Fauna and Flora ala PUNA!

Moving to the Puna District on the Big Island has been a whole new experience as over four years of retirement blog entries have shown. It is a whole new world to discover and we feel so connected! We love knowing where our water supply comes from (the sky!), where our waste goes, and where our vegies are grown. We love the fact that we have sun-power for our major appliances. We also appreciate being able to supplement our diet with fish caught right off our wild and scenic eastern shore. We are on the 'call list' when local fishermen have enough to share with neighbors, and we usually have fresh Ono, Mahi and Ahi in the freezer ready for the grill.

Lower Puna from the air - South from Kalapana

Mouflon sheep on Mauna Kea

Recently, though, we were invited to friends' home for a potluck and taste of a variety of wild meat caught on Mauna Kea as part of the population control of expanding species who pose a threat to native populations of flora and fauna. These hunts are sponsored by Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural 'resources and closely monitored for proper harvesting.  Local residents pay a nominal fee to participate and usually a group of people gather to process and package the meat.  (The variety of  wildlife available for hunting includes goat, deer, wild cattle and sheep, not to mention game birds of many kinds.) All of the well prepared samples including wild pig and Mouflon sheep were delicious, but we particularly liked creating our own tender sheep tacos with all the appropriate trimmings.

We just received a cutting from a plant that apparently traces it's lineage back to FDR!! As in Franklin Delano Roosevelt!  New friends we have made here on the Big Island have such diverse interests and always seem willing to share their knowledge with us newer residents. Such was the case last Sunday when we received cuttings of Epiphyllum Cacti that were blooming...well NOT during the day -- but at night!  The cuttings we received from our flora-friends apparently trace roots (haha) back to a staff member of the Roosevelt family who shared cuttings of this lovely bloomer over 100 years ago. From the cuttings we received (and will plant,) we have had four nights of surprise blooms -- but you have to watch carefully, because once it is dark they only take a few seconds to open.  Not only do they present a beautiful bloom, but the fragrance is lovely as well.

No'eau -- Life as Art

"People’s lives can continue to unfold after they die; you just have to pay attention." 
 (From the movie “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” – highly recommended)

For over a month now I have been wondering how to tell the story about my friend Nan who died on March 12^th this year, but having just watched the above movie yesterday, it became clear that I just had to sit down and do it.  Meeting Nan No’eau Penner in the mountains of southern Humboldt County around 15 years ago was like meeting a long lost sister; we both felt a kinship as women and as artists.  We met after I had passed through a long dark tunnel and was coming out having discovered the healing power of art.

For many years Nan was supportive of my experimental, intuitive approach to art – particularly when it appeared to move in a darker and somewhat curious direction – as my “Strange Angels” began to channel through my art in an unexpected way.  She encouraged me to “invite them in” – that they would be wise teachers, and so they were.  Nan was a quiet supportive mentor and witness to my own development as an artist, and she was happy for us when we chose to make our home on the Big Island of Hawaii where she and her husband had lived many years ago. Although separated by miles, the connection remained important to me.

Last month, on March 12^th my husband, Phil, and I made a visit up to Kilauea that included a visit to Pele’s home and the always stirring view of Halema’uma’u – the inner lava crater.  We had dinner reservations and while spending time at the gallery, I found a book of collected proverbs and poetical sayings entitled, “ ‘Olelo No’eau” that Phil bought as a late Valentines gift for me.  Of course I immediately recognized the name, No’eau – and as I stood there with the book in my hand, I got “chicken skin” all over my body thinking about Nan and her friendship over the years.  I remarked to Phil that I needed to contact her right away, but couldn’t explain the sense of urgency I felt about it.

The next morning I emailed two friends in Humboldt to see if they had current contact for Nan received the following email back a few days later.  “I am sorry to let you know that Nan passed away last sat on 12th of March.”  As I sat there reading those words through tears in my eyes it was clear to me that despite the miles, she and I had connected as I held that book in my hands on March 12^th – on Pele’s sacred ground atop Kilauea.

No’eau is a Hawaiian word that means art, poetic-ness, and artfully done which was reflect her life.

Hala i ke ala ho’i ‘ole mai

(Gone on the road from which there is no returning)

The images were done by Nan, as were several ceramic vases I use for flowers from my garden.  All of these assure me of our continued connection.

Tunnel Vision

Invasive trees crowd out native species - Hwy 132

After Hurricane Iselle it took weeks to clear trees

In the few years we have both visited and lived here in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii, there have been a few changes in a category that might be called ‘tunnel vision.’  

Prior to Hurricane Iselle in 2014, there was a stretch of Highway 132 (from Pahoa Village down to Kapoho) that was tunneled with overgrown giant savanna-like Albezia trees that had become infamous as “the trees that ate Puna.” The cleanup was long and messy, but as a result, it brought discussions about this horribly invasive species to the foreground; the result has been a heightened sense of public and county awareness towards appropriate management (somewhat illusive goal being eradication.)

"Mango Road" to the ocean

Looking up our driveway in 2012

One of the beautiful places here in Puna that first struck our hearts was the Mango edged one-lane road down to the boat ramp at Pohoiki – a magical tunnel I have featured several times in our blog entries.  Unlike the junky invasive trees, these mango trees are stable and strong, and produce piles of mangoes annually.   

We found another tunnel, oddly enough,when first looked at the house we now live in. The driveway into our property formed a long lush green tunnel.  Of course, later we learned most of that tunnel was invasive species.  We also lost some ohia long the drive.  We have since planted local, endemic, and hardwood trees as replacements.

Tree stump of large Albezia removed

"Tree Tunnels" on the way to our house (both now gone.)

For several years we have referenced "tunnels" to give directions to our house.  Our street was just past the "second tunnel" coming down Leilani. Fortunately the newly formed Big Island Invasive Species Committee is NOT suffering from "tunnel vision" and are taking a proactive stand to remove some of these giants before they fall over.

Big Island Invasive Species Committee  BIISC --is a cooperative of over 20 agencies including education, forestry, agriculture, transportation, tourism, watershed, university and National Guard.  Power and internet providers also have had to reconsider their own tunnel vision and take a serious look at how much prevention saves when disasters occur.