Siwa Sightings

I'm the resident biologist in this family and my name is Siwa. Nature Sightings is where I post my pictures of bugs, birds, fish, plants, landscapes, or anything I see outside that I find interesting, beautiful or funny.

A Hawaiian monk seal that came to sleep on the reef. He rolled over into a tide pool giving him the half light half dark look. Hawaiian monk seal are critically endangered and found no where else in the world except in the Hawaiian islands.

Left-handed Hermit Crab.  I found him under a rock in the shallows. He was very obliging and came out to pose for some pictures.

A snapping shrimp.  These shrimps can be found under rocks in tide pools. You can distinctly hear them making a sharp clicking noise with their large claws, whether you are under water or above it.

I have no idea what kind of crab this is. I was lifting rocks when I found him. I love the way the spots on his claws look luminescent.

Warning: Serious illness, death, or depression may occur.

A grainy planthopper (Kallitaxila granulata). Planthoppers are pests that suck sap from plants. I can't help but like them anyway because of how beautiful they are. This particular species is my favorite.

On Entrepreneurship

Jesse is sixteen  and a business woman.  I know because I stood in line with her to get her business license.  She had an idea and she worked on it, and then reworked it until she had a finished product.  She took it to a buyer and she liked it and bought it.  It sounds simple but it took her MANY hours of hard work and, although we've never discussed this part, courage.  It takes courage to start a business, to believe that you can produce or provide something that other people want.  It takes courage to gather/sacrifice resources and put time and effort into something that may all come to naught.  It takes courage to approach people and offer them your precious idea, materialized into a tangible product, almost like wearing your heart on your sleeve.  But she did it all.  The first time she met with the buyer, I took her to her appointment, but I sat in the car while she showed her product.  I didn't know if this was a good idea or not.  For all I knew the buyer might try to swindle her.  It just felt like the right thing to do.  She walked out of the meeting with an order and at her asking price.  I can't tell you what that felt like for me, as her parent.  Now when I look at her, I see strength and courage, and I admire her tremendously.

Here is her product: Sling bags in Samoan prints

Here are some shots from our impromptu photo shoot (that means we decided we needed some  photos to show with the bags at a meeting she was going to, so we stopped at the beach on the way and Siwa took them):

 My strong, courageous woman

The mountains and the sea part 2

 Last evening we went to Sunset Beach to watch the sunset.  We got there when it was light and found little groups of people scattered all over the beach waiting for the same thing.  There was a rainstorm out to sea.  We could see it slowly moving in the direction of the sun.  By the time the sun was ready to begin its final descent, it was clear the storm would be covering it.  It was as if a host of rainclouds were converging at the exact same spot the sun would be setting.  I was a little disappointed when I realized this.  A man with a huge camera came walking by and jokingly said, "Where's the sun?  I thought this was Sunset Beach."  

When I turned my attention back to the clouds, I noticed all sorts of things about them.  There was the thick center that was covering the sun, but there were several other types of clouds in the outermost areas of the mass.  They were all shapes, colors, textures, and sizes.  My favorites were the wispy white ones that I think are called cirrus clouds.  We called them angel wings and were pointing out to each other the different types of clouds and the directions they were heading.  It was a peaceful almost reverent feeling on the beach.  We were all focused on the same thing, something far out to sea, something unexpected yet very beautiful nonetheless.  The cloud mass was so huge, but the sun faithfully sent its rays shooting out at the edges, so that they gave the storm a bit of silver lining.  

The storm is just about to cover the sun.

Time to go home.

Felila

My felila (that's Samoan for bougainvillea) are in full bloom. They like full sun and less rain, so they always explode in the summer.  Every morning and all throughout the day, I look out the window and see this riot of color and I feel happy.  My mother and father planted these for me, and when two bushes died, they came back and planted more.  After all these years the wait has paid off.

One day a lady passed me while I was trimming them.  She said, "It must be a pain to always be cutting that back."   "Yeah," I replied "but it's worth it when they bloom."

Just wanted to share the "bloom."  Hope it makes you happy too.

This is what they look like on the other side of the wall.

