Tubes and Craters and Cones -- OH MY!!

Real place, real people, but photoshoped artistry

The District of Puna (where we live on the Big Island) is riddled with volcanic features and activity. If you are a regular blog follower, you’ve already read several entries about Kilauea’s Pu’u O’o vent, flowing continuously for over 30 years. But flowing lava is just part of the volcanic story. ("click" on any image for bigger view.)

For example, the entire district has massive, hollow, miles-long lava tubes running underground. Access to these happens when a layer collapses forming a puka (hole) in the surface. They may be great for spelunkers but are not so great for stray pets…some return, but some never find their way back home. Our friends across the street had a puka so large they had to put a chain link fence around it to keep their dogs safe!

Map shows our house and our two friends houses (notice Geothermal Plant -- on the edge of another big crater

A recent Easter Party with friends prompted this blog entry and a little talk-story about craters within walking distance from us. Although there are many such, we are talking about three that are about 2-3 miles from our house in Leilani Estates Subdivision. Our friends live about a mile due east from us where the yard in front of their house features a currently operating steam vent. We joke that at least they have the option of building a sweat lodge or a unit that will produce poached eggs. If you look at the map you can see there are craters directly behind them.

Google Earth closer up - our house on left - friends' houses closer to craters

Another friend, another mile east, actually built his house on the edge of a crater. We have visited his house and walked along the edge of this crater, which at its widest is about 100 m. Scientists believe that this crater, called Pu`ulena Crater (Yellow Hill,) was formed by the collapse of a series of three smaller pit craters with steam-driven explosive eruptions that blanketed the area with rock debris as thick as 20 m.

As the two craters on either end of Pu’ulena are Kahuwai (Water Master) and Pawai (Water Container) it is further thought that an explosive eruption probably took place when ascending magma encountered perched groundwater or a hydrothermal reservoir. After this event the ground may have collapsed due to the subsequent withdrawal of magma forming what is now an elongated crater. This explosive activity occurred 450-700 years ago. (Above info gleaned from variety of sources including: USGS, Hawaii Dept of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Volcano HVO Hawaii Volcano Observatory, Google Earth.

This week -- Hawaiian GEOMETRY!

We had a couple projects this week that turned out well for "first-timers" on both counts. After moving to Pahoa on the Big Island, we planted bananas -- seems everyone does. We just had our first harvest! It took us a while to figure out why this particular banana is so much greener and bigger than the others -- but we finally realized it is because it is only a few feet from our compost bins! 

Here's a photo of Puna Harvester Phil and another that illustrates how bananas (like many many plants on the island) grow in a spiral! Spirals are prevalent throughout nature and artistically used in ethnic, religion and mythology around the world to represent the universal pattern of growth and evolution. The spiral represents eternity and continuity, rebirth, and the eternal. 

So THERE's our SPIRALS... and now on to our CIRCLES and SQUARES

Phil wasn't the only one having fun with geometry. Lunel (with the help of our two corgi girls (Reba and Lani) undertook to create a cover for our hot tub. It was an idea that arrived (as many do) at 3am, so despite some of the details being a little unclear, it was drawn out first. We bought a 6 x 8 foot length of bamboo fencing. After tracing the circle on it, each bamboo piece had to be cut by hand. There was fabric left from making our beautiful swag ceiling in the lanai, to hem and use to weave across the bamboo. Last, the rough edges were sanded, it was rolled out onto the round hot tub.  Hmmmm...so are triangles next?

Easter -- "Puna Style"

Phil's feather boa, wild turkey claw and baby.

Happy Easter -- New life and rising from the dead were themes we chose for our Easter Bonnets this year.

Lunel's "life and death" themed hat

Last year at our annual "white elephant" gift exchange on Christmas Eve, Phil's exchange gift was a lovely feather boa...perfect for re-purposing at Easter! Lunel simply used what was out laying around the studio to decorate, but couldn't resist her usual bemusing play with iconic image of life and death.

So, later we will be gathering with lots of our friends and neighbors (our ohana) for a potluck, talk-story, games, music and....Easter hat competition. We'll be meeting at friends Jane and Doug who have been building their house here in Leilani, just a few blocks from our house.

A Zen Riddle

Giving Yellow a Bad Rap!!

Is it possible to yell-o quietly?

For well over a year now, we have been convinced that the colors YELLOW and ORANGE have been getting a bad rap.  Yellow has turned into "yelling" and Orange feels like "rage" And, it has only gotten worse since the end of 2016. We have decided to counteract the negative influence of our Cheeto-Headed President with our own personal beautification campaign here in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Us in the Mellow Yellow Submarine

Although there are admittedly more serious ways to engage politically (which we encourage,) this week we chose simply to focus on the BEAUTY of YELLOW and ORANGE that we have planted in our yard. As we have created beds around the property, for whatever reason (and sometimes for none at all) each of them has a name.

"Cosmic Dancer" is in the upper right corner

For example, we have the "Valentine Bed" because we built it together on Valentines day a couple years ago. There is a "Pink Bed" that began primarily with pink flowers, but since has been enlivened by other colors as well. There is the "Monarch Bed," the "Bromeliad Hill, "The Terraces," and even one named "Kate's Bed" because it was planted mostly by our friend and yard helper, Kate.


Until recently, there was a bed with no name -- until, that is, the hibiscus we planted there went into full bloom along with all the other yellows and oranges that are featured there. The name of this hybrid hibiscus is "Cosmic Dancer" and thus the name "Cosmic Dancer Bed."

We have two YELLOW ohia trees in our yard and one surprised us last week by bursting out with little yellow
pom-poms all over it. Despite the fact that we have had over 20 of our forest ohia trees die in three years, many are still alive and healthy, so this lovely, rare yellow ohia is a particular joy.