A Rose is a Rose Except When It's Not

"Confederate Rose"

Here in the Puna District on the Big Island, some people do seem to have success with certain kinds of roses. I never did when we lived in Eureka (the green county of Humboldt) on the chilly, grey coastline of the Pacific, so I never got very attached to the idea of having roses. Here, where the average rainfall is 140 inches annually I’m not much inclined to even try.

Phil with last night's and this morning's "rose" 

That being said, who wouldn't want a flower like this? It is called a “Confederate Rose” and our first ones are blooming right now. Like my Bat Flower, I got small starts from a friend and cared for them tenderly in the greenhouse for over two years. This is the first time they have bloomed. 

Native to China, "Confederate Rose" obviously isn't a rose, but a species of hibiscus (Hibiscus mutabilis).

Confederate Rose Quilt, 1850. Made by Lucy Jane

 Fowlkes Nunnelee and daughters

According to legend, it gets its name from the flowers soaking up the blood spilled on Confederate battlefields. It is widely thought that ladies gave these flowers to Confederate soldiers returning home from the war.

Although there are many forms, with either single or double flowers, the classic version looks like this. Showy blooms, 4 to 6 inches wide, appear in fall. They open white, fade to pink during the day and finally end up bright pink or red. You'll often see all three colors on the same plant.

(Some info from southernliving.com)

Surprises Everyday!

Six years ago we lived in Humboldt County -- our house (built in 1860's) was paid off, our 22-year old gallery was doing well with a staff of 4-5 who helped to cover seven days a week - 12 hours a day.  We were busy and had actually given very little thought to what retirement might mean or look like. It took only one visit to the Big Island to conceive of a whole new adventure -- retirement in Hawaii!

Now, this many years later, we continue the learning curve that living in rural Puna means, and we are continually surprised at all we are discovering and learning. Sometimes it's the simplest things that offer the most surprise, and any day holds the potential discovery of something new and unexpected.



Such was the case today which began with a drive around the 'hood, following a few 'garage sale' signs. But even before we left the driveway, we were delighted to find that the bright orange Jade Vine we planted only a few months ago was loaded with bright (BRIGHT) orange blooms. But, stepping over an ohia log to get a closer look, we found another bloom -- the "Devil's Trumpet" -- the  plant itself is less than 12" high but has two open blooms and three more pending.

Off for our neighborhood drive, we circled around the block to visit one of the newest neighbors who had offered to give us some scraps of heavy concrete fence materials for use in the garden and then to an estate sale where we found yet another treasure -- a hippopotamus -- that has a water spout in his mouth -- and which we think will be a great feature to our (slowly) developing lava pond.

Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder

Beauty, as they say, is in the eyes of the beholders. Phil is continuing his exploration into creating winged beings, and having had good success with his butterfly (from a few posts ago - 3/2) he has just completed a moth that was inspired by one of our local moths. The wings are made from a beautifully patterned piece of koa that he carefully sliced in half to get the mirrored wing pattern; the body is from redwood, one of the few remaining pieces we brought with us from Humboldt County.

"Black Witch Moth"
(Ascalapho Odocata)
"CLICK" to enlarge

Here in Puna, on the Big Island, of course Phil has many different woods to chose from. And, while Phil's completed work is obviously beautiful -- one of the projects Lunel has recently chosen is full of beautiful potential.

One acre is 43,560 square feet, and of those square feet, approximately 85% of it has been "beautified" over the course of the last 4.5 years. That includes about 1,000 feet of boundary around the acre, and it is those edges that have been the most challenging because of the dense under-story of the forest, most of which is infested with various junk shrubs and invasive vines. But, since deconstruction is one of Lunel's favorite art passions, the tools for this "art project" include chain saw, machete, pick ax and the indispensable o'o bar.. and that is not where we go "pau hana"** - it a heavy, thick iron bar over 6' long used to break up lava. .

Before work began -- What's in there?

Ugly but full of potential beauty (Lunel says)

So....a couple weeks ago she attempted a initial excavation, without knowing what was under and/or behind an area about  12 x 10' along the south perimeter. The first photo shows the area before work began.The additional photos are anything but "beautiful" except to Lunel who seems to have no limit to her ability to both envision as well as manifest beauty using a wide range of materials.


