A grove of bamboo plants on the path to Akaka Falls (previous topic) flower with unusual beauty. One variety of India bamboo, Mautak bamboo, flowers every 48 years. It last flowered in 1958 and brought famine and war. A caterpillar infestation suggests a new harrowing bloom season is about to commence.

The Melocanna baccifera is regarded as “famine” for India. The bamboo’s bloom-cycle—1815, 1863, 1911 and 1958—has always been followed by famine and political upheaval.

A new disaster may be unavoidable.

How so, you ask?

All populations of Melocanna baccifera raised from the same seed source flower at once, wherever they exist. The last resulted in 3,000 people dead. People say when mautak bamboo flowers, rats run amok, literally. Their fertility rate dramatically increase eating this seed; reports suggest the rats become abnormal. The real frenzy begins in the vast swathes of northeast India, Mizoram, Tripura and Assam, after all the seeds are eaten and the rats attack granaries, fields of unharvested crops, paddy, fruits, vegetables, whatever is available. Ecological research confirms a clear relation between rodent outbreaks in South America since in the 16th century and bamboo flowering and high rainfall.In 1958, Indian citizens revolted, forming the Mizo National Famine Front. Twenty-eight years of civil war followed.

In 2002-2003, 34 villages faced an increase in rodent population. In 2003-2004 another 16 witnessed it. 85 villages have already recorded sporadic mautak flowering, as per a directorate of agriculture report. But when flowering peaks in 2006-2007, a mautam — a famine driven by mautak flowering — is predicted.

To prevent another disaster, government officials are currently organizing a harvest of 6,000 square miles of Mautak bamboo before its flowers bloom. The effort may prove futile. The task is more than daunting with only half of the Mautak under government control. Apparently, the prematurely cut bamboo becomes less useful to be burned and used as fertilizer. Nor is it likely it will be turned into six thousand square miles of fabric and furniture.

This is Akaka Falls as taken by my Canon Digital Rebel yesterday. These falls, with its undisturbed drop of 420 ft., is a 1 1/2 hour drive from our home and a 15 minute stroll from the parking lot. Try to get a sense as to their height by evaluating the detail of the trees. From my own observations, the pool at the bottom is fairly shallow and surprisingly small. Relatively speaking, there is not a great deal of water coming over the edge. It's just that there is a lot in the air!! The mossy wall has been carved into very hard lava rock over time.

The viewer cannot descend or move any closer to the falls than is seen at this vantage. It is straight down from every vantage point. The picture has been taken from the railing. Nevertheless I suppose, one could ascend the river from some point below to get to the pool. Even then, that would be perilous. Water levels fluctuate rapidly with downpours feeding the river from above. That is something to investigate though.

There are signs on the fence indicating the hazard of climbing over it (there is nothing but a verticle drop). The signs are obviously unnecessary for anyone who can read them. Nevertheless, Mrs Gecko asked me if I would PLEASE climb over the fence to get a closer shot of the falls. Gecko told her he would give her the camera and she could step over. But for safety sake and because of my tender Love, I would want to hold the strap to the camera while she took the picture...er...plunge.

An interlude to Feel the Season

In the Comments Misty was so generous as to actually find the music video for this very beautiful song. Misty Gets a Gecko Christmas Kiss.

Aloha! Hope you are preparing for a Merry Christmas and a truly NEW Year.



Living in a world that dies within
You are they who try and touch the wind
You could be the blessed one
That makes me love you
And doing what you've never done before
Taking every wave that hits the shore
You could be a silver star that shines
On my blue island
See you on a blue island
Take you to a blue island

You can see the rain
You can feel the pain
That no part of me is going through
Everybody says, we can find a way
Do you know the place you're going to
You're going to a blue island

This is what the lonely heart must know
This is what it takes to make it grow
You could be a child alone
But you may save the world
Maybe its the words that mean goodbye
There but for the grace of God go I
I can see an open door that leads to my blue island
Gonna be a blue island
See you on a blue island
Take you to a blue island

BeeGees (Dedicated to the children of formerly Yugoslavia)

You are looking at the inner sanctum of the Thurston Lava Tube. There are countless natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow here within the island of Hawaii. In this case, this lava tube is not actively expelling magma. Thus, we did not need to send Fred into the tube to take any photos. The lava flow has ceased (for a time) and the rock has cooled and left a long, cave-like channel.

Lava tubes are formed when an active low-viscosity lava flow (typical here) develops a lengthy and hard crust that is thick enough to form a roof above the still flowing lava stream where the lava is moving under the surface.

The tube being one feature of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, where 30 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution—processes can be seen undisturbed by man. This process lifted a naked land from the sea and eventually dressed it with some of the most unique ecosystems found on the planet. The park includes the earth's most massive volcano, Mauna Loa at 13,677 feet. Also you will find Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes. Mauna Loa Lava tubes can also be extremely long; one currently active flow enters the ocean about 50 km (over 30 miles) from its eruption point.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.

A remarkable site created by Mark Bunnel shows the diverse vocabulary required to simply describe the many features of a lava tube.