Hello from Hawaii

[Ranger Smith]

Aloha and Bon Jour! : ) "Visiting" wildlife, as in migratory birds, are very rare here, because we're too far out into the ocean to be on a major flyway. But of course there are plenty of birds that live here full-time. I am posting a picture of a Hawaiian Heron that I took several months ago, as it is the only bird picture I have at the moment. This picture was taken at one of the anchialine ponds at Waikoloa Beach, in South Kohala. These herons are pretty rare, because there's not that much habitat here to support them. The picture's not that great, but it's all I have right now. But now that I have an assigmnent, I can look for other birds to photograph. I also included a pic of my gladiolus plants from earlier this year, because it's prettier than looking at an outhouse. : ) Now, I think of the Pyrenees as paradise, so I hope you will post some pics of your area too.

Belated aloha and bonjour from me too.
Any pics of visiting wildlife would be appreciated too. Birds?
Not saying I don't like the outhouse pictures, mind. I'm planning one for our outdoors facility. Mr PP doesn't know it yet

[Ranger Smith]

To germinate papaya seeds, you can take them directly from the fruit, clean them up a little, and plant them about an inch deep in soft soil in a warm place. Keep the soil moist, keep the room temperature comfortable for humans, and they should pop up in about 10-14 days. But it seems unlikley that you will get fruit from them, as your latitude is so far north. Of course they will have to stay indoors throughout the winter.

I might try papaya, what do you do with it?

[Ranger Smith]

Pictures of Camp Poohbear in Hawaii

"Camp Poohbear" is the name of my 1-acre lot in Ocean View, Hawaii. I named it after a nickname for my wife. Like I said before, this is a dry area of the island, so the pics I have here might not depict what you imagine Hawaii to be. But anyway, this is where I live.

[Ranger Smith]

Pictures of Camp Poohbear in Hawaii-Part 2

Now that I see that there is a 5-pic limit per post, here is the last four of a 9-pic series.

In this post, you will see my zinnias. The intersting thing about these flowers, is that daisy phenotypes showed up in this generation, though their were parents were not daisys, but pom types of flowers. Prior to this, I didn't even know that there were such things as zinnia daisys.

As for the "Kahili Flower", this is a wild plant that occurs here in places in Kau District, Big Island. But it is native to Australia. The Latin name is, "Grevillea banksii".

[veggiechicken]

It looks stunning Ranger. So different to our gardens - where are all your weeds?
Like your CHr***mas tree too - you won't find one of those on sale here

[Ranger Smith]

Thank you, Veggie! I'm glad you like the pics. : ) All the areas that I grow in had weeds when I first started, but since the climate is so dry, I am able to pull weeds faster than they can reproduce. I'm kinda surprised that Norfolk Island Pine trees are not available in the U.K., since they are commonly available in California. They are in grocery stores throughout the Christmas season in California, intended primarily as a short-lived, indoor plant, since they can't tolerate col weather. But here in Hawaii, you can grow them in most places outdoors. FYI, Norfolk Island Pine trees are related to Monkey Puzzle trees, of which I think there are some in Britain.

It looks stunning Ranger. So different to our gardens - where are all your weeds?
Like your CHr***mas tree too - you won't find one of those on sale here

[veggiechicken]

I'm not saying that you won't find a Norfolk Pine here but it will not be sold as a Christmas tree. I think you have given the answer by saying that they won't tolerate the cold
Pity because they are trees with attitude

[Ranger Smith]

Kona and Kau

I've taken a lot of pics lately, but the only ones that I'm going to post here are things that are relative to gardening, or other things that I think people might actually be interested in.

The first pic is a Screwpine, that you read about in so many tropical adventure books. These fruits are edible, but I've never eaten one, and I don't know anyone who has. The Hawaiians have abandoned much of their traditional foods.


This second pic is about the monument to Kamehameha III, which is posted at the base of the Screwpine above, at Keauhou Bay in Kona. Kamehameha III became King when his older brother, Kamehameha II, died in London of measles.

And this last pic is of the rainwater collection system that exists at Manuka State Park, in Kau. This park has no wells and no piped-in water, and this is the only way to provide water for the imported plants here.