Plans are to use this natural basin area to create either a fountain, or perhaps a waterfall. Nearby, about 30 plants, many from our ohana neighbors and friends** are waiting in pots for replanting around the water feature. (Mahalo Barbara, Geoff, Bett, Karin, Sam...and others)

OK, so maybe you can't see a fountain or a pond... (YET)

Many kinds of ti, anthuriums & ferns

Sort of like this, but only time and more creativity will tell.

We are including one photo that shows some of the potential we see, but of course the final version will be different.)  Stay tuned -- more news at 11.)

(** First, there IS a real Bar named "The O'O Bar" -- it's a Hawaiian thing. And, "pau hana" means the end-of-work, or -- a time when you might go TO a bar. (??lost in translation i think...??) 

If You Rest You Rust

Rainfall where we live - 140+

Rust is! When we lived near the coast in Eureka, California, the dampness, rain and fog were a given; and for 20 years or so we made garden art from all our rusty tools. Emily, the woman who bought our charming Victorian home, got a kick out of all the rusty shovels, rakes and trowels adorning the weathered fence. For many years I loved using rusty items in many of my quirky assemblage pieces.

While there are places on the Big Island of Hawaii that get only a few inches of rain annually, the district of Puna is not one of them. As you can see from the rain map, we get a lot of rain. (see note below **)Fortunately, our elevation and distance from the ocean places us where our rain falls mostly at night. But that rain, coupled with the terra-forming projects we have done in the past 4 1/2 years have been hard on all our tools.

Our 1st rusty wheelbarrow
now holds iris

Still working (sort of) after many
reinforcements and repairs 

We inherited a rusty push-power mower that we ran until it fell apart, but have since bought a second and a third mower (the last has power-wheels.) This last week we realized we have gone through FOUR wheelbarrows and THREE mowers. Just last week Phil purchased weed eater number THREE. Since we had great discount coupons at ACE Hardware, we also purchased shovel number FOUR as well. (All in just four years.)

Ready to work in La-VA LAND!!

This news may raise an eyebrow or two back on the Continent, but for most people living in the Puna District on the Big Island, this would be par for the course here in LA-VA LAND!!

And speaking of LAVA, below is a link to a short video taken TODAY (3/6) of the lava flow.  And a reminder to our friends "over there" -- this lava, only a few miles away, has been flowing non-stop for 30 years.  (Mahalo to Big Island News, Tropical Visions Video and to Paradise Helicopters.)
Click link: VIDEO OF TODAY's LAVA FLOW

** SO, we must be in some kind of DENIAL to wrote we "get lots of rain" - or wishful thinking as we are in a drought -- right here, right now. In fact the weather report stated the last time the first quarter of the year was this dry was -- 1948!!!  (the year i was born...oh shit!!)

Flutter By Butterfly

PULELEHUA (Butterfly in Hawaiian)

Sometimes Phil is having so much fun down in his tool-packed wood-work-shop I don't see him for hours...and then, I'll be walking by with a load of lava, or cinder, or green waste and he'll call out for me to "come see."  This is the second butterfly he has made, and is now working on a moth! Look's like he's found yet another creative use for his stacks of local wood...and, he's still got a few treasured pieces of redwood from Humboldt County.  The wings of this butterfly are redwood with the body in koa.

The other colorful picture is of the wild raspberries Phil picks for breakfast on his morning walk. Today we drove by to scope out the location and plan to go back with our shovels to transplant some in our yard in the shady location they seem to like.

Yesterday's task was weeding the pineapple patch of nearly 40 plants  More than half of them have baby pineapples growing already with lots of our famous white pineapple. Our lime tree is loaded, in fact all but one citrus have blossoms and we have bananas maturing too.  Breakfast anyone?

Phil's Koa Root

Ancestor Root of Koa - P. J. Haysmer

Photo by Kim Kornbacher (kimkornbacherphotography.com)

Part of fun of the art process Phil and I share is seeing the before and after -- for this one I really regret not having a "before" photo to show how Phil brought out the beauty of this gnarled koa tree root.  The Koa tree here on the Big Island is held in high esteem culturally.  


