It's easy to see why this fish is called a parrotfish (uhu, in Hawaiian). It's also good eating on the islands. We saw these specimens at the Maunakea Marketplace in Honolulu's Chinatown.
Yoohoo Uhu
The Conservatory at Foster Botanical Garden
Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu is known for its outstanding collection of tropical trees, including an impressive set of palms. There is also an orchid garden, but we didn’t see many flowers in bloom. Inside the conservatory was another matter. Although not the largest orchid collection I've ever come across, there were some beautiful specimens interspersed... Continue Reading →
Kilauea, Earth’s Seething Reminder
If we need a reminder that there is still turmoil beneath the Earth's surface, all we need do is visit the Big Island where Mauna Loa still periodically threatens with its lava flows and Kilauea releases gigantic plumes of volcanic gases. When the sun sets, the glow of the magma burning just below Kilauea's crater lights... Continue Reading →
Torch Ginger
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, located 8.5 miles north of Hilo, has tropical plants from all over the world, but few of their flowering specimens match the beauty and spectacle of the aptly named torch ginger (Etlingera eliator) for which one of the garden's paths is named, and one of many ginger plantings in the garden.
One Step Ahead of the Law on Coconut Island
Despite the prominently displayed prohibitory sign at the end of Coconut Island, attached to Queen Lili'uokalani Gardens by a foot bridge, the young-at-heart ignore it and jump into the water from the tower anyway. Seriously, no one is going to prevent people from doing what they've been doing for a long time.
Orchid Rain
On the occasion of her birthday, Hilo hosts the annual Lili'uokalani Celebration at the Queen Lili'uokalani Gardens. Aside from the hula dances and free concert performances, everyone looks forward to the orchid rain, the release of 15,000 flowers from a hovering helicopter.
Shadow of Mauna Kea
One of nature's breathtaking anomalies happens almost every night at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii's majestic volcanic peak. Because of an inversion layer that pushes the often prodigious cloud cover several thousand feet below the summit, I witnessed just before sunset Mauna Kea's giant triangular shadow being cast over the lid of the clouds to the... Continue Reading →
Sit a Spell
It's the peak of summer, but you'd never know it by this picture. There was a heavy rain the night before and the clouds hadn't yet lifted.
Hobbit House?
Far from Middle Earth (or New Zealand, for that matter), this storage bunker at the Bellevue Botanical Garden looks for all the world like a hobbit house—or gaol?
First Among Equals
Among a stand of purple echinaceas (coneflowers), one of them dared to be different.
zoomeboshi 