And a closer look......


I work daily in Hilo. Hilo, the orchid capital of the world, recieves more rain annually than any other location in America. Orchids are truly flowers of superlatives. Even a complete layman in botany is awed by the beauty of orchids.

1. No plant family has as many different flowers as the orchid family (Orchidaceae).

2. The structural variations in the flowers appear endless. Different orchid flowers are built to encourage pollination by particular species of insects, bats, or birds.

3. Most African orchids are white; Asian orchids are much more often multicolored.

4. Some orchids only grow one flower on each stem, others sometimes more than a hundred together on a single spike.

5. The typical orchid flower is zygomorphic, i.e. bilaterally symmetric, where each half of the plant is a mirror image of the other. Although other plants are not typically zygomorphic, their leave are! Think of the bilateral symetric characteristics of the human body. The only notable plants with this characteristic are the peas and the orchids

6. The basic orchid flower is composed of three sepals in the outer whorl, and three petals in the inner whorl. The medial petal is usually modified and enlarged (then called the labellum or lip), forming a platform or seat for pollinators near the center of the corolla.

The Ironman ® Triathlon is a singular annual event held only on the Big Island of Hawaii. Thinking I was watching it a year ago in Lake Placid NY, I was very entertained. But it turns out that event was a qualifying race. Official qualifying events for the Hawaii Ironman ® take place annually around the world.

My wife and I watched the Ironman ® Triathlon Championships across the Island in Kona. It involves a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) swim (across Kailua-Kona Bay), followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride (from Keauhou to Hawi and back), and a 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island (from Keauhou to Keahole Point to Kailua-Kona). The Hawaiian ® Ironman is still regarded as the most honored and prestigious triathlon event to win worldwide.

The men below were 1/3 the way into the last marathon. The men you see here are professionals. Equally impressive were the women.

After driving the hour home, I kept track of the competitiion through http://www.ironmanlive.com/ IRONMANLIVE





Note the woman cheering her guy with Pom Poms.

The 6.6 Epicenter was about 50 miles from our home. This earthquake was destructive to our community.

At the time of the earthquake at a little past 7am, I was already at Church. Earthquakes are common here. This one was extraordinary with all about me transformed into a form of wet clay.

I found it's power exhilarating. We dismissed our leadership meetings immediately to respond first at our homes and then into our neighborhoods.

After a day of emergency service to others with church cancelled, I go to bed...... by evening we had electric back.

We never lost land line communication in our community.

This one redecorated our home and frayed the nerves. It was also a day of everyone coming together to tell stories or the physical work assisting others.

In that way, it was another beautiful day in paradise.

It's ancestors grew with blooms 300 million years ago. This particular bloom is from the subfamily, Grevilleoideae -mostly seen in Australia and South America. The Protea gained it's name in the 1600s, named after the Greek God Proteus who could change his form at will. These beautiful flowers were first grown in the United States in San Diego north county, as well as some ranches in the Santa Barbara area about forty years ago. They were later grown in Hawaii. The climate and soil in these places most nearly duplicates their natural habitat.
Protea Placerepresents a fine website if you enjoy what you see. Note the delicate world of this bloom below:


All the Photographs here were taken by Gecko of outside flora within a quarter mile of his home.