On Any Given Day

Jim Kunstler of Clusterfuck Nation was on Maui last week to give a talk. I missed it. He posted his impression of Maui on his blog. I have not read enough of his work to state what he is all about, but my limited impression of him is that he thinks the combination of the burgeoning human population and dwindling resources are going to cause some very unpleasant major reorganizations of how humans go about living on this planet.

He was talking about Maui so I had to leave a comment on his blog.

As a resident of Maui for the last twenty years and someone who has witnessed the growth and changes, I would say Jim's assessment of Maui is very accurate. We have been Kalifornicated.

Sorry I couldn't read all 191 comments. I am in the process of filling out applications, writing a resume and cover letter to get a job on the mainland in an undisclosed location. Not that keeping it a secret matters because the same thing that happened to Maui is happening where I am headed.

Why am I leaving? Because I will never be able to own a home or buy land here without making money a primary focus of my life. Not gonna happen. They are packing us in like sardines on the little bits of land open to development and while that makes some sense for city planning and land preservation that isn’t why it is being done. I need more elbow room. A gardener needs land.

If you would like to see some of the beauty of Maui, visit my blog. http://tropicalembellishments.blogspot.com/

In a way it has been a year long goodbye.

It seems my comment worked some cold bitter person's nerves in Connecticut and with a little detective work he was able to e-mail me his impression of me.


Hello, sir. I read your comments on the Kunstler blog and I find you to be endowed with a sense of entitlement. Sure, Maui is super expensive and you don't want to be immersed in the ratrace of making money anymore. I understand.

Maui has tried to seek some balance, forgive the pun, to accomodate visitors and still try to maintain some semblance of paradise based beauty. Sure, you can moan and whine about the Kaanapali strip. Hotels like vertical abortions. Lousy architecture, etc. However, hotels are trying to make themselves affordable to a maximum number of visitors, hence the absence of fine architecture, sorry about the pun.

I've visited many times from northeast Connecticut. I even like Honolulu. Lots there to like, perhaps not by snobs seeking virginal conditions that they can fuck up. However, I like the ambiance and it sure beats the Northeast in winter. You've become a candy ass in your 20 years there. I can also whine about heavy population growth in my hometown in Connecticut, for for what? What do I accomplish?

Maui has reached some sort of equilibrium. It cannot remain uninhabited or foreign and nasty to haoles. The very huge majority of visitors love the place. If you no longer love the place, please move. It beats a zillion other places in the country, ever been to Fargo, ND in winter?

It's regrettable that it no longer satisfies you in your utter contempt of visitors, beer cans, traffic jams in Lahaina. Some things are not pleasant, but a traffic jam in Lahaina beats the hell out of the Northeast in a snowstorm where people can't get to where they want.

I'd go back to Maui tomorrow if I could. However, I'm in my own ratrace for survival here. I can't afford Maui every year, but often enough. If Maui does not suit you anymore, I'm sorry. We all have things forced upon us that suck.

Out of much of Maui, I find Kihei the least attractive. That area is pretty bleak. But, it's nice and warm.

My visits to Maui have left me with a great love for Napili Beach, the Makena golf courses, the views out in toward Molokini. Real fine eye candy.

I have nothing against you, I can understand your angst. Sadly, you seem to yearn for the 1800's with a virginal and untouched country. Ain't gonna happen again.


I was a little taken aback. Offer someone a window on the beauty of Maui and they piss on you.















I know you are not supposed to feed the trolls (note to self: heed your own advice) but I replied to his e-mail.

You have projected an incredible number of thoughts into the mind of someone you know nothing about from a single comment on a blog and spending a little time looking at my blog.

You don't know me or what I think. It isn't wise to think you know what is going on in other people's heads.

And he responded to that with:

spoken like a true champion

Now I am not really sure what that means? Is it good or bad? Whatever!

Let me assure you Bitter in Connecticut that no amount of development or growth can blind me to the beauty and charms of the place where I live.

