Not a Pretty Picture…

Even though I’ve blogged about the drought happening here in Hawaii, the rains have been bleak. Normal rain patterns throughout the islands are between 10 to 20 percent of normal for the year which is a bad sign for our islands.

Jess at Children of the Corm did a fantastic and comprehensive post on the effects of El Nino and the areas that have dramatically been impacted (great job Jess ).  Looking at the graphs displayed, the El Nino trends show the rainfall for Hawaii is predicted to be 40 percent below normal, not as severe as the actual 10-20 percent of normal that is actually happening. I never really thought too much about this until I realized in our local news channels that more coverage have been occurring about drought situations on our islands.

Things are even more complicated here on the east side of the island due to the fact since over 40 percent of households are not serviced by county water, we rely on primarily catchment systems for our water needs.  Lack of rain can make up some dire outcomes in a relatively short timeframe for larger households.

Since there are alot of people that do not understand how catchment systems work, I have them photographed below.


Water is primarily collected on rainy days through one’s own roof collecting from the gutters into a large catchment tank, the average size is about 10 thousand gallons to cover a regular household. (these tanks are about 6 feet tall and around 12 feet in diameter, I know really ugly)


From the catchment tank, water is then pumped into the house and through four whole house filters (below in blue) and then through a UV system to the right that takes out most of the impurities, it is then stored in the water heater for any heating.




This is total overkill, but I also have a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink for drinking purposes, it kills 99.9 % of all bacteria and impurities. There are alot of households that don’t even have filtration systems outside of just one whole house filter, I wouldn’t even consider drinking that tap water.



Since I’ve been using my water sparingly my tank is still at 30 percent of capacity, larger households that quickly run out have to order water through several water companies which are working non-stop to due to the crisis situation.  A truck filled with four thousand gallons will cost you around $150 per truck load and that will fill up less than half of a catchment tank. If your lucky to have ordered your water at least two weeks in advanced, then you will get your water…if not then you might have to jump into the ocean to take a bath until your turn comes up.

On another post, I’ll show you what I have to do to my poor trees and plants that I’ve started growing on a raw parcel of land that will be eventually where I will retire, since there is no water available there, the manual process of getting the plants watered is intensive and not a fun experience.

A Historic Site called Puukohola at Sunset

 

 

 

The campsite I visited recently is located close to a national historic site (strange to think there would be national landmarks here). The site is called Puukohola, it is a set of three heiau’s or temples that the early Hawaiians used to gather together, prayed and perform human sacrifices to appease their local dieties which were mostly gods of war, of the harvests and of the ocean.  These heiau’s were also significant because the main chef of Hawaii island named Kamehameha was the first ruler to unify all the disparate island nations of Hawaii into a unified whole.

 

 

A prophecy from a kahuna (priest) advised Kamehameha that if he built this large temple to honor his local diety Ku (the god of war) he will be the first ruler to unite all the warring islands of Hawaii.  This effort was no small part to build a large temple due to the fact that it is made entirely of smooth stones which were only available some 20 miles west of the island. An entire sea of laborers were required (in fact the entire population including the chief) and formed a human chain twenty mile long handing rocks from on hand to another and then build an edifice in less than a year and completed in 1791.

All through the building efforts, other local chiefs from neighboring islands hearing that a large temple was going to be built and knew of this significant omen, banded together to attack Kamehameha during this crucial stage. Kamehameha crushed these armies and also his main rival on Hawaii island who knew that his own death would proficised this outcome,  he willingly submitted himself to Kamehameha during the celebration of the temples completion, and his body and his chiefs were consecrated at the temple as an offering to their god Ku and eventually Kamehameha ruled all of the Hawaiian islands as a unified whole.

 

 

His legacy lives in these monuments and other temples around Hawaii island which attribute this king as a significant leader to Hawaii and fulfilling a great destiny. An annual celebration for King Kamehameha day is celebrated throughout Hawaii to recognize this great leader with amazing garlands of beautiful and scented flowers around his statue and hulas from various dancing troupes are performed and chanted in his honor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is really amazing about this area called  Puukohola is that it is on the dryer side of the island with an average rainfall of less than 10 inches a year. Hard to believe that a civilization would create a life in this barren lava zoned area with not much vegetation and create enough sustenance to survive in this environment.

I was just glad that the camp site had warm showers, drinkable water, a large community pavilion and cooking pits on each stall and that was roughing it for camping here!  Boy, I’m glad I’m living in today’s world and enjoying the sunsets from my simple tent.

Skywatch Friday - The Other Side of Hawaii Island

 

Its rare for me to go to the other side of Hawaii Island from the east side since it takes almost two and a half hours to get here, but some friends invited me for a camp out on the beach during the week and I thought its monday … why not.

Sleeping on the beach here is really peaceful, the campground’s are very well provisioned and maintained and there’s nothing like being able to camp out on the beach with cool trade winds blowing all night into your tent.

Its morning time and I’m just lounging in my tent overlooking a white sandy beach called Spencer Beach…mornings are relaxing.

 

There’s something magical about just looking up at the trees in your tent and day dreaming….

 

 

 

No-one is on the beach yet, maybe its time to take a nice walk and even a dip… I’m sure there’s alot of tropical fish busy looking for their morning meals. I spot a lot of colorful fish, and even more exciting some turtles and lobsters hiding in some rocks!

 

 

I forgot that the beaches are quite nice on this side of the island, beautiful white powdery beaches and amazing trails leading you to even more secret beaches.

 

 

I think I can just stay here all day and take a nap under some of these mesquite trees when it gets too hot…I can’t believe its February here and already 80 degrees.

 

 

Aaaah, life is good today… Happy Aloha Friday!