In the Hawaiian language (one of the two "official languages of Hawai'i) KOA has many meanings, but the first is brave, bold, fearless, valiant with the second meaning of soldier, warrior, and the third meaning being the largest of native forest trees...formerly used for canoes, surfboards and calabashes.

Ke Mole o Koa

A familiar story: Trees in Trouble -- For 22 years we lived in Humboldt County, the land of the giant Redwood trees that helped built major cities all along the West Coast.  Decades of clear-cut logging created a significant decline in the number of ancient giants with lives spanning 2,000 years and more. Here in Hawai'i 10% of the original Koa forest ecosystem is still intact.




The ancient Hawaiian delicate ecosystems evolved without any grazing mammals. Therefore, the native plants developed no natural system to resist the development of grazing lands for cattle in the 1800's. Since Koa is a legume and is a nitrogen fixing species, it is highly desirable to non-native grazing animals such as pigs, cattle, goats and sheep.  Deforested cattle grazing areas also impacted many bird species whose ground nest building was negatively impacted as well.

There is a Hawaiian proverb that says:  I ulu no ka lala i ke kumu which translated says, "The branches grow because of the trunk."  It is part of the consciousness we have found here in Hawai'i that honors heritage, lineage, and the malama o ka 'aina. the care of the land.

(Phil's piece is for sale:  $800)



  

Wood Art by Phil

Phil's love of wood goes back to his relationship with his grandfather, a superb wood craftsman and builder who owned the last steam driven sawmill in Michigan. That love of wood has followed him throughout his life, as a sculptor, art teacher, and wood artist.

During our 22 years living in Eureka, Phil was always creating art in wood where it sold at our gallery -- Many Hands (still) located in the heart of Old Town Eureka (Humboldt County.)

Now that we have retired to the Puna District on the Big Island of Hawaii, Phil has had a lot of fun experimenting with many of the local woods like koa, kamani and mango -- just to name a few.

Hawaiian Reef Fish - This past year Phil has been making a series of Hawaiian Reef Fish out of local wood.  Here's a picture of some of Phil's fish. Phil's art is at a lovely gallery in Hilo called One Gallery which is located on Kamehameha Street, right on the bay front.

Fish patterns vary widely depending on available wood and sizes are 3-5" by 6-8" - Price $29 (plus $5 shipping)

Temple Gates -Recently has been creating "Temple Gates" which he made in redwood while we lived in Humboldt.  Now, of course he is using local woods like KOA, MILO, OHIA, KAMANI, and MANGO just to name a few.  Please read the text to learn a little more about them.  (Wood patterns will vary - Price $195 -- Shipping $12)

If you would like to make a purchase you can inquire by posting a "comment" (below) and we will get back to you right away.  (most of our local tribe know how to reach us) MAHALO

UA!! Got Rain!!

With an El Nino year like this has been, we have almost lost track of the number of fully formed, named hurricanes that have swept close to the Big Island this year -- 13 or 14 and counting.

Last week we watched as "OHO" blew by dropping a ton of rain...we had four inches in four hours.  Then, during the night, Phil got curious and trudged out with umbrella and flashlight to check the rain gauges again.

In the morning we checked again -- 7.2 inches in 24 hours...and only one small puddle!

When we retired from Humboldt County and relocated to the Big Island, we made a thorough investigation of rainfall so we knew what to expect.  Just south of Pahoa, we get approximately 120-140 inches a year.  We continue to be delighted that 80% of that falls during the night.

CLICK to enlarge map.  Beginning at Hilo, and going mauka (toward the mountain) rainfall increases fast--from 100'/year to 300++ in only 15 miles!  Altitude directly affects rainfall,  especially on the East side.

Twelve Fish-a-Swimmin'

Phil's handcrafted Hawaiian Reef Fish sell for $29

This summer has been hotter than usual, so rather than working on carving Ohia trees in the hot sun, Phil has been keeping cool in his wood shop -- making fish!

Phil has been selling his Hawaiian Reef fish at One Gallery on beautiful Hilo Bay.  This is a delightful venue for local artists located on Bay Front in Hilo.
One Gallery.