I have been blessed with the heart and soul of a gardener. I have a strong connection with the aina. I walk through beauty on any given day where ever I am because I am able to see it.

There isn't much I can do about the growth and changes that are occurring planet wide and leaving here isn't going to get me away from it. I can recognize that I am part of the problem. I can control a little how I interact with the earth within the confines of the technological consumer culture I live in. I can also choose not to turn a blind eye to the changes that are going on.

Much to the shock of many refugees moving here from the mainland with fantasy visions of paradise, this is Maui. This is not Mars. We are on the same planet and subjected to the same rules and forces as the rest of you. Maui is not exempt from anything. There are plenty bugs here.

I have had the spirit, gumption and good fortune to live in many beautiful places in my life. My life on Maui is not something I cast aside in contempt and disgust. I will leave here filled with gratitude and buoyed by the love of many friends and family. The universe has told me a beautiful new garden awaits me and it is time to move on.

So Bitter in Connecticut a space is opening up on Maui. You may have it. If you aren't a trust fund baby be prepared to work two jobs or have tons of roommates. Don't forget to stop and smell the Plumeria.

Evening Stroll

I often go for a stroll through the garden right around sunset when it has cooled off a touch and the world is settling down. Sometimes it pays to look east when the sun is setting.
















Long White Whiskers on a Pure Yellow Flower.













Orange Protuberances from Light Green Cylinders.



















Sit Still Accidents Happen.




















The light needs to be just bright enough or the shutter speeds slows enough to detect to my slight powertool induced wobble.

New Meat

For a resume

Christopher C*****

A large beautiful forested piece of family land in the mountains of Western North Carolina was an offer I could not pass up. After 20 years running a very successful Landscape Design and Maintenance business on the island of Maui that began with a pair of Corona hand pruners and a copy of Marie C. Neal’s book In Gardens of Hawaii, I am looking forward to relocating to the Asheville area in late June of 2007. A new garden called me.

Objectives
To use my extensive experience in tropical landscape design and installation in association with fellow green industry professionals. I would like to explore new opportunities and expand my present knowledge in a setting that offers opportunities for growth. The result of this association would benefit myself, the company and the local community by employing horticulture to promote knowledge of sound environmental practices.


Professional History
C. C***** Landscapes 1987-2007
Created landscape designs for new and existing homes as sold drawings only and installations to completion.
Managed projects from the ground and soil preparation to finished planting.
Designed and installed irrigation systems.
Consulted with owners on construction aspects of the landscape.
Coordinated landscape design needs with the various construction trades during active construction work.
Provided weekly full service landscape maintenance to private homes and associations.
Trained and managed landscape crew.
Provided garden consultation service.
Irrigation system diagnosis and repair.
Numerous clients with over a decade of continuous association.

Kihei Plant Productions 2002-2007
Propagated and grew over 100 species of container plants for the landscape trade.
Sold wholesale to local nursery and as a retail nursery open to the public.
Designed and produced website KiheiPlantProductions.com
Profitable business in the second year of operation.

Education
Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture, University of Florida
Landscape Design Program, Colorado State University
A.A. Degree, University of Florida
Twenty years of hands on experience
Self taught basic computer skills

Interests
My Gardening Blog: Tropical Embellishments
Botanical and nature photography
Creative writing
Online Garden Forums

Crown Flower Cooperating

It includes an ant that can.

After a Nap

Argemone glauca, Pua kala, Prickly Poppy.
I have been feeling a bit prickly for the last couple of days.


















The other African Iris, Dietes vegeta.
I can tell when some plant has been on a TV gardening show or in some magazine. I start getting a lot of hits on those search words. African Iris has been hot for the last few weeks.


















Calotropis gigantea, Pua kalaunu, Crown flower.
This flower was very uncooperative and did not want to be photographed. I will try again later when it is in a better mood.




















Some kind fern that is a weed when water is added to the desert.














Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Dwarf Poinciana in Hawaii. It is called other names in different parts of the world.














I have been called all sorts of things too.