 

To view more skywatch friday scenes go visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Rain, Rain Please Come Today

 

 

Rain, rain please come today….oh how parched the land is and the papayas and bananas wilt thirsty for its daily drink.

 

 

Please don’t tease us any more, we have been waiting for so long.

 

With no more rainy season, the grasses are dried up and the flora is spindly and weak.

 

We long for refreshment and liquid gold…the double rainbows illuminating the sky.

 

Please come today so we can celebrate our emerald hues again!

“Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.” author unknown

 

To view other scenic sundays, go to http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

Floral Studies in Black and White

 

 

Beautiful tropical flowers are stunning in their beautiful and shocking tropical hues. All the intense and unreal color combinations just make you stop and admire these exotic beauties…and wonder if these are real?

I wanted to do a study of what they would look like photographed in black and white. The answer is just plain stunning!

 

A beautiful vireya bloom.

 

Heavenly scented plumeria.

 

An intimate detail of a hibiscus.

 

Brownea Kewensis instead of its shocking red/orange crown.

 

Vireya Aravir

 

White Calliandra bloom.

The Evolution of a Mere Garden Blog

I’ve been amazed by the sheer number of bloggers around the world that share their gardening passions regularly.  Its truly amazing the breath of knowledge and experience that each gardener shares from their corners of the world.
What I find really interesting is that quite a few bloggers are becoming more innovative with how they present their topics, they are creatively adding more tools and new ideas to increase interactivity. They have transcended the mere one person dialog to a full fledge interactive and shared experience. Here’s what a few garden bloggers are doing and I would like to share my observations and why I think they succeed.

The Poll Post
Nell_Jean at Secrets of a Seed Scatterer  includes in her posts and side bar a regular poll about an interesting topic that really makes you want to participate, her current poll is about what type of fruits you will be planting this season. I also love that you get a final poll result from this tabulation, thanks Nell_Jean for making this fun!

The Meme Post
Carol at May Dreams Gardens is one of the first innovators of gardening memes and her monthly post on the 15th of the month titled “ Garden Bloggers Bloom Day “ has caught on by storm. A few other gardeners have also come up with interesting gardening memes including
Foliage Follow up Day on the 16th by Pam at Digging
The Rainbow Challenge by Rebecca at Perfect to be in the Garden
Fertilizer Tuesday by Tootsie of Totsie Time
Blooming Friday by Katarina at Roses and Stuff
There’s a whole list of other Memes that you can participate in , go visit Gardening Gone Wild Site for more details on some more interesting memes.

The Expert Panel Post
My friend Teza at Teza’s Garden has created a very interesting panel of expert bloggers that will pontificate about a monthly topic that he considers apropo or current. Take a look at his monthly topic when you get a chance.
Another hilarious gardener is Liza at Good to Grow and she does a really funny friday panel that is having too much fun with her topic of the week, the last one was on name that plant problem. Check it out if you haven’t seen her friday’s expert panel posts.
I’m enjoying reading these panel posts and hope others can enlighten me on other panels that are out there in the blogosphere.
A Fine Tuned Post
One of my favorite bloggers has fine tuned the art of photography, story telling and poetry all into one amazing blog and who else but Carol at Flower Hill Farm can really make that type of impact and inspire other bloggers consistantly.
I am really looking forward to discovering other blogs that put together amazing effort into each of their posts with amazing stories and visuals, please do tell?

Questions and Comments Post
Now Jodi at Bloom Writer is what I would consider the queen of comments and questions, I’m totally inspired by her in that she really contributes wonderful comments to every post she reads especially new bloggers. And she asks very thought provoking questions on her blog to start up really good discussions in her comment section… a great tool that everyone can easily utilize in their posts.

Who Wants to Win an xxxx Post
Having a contest is a fun way to start a readership, Running Garlic just started her gardening blog and offered a pair of hand made baking gloves as a way to meet more gardening friends….wow she received over 205 comments on that contest and just well wishers…okay jen can you tell me if i won yet???
There are a few contests also at Gardening Gone Wild, but if anyone knows any more links that would be great to add in the comments section.

Content is King Post
Well as you know in the blogging world, content is king and this artist doesn’t even take pictures from her blog, but just reading Edith Hope’s Gardening Journal  makes you want to read more and more. If words can tell a thousand pictures, then Edith has mastered the art of the word.
Another beautiful writer I admire is Merideth at Victory Garden Redux, her writing is pure music to my ears and she connects with me through her writing about her corner of the world. I’m amazed that both these bloggers are relatively new to the Blogosphere and have much to contribute.
These gardeners really share a passion and I thank them for really building a community and creating a real shared experience. If I missed any other interesting tools or ideas that generate community activity and brings blogging to a new level, please share any information you would like.

A Scented Rhododendron Called Aravir

 

 

This is one of my new favorite flowers in bloom, its a tropical rhododendron or Vireya called Aravir. I recently did a post on this when I visited the White Cloud Nursery and show garden here in East Hawaii.

After spotting this beautiful vireya, I knew I just had to have one, (how can you not visit a nursery and go away empty handed) ?  My new love Aravir, is a real showstopper. It is heavenly scented with soft perfumy and jasmine overtones. Those large white flowers bloom regularly during the year, and I have it planted in the font walkway so I can catch a whiff on my daily walks.

I’ve even taken a few cuttings already since they propagate very easily in cinder soil. Since these plants are ephiphytes, they grow easily in tropical environments, but you can easily make them comfortable in your garden with a minimum of fuss as a potted plant that you can spritz occasionally.

Oh Aravir, Aravir …. how you make my morning walks complete ( I know real corny, but thats the way I like it sometimes).

To see more amazing flowers from today go to  http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/