Scenes and Signs

This roadside scene on the Hilo side of the big island in Hawai'i was certainly inviting. The signs (below) blocking the trail down to the water, however, took away any enthusiam I might have had about taking a dip here. Which is exactly what they were supposed to do, I imagine. [NOTE: A second row of signs (not shown) was very emphatic about the risk of theft and the importance of not leaving anything in your car if you park here]. 

Halema'uma'u

Lava glows in the Halema'uma'u Crater as night falls at Hawai'i Volcano National Park. The crater is currently active, with an open lava vent that ranges from 70 to 150 m below the crater floor. Check out the USGS video here for a more close-up look at the lava at Halema'uma'u. [NOTE: I spent a long time looking at this glow and thinking about the molten center of our planet. Humbling].

Snorkeling

Spent a lot of time in Hawai'i face down in the water with a snorkel and mask. Picture above was taken by daughter Amy with a disposable underwater camera. The Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus L.) was probably my favorite reef fish, but I spent significant parts of several days swimming along behind green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas L.), Known locally as "honu", these large, slow-moving herbivores are a delight to observe (see below; image from Wikimedia Commons). [NOTE: Couldn't help but think of Crush (father) and Squirt (son) from Finding Nemo]. 

 

First Come, First Served

A lava flow can be a tough place to grow. The good news is that there is not a lot of competition from other plants to colonize one of these dry, barren sites. The plant shown above, Dubautia scabra (DC) D.D. Keck or "kūpaua", is a specialist at this. The tiny airborne seeds of this species settle into cracks in the lava where nutrients and water collect. It grows and flowers as soon as it can to produce more seeds, to colonize more cracks in the lava, and ultimately create habitats amenable to other plant species. An important, and beautiful, player in primary succession on Hawai'i.