Look Orchids

While I work on a new resume that is less boring and more me I can distract you with these pretty orchid flowers.

These are all different colors of Epidendrum species of orchid.


















The focal point in closeups is quite precise and sometimes hard to get just right looking through reading glasses with fading eyes onto the display screen of the camera out in the wild.


















This flower is half the size of the two above which are about the size of a dime when fully open.






















This would be just another pretty flower and not an orchid.

Would You Want to Talk to Me?

This is the meat of a potential one page resume. Proper formatting and perhaps a touch of color would be on a printed version. What do you think? Constructive criticism is welcome. I'm a Big Boy now.

A portfolio is another matter. Yikes! Life in a small town and all my work from referral has made it somewhat unnecessary. I have never advertised the landscape business in twenty years. Another project to assemble I guess.


A Resume:

Objectives
To use my 20 plus years of experience in tropical horticulture in association with fellow green industry professionals to explore new avenues and challenge my present knowledge in an environment that offers opportunities for growth. The end result of this association would benefit myself, the company and the local community by employing horticulture to promote knowledge of sound environmental practices.

Qualifications
 Bachelors of Science Degree in Ornamental Horticulture.
 20 years of full range experience in landscape design, installation and maintenance.
 Computer knowledge in website production, Excel and Word programs.
 Produced and designed a website for a plant nursery
KiheiPlantProductions.com
 Frequent contributor to Personal Garden Blog
Tropical Embellishments
 Experience with fiction and non-fiction writing.
 Experienced in training and managing employees.
 Client list includes both residential and commercial accounts, many with over 15 years of continuous association.

Professional History
 C. C***** Landscapes 1987-2007
Proprietor of full service business which offers all of the following: commercial and residential landscape design and maintenance, garden installation and consultation, irrigation system design, installation and repair, pest management and fertilization. Overall landscape management for second home vacation estates.

 Kihei Plant Productions, a Tropical Landscape Plant Nursery. 2002-2007 Propagator and grower of container plants for the landscape trade. This nursery serves both the wholesale and retail market with over 100 plant species grown.

 Kanapaha Botanical Gardens 1985-1987 Volunteer and weekend supervisor. Gainesville, Florida

 Catering and Wait Staff 1978–1985 Experience in many events and numerous clients at the Denver Country Club, Cherry Hills Country Club and Turkey Creek Country Club

Education
 B.S. Degree in Ornamental Horticulture, College of Agriculture, University of Florida
 Landscape Design Program, Colorado State University
 A.A. Degree, University of Florida

References furnished upon request

Palm Peas for IPS

Hello palm enthusiasts at The International Palm Society forum. One of their members got lost in the view at Kalawao and shared it with the folks there. Some of them have been visiting the blog so I thought I would try and really get their juices flowing with an intimate look at a Thatch Palm.

It is also called a Peaberry Palm which I did not know until just now because of the small size of the fruit. I like the fruit when they are ripening because of the changing multi-colored display it puts on.


















For a relatively small single trunked palm, the inflorescence of pea sized fruit is quite impressive. The flower starts out as a three to four foot long wispy cotton candy looking thing. It is off white with a touch of yellow cream and loaded with pollen.


















In order to properly display the generous crop of fruits I have to remove the lower dead fronds which remain attached unless you cut them off.


















This is a great palm for the teeny tiny yards that surround most new home construction here. It is fairly slow growing so it will remain in human scale for quite some time before approaching its mature height of about thirty feet. It has a very slender trunk and the deeply dissected segments of the leaf give it a very attractive outline.

There are not any thorns on the petiole which is a big plus in my book. Planted small it can work as a shrub for many years before developing a tall trunk with a more petite and airy look than the palmetto palms, Sabal minor of Florida and the southeast.










I just love the frond on this palm and this is one of my favorite images.

I have identified the Thatch Palm that sprouted from seed in my garden many years ago from a palm that was moved and died when the deck on the main house was rebuilt as Thrinax excelsa. Since then I have propagated hundreds more from this palm. If anyone from the ISP thinks I could be wrong on the species do not hesitate to let me know.

