Hawaiian wildlife, large and small

We saw some interesting wildlife while we were in Hawaii.  Here is a sample of what we found without really looking.

These ants made me smile.  After climbing up to the top and back down inside Diamond Head crater, we treated ourselves to the water ice at the stand in the parking lot at the bottom.  Someone before us had left some drips on the picnic table and these tiny ants were having a feast.  They reminded me of animals in Africa coming to the precious watering hole to drink.

Geckos were everywhere, sunning themselves and looking for lunch.  Some of them would periodically flash the bright red flap under their neck.  We caught a little one but the big ones were pretty fast.  They let us get rather close, though before scurrying away.

This praying mantis was hanging out in the fabulous cactus garden at the local community college.

Ever wonder what lives in those little holes on the beach?  We had to be patient to see the little sand crabs that would venture out.  They were varied in color and size, pitching armfuls of sand aside as they dug out their burrows.

This little blue-eyed hermit crab was living in one of the tidal pools among the volcanic rocks exposed at low tide out by Ka’ena Point, a wildlife preserve on the western most tip of Oahu.

We did actually look for this sea cucumber.  His belly was covered with little tube feet and in the water, the little brown dots on his back sprouted soft feelers.  Very cool!  This was also from the tide pools at Ka’ena point.

This is the burrow of the wedge-tailed shearwater.  These sea birds nest in the summer in burrows that they dig into the sand dunes at Ka’ena point.  There was a mother sitting on a nest in there, but you’ll have to take my word for it since it was so dark inside.  The Laysan Albatrosses also nest here, but in the winter and on top of the dunes.

Monk seals are one of the two native mammals on Hawaii and can be seen hanging out on the Ka’ena coastline.  They are endangered and it was a special treat to see three of them while we were there.  There was a marine biologist out at the point watching the seals and trying to identify them.  The top photo is of Benny and Kirby, identified by the tags on their flippers.  The other  seal wouldn’t show his tag.

It goes without saying that we saw lots of fish and several sea turtles when we were snorkeling at Shark’s Cove on the north shore.  Hawaii is a beautiful and magical place.  I am always amazed at the variety and beauty that God has created.

Hawaiian Style

Dashboard decorations: (What I wasn’t able to photograph was the shelf in the back window covered with plush sea turtle toys – all exactly the same.  He passed us on the highway and we were never able to catch up with him.)

Fashion statement: (made from real frogs)

Cell phone tower:

Sky: (If you look carefully you can see the double bow above the obvious one.)

Love Spoon

Now that the wedding is over I can post a picture of my gift for Mariko at her bridal shower.  A while ago I took a spoon carving class.  This is the third spoon from that class.

A little about love spoons:  The earliest existing examples date from the 1600’s and were carved by young men and given to the girls they hoped to marry.   There were no marriage licenses  or engagement rings at that time and these served as a sort of contract.  They showed the girl’s father that the young man was good with his hands and could provide for the family; and they were often hung proudly on the wall after the marriage.  The carved spoons usually included motifs which had special meaning (a heart for love, a lock for security, a cross for faith, etc.).  Today, love spoons are given as gifts to commemorate special occasions, for birthdays and holidays, or “just because”.

The spoon that I carved is made from mahogany and contains two symbols – a heart and a braided handle.  The braid symbolizes a cord of three strands.  In the Bible, Ecclesiastes 4:12 mentions that “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.”  In a marriage, two of the strands are the husband and the wife; the third strand is God who brings strength and stability to the marriage.  The heart, of course stands for love.  I gave this to Mariko as a token of our love and commitment to her as our son’s wife and as a precious member of our family.

Cause for Celebration

As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve been away.  In Hawaii.  Where our son lives.  For his wedding!  Aside from me getting the flu the day after we arrived and spending 4 days in bed, it was a wonderful and special time.  We love you, David and Mariko.

The happy couple:

Quick updates

First, I’ve been away.

Second, the little nest of phoebes is empty – no eggs.  I don’t know if they hatched and fledged or if they were eaten by some predator.

Third, the bluebirds fledged two days ago.  I had thought that I would be brave and snap a picture of the babies which I could see through the hole in the box.  But after being buzzed and yelled at by both parents, I decided that it wasn’t worth it.  The next day they were gone.  I did open the box to look at the nest, and to my surprise, it was made almost entirely of long pine needles.  Apparently this is typical, but it was news  to me.  It’s always good to learn something and they have been so much fun to have in the yard.

Spring sights

I’ve been inspired by my friend Norma’s blog with her pictures of the birds nesting on her front door and in her yard, inspired to take pictures of our nesters.

I’m thrilled to have a family of phoebes nesting in our woodshed.  It reminds me of the many years spent watching phoebes nesting on our front porch in Connecticut: two clutches per year, though the second clutch was usually a cowbird.  This new family started several nests and I thought they had chosen another site.  But I peeked in the full size nest today (after startling the sitter – didn’t realize she was there) and found five small white eggs.  The nest is overhead and close to the roof so I had to use a mirror to see inside.

