Save the Monarchs!

Brown and Green Anole

Butterfly atrium installation

Seems like these days everyone is trying to save something. Used to be endangered species, but lately, there are massive efforts to save the free press, environment, health even democracy.

This week I am choosing something small, immediate and in my control to focus on instead.

Our blog on February 3, 2017 About our Monarchs provided great photos of one Monarch emerging from a chrysalis. Since then we have witnessed lots of egg laying, many caterpillars, and fewer chrysalis. At first we thought birds, but never really saw any around the Monarchs' favorite Crown Flower plant.

Watching more closely, we have determined it was actually some of our typical Hawaii reptiles!!  The ANOLE -- which are not the more recognizable geckos. These are actually small lizards who emigrated from elsewhere, around the 1950's with thousands of non-native species introduced from around the world.

New hatch of eggs produces many caterpillars

Top hinges to add caterpillars, and allow butterflies to escape

In an effort to protect our Monarch population, we decided to build a screened in butterfly atrium.

Today after construction, we slid the unit down over rooted cuttings of Crown Flower -- the leaves being the food source for caterpillars. After sliding open the top, we carefully transferred close to two dozen caterpillars into the "nursery."  As they mature and eat the leaves, we can easily slide cut branches down into the cage.

Update: 3 days later the larger caterpillars are already creating chrysalis, and we are having to add new leaves as the two dozen caterpillars are eating so much so fast!

Update: week later -- LOTS of chrysalis forming -- enough to share with local classrooms. Thanks to monarchwatch.org I learned how to tie off the chrysalis and place them into jars to watch the emerging butterflies.

Visitors at Luana Ohana

Not everything that happens in our lives is as exciting as a walk out to see lava pouring miles down the hillside and into the ocean (our last post.) After four and a half years, we are still discovering and delighting in retirement. By the way, the Hawaiian word LUANA (our street name) has a very rich and appropriate meaning to us especially as it relates to our retirement!

LUANA: to be at leisure, to enjoy pleasant surroundings and associates, to live in comfort and ease, to enjoy onesself.    "E luana wale ana no" (Just enjoying ourselves)

Here's a photo of our front porch, with our beautiful gong (with the symbol for water) from Many Hands Gallery in Eureka.

Next to the porch is a dense bed of tropical plants that has some flowering spiral ti plants that look like aliens!!



Along the outside wall by the porch is an ornamental flowering passion vine that is home to dozens of geckos who find curious places to artfully hang out. (One in the mouth of the 'green man' sculpture, another on the head of the goddess.)

There's no way you can effectively keep them out of the house, but they are welcome guests because they eat small spiders and other insects -- especially in the kitchen. Last is an artfully-adapted photo I took in the kitchen with gecko silhouetted from light from the window over the sink.

What's New?

"What's new?" OK, besides the obvious misalignment of the planets in the conjunction we call democracy....

In trying to recover from shock, we are digging, mowing, pruning, sawing, sanding and HARVESTING.

Top three photos are of our very FIRST bananas, our third harvest of limes, and the lovely blossom and fruit and flower of the Lilikoi vine (passion fruit.) We juice all our many citrus and Lilikoi to freeze in juice-cubes, keeping them in the freezer so we have our own juice nearly all year long. Look closely and you will see two pollinating bees which we treasure.

In Hawaiian culture. this is the season of LONO, beginning in October and lasting about four months. Lono is the god of agriculture and rain. Legends tell that Lono is responsible for bringing cultivated plants to Hawai'i. He is also associated with the makahiki -- a time to celebrate the hard work of farming and to enjoy the fruits of our labor -- a time of peace and recreation. (It obviously coincides with Thanksgiving, Solstice, Christmas, and New Year.)

We thought we would share a few other things that are popping up in our yard right now -- some typical but always a few unexpected surprises.

First is one of our family of house gecko's on the front porch. Off and on we have seen 3-4 of these nocturnal efficient bug catchers. Gecko's in Hawai'i are very special because they are all related to the mythic character, the Mo'o.

Here is a LINK to some information about the Hawaiian Mo'o. Mo'o INFO. We have plans and drawings for a Mo'o sculpture Lunel wants to create to add to our landscaping.  The Mo'o will be placed where a huge outcropping of lava flowed across what is now our driveway. She plans to make it about 6-8' long.

Whatever they are called (dragons, lizards, or geckos, the Mo'o rank among Hawaii's most mysterious creatures, feature in the oldest stories and are a key to a deep and sacred magic. Locals are respectful of the variety of geckos.

The last "What's New" are some surprise mushrooms in the yard.

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.)

Daily Delights

While I am waiting out the red-tape process of getting set up for MRI and seeing an orthopedist about my right knee, I'm admittedly limited to hobbling about, but still finding joy in everyday things, like geckos sunning themselves in the kitchen window.  On a good day I am using a cane, and on not-so-good days, I use a pair of crutches Phil found cheap at our local Pahoa Transfer Station (the FREE dump.)

We LOVE going to our dump!!  Not only is our dump free, it processes recycling of all kinds,and it also offers a delightful outdoor store for re-purposed stuff.  People who are getting rid of things, can drop them off at the little shop where you can buy some good things really cheap -- like used crutches!

The motto at the dump is "sust aina bility" which is play on the Hawaiian word "aina."  Literal translations from the Hawaiian dictionary (Pukui-Elbert) include "refuse" (like throw away), eat or consume.  However, it also seems to have a richer and more complex meaning, having to do with stewardship, responsibility -- and a relationship between the people and the land, as in AINA -  the life of the land.  (Photos from Big Island Chronicle)

 

Saturday, Inbetween Showers

This week most of the plumbing for the ohana got done.  There is a completely new plumbing system called Pex which uses flexible red and blue lines that makes installation much easier.  Since the lines all run below the apartment, that means we get to see it all on the "ceiling" of Phil's workshop -- it's kind of interesting too.


Right now, because the contractors are putting up dry wall, there's lots of dust and scraps to clean up and we do that every evening.  Then, just because the contractors go home, doesn't mean we have the weekend off.  This weekend we get to start painting some of the completed walls. 

We do find ways to enjoy our sweet home while we get some chores done.

And just who is that tan Hawaiian woman??  Today Lunel decided it was time to wash the windows and got started around 7am leaving plenty of time to get the job done before it got too hot.
 
While Phil was making some tea, he found one of our kitchen geckos curled up on a left in the kitchen window.  Each morning, after breakfast, we leave a little piece of juicy fruit in a little dish for them to enjoy.