View of Maui from Big Island

We visited Big Island back when Mauna Loa erupted in December.  One of our friends took this picture of Maui for us from the top of a coconut tree. 

Fortunately all of his friends and family over there were safe.

When we were on Big Island we were able to go see the eruption at night from a rest stop on Saddle Road.  The one thing we were told about only after we were there and so close was the presence of fine threads of glass that eruptions kick up.  It was brought up so casually too.  Like, "Oh, look I have a cut. Must be Pele's hair (the aforementioned threads of glass floating in the air).

It really is a beautiful place to visit though.  I would love to have been able to climb a tree myself for this view.  Even on the ground though, we had a great time.  There is so much fruit just driving or walking down the road I still don't know how people are going hungry there.  Folks in Texas would be picking up all the fruit and preserving it.  And the goat and chicken overpopulation would be under control in a matter of months.  The goats are so rampant I nearly hit one three separate times while driving down a road.  There's nearly a chicken on every corner.  The hogs too are everywhere.  We stayed at a macadamia farm and you could hear them running around and munching on the nuts on the ground.

I brought some fresh nuts home and planted one.  He sprouted and currently his name is Mac.  He grows in the study in a little pot.  Probably should repot him soon.

Garden Anole

Cute little baby anole climbing around in my patio garden.  In this picture he's in the lavender plant which has been flowering all summer long.  Just have to keep it happy.

When one of our friends from the Netherlands came to visit we had a much bigger anole hanging around.  She had named him Clouse. At least that's how I'd spell it.  No telling how she would have spelled it. Unfortunately Clouse didn't hang around for very long and there were none to be seen for quite a while.  When this guy appeared I knew that my little garden was still a fairly active place for critters to visit.

Another of the critters are the wasps that come drink from the pots and soil.  I never would have though about insects drinking from dirt but I guess they have more of an ability to pull out the water from different sources.  One wasp really liked the dirt around the moss rose and would come several times in just an hour and return to the exact same spot to refresh himself.

The toads haven't been seen in a while but I'm still hopeful that they will return once the heat lets up.  It's been too hot for many of the usual creatures to come out and play.  The bunnies as well haven't made their nightly appearances so often.  Before I'd see them just hanging out on the grass looking around.  Now I only see then moving across the lawn areas heading to either eat or go home.

Temps are showing a downward trend though and things should pick up for wildlife viewing.

Surprise of Color

Of all the things I have seen today, besides the cute baby anole I saw in the garden, this has to be one of the more cheery things.

It's a sight you can only see well in the middle of the day with all of the colors and shadows through this green space.  Unlike many other displays of vibrant color and light, this one just says be happy.

On another look it also keeps this space from getting as hot.  We were at a restaurant opening earlier today and, if it hadn't been for our umbrella, we may well have burnt to a crisp.  The heat out there is no joke and we really don't get out often enough to have any sort of resistance to the UV out there.

I mentioned that parasols just aren't a thing here in the states.  If you go out to other areas they will use them sometimes, or at least have other covering that keeps the sun off.

If you ever wondered why construction workers wore long sleeves in the over 100 degree weather, it's to keep the sun off.  They know that although it doesn't let the wind blow by as well, keeping the sun off of the skin is worth more than letting a little air cool you down.  Water will do so much better anyway.

Rustic Sphinx

This guy was just hanging out on the breezeway of the apartments.  I didn't see him when I went by later so he either flew away or one of the toads ate him.

I wasn't sure at first what kind of moth this was, not an expert on bugs, but a friend recently told me about the identify function on my iPhone.   If the picture is good enough the photos will have an "i" over the picture and when tapped on will do a search of similar images and can tell you even before that what it thinks it is. This works with bugs, plants, animals, and other objects.  As you can see in the image, I was pretty close when I took the picture. That's the shadow of my phone.

I did see a toad in the area as well, possibly eyeing him for dinner.  The toads are one more reason to water regularly.  They really like the humidity it makes.  Another resident in the area, wasps, also like it when the pots are watered and some of the water collects in the trays.  I've seen three at a time drinking from the water and coming back regularly.  Temps in the mid 100's will do that to any animal.

The plants of course also want regular water and it hasn't rained in weeks.  Maybe a sprinkle here or there but nothing to make the water gauges register anything.  Can't wait for cooler weather and more tomatoes.  The plants are still looking good.