Other things that make me happy:

My Guava

My Lilikoi (passion fruit)

On being a mother

Motherhood is the best job in the world.  I didn't always think so.  I'll be honest and say that when my kids were younger there were many difficult days, days when I cried, and days when I wanted to run from the house screaming.  But I stuck with it and I stayed with them.  I did it because I knew that being a mother was more than changing diapers and feedings, and burpings and endless laundry.  I knew that these little human beings although wrapped in smaller packages, were still my equals and that someday they were going to grow up; that the kind of adults they grew into depended, in large measure, on what I chose to do then, when they were little.  They needed to be loved and fed and taught right from wrong.  I made ALOT of mistakes over the years, but they (the kids) stuck with me, and forgave me, again and again and again. . . .

Some days I find myself looking around in surprised wonder.  I look up to  find that I'm surrounded by intelligent, funny, creative, and really good people and I wonder where they came from and how it is that I am so blessed to be their mother.  I look at them and my heart swells.  I can't imagine not having had any of them in my life.

And even though I still have hard, sad, painful, and/or irritating days, (like earlier today when I was trying to blog and it was really hot,  and I was having a serious case of writer's block and everyone kept coming into the room and reading over my shoulder and asking me what I was writing about), I've come to a place in the river, where the water runs more smoothly for me.  More than half of my children have reached adulthood or are on the verge of it.  The load is lighter because we share the work.  We have intelligent conversations about things that I like to talk about.  We laugh at the same jokes and read a lot of the same books and like to watch the same movies, except for Mary who can't stand Jane Austen.  And I find that my very best friends are here within the walls of my own home.

I truly believe that motherhood is the best job in the world, not just because it's so very important, but  because the rewards are out of this world.

Taken about seven years ago.  We've come a long way together since then.

  

Family Night

Tonight we had family night. Its our weekly tradition held on Monday nights. We sang Love at Home and had a prayer. My husband gave a short lesson/review on where we came from, why we are here and where we go after this life. Then everyone had a turn to share their thoughts. Some of the thoughts had to do with the lesson, and some of them were random, off the wall comments like, "I think I should learn to drive this year." We also had cookies and ice cream. We actually had dessert first. That seems to be a tradition too.

Our little gathering tonight took about thirty minutes. Sometimes our family nights are longer, and sometimes shorter, but we always seem to be happier with each other when we're done.

Haleiwa Arts Festival

The girls and I went to the Haleiwa Arts Festival yesterday.  Its an annual event that showcases local talent.  There were local bands playing, food vendors, and some really cool art and handicrafts.  It was a beautiful day, but HOT!  We had a good time wandering around the booths.  The girls are pretty creative and so it was good to go check out what others are doing.  I think it got the creative juices flowing.  I could definitely see the wheels turning. Here are some pics from the day.

Patti O'neal does some amazing landscapes of places that we frequent.  You can look at her paintings and feel the sun and breeze as if you're standing there.

There were activities for the kids, including this pottery booth.

My baby doesn't seem to notice she's lost her towel.

Haleiwa town in the distance.

Clark Little is an awesome photographer.  He catches incredible water shots, many looking through a barrel at a whole other scene, like a sunset or mountains.  Very cool.

Koa framed mirrors?

Vibrant glass shards melted together into pendants. Can't remember what the process was called.

Jewelry boxes handcrafted out of koa and other local woods.

Texans and Samoans

Spent the day going to flower shops gathering flowers to make floral arrangements for my cousin’s mother-in-law’s funeral.  I won’t actually be doing the arranging myself.  My good friend, who I like to call Fancy Nancy, is going to be doing that.  And since she’s from Texas, where they do things big, she understands the Samoan motto of “biggest is best”.  She also understands the I’ll do anything I can for you, give you the shirt off my back  rule that applies to Samoan families, and to friends that are considered family.  She’s done flowers for our family before and went all out for us.  There were tears over how beautiful the flowers were.  That’s how good she is, and how good she is to me.

 Love you Nancy!

Messy Hair

This evening my husband  said to my baby, "Where did you get your beautiful hair?  Did someone fix it for you?"  He was teasing her about the beginning rat's nest.  She turned to him and seriously said, "No, its just that way.  That's how I came."  Love that my girl can take a compliment without blinking an eye.

The mountains and the sea part 1

When the kids were all little, we asked them what they wanted in a place to live.  Our oldest daughter, who was around five at the time, said she wanted to live by the mountains and the sea.  So glad we could grant her wish.

Here's one of our favorite places to visit:

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens. 

My baby taking a break from fishing.

We've spent a lot of time here.  The kids line the lake on Saturdays for catch and release fishing.  Its wonderful to bring a picnic and just spend time enjoying the peace of this place.  We love it!