Early morning light

Sunrise this morning on the farm. The conifer on the left is an ironwood, an introduced species, and the tallest trees on the right are papaya.

Went to Hilo today for business. Well, for groceries. No store in Honoka'a sells dark leafy greens and I crave my dark leafy goodness! Stopped at Kalopa State Park on the way there. The park is a native forest reserve; several types of pre-Polynesian trees, shrubs, and ferns grow there. The reserve is basically a square shape, surrounded on all sides by pastureland and private property. Within the boundaries grow the dwindling endemic plant species of Hawaii, and they do so quite well. Because of its isolation from other forests, it hosts only one species of endemic bird, the Elepaio. I was hoping to see or at least hear one today but no luck. She eludes me.

I had a wonderful time at this park. Walking through native forest on Hawaii is like stepping far back into the past--you realize that at one point the whole island looked this way. It's disheartening to realize how little money is going towards the upkeep and promotion of this place, which is very unique in being able to present native species at such a low elevation. Living at around 1,000 feet myself, I very rarely encounter native Hawaiian species of any animal or plant. We had the place to ourselves for the whole morning; the only others we encountered were disappointed to learn there was no waterfall and promptly turned around and left. I am definitely one who laments the loss of endemic and native species, and it is difficult to see parks like this one so neglected and passed over. There are just the most obscene amounts of money being lobbed around this island; I wish that more of it was going towards preserving places like Kalopa.