Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens

Ruben and I had some time off yesterday, so we headed N and NE to see the HTB Gardens a guest at the hotel had told us about.  It's almost bedtime so I'm not able to finish attempting to label the few flowers I've posted here tonight...this garden is beyond incredible!!  The flora and fauna were just amazing and way too many to get photos of all.  This is a major "must see" on the big island...

ORCHID Var.

MUSICAL NOTES CLERODENDRUM

NIGERIA

CANNONBALL TREE

MADAGASCAR, PHILIPPINES, POLYNESIA

TORCH GINGER

AMAZON LILY

CRIMSON MEDINILLA, 

PHILIPPINES

ROSE GRAPE

PHILIPPINES

BAT PLANT

MALAYSIA

BEEHIVE GINGER

"TEN DAY"

PERU, EQUADOR

CLERODENDRUM PANICULATUM

INDIA, SRI LANKA, MALAYSIA

ORCHID Var.

Kilauea and Kahili Ginger

Aloha again! We've reached the half-way mark of our 14 week adventure in W. Hawaii...is it all downhill from here on out?!  I hope so!  It seems for every positive there's a negative for us here, it's frustrating and a bit disappointing despite the positives here and there.  I could post so many photos but just don't have the time...I'm free from waiting on the phones at 7 PM and we are in bed at 9 PM.  So, will post the important bird pics and etc. for now...

I'm getting some photos of the yellow-billed cardinal...isn't he pretty?!  They're orig. from South America...

The past few days I've been hearing the squeaking chirp of the fledglings of this YB cardinal parent...there's 2 of them actually...they're outside our room, parent feeding the children ea morning...

Once in awhile this large spotted dove appears among the many smaller zebra doves, below the bird feeders at the hotel.

Wed. we visited Kilauea Volcano...pretty awesome!

We visited this big lava tube a couple weeks ago, by the roadside not far N of the Kona Airport.

Once in awhile we show a hotel guest how to feed the eels in the rocks on the ocean side of the sea wall in front of the hotel...I've seen 3 types of eels so far.  I think this is a moray eel...

The sunsets are still going strong here, daily....

A large driftwood tree at Kiholo Bay (I think it was), N of Kailua Kona.  A real nice little beach.

Kahili Ginger...the flower is about 10" tall...this is near a lava tube at Volcanoes National Park, where Kilauea Volcano is...

Ohia Lehua ... This flower grows at the Kilauea Volcano...a kind of ugly plant w/ a pretty red flower, which has a legend behind it...Pele, the Goddess of Volcano, liked an handsome guy called Ohia. But, Ohia was already in love with another beautiful maiden called Lehua. So, he rejected Pele's offer. Angry Pele cursed him to be an ugly tree. Now, Lehua begged Pele to take back the curse and make him a human again. Pele didn't agree. But, other Gods felt pity on Lehua, did whatever they could. They made Lehua a beautiful flower on the ugly tree. 

Well on that interesting note, I'll sign off....

Bits from the Big Island

I'm sharing photos in no particular order here, from the past 2-3 weeks.....

Zebra doves are common here...dozens eat the bird seed on the ground below the hotel's feeders...

There are daily beautiful sunsets seen from the pool area of the hotel....many are a deep red due to the haze from the volcanos further east...but this one was a golden delight....

John and Cathe, Hawaii and ukelele enthusiasts, were guests for a couple weeks...

Me and a small flowering tree...these get quite large and can be a much deeper yellow...

These small ones are outside the local Walmart!

Ruben does the nightly tiki torch lighting ritual...he blows a conch horn while a guest lights the tiki torches around the front of the hotel...this guest, Rebecca, was from Australia....

The plumeria grows abundantly here, in white, pale pink, deep fuchsia pink, yellow...these are the flowers used for leis....

The hibiscus here in Hawaii are extremely abundant, in pink, orange, yellow, and white.

Not an overly flattering shot but hey it's proof that we made it, by kayak, to the Capt. Cook Monument, Despite being dumped into the crashing ocean waves -- twice -- before even getting away from the sea wall where we were setting off from.....

Our landing spot, on lava rock....and a peek of Kealakekua Bay...

Orange-spotted day geckos are very common here, and so darn cute...they hang around the "open-air" front office of the hotel. They look iridescent in bright green, a bit of blue, and the orange spots on their rump.

Island Birds

Aloha! I wanted to post sooner but I couldn't figure out how to upload photos from iPhotos with my new Mac notebook...anyway we've been in Hawaii almost a month now and it's impossible to go into all the details about our intense 6-day training on how to run a 16-room hotel, and the following 3 weeks...Ruben's doing a ton of the physical work, I'm mostly doing the mental work and we are up at 5AM, the office hours are 7 AM to 7 PM, so we have 14 hr days and only get a whopping 10 hrs a week off!  We haven't seen a lot of Hawaii yet (big island) but we went snorkeling nearby recently at Kahalu'u Beach, my first time snorkeling, and it was so awesome!  I am no swimmer but the desire to see the tropical fish was so great that I learned real fast, which is typical for many people. We saw over a dozen different fish and will be going back again one of these weeks.  We also went kayaking from Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook monument, got dumped out twice at the sea wall where we were trying to set off from, that was so NOT fun, esp w/ my fear of drowning and we were being slammed by ocean waves coming in....we got out of there on the 3rd try, and on the way back in we saw a small pod of spinner dolphins about 30 yards away passing us, way cool!

I need to go to bed soon but will share what few bird species I've seen so far and have pics of, all are common....there's one pretty bird I see a couple of some days, very scarce but I'll share it once I do get a photo...I know what it is but will leave it for a surprise....

