The Covid pandemic has effectively changed the whole world. In many cases it has brought denial, fear, panic, grief, death and, sadly, misinformation. It has separated people both physically and emotionally. And, in some strange ways it has brought many people closer together - reconnecting. Many people including us have found a renewed appreciation for the small things -- bringing a sense of wonder and joy to a dark time.
Last week Phil came into the house and said, "come see!" whereupon we both went out to discover a rare sight -- a King Kamehameha Butterfly, an endemic species (in decline) also known as "Pulelehua" (Pu lay lay hooah). We currently have a variety of milkweed plants for our Monarchs, so a quick search provided us with the name of this butterfly's favorite plant -- the endemic Mamaki revered by Hawaiian people.
When their wings are folded they are hard to spot because of their olive green camouflage - and just look at the color of that chrysalis.
Consequently, on our trip to town yesterday, Mamaki plants were on our shopping list. Walking into the plant area at the local store coincidentally Mamaki plants were JUST!! being offloaded and we came home with three.
Today, however they were planted in a sunny spot in honor of a re-connection with a much loved friend Erik whom we had lost touch with over 20 years ago!
