Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Hawaiian Whales say Merry Christmas!


Is this cute or what!? I have always loved this mural (painted on the lower wall of a home on Paradise Alakai in HPP), but this year the home owners really made a cute statement! Humpback whales and dolphins are commonly seen off the coast near this home, sometimes you can even hear them sing when it's real quite at night. And this year they are helping to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

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. :))