Category: Postcard from Hawai’i

Lava Lake at Halemaʻumaʻu

A bit of video put together from the clips I recorded at Kilauea Caldera this morning. The video was shot with a Canon 6D and a Televue 76mm telescope. It really does not do justice to the image through the ‘scope with a mark I eyeball. But it will have to do.

The soundtrack was mostly wind noise and random comments from the crowd of people watching the spectacle. Very faintly you can hear some of the noises from the lava, but only in spots. Instead of this annoyance I just threw a copy of Fireworks Music in place of the mic noise, much better.

Lava Lake at Halemaʻumaʻu from Andrew Cooper on Vimeo.

A Lava Lake at Halemaʻumaʻu

It was worth the predawn dive across the island!

Up well before 3am and on the road. Blitz across Saddle Road, through Hilo and up to the volcano. I expected a small crowd at that time in the morning, what I found was a mite more than that. The parking lot was nearly full, I was lucky to get a spot as someone else was pulling out. Several hundred folks were already on the terrace at the HVO Jagger Museum. No surprise, it was a beautiful view of a lava lake with small fountains along the edge. I did have an advantage over most of the crowd, I brought a small telescope.

I will put in a better write-up later when I get a chance to process the photos. In the meantime one quick process..

Halemaʻumaʻu Lava Lake
The lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu on the morning of April 27, 2015

Pineapple

Another experiment in growing tropical fruit… Deb had sprouted a pineapple using the top to one she had bought at the farmers market. With roots showing she asked me to set up a more appropriate home for the plant. That came in the form of a large pot on our front lanai. I was surprised when the pineapple not only survived but thrived. the plant is an attractive pot plant just outside our front door. I have shared some photos of the geckos and anoles that call the plant home.

Then the first signs of blooming appeared… In place of a new leaf a little spiky ball appeared at the center of the plant. This has developed into a very nice looking fruit, a recognizable pineapple covered with little purple blossoms. It is another tropical fruit I never imagined myself growing, one of the interesting things about living in Hawaii.

Now I just need to figure out when to harvest it!

Pineapple
A pineapple in fruit on our front lanai

A Stormy Day

It has been raining all day in Waikoloa, a few tenths in the rain gauge as I left the house for work. In Waimea it is even worse, cool and damp, enough so that everyone is complaining about the cold. But then, island folks complain about anything under 80°.

Money Tree
Raindrops cover the leaves of the money tree
The weather was great for my mother’s visit two weeks ago. She was able to get some sun and beach before returning to the Northwest. Good thing she did not come this last week, nothing but grey skies and rain for the island. The storm is expected to last a few more days.

No progress on the lanai project this weekend, far too wet to paint. The trees in our landscape will like this rain, a steady soaking rain. Likewise the weeds will probably be doing all too well. I can turn off the watering system for a while. This morning’s shower was a tad cooler than I like, need to remember to turn on the electric backup in the solar hot water heater this evening.