Let Us Pray

The tour of Kalaupapa and Kalawao is soaked in religious history and imagery. As a lapsed Catholic I have made my peace with the Church and organized religion long ago. I don't now and never have recoiled from the art and architecture that is used to speak to the great unknown. For me a lot of the art seems freed of dogma. It is easier to touch the spiritual through art.


In Kalaupapa:

Refrigerated Nun





















Kitty Communion
















The Colors of Mary





















Conversation Beneath a Vaulted Ceiling

















Skull on the Right Foot of a Preacher Man

















Kamiano aka Father Damien




















Kalaupapa Harbor Statue

















In Kalawao:

The First Little Part of a Church



















The Resting Hand of a Saint and the Rest of the Church
















Silver Chandeliers

















The Sanctuary in Exile

Red Hot Chilipeppers and Flowers

These are colorful enough to count as floweresque. This pepper appeared on its own and a women wandering the garden one day told me it was a Tabasco pepper. She was from Louisiana. OK then.





















Calathea insignis, the Rattle Snake Plant.





















A Molokai Harbor Hibiscus.


















Playing with Heliconia. Two bracts.





















Four bracts.




















Orange and Blue.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Carol at May Dreams Gardens encourages garden bloggers to post what is blooming in their gardens on the 15th of each month. This is my first time to participate. All the bloggers leave a comment on her Bloom Day post as a gathering point from which to wander the world to see what is blooming.



















Jasminum multiflorum, Downy Jasmine is a rambling shrub with vine like tendencies.















Pachystachys lutea, Yellow Shrimp Plant. This may be cheating since this is in bloom almost 365 days a year.

















The long stemmed yellow rose I cut back on February 8th is loaded with buds and has one open flower. It may still have a tag with its official name but I don't really care.














Petrea volubilis, Sandpaper Vine is a sporadic bloomer for me. I have never given it a fair shot planted in the ground in full sun. It has remained as a potted plant in a crowded nursery. The purplish blue of the flower spikes is very captivating when it does put on a few blooms.






















Springtime in Hawaii. The more seasonal heliconias begin to put on a show. This is Heliconia wagneriana.

These are just a few of the things blooming in my garden on March the 15th 2007.

Phallic Rock of Molokai

Ka Ule o Nanahoa

















It is said that this stone can help infertile couples conceive. Women would come with offerings and spend the night with the stone and leave pregnant in the morning.




Offerings at this fertility shrine continue to this day.



Update: March 16th

The backside of Molokai's Phallic Rock looks a lot like a Barcalounger. It would be very easy and maybe even comfortable for a women to spend the night with the Rock and dream sweet dreams of fertility.















If getting pregnant is not what you want then it is wise to carry a big stick with you when visiting the Phallic Rock as this young lady is wise to do.

Rain

If I sit and drink coffee in the morning while wandering the internet long enough, the rains will eventually come and I can play hooky from work. No need to dash out first thing in the morning and try to get everything done before it rains. It looked moist out there.



No that was not another earthquake. It was me taking the camera one handed around the house post in the carport.

I am managing to get some paperwork done too.

Ka lau papa

I am feeling a little like some of the ar has fallen out of my ticulate. March has been a very busy month for me and there are lots of others folks I know celebrating anniversaries this month. Somehow I managed to take on two new clients as I near the end here. It is time to get serious about my move and get past the mere scraping of surfaces. The Bush administration continues its free fall into disgrace. I watch in fascination and wonder with each new revelation if this is the one where we will all say enough? A lot is going on and I feel like I am not keeping up. There may not be enough time to enter the great artificial turf war at GardenRant.

So I will not try to rewrite history and provide a link to the National Park Service Story of Kalaupapa. Enter at your own risk.



















You may not enter Kalaupapa without a reservation. Access is limited and guided. You can not roam the peninsula freely. You can enter with permission by plane, by mule and by foot.

