "view", maybe a blooming tree, a neat statue or a memorial...and lots of different textures have been used.

The pervading sense is of peace...not to say the park is not well used! Sometimes I think 1/2 of Hilo is walking their dogs, jogging, or picnicking in the park. Even at 7:00 in the morning I had to wait to get this photo with no one in it...it's lovely to see it so enjoyed, it is so refreshing to spend just a few minutes remembering why you work so hard, it revitalizes you for the rest of the day!

Sea Cave...

This is the beginning of a sea cave developing off the shore line in Lower Puna, the pink color on the rocks is a algae growth and it is especially preferred by the local variety of Opihi, a edible mollusk that is a tradition Luau food in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Pineapple...

We were discussing our up coming Pineapple crop the other day and I thought I would share a few photos with everyone...some people have never seen a pineapple on the stalk... This pineapple is in my woefully ignored Pineapple bed, I have a great plan about the rotation but it rarely happens. Theoretically every 2-3 harvest you need to pull up the old plant & replace it, at my house we just plant the tops of the pineapple we just ate and whenever the old plants make pineapples that are to small we pull them out. This one should have been pulled out probably last harvest but I love the tiny Pineapples it makes! Just enough for 1-2 people, some people like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I like them naked, just the way they come...the one in the photo didn't get much bigger before it ripened.

You can see the thick stalk holding it up from the parent plant which is actually just a top of the previous pineapple set into the cinder soil (we don't have much dirt here, so we use crushed lava cinders. As you can see it doesn't seem to slow them down!)

This is the same Pineapple viewed from above...I love the way the leaves are so symmetrical in their arrangement, and when it rains the water cascades from leaf ring to leaf ring and then flows over the pineapple down to the main plant and then the ground & roots.

I have always wanted a Bronze statue/fountain of a pineapple for a water element in my garden or that pool I am going to finish some day...never enough time in the day for all the cool things we want to do & see...

In The Curl...

This is the view from one of my favorite beach parks located at the end of a subdivision named Hawaiian Shores in the Puna District...for some reason the weather is almost always grand in this area and you can stand right on the cliff walls over the ocean & feel the ground shake from the waves crashing onto the rocky shore below.

Oftentimes you can see whales just off shore as the ocean deepens pretty quickly here. But you never see surfers taking advantage of the gorgeous curls as the coast line is incredibly treacherous with lots of partially hidden rocks.

But the Opihi (edible mussels) love the constant wash of water and they are abundant, probably because they are fairly protected from being over harvested due to the danger of getting to them!

This is a closer view of the curl just starting to barrel, check out that reflection (maybe it is bubbles? Or maybe it is a leviathan coming up from the deep ;))

Very fun afternoon, great place to grab lunch & 30 minutes for a perspective break...& lovely at sunset as you get the reflected sunset colors on the ocean clouds, & a nice fresh trade wind usually comes in at dusk. You could almost imagine you can hear the whales singing to each other...

What A Beautiful Day!

We have had so much rain in east Hawaii the last 2 months that we all started growing gills in self defense!

But the last few days have been gorgeous! Reminds us why we are "lucky to live Hawaii!".

This view is of the back side of the Hotel run on Banyan Drive...I am standing in the parking area of lovely Coconut Island to take this shot.

We saw schools of fish erupting out of the water (I have no idea what they were feeding on as I couldn't see anything), some colorful tropical fish, a knife fish & 3 Sea Turtles! (of course there is no picture of them as I left the camera in the car, dang it...) One was just huge, definitely a grandaddy (or mommy) of turtles, and I was able to watch it for 3-4 minutes as it leisurely swam away...

Great way to start the day!