Here's the latest batch that he is taking down this week.  Of course every fish has its name on the back, and those interesting names include, Moorish Idol, White Spotted Goat Fish, Needle Fish, and Spiny Puffer.  Of course Hawaii's state fish is included -- the Humuhumunukunuku Apua'a.   (featured in the colored photo)

Phil is using several local woods, including Koa, Mango, Kamani, Mac Nut.   Since he brought a little bit of Humboldt County Redwood in our relocation to the Big Island -- there are even a few made of Redwood.

By the way, we have four beautiful Redwood trees growing on our property.  We found out that John Muir was instrumental in bringing Redwood trees to Hawaii many decades ago so we are glad to have that connection.

Art, Music and ALOHA!!

Art by Donna Sellers - "Old Town Eureka Arts Alive"

Before retiring to the Big Island and applying for our "Punatic" citizenship, for 22 years we lived in Humboldt County's Victorian seaport -- Eureka, growing our gallery and art businesses.  We were there for the very first "Arts Alive" as well as the first Jazz Festival.




Many Hands Gallery is still located on the main corner (building is pictured above on the left.) We were thrilled to watch the revitalization of Eureka's Old Town district -- due in part to the participation of the community in the monthly "Arts Alive."

Now, we are here in charming Pahoa where the sidewalks are wooden and the amenities are stellar.  Rather than owning a gallery, we are enjoying retirement and still very much involved in creating art, tending our wild and wonderful one acre forest/jungle, and our three corgi dogs. 

We are encouraging our neighbors and friends to participate in Pahoa's VERY FIRST "Music and Art Walk" which will be the second Saturday of each month.


UPDATE:  We just got back from a fun few hours.  Great evening weather, music in front of all the businesses and restaurants, very nice selection of local art, shops and restaurants all open and busy.  We ran into lots of people we knew and a good time was had by all. 

MAHALO to organizers, artists, musicians and Pahoa Village merchants.

Bird-Bird-BIrd! Bird is the Word!

While we were still living in Northern California's Humboldt County, we enjoyed watching the birds from our kitchen window.  We had some really amazing sitings and enjoyed the annual return of many species.  Naturally, when we retired and moved to the Big Island, we made sure our library was well stocked with books to help us identify our new bird family.  One of the first birds we "met" was the lovely Honey Creeper, the 'Apapane; we found a dead one in our driveway when we first moved in.  We preserved it by dehydration and its sweet form graces one of our windows as a reminder of the island's fragility.

The story of both flora and fauna here in Hawaii is really a sad one.  Like other places on the planet, the birds (and plants) of Hawaii evolved for millions of years.  The isolation that produced such a distinctive array and variety did not serve well when that isolation was lost at the introduction of colonization. The birds had no predators or disease.  Even with the earliest waves of Polynesians, things began to change, but that change has reached exponential levels in current times.  Invasive plants, insects and  mammals, as well as human beings, have resulted in mass waves of extinction in the bird (and plant) population.

  "Today, the rate of colonization by alien species is estimated to be about 10-20 species per year," says Jack Jeffrey, local bird photographer (of bird guidebook below), whose website is full of fascinating history, and photography.  Check out Jack's beautiful website! 

Jack's photos in Guidbook

At our bird feeder

MYSTERY BIRDS

This week while watching the comings and goings at our feeder, we discovered a new pair of birds.  After a few tries, we were able to get some photographs to help begin identification.  Now, you may think this is easy -- but it is NOT!  

At first we got really excited because the birds appeared to be a very RARE endangered and nearly extinct Palila, but of course we suspected that was not the case. (Just look at their similarities!!)


Half the fun was the "Quest for the Bird's Identity."  We are "faceless people" that is we don't partake in Facebook.  However, just in  "tossing it out" to a small e-mail world of ohana we received a pile of helpful replies.  There are 2 (but not mutually exclusive) answers:  They are juvenile Saffron Finches (from our "regulars" the bright yellow adults pictured in our ohia trees) or they are one of many kinds of Saffron Finches (we did find an EXACT match) -- but it could go either way. 

6/6 Update:  Saw the new pair gathering nest materials - suspect that they are not juveniles.