Moonlight (Malamalama o ka mahina)

While waiting for the moon to rise -- here's my view (while floating)

Phil and I are attending a weekly Hawaiian language class for beginners. The purpose is not to learn to speak fluent Hawaiian, a rich complex language that is very much alive and taught early to children attending local schools. Our goal is to learn what we can, so we may more fully appreciate the highly conceptual nature of this language, where for example, the word aloha means about 15 different things!

Moonlight on the water

Malamalama o ka mahina means moonlight in Hawaiian. Malamalama is also the name for a local school because this word also means light of knowledge. Lama means torch, lamp or light.  Each month for the full moon we make a trek down to the ocean to watch to moon rise over the water. The drive down at night is dark -- there are no street lights as we head due east from our house. Nor is the area where we swim lighted, so flashlights are essential. This last full moon we arrived about 45 minutes early, so it was very dark and the stars were brilliant.

It is absolutely delightful to walk down the well-worn lava steps and slide into the warm dark water at Ahalanui Park. Since I swim there several times a week, I know where all the edges of the large pool are and how to navigate in the dark. Just floating in the water under the stars is beyond magical.  This photo is exactly what I saw this visit. Then, as the moon rises, the eastern sky begins to lighten with moonlight playing tricks with the clouds. Moonlight also plays across the waves as they pile up and crash over the sea wall of the pool.

The ancient Polynesians navigators made their way to many isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean by celestial navigation -- using star "lines."  Currently the Polynesian Navigational Society is conducting a three-year voyage round the world using star charts like the one we have included here.

Two hand built voyaging canoes Hokule'a and Hikianalia, are traveling over 60,000 nautical miles around the world.  We encourage you to learn more about this amazing voyage by clicking on this link: Polynesian Voyaging Society .
 

Phil and the Hawaiian Hawk

Full height of sculpture

Phil's painting

We moved into our house in Puna on the Big Island in December 2012. Only a few weeks later we were surprised to be visited by two hawks who landed in our very own Ohia trees. One was a light colored one, and one was a brown one.  (There is a little Hawk Info at the bottom of the blog.)

Phil, inspired by this auspicious visitation, headed right for his watercolors. The painting is done from a real photograph that Phil took himself -- the hawk lifting off from a branch. Now that we have been here a few years, we notice the pattern of them returning here during the early part of the year; they nest around March.  "CLICK" on any photo for a close-up view.

Top of piece

Landing for a viewing

Last year, we had to cut down some of our dying Ohia trees (from a fungus scientists are still attempting to understand -- and which threatens the entire Ohia population on the Big Island.) We asked the tree fallers not to cut them at the ground, but to leave 8-10 feet standing -- so Phil could think about what kind of sculpture he might create from the remaining trees.  We built up a platform for him to stand on because the surrounding ground was full of loose chunks of lava.

Over a period of months, he began to envision carving and purchased a cute little 12" chain saw to work with.  Last week as he was completing the first one, he kept feeling that what he had been doing somehow connected him to the earlier hawk visitations.  As he was finishing the final work on the sculpture at the end of the day, a light-phase hawk flew down and landed in some bare branches just behind the sculpture.  That settled it in his mind -- we are talking with a language teacher to determine just how to name the piece -- in honor of the fact that hawks represent ancestors to native Hawaiian people.

Finished piece is on the left -- new one on the right

Now that this piece is completed, the final photo is of Phil securely screwing down the rotating platform around the base of his next carving project.
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INFO ABOUT HAWAIIAN HAWK

The ‘io (pronounced EE-oh is endemic to Hawai‘i and was a symbol of royalty in Hawaiian legend. The ‘io is also the only hawk today native to Hawai‘i. They only breed on the Big Island. Although there is one species it comes in two “phases” – two distinct colors – light cream and brown.  They have a shrill and high-pitched call much like their Hawaiian name: "eeeh-oh."  They depend on native forest for nesting, but are able to use a broad range of habitats for foraging, including papaya and macadamia nut orchards, as well as forests dominated by native and introduced vegetation, from sea level to 6,500 feet elevation. 

This Week's Colors

6am light at property corner

One of the most magical aspects of  living in Hawaii during the winter months is the unusually low sun angle. Here at 19.5 degrees latitude, in Pahoa on the Big Island, the winter solstice light is rare, like waves of particles in a spectral dance.The sun rises low with a golden glow at the back corner of our property. Although you can't see it in the photo, a bright pink ribbon circles that center tree marking our property line.

With less words and more pictures this entry, just enjoy the vibrant colors we enjoy every day.
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These are a few our regular geckos 

Violet blue flowers frame by Ti plants, Monarch butterfly laying eggs on the Crown Flower plant, scenes from the island's edge -- tidepools* at MacKenzie Park, roots* of Ironwood tree, and a favorite winter fruit -- Rambutan.

Remember, you can "click" on any of the small photographs to have a bigger/better view.

    

 (* 2 Photos taken by my friend Catherine and creatively adapted by me using PhotoShop.)

This Week's Wildlife

If you are a regular blog follower, you'll know that last week's wildlife story featured a show-down between "Team Corgyn" and a mongoose -- a pest especially prevalent here in Puna's thick forest and jungle.  Another wildlife creature we deal with, especially in the winter months, are Norwegian RATS!!

Emptying and resetting traps daily is part of our winter maintenance, faithfully administered by Phil.  So far this winter, our rat catch is up to over 20!

