DECEMBER SUNSHINE

                                                DECEMBER SUNSHINE

Yes! The sun is out most of the time so far this month.  Just as in Spokane County, we seem to be more likely to get sunshine and clear cool nights around the full moon here.  Two weekends ago when we were tired of the mostly clouds and showers we drove over to the Kona coast for some snorkeling.  From our place the shortest drive there is north on the Hamakua Coast, west to Waimea and straight down to the Ocean, nearly two hours.

We first stopped at the Mauna Kea Resort Hotel where you need to be early enough to get a ticket for one of the 30 public parking spaces for the adjoining public access.  The Hotel is surrounded on the mountain side by its private golf course that we need to drive through very slowly, then past the buildings then, after parking, we walked down a paved path to the public beach.  The landscaped white sand beach with rocky point on each side was gorgeous!  Even the hotel buildings seemed to fit in (and that’s really saying something for me!).  On seeing spear fishermen (two) I knew that this won’t be the best place to see fish but I put on my gear and headed out along the south point.  Although larger fish were scarce I saw lots of smaller fish and probably would have seen more beyond the point but the surf was a bit too rough there so I doubled back.  That’s when I encountered two feeding Green Sea Turtles.  If a person swims straight at them they will get a bit nervous and depart surprisingly quickly (also it could be called harassment which is illegal as it might weaken an endangered species) so I just mimicked its movements on a course alongside it (except, of course I can’t hold my breath for twenty minutes as they can).  The turtle soon was biting algae off rocks while holding on to brace its self against the surge and ignoring my presence as I snapped photos with a cheapy underwater camera that I couldn’t see through the viewfinder of (see Therese Reed facebook for photos).  In a few minutes I went ashore to tell Myrna where the action was and I basked in the sun while she snorkeled.

As there are several public access beaches in that area we next drove south to see more of them.  We ate lunch at the next one but didn’t think the very nice beach there offered much in the way of snorkeling, especially since it was crowded, so after a stroll we drove to examine a possibly interesting tide pools area on a very built-up piece of coast where the tide being out would have made a long and slippery walk to diving.  Got back in the car and next examined a public boat launch that appears to be very good for the SeaCycle on a future trip.  For our last trip we went to a beach I’d snorkeled before when Myrna was not yet up to it.  Last time I’d explored the north point so this time we headed south where I had an interesting time circling a small Island and Myrna enjoyed the shoreward side of it.  By then we were both getting tired and although the afternoon was young we were not and we decided to start home.

Driving home in the afternoon made it especially clear how different the weather is on different parts of the Island.  The beach temperature had been about 85.  We reached Waimea, where it is about 2,450 ft., at 4:20 and it was 72 and partly sunny.  By the 2,500 ft. sign it was 67 and raining and then by the time we got back down to Honoka’a at 4:55 it was back up to 70 and raining.  When we got home (230ft.) at 5:30 it was 75 and cloudy.  We decided we still prefer the wet/green side to the brown and black dry side.  And we still find it so gorgeous that it’s hard for a driver to keep the eyes on the road!

Now, as I resume writing on the 7^th, we are back to clouds, occasional showers and 70’s.

                                                INVASIVE OR PIONEER?

It seems I’ve been fighting invasive species all my life.  I am also keenly aware that I myself am a member of an invasive species.  On the North American continent the arrival of man coincides with the die-out, from 40,000-10,000 years ago, of many of the largest animals there at the time.  ‘Our’ arrival is a leading theory of why.  When Europeans joined earlier colonizers in the Americas they brought many more new plants, including the weeds that I as a gardener battled for most my adult life.  Now, as a new immigrant to the newest of the Hawaiian Islands I find myself fascinated by the variety of view points about what constitutes “native” and what is noxious or invasive and what to do about it.

Here plants and animals are grouped into three classes by arrival time.  There are those that found their way here before man, canoe arrivals that were brought by the Polynesians and those that arrived with and after Captain Cook.  Some later arrivals have been of huge benefit in diversifying the diet of the people and eliminating famine.  Some have contributed to the extinction of earlier arrivals.  The more I learn about the origin of the local species the more I marvel with wonder at how bare the Island would be if all the species brought by man were suddenly removed.  And the more I chuckle at those who think their lives would be better without any of the introductions of the last few hundred years.

As I’ve indicated before I don’t personally feel guilt or responsibility for the mistakes of earlier generations.  I do feel a personal responsibility to live my own life in a way that makes this a better planet for generations of people that follow and I naturally have my own pragmatic approach to what that means.  In the case of this young and still growing Island called Hawaii I agree with the efforts to remove feral goats and pigs from areas of the endangered species they are consuming.  I am also very concerned with some particularly invasive plants.  When it comes to the coqui frogs, however, I don’t see the point. 

Coqui, introduced accidently from Puerto Rico recently enough that the 1944 REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS does not even mention them , are a very small tree frog with a loud for its size voice.  In urban areas their croak seems amplified by building walls and those people who can’t sleep hate and blame the frogs that they hear repeating the same two syllable word all night long (first syllable low and slow, second higher and accented).  In rural areas folks don’t allow vegetation next to building walls, in order to allow full access to air flow for keeping the wood structures dried out between rains, so the coquis are not right next to the buildings to start with.  In the second place while we have lots of coquis in the bananas across the driveway from our open bedroom window the jungle absorbs the sound, the rain adds a melody and the breeze in the coconut palm fronds adds rhythm.

The county and state both had coqui eradication programs and even here in the country some people would go out in the night with tiny gigs or spray cans to kill coquis.  And this includes the local Sierra Club ex-com.  I’ve not heard anyone argue that they are displacing more senior members of the community of wildlife nor has anyone refuted my argument that we would have more of the also introduced mosquitoes if we didn’t have the coquis eating them.  Some say they don't eat mosquitoes but I suspect that most of whatever they do eat is non-native because that is most of what is here.  I’m happy that the budget short falls have brought about an end to the coqui eradication program.  By the way, although there are no “native”amphibians, on Oahu there is a very large Cuban Tree Frog and bullfrogs that are noxious invaders.