Recent rains in Kona have brought luxuriance to this dryland forest at Ka‘ūpūlehu. Puakala, ma‘o hau hele, hauhele‘ula, maiapilo, and ‘ōhi‘a are flowering, and ‘āweoweo lacks its distinctive scent. Wiliwili, kauila and ‘ohe makai outplanted by HawCC/UHH students a couple years ago are doing amazing. Mahalo to the ‘ohana of Ho‘ola ka Makana‘ā for caretaking this special forest.
Moon Phase Project 
Kia ora tatou, Thanks for the post. You keep us here in Aotearoa-New Zealand alive. I saw Whiro Saturday evening, 28 June, The sun set at 1658 – a great sight. Looking West out over the Tamsan Sea, from the Paekakariki Hill lookout, 30 km North of Wellington. Whiro was a clear calm day & evening. But seeing Whiro at 1750 for the first time was truly magnificent. Our tribe lives inland (central North Island), and we can never see Whiro, because it sets so close to the setting sun. The following day Tiirea is easier – not Whiro. Following the setting of the Sun, it took 30 minutes to see Jupiter (that was about 10 degrees North high) above the very thin crescent phase of Whiro – 1 degree lumination. I only got a short glimpse – about 10 minutes view before Whiro glided below the sea. It was a awesome sight. Hope you in Hawai’i also can see Hilo dive into the Pacific. Our tupuna called Hilo Whiro – but it is the same name – for us Whiro is a time of unease, to be weary, to take stock of things. Please take care – I love your posts. We will start posts here too some time soon. Ma te Atua hei manaaki, Ockie Simmonds, Wellington, NZ
Aloha! Wonderful to hear about your observation of Whiro…I can visualize it in my mind, and it’s beautiful. Mahalo nui for sharing. Can’t wait to hear more!
I learnt about the connection between the moon phases and the various old ways activities of my people, the Bidayuhs of Borneo, from an elderly man some years back.
I had given a great deal of thought about it. How plants planted at certain time have better germination rates or are less susceptible to insects, or the best time to harvest jungle/forest resources for building materials, the best time to fish, hunt etc etc.
Coming across Dr Kalei Nu’uhiwa’s video on YouTube opened my eyes further, leading to your blog.
I am beginning to see this a personal project to uncover a potentially disappearing knowledge among my people.
Aloha James! Mahalo (thank you!) for sharing your thoughts on this. Kalei has done amazing work in this area and has worked with others to convene a growing community of folks (in Hawaiʻi and beyond) interested in applying this knowledge for our time and future generations. Check out http://www.aimalama.org/ to see more about this. Keep in touch!