The other nest we know of is in one of our four bluebird houses.  And it’s actually bluebirds!  How fun is that?  In past years they have nested in our neighbor’s yard.  It’s exciting to have them closer this time around.  They must have eggs because they are very protective when we come near the box.  I was getting buzzed by the male when I went out to see if I could get any pictures.  I decided not to bother them; I didn’t want them to desert the nest.

We also have some lovely things blooming in the yard:

Allium

Ladies Mantle – almost blooming

Mountain Pinks (Creeping Phlox)

The Wood Lot

Way back when snow covered the ground, we saw a little ad in the local rag about State Forest land that would be available for cutting trees.  All we had to do was call to be put on the list and then wait for an assignment.  The original offer was for about 3 cords cut for about $10/cord.  We thought that might be an inexpensive way to get some fire wood so we signed up.  We also roped in some friends who heat their home with a Tarm wood boiler.

We waited several months to find out we were assigned a lot on the back of Okemo with about 5 cords of standing hardwood.  There are 5 lots in this parcel and our friends’ lot is just up the road from ours.  We went in early spring to check it out and were very relieved to find that ours was a nice level lot and everything is relatively near the “road”.  Our friends’ lot is uphill but gravity will help bring the wood down to where we can load it up.  No big equipment is allowed (skidders, tractors, front loaders, etc.) so this is not a walk in the park, nor for the faint of heart.

We solicited our son’s help and he gave us his 3 off days between shifts at the fire service.  The bad news is that it has been raining almost non-stop while he’s been here.  This morning, however,  the weather was just overcast and damp so we decided to see what we could accomplish.  We took 2 pick-up trucks, 2 chain saws, a pair of loppers, and the dog and decided to stick with smaller stuff since it was just the three of us.  When we arrived, our lot looked so different with all the leaves on the trees.  It’s a good thing  – that red three on that white birch.  We had to really look to find the marked trees now.

The woods were full of lovely things: Jack-in the Pulpit, Bluets, Foam Flower, and many species of ferns.  We saw some interesting moss and lichens too, but we were making way too much noise to see any wildlife.  By the time we were spent we had filled up both pick-ups, one with all the smaller stuff and one with all the large rounds.  Most of the pieces are not yet cut to size and those large rounds were heavy to carry out of the woods.  Cutting the lot is only half the job; I think we’ll be splitting logs for a long time.  Stay tuned…

More Celebration – the unexpected

It seems that while we were in Baltimore for Ellen’s graduation, she and her husband signed up for a 5K foot race to benefit Blood: Water Mission, an organization that builds clean water wells for the people of Africa.  The race was sponsored by Blood: Water Baltimore, one of many local organizations which exist to support the main mission.  I went along when Doug went to pick up their registration packets.  It sounded like a good cause, we were in town, I had gear I could run in…. so I signed up too.

What was I thinking?!  I hadn’t run more than 2 minutes at a time in the last 6 months and that was probably down hill!  But Ellen assured me that she hadn’t trained either, was very out of shape, and she would run with me even when I stopped to walk to catch my breath.  The race organizers assured us the course was flat (I’ve heard that before from people who run hills for fun) but it turned out they were mostly right, except for the little hill up to the finish line.

Ellen had just one request:  Could we just not be the last runners to cross the line?  I told her I would do my best.  Most of the runners registered were in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.  There were only a handful over 50 and several in their 60’s, so I thought perhaps I had a decent chance of finishing before last.  Of course, my only goal was to finish; I knew I couldn’t run the whole way.

We hung around for the awards (which were minimal – it was a fund-raiser after all) and to my surprise, I won first place in my age group (a blue ribbon and a certificate to come later in the mail).  In all honesty, I think there were only 5 of us and there were quite a few (even younger ones) who straggled in after me.  Mission accomplished.

Then we went back to their place to finish spreading 8 cubic yards of mulch.  A good exercise day.

Celebrations: A wedding and a graduation

We’ve been galavanting to these momentous occasions and not posting on the blog.  And in between the wedding and the graduation, we’ve been helping our kids out with house maintenance and outside chores.  It feels good to be home now so we can rest.

We’re very proud of our daughter Ellen and her graduation with honors from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.  I tried the video feature on my newish little point-and-shoot digital so I could share the moment here but you can see that I did a pretty bad job of videography and I didn’t start soon enough to get the announcement of her name.  But here she is getting her BSN and walking to her seat.

Somehow I always notice interesting shoes at graduations.  Maybe it’s because we usually don’t know very many people at these affairs and we do a lot of standing around, waiting.  These yellow shoes really caught my attention on several occasions because they really upstaged the rest of the outfit.  Then there were these navy and white pumps that complimented the pieced sundress very nicely.  And finally, one of Ellen’s friends Leah was sporting these classy plaid sling backs.  They spiffed up the plain black gown just fine. (I’m sorry that the photo is a little blurry.)

It was a glorious day in Baltimore for the ceremony at the Lyric Opera House and dinner afterward at Phillips in the Inner Harbor.  We ate outside and enjoyed the rest of a beautiful day.

Morning Dew Drops