We are headed down there on foot.

















This is the pali we are hiking down. This is the pali that helped keep the former patients in. There are 26 switchbacks on this 2.9 mile trail and a nearly 1700 foot elevation drop.

















Surrounded by rough ocean waters on three sides and up to 2000 foot cliffs on the fourth, this was a fine place for dropping people off that you needed to remove from society. In 1865 King Kamehameha V approved this location for people afflicted with Leprosy. The healthy Hawaiian inhabitants of this peninsula would have to be bought out and moved.

















After this imported disease began to spread with vigor on the islands, the growing population of Kalawao, the first leprosy colony descended into anarchy. The patients were left to fend completely for themselves in the wilderness with no hope, no help and only death to look forward to. Stories of the atrocious conditions began to come out and another man came to Kalawao to try and help.




















It is ironic that the culture that brought disease and destruction would come to offer a God in return. There is plenty that can be said about the Church. It has a dubious record to say the least.

But this was a simple man who came to a remote and isolated place filled with disfigured and desperate people. Be not afraid. You are beloved children of the universe, he said. He spent his life building a town and forging a sense of community. He fought to bring the simple comforts we all take for granted to his fellow human beings who had been forsaken by the rest of the world. There is a spiritual power there that can not be denied.





















By the late 1890's the move over to the dryer and warmer leeward side of Kalaupapa began and the Bishops Home for girls was opened.

We were warned to stay off the roadways since the few patients and residents still there were mostly elderly and those that could, still drove their cars. Some nun driving like a bat out of hell roared down the road and up the driveway of the Bishop Home while we were stopped here.

















Simple structures created long ago have begun to show their age. As the population declined with the introduction of new drugs for Hansen's Disease, homes and buildings were left untended.























A very fine house. Like many places in Hawaii cats roamed wild here.















The National Park Service is taking over a lot of the upkeep of an entire small town and has done restoration work on some buildings. This is the town's bookstore.
















Before there was leprosy in these islands, there were heiaus used by Hawaiians for their spiritual practices. On Molokai, the island known for magic and sorcery this heiau on the stronghold of the Kalaupapa peninsula could have been a stage of power.

















Looking towards Kalawao from the center of the peninsula.


















This is where the right hand of Father Damien remains. His body was returned to Belgium in 1936 and his hand was returned to Kalawao in 1995.




















St. Philomena Church that Father Damien helped build.

















Looking east from Kalawao at the dramatic pali and narrow fertile green valleys of Molokai.

















This experience is drenched in religious imagery from an earlier time. That deserves it own post.




















In reviewing and editing the 127 pictures I took I noticed that most of the religious iconography is crooked, slightly off true vertical. I have to wonder about my eyesight. I have to wonder about my leanings.
















In 1969 the order of quarantine for people with Hansen's Disease was finally lifted.

Time to hike back out. Follow along the shore to the rising half circle of the distinctly lighter colored Kukui Nut trees, then 26 switchbacks and nearly 1700 feet in that green section without the vertical ridge lines to the left of the grey faced cliffs on the right side of the picture. It is only a two hour climb.

Blue and Green Fence

Deep Blue Morning Glory trying to hide a chain link fence. It is a perennial that ebbs and flows in vigor with the whitefly. It just looked so cheerful this morning I had to take a picture.

Update:
I had to change my time zone to PST to get my archives to be in the correct year and month which skews the true Hawaiian time of my posts. Now that I have woken up to a new day I should mention that today I have turned 39 once again. Happy Birthday to me.

Molokai Anomaly

I went to Molokai and nothing was there at least from the typical American perspective. At the first stop in town looking for a bite to eat the tranny waitress, who got friendly after we flirted with her, told us that you have to look around the corner on Molokai to see things.

















From the beginning this place seemed to be in a strange time warp. The buildings in Kaunakakai, the main town on the island were dusty remnants from the forties and fifties. We quickly learned that business hours were short and haphazard. Most of the shops closed very early.