The java sparrow is really common...we have 8 coconut shell feeders hanging in the trees in front of the hotel and we get dozens of the javas every morning chowing down...I put the seed out every AM around 6:30 and they're up high in the branches waiting....

There's a few saffron finches that come to feed each day...it used to be one pair (males have orange on the head) but now I see either a couple extra females or immatures...I see them around town too...

The myna birds are a Hawaiian version of a crow really...

We also have a lot of zebra doves on the ground eating fallen seeds, I still need to get a decent photo of one...they bop around, don't stay still so I can get a good shot.

I have a lot of flower photos to share, the flowers here are beyond amazing!  There's one that is a flaming orange color in a tree, need to get a shot of that yet and ID it but it's gorgeous.  The plumerias used in leis are everywhere, white, pale yellow, and hot pink....

We've made good friends w/ one couple that was staying at the hotel recently, from Portland, OR, and were able to go out to lunch w/ them one day at the local marina....we have guests from all over the world, right now we have a couple from Italy and one from Australia...

As hard and tiring as the job is, we're making memories to last a lifetime.....

More to come..... Mahalo for visiting....

Aloha.....Almost....

I'm sitting in the Phoenix Internat'l Airport at this moment, with three hours until boarding the flight to Hawaii. We've arrived extra early to be extra safe...we were supposed to land in Hawaii yesterday but we somehow managed to miss our flight! The boarding gate was changed and we never checked the monitors...we're not exactly frequent flyers...this airport is apparently notorious for changing gates...anyway, we checked into a nearby hotel, ate across the street at a Hilton, and survived the ordeal. Did I mention our luggage made it to HI ok? I had to pay $22 for a 2 oz bottle of saline solution and a contact lens holder at the Hilton courtesy shop, OY! And yes we're wearing the same clothes from yesterday...anyway, thank goodness for laptops for entertainment (besides books). And speaking of laptops, I purchased a new Macbook Pro in Jacksonville a few days ago. It's my first Mac and so far I love it, tho it's a bit mind-boggling for an old PC user! I'm even training myself to use the touch pad...look ma, no mouse!

Well I think I'll cruise other Blogs, see how my faves are doing....

Have a good, safe Memorial Day weekend everyone. See you on the big island!

Beach & Backyard Babes

Life is pretty good here in NE Florida...we may be only semi-settled into our new home, due to the fact that we're waiting until we get back from our seasonal job in Hawaii before we paint inside and buy furniture, but we're getting to know our neighborhood with almost daily bicycle rides, which we really enjoy. We've witnessed a hawk snatching up its latest meal from a nearby canal, and we've also witnessed a red-bellied woodpecker pestering a hawk in flight...sorry, no snaps! The hawks are small and, I think, red-shouldered ones. I've now spotted two brown thrashers (a lifer!) in the 'hood...again, no shots so far. But, the number of species has increased at the bird feeders in the backyard, including a couple lifers; oh snap! 

We've made a few more trips to Flagler Beach, and one day in particular, we saw yet another lifer.....wait for it......

First, right off, I was thrilled to see that the black-bellied plovers were sporting their summer attire....

...A male least tern (lifer!) was trying to court a female,

Offering her a piece of sushi,

But she was stand-offish.....he seemed stumped...what to do now?!

...An osprey suddenly flew overhead...it's always suddenly w/ the osprey at the beach;

They just appear out of nowhere...

The ruddy turnstone above was nicely camoflaged by the brown seaweed...this is probably a female (winter plumage is very similar)....

This male ruddy turnstone was definitely sporting its summer plumage...

Flagler Beach Pier in the distance...It's $1.50 a person to use the pier for the day ($6 to fish)...we walked out on the night recently that the moon was big and full...

The coquina sand of Flagler Beach....

There are many scattered shell caches on the beach...

And one sign explaining the unique orange sand color......

After leaving the beach, we idly drove around the area, one block from A1A, looking at the beachy and swanky beach homes...we came upon Silver Lake Park, a woodsy trail around a lake...

At the trailhead there's a sitting area, where we barged in on two anoles doing what critters do best in spring...

On the flip side of the railing, we discovered that Romeo had an incredibly long tail....

Probably made him popular w/ the ladies.....

Back on the home front, we now have a pair of tufted titmouses (titmice?) visiting the feeders...a lifer!

...and a Carolina chickadee has flitted in a few times...also a lifer! (But not much difference from a black-capped chickadee except the body is grey (Carolina) not pale rust )....

A pair of house finches, both with the orange-colored head variation, have appeared a few times...

The red-bellied woodpeckers and cardinals continue to visit often, including these two females...

...and the blue jays come squawking daily as well.....

One day I caught this determined (or lazy) squirrel lying down while it was digging for and eating fallen bird seeds in the mulch below the feeders.....

Blanket flowers grow wild or semi-wild here (or are planted)...these were at the beach...

I was thrilled to see my first passion flowers recently! We have some growing wild in a vacant, uncleared lot at the other end of our street.....named passion flowers because they reminded early pilgrims of the passion or suffering of Christ.

Turns out this is called a Touch-me-not! Also sighted growing in an uncleared lot....

Back at home once again, we now have pale yellow day lilies blooming.  :o)

*   *   *   *   *   *

This may be my last Florida post before we leave for Hawaii ~ ~ !! My one allowed "carry on" will be, what else? My camera bag! Ru's carrying my laptop so I'll still be able to share photos in Hawaii, of course!  See you there soon!