Rats originally got to the islands on 18th and 19th century sailing ships.  Once here, where they had no natural enemies, they flourished on the islands.  Since they are voracious eaters, they began to decimate the cane and pineapples fields, so the local American and European landowners imported Asian mongoose to kill them.  The only problem is that the rats are up at night and the mongoose are active during the day.  Now we have two pests!

Paul's Repair sent us this photo

Last week as we drove the truck for the weekly recycle and dump run, we notice the the fan made a rhythmic clacking sound -- similar to the sound made when we paper clipped cards to the spokes of our bikes as kids. We dropped the truck off a couple days later at our local auto repair guy who immediately suspected a rat nest.  And, sure enough, within an hour, he emailed us the following photo -- and said the filter and fan were clean and ready to go.


These prevalent rat episodes reminded us of a great story by a friend of ours whose stories in pidgin are well known and appreciated locally.  We met Jozuf Hadley in 2011 -- a year before we bought our house.  "Bradajo" as he is known locally, tells the story of the neighbor's cat "Ehu" who visits his house to catch rats -- and they all end up with a colorful encounter.  Hope you'll take time to click on this link to hear the story. Bradajo's "Ehu and da rat" story   (PS if you are new to Hawaiian Pidgin, you may need to listen again...but it is worth it.)

New Year View

One of our two "Firecracker" Trees

When we first moved into our new hale (house) in the Puna district on the Big Island, it was winter. We celebrated our first Christmas and New Year in a empty house waiting for the container to arrive with all our earthly possessions.

Straight behind Phil -- is due West

As we explored our new territory we noticed one particular tree that had a profusion of white and pink flowers blooming just in time for New Year. Not surprising, its common name was "Firecracker Tree."   We managed to find two small starts and planted them in the front yard.

Today was the perfect day for a chore we have put off since the end of October when we switched the heating of our hot tub from electric to solar.  (You can visit our 10/28/15 blog for that story -- link to story --  Using SUN power! )  In any case, we knew that the 500 feet of sun-heated irrigation hose would be more efficient IF the roof was painted black.

Today, with good cooling breezes right off the ocean, we hoisted up a gallon of paint to finish the job.  We shifted all the coils of hose to one side, painted, and then shifted them the other way to get the other half. While up-top on such a beautiful day, we decided to take and share a few pictures of what our surrounding forest looks like from that view.

View to North

View to South

After finishing the task, Lunel decided it would be a good idea to paint ALOHA on the roof -- for low flying space craft carrying aliens who may want to make contact with friendly locals.

Enjoy the VIEWS!!  (You can click on the images, like Lunel's ALOHA Aliens sign, to make it bigger.)

Corgi Tug-of-War

"Poko" making the challenge

Recently I had my first colonoscopy and was fortunate to have a rousing referral to a well-liked gastroenterology doctor whose team made the experience a good one.  Really!  The staff at the surgery center was great -- and as part of their patient care, they provide cute purple socks to all the patients.

3-way tug-of war

If you live with corgi dogs, you soon learn that things "on the floor" are considered fair game, whether that is candy wrappers, desiccant bags (yes, Lani recently ate one) or purple socks.  So it came as no surprise when Poko nabbed one and challenged the girls to a game of tug-of-war.  Days later both socks were shredded.

The "Mighty Hunters"

Now, the other picture is one you probably don't want or need to see.   Yet, it IS part of rural living in Puna on the Big Island!  Two days ago, while I was working on the new driveway lava beds, I noticed a commotion and when I looked, Team Corgyn had captured a mongoose and were excitedly tossing it up in the air -- a volley to the next team member. As I headed to the scene, I witnessed a quick "snap" that broke it's neck so it's end was at least quick. Reaching the ruckus, however I could see more fun was in store as the game strategy quick shifted to another favorite game (yes, you guessed it) tug-of-mongoose.

Smart dogs that they are, they responded quickly to the command "Put it DOWN!" so we were able to avoid the dreaded and bloody "drawn and quartered" scene and the body was appropriately dispatched.  They were, however, understandably proud of themselves and suggested that their escapade as "Mighty Hunters" would make a good post for the blog.  Being the doting parent, of course, it was easy to comply...however, I decided the death grip would be most appropriately represented by a cartoon.

New Year Trees

Yesterday we celebrated the 
New Year in Puna style!

First, a early morning swim down at Ahalanui. Next, picking two baskets full of limes, lemons, lilikoi, oranges, tangerines and tangelos to make several quarts of juice from our mini orchard.  Some juice we freeze into ice cubes, but some is so delicious it's gone in a couple days.

This long slope is about 66 feet in length

Phil did some weed whacking around the edges keeping us neat and trim.

Lunel continued work on the slope (66' feet long*) that runs the length of the driveway...converting it into tiered beds with lava walls.   *Measured and corrected

This long slope was originally created when the big D9 cat created the driveway -- busting through yards of lava.  The loose broken lava was pushed to the side creating the slope.

Deconstruction of the slope provides the raw materials needed to create the tiered lava beds.

After lunch we decided that planting trees was a good way to issue in the new year.  Using deep holes dug previously, we selected and planted three of our forest trees we have been nurturing.

To all of our blog followers, we wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
 Thank you for following our adventures on the Big Island!

The 1st quarter of the slope is completed

Inspectors check out progress on the 2nd quarter