A big event here was to go to the back door of the bakery at 10pm and stand in line for fresh hot bread.

















The slow sleepy town was expected. Arriving on the west side it was down right eerie to see the condo/resort complex next to ours abandoned. I couldn’t help but see this as some sort of premonition. It must have been built in the 80’s and now it stood empty. The irrigation had been shut off and the grounds were returning to the dried scrub of the leeward coast ecosystem.

















It was quiet here. The kind of quiet that gets these resorts built, promoted and sold in the first place. Now it seemed strange with these empty abandoned buildings nearby.














The beaches were near deserted. The surf was strong with swirling tides and an approaching storm. A shore break crashed on the sands and many boulders were hidden in the water. It was not the best time or place for a swim.
















The wildlife came close. After seeing many whales on the way over, I saw deer bounding through a field across the road. A flock of turkeys grazed the grounds of our irrigated condos. I was beginning to think of this place as the Wildlife Isle. Later I saw wild goats and long legged burros and heard strange birds.































On the third day the rains came. Driving the south coast to the eastern end we passed through maybe a dozen streams that crossed over the road. The rains poured down from the steep mountains above creating temporary rivers we were obliged to cross if we wanted to see more.













Twice we were told in ancient Hawaiian times Molokai was a place of magic and sorcery. Even back then many Hawaiians avoided this place. Today many of the residents of Molokai resist development and tourism preferring to maintain a simpler lifestyle. Now they have their own kind of political magic and have had some success in bucking the tide of consumption.















This island feels different from the others. There are powerful forces, natural and human at work here. They stand out and are some how easier to see. That old magic lives on in the gene pool, in the waitress serving cheeseburgers in an old bakery and in the tall well built wo/man with strong features walking silently down the road.

Molokai has a dark side. It holds a dark story from the past. There is a place at the base of tall cliffs were strong spiritual forces came into contact. It seems appropriate that it should have happened on Molokai.

Leaving Lahaina

The ferry to Molokai leaves the harbor in Lahaina at 7am before this major tourist town really begins to wake.















The Lahaina Banyan Tree across the street from the harbor covers nearly two thirds of an acre. It is a city park in the courtyard of the old courthouse.


















The Pioneer Inn directly on the harbor has a wild past. The debauchery of drunken sailors during the height of whaling once filled its rooms.

















Looking out at the surf break next to the harbor in the morning light.


















Looking back at historic Front Street in Lahaina Town.

















Headed out to sea with some major force.

















The deep blue of the Pacific for County Clerk especially. The water was very calm that morning. The winds had been near dead for the last two days as a cold front approached and a hot humid vog was pulled up from the south.















The black bump of a Humpback Whale in the miles and miles of blue water. The ocean was filled with whales. We saw dozens. They are very hard to photograph at a distance and when most of their body is under water.

















Molokai appears through the volcanic haze.

Kalawao

The place of exile.

Day Gecko on a Clay Pot

These are certainly the nicest looking lizards I have had the pleasure to live with.













We are going on a boat trip to Molokai. I will be back in a few days with pictures.

A Shot in the Dark

Very late last Friday night I saw this promo from Microsoft for their new Windows Vista software and in particular I think the photo editing program that is in this new operating system.

It was a photo contest called Show us Your Wow. Submit your best Wow pictures for a chance to win......

I'm like, I think someone actually used that word, "Wow" in reference to one of my pictures. I have to enter this thing. So I did.

I submitted the maximum of 10 that was allowed, I had plenty, two days before the deadline for submissions. At this point six of them have been acknowledged and have shown up on the contest site.




















Pink Waxy Velvet















Cosmic Rays Man



I have all 10 of my entries in this post.

At the contest site I found I had to magnify the computer screen to %125 to get the bottom scroll bar to appear to be able to navigate the site. I have my computer set at a either old tech or for the blind so I don't strain my eyes any more than necessary.

