Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
The (Marvelous) Botanical Gardens of Oahu
I love visiting Hawaii, not only for the sunshine and beaches but also for the marvelous flora and fauna. What can be better than palm trees swaying in the breeze and giant banyan trees in the parks?
I’m glad you asked!
Because the best of the flowers and the trees can be found in the many Botanical Gardens of Oahu!
We visited four of them – Foster – Ho’omaluhia – Waimea Valley – Wahiawa – and I’m happy to share some of the highlights with you.
The first was Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu, the oldest of the botanical gardens, a 14-acre oasis in the city. My favorite tree almost didn’t look real – the Quipo – a Giant Hibiscus relative, native to Central America, planted in 1930.
We found another giant member of the Hibiscus family that looked like an elephant’s foot to me: the Baobab tree, planted in 1940.
We visited the 400-acre Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden a few days later on our way to the North Shore.
It’s entrance has become so popular that no stops are allowed until you are inside the park; the first photo below was taken through the windshield of our car. (Better spring for the convertible next time!)
In addition to the mountains, trees and flowers,
I came across this cute family of mongooses. I found out later they’re considered an invasive species. Originally native to India, they were introduced by the sugar industry to control rats in sugarcane fields. Not their fault, right? Don’t they look repentant?
The next day we visited Waimea Valley Botanical Garden, a favorite of ours from earlier trips. Across from famous Waimea Bay Beach Park, it’s steeped in Hawaiian history and culture.
I loved walking under the canopy of the trees which provided shelter from the sun.
On our last full day on Oahu, we made it to our final garden in Wahiawa. According to its website, “cradled between the Wai‘anae and Ko‘olau mountain ranges in central O‘ahu lies Wahiawā Botanical Garden – the “tropical jewel” of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens. This 27-acre garden and forested ravine dates back to the 1930s when this land was used by sugar planters as an experimental arboretum.”
It was a real jungle, draped in vines, and I found geckos hiding in waxy flowers.
I loved the Mindanao Gum, Rainbow Eucalyptus, one of the fastest growing trees in the world,
and the giant Ficus.
After leaving we headed up the road to the Dole Plantation for a look at the pineapple fields
and of course, a delicious Dole Pineapple Float.
It tasted as good as it looks!
By the way, did you notice anything missing?
The birds! There were so many I decided to share them in a post all their own.
Stay tuned for that. 🙂
~ Susanne
Home Again, Home Again to Smokey Skies and Fall Color
I woke to these views earlier this week –
and returned to smokey skies and the worst air quality in the world.
Yikes!
Still, there was beautiful fall color to be found at Coulon Park in Renton before the storm hit.
After the driest summer on record in Seattle, the rain has finally returned with a vengeance cooling the temperatures and clearing the sky.
The locals are rejoicing.
~ Susanne
Beach Kitties of Oahu
I miss these two when I’m gone.
They miss me too.
But at least I was able to get my fill of cats from the beach kitties of Oahu.
Even so, it’s good to be back home.
~ Susanne
Postcards from Oahu
I told my husband before we left that I wouldn’t be blogging and I believed it; he did not.
So as not to let him down, I thought I’d at least send some postcards to share the aloha from Oahu. Words will come in later posts.
Soon the crashing waves, warm ocean breezes, flora and fauna and island time, will join my other memories of Hawaii, all fleeting moments.
Sharing with https://secondwindleisure.com/2022/10/16/sunday-stills-life-is-made-up-of-fleeting-moments/
Susanne
Forty Years Ago – Anniversary Edition
I once had a conversation with my grandpa who told me he’d recently found himself saying ‘forty years ago’ and he remembered back when he was younger how some older folks would also say ‘forty years ago’ and wasn’t it curious that he now found himself saying the same thing and I remember him telling me this little tale in his slow grandpa voice about forty years ago….
* * *
And now here I am saying the same thing on the occasion of my 40th anniversary – ’40 years ago’ I married my husband and best friend. Oh happy day!
Celebrating on Oahu.
~ Susanne
A Photoshoot with the Hummingbirds
I love my Anna’s Hummingbirds and it’s been a while since I featured them. So yesterday I scrubbed and refilled their feeders with fresh sugar water and sat to watch as they dropped by.
(Click to enlarge)
The male Anna’s is the only hummer in the U.S. with a red crown.
When he poses just so, the handsome little bird lights up like Dorothy’s slippers.
Who could resist?
~ Susanne
Dilapidated Trucks or Reclaimed Relics?
“A building or object in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.”
Yes, it’s another photo challenge from Sunday Stills and I didn’t plan on participating this week as I couldn’t find anything dilapidated. That is, until I searched my archives and found these classics from my travels.
The first set of photos is from Tillamook on the Oregon Coast where we stopped for lunch last year at this eatery:
Afterwards we wandered the grounds and came across these delightfully dilapidated vehicles.
The trucks I understand in logging country, but who knows how they acquired a bus from London?
After finding these, I remembered other dilapidated trucks from recent travels, including this one in the old mining town of Liberty,
and this one in the Redwoods of Northern California.
All dilapidated perhaps, but certainly also reclaimed relics.
And that’s all for now.
~ Susanne
A Fall Hike at Seattle’s Lincoln Park, Complete with Wildlife
Last week we took our first fall hike at Seattle’s Lincoln Park on a gloriously sunny day. We walked through the woods,
and down to the beach on Puget Sound.
We saw crows
squirrels
harbor seals
caterpillars
spider webs
and the spiders who inhabit them.
It’s the season for spiders in Seattle and we have over 965 different species in Washington state, most of which (thankfully) are non-venomous. Still, I like to keep my distance.
Lincoln Park is perhaps my favorite Seattle park and good for walking year-round.
According to the Seattle Parks website, “Lincoln Park is West Seattle’s major multi-purpose park – a nose-shaped bluff on Puget Sound just north of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. Switchbacks on the north and gentle trails to the south connect a mile of seawalls, rocky beaches to a bluff of grassy forests and meadows with play and picnic areas galore.”
Next time you’re in town, why don’t you drop by and see for yourself?
~ Susanne
Celebrating Coffee! Why Don’t You Have a Cup?
Yesterday was National Coffee Day here in the U.S. and tomorrow is International Coffee Day, so I thought I’d split the difference and celebrate today!
Earlier this week another study was released suggesting that 2 – 3 cups of the brew is good for your heart and longevity.
We see these kinds of headlines about every 6 months which is encouraging, yes.
But regardless, I’ll enjoy my morning coffee, either at home, or in the cutest shop I can find, whether near or far.
There’s no better way to start the day than with coffee – my favorite food group! 🙂
~ Susanne
My Little Nuthatch
I love all the birds that call my garden home including this little charmer – the red breasted nuthatch.
I often hear his energetic ‘ank-ank-ank,’ before I see him in the branches of the Douglas Fir tree above, looking for insects,
or walking down its trunk, headfirst.
When the coast is clear he drops to the stream below, where he may find a chickadee has beat him to it; there’s room for both.
And if not, there’s always the birdbath.
The red breasted nuthatch is just 4.5 inches long, a sturdy tree-climber that lives in north woods and western mountains. And lucky for me, in my yard, year-round.
Sharing with Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Birds
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 