You can find my pictures at the contest site by clicking on the Most Recent tab on the left. Then pick the USA country tab in the bottom right after the pictures appear in the layered screen tabs. I start around number 64. You have to move through several sets of photos first by clicking the Next Set tab in the bottom right.















Fire Flower Power

















Visit to the Dentist



It is a bit sad, but some of my pictures are skewed in the promo photo editor monitor they are using to show the entries. I don't think it likes my free form cropping deviating too much from the standard rectangular shape.

I realize this is a temporary contest, but you would think Microsoft of all companies could have their display module programmed to a higher level of capabilities.




















Golden Candelabras in the Moon Light





















Buttercup Moon



The four that follow are the ones that were not accepted or have not been processed yet in the 46,090 entries received worldwide and posted so far. It could be my free form cropping made them way too skewed in their display monitor and that would look bad for them. Or could it be something else? A Shot in the Dark.
















Pink Coral and Green Pods





















Are You Looking at Me ?



How could they pass up this Day Gecko on a Torch Ginger as lacking in Wow?

There were enough sunsets to last a few years already posted at the contest site so I did not submit any of those. I needed to stand out at this late entry date.










Waiting in the Background



They will need sample pictures to use with their new photo editor. They could pay professional photographers a huge chunk of change for the pictures or have a contest and get thousands of choices for the price of a free trip and a few at cost computers.

I didn't read the rules super close, but you give them the rights to use your picture if you win obviously. I am not sure about rights to the losers pictures.

Ah the lure of free stuff. Throw caution to the wind. I can take plenty more pictures.
















Passion in a White Bowl



Six years ago I would not have even been able to enter such a contest. The chance to do something new and different for me, the chance to step out of my former rut and explore new ways of being is enough of a win for me.

Last Sunday there was an anniversary celebration for me in a way unique to Hawaii. It is something I am sure to miss, the wonderful gift of leis.

















Basket Full of Love












Thank you everyone for helping me to better see the Wow in life again.

A Chicken by the Side of the Road

He and his girls are in the same spot every month when I drive by. Sometimes they are on the mauka side of the road and sometimes on the makai side of the road. I have never seen these chickens actually cross the road



















and The Bug on My Living Room Wall
This creature has been in the house for at least two days.










This may be its "I am too big to fit in your mouth" pose for the geckos.

Fading Light and Dark

That evening.




















Very early the next morning.

Lizard's Tails

It is a jungle out there and competition for territory can get fierce and have lasting consequences.

Take this lizard for example. It was spotted a week ago living in the vicinity of the stairs off my back deck. I have been stalking him ever since to capture this anomaly in pixels.














This is a tale of two tails. Some heinous injury must have occurred that didn't leave a clean break.



















(A little blurry sorry)

And the incredible ability to grow new parts diverged. It looks as though proper color management does not come back right away. I wonder if at some point an ability to have two tails in different tones will emerge.

Perhaps we should be studying stump cells as well as stem cells.




















I think these two big boys living in the same general location recovering from tail trauma may have been going at it with each other.

Maybe the Intelligent Design folks and the biological scientists at Liberty University and Oral Roberts University could figure out the truth about creation and discover new miraculous medical technologies in a palatable cell format using stump cells. The lizards would not have to be killed to get these cells. Lizards do virgin births too. That may interest them.





















Life six feet off the ground perched high on top of the regal blossoms of the Torch Ginger looks much safer. Apparently there are good pickings to the last true flower, long after their freshness has faded.

Papaya Moon

For one of my most wonderful sisters, a bigger version of a full Papaya Moon.

Orchids for Lunch

White, yellow and a lavender blush.

















White with a hint of yellow.





















Lavender veins and leopard spots.

Golden Yellow in the Moon Light

Enjoy

























































































Maybe I will add some words tomorrow.

Knock Knock

Who's There?
A lizard on my window.




















A lizard on my window with a moth in its mouth.

Knock Knock.
Who's there?

A lizard on my window with a moth in its mouth.
Beating the mouth against the glass
To knock it unconscious
So it will go down quietly.

Knock Knock.
Slurp