Saturday, October 23, 2021. Pua mai ke ao māhu...

 After a week of dry, cool weather aided by north winds, with sunshine all day every day, the shift occurred at about 230 yesterday afternoon.  Sitting on the couch with windows wide open, cooling off from a couple hours at Keanakākoʻi in full glorious sun, it began to cloud up, and the first faint breeze gentled in through the screen.  It was great while it lasted, and I surprised myself by walking every day.  Nūnī seems, after nearly two years, to have settled in, or I with it.  Still feels odd, but not at all painful.  Next is the first swim...

pua

1. nvi. Flower, blossom, tassel and stem of sugar cane; to bloom, blossom. Pāpale pua, pāpale pua kō, hat made of stem of sugar cane. Pua ka wiliwili, nanahu ka manō, the wiliwili tree blooms, the sharks bite [a blossoming girl is desired by males; sharks are believed to mate when the wiliwili blooms and to be especially ferocious]. E hauʻoli hoʻi ka wao akua, ā e pua mai hoi (Isa. 35.1), the wilderness shall be glad and blossom too. (PPN pua).

2. vi. To issue, appear, come forth, emerge, said especially of smoke, wind, speech, and colors, hence to smoke, blow, speak, shine. Cf. pua ahi, pua ehu, pua ʻehu, pua ʻena, pua hina, puana, puka. Pua ka uahi, the smoke rises. E pua ana ka makani, the wind rises. Kapu ka nū, ka ʻī, i ka pua o ka leo, forbidden to groan, to speak by sound of voice. A ʻike pua iki aku nō ʻoe iā Kaʻula, and you barely see Kaʻula. hoʻo.pua Caus/sim.. Mai hoʻopua ʻoe, do not say a word. (PCP pua).

3. nvi. Progeny, child, descendant, offspring; young, spawn, fry, as of āholehole, ʻamaʻama, ʻanae, awa, kāhala, ʻōʻio, uouoa, to produce progeny or young. Pua aliʻi, descendants of chiefs, royal progeny. Pua ʻūhini, young ʻūhini, a grasshopper. Kana mau pua, his descendants. Pua iʻa, baby fish, fish fry. Lau kō pua, netting drive for young fish. Ua pau, ua hala lākou, a koe nō nā pua (song), they are gone, passed away, and the descendants remain.

4. n. Arrow, dart, sometimes made from flower stalks of sugar cane.

5. Same as olopua 1, a tree. (Perhaps PPN pua).

6. n. Float, buoy. Rare.

7. Short for ʻōpua, a cloud bank.

8. (Cap.) n. A Molokaʻi sorcery goddess.

9. A fishhook for turtles. (And.)

In the instance of the title of this post, the "pua" referred to is #2 above (mahalo ng!), though "smoke" does not apply.  Itʻs māhu rising... steams, vapors, etceteras.

With winds slack or a bit swirly yesterday, the māhu (vapors) rising from Halemaʻumaʻu stood straight up.  As it does, the ao (cloud) constantly changes shape and provides those of us so inclined, endless mesmerizing fascinations.

It was 49dF at Kawaiʻapapane, my home, last Wednesday morning the 20th.  Gentle north winds helped, as did clear night skies.  When I got to the highway:

I was reminded of:

The first BIG lū (scattering or throwing of ash), on May 15, 2018, and this photo at 1027a.  Little did we know or comprehend...we were inkling-less.

Conditions were much the same yesterday as they were Wednesday, and I reached the Park Entrance, and thought "Why not"?

And as I walked the former roadway (weʻll talk about the dying forest another time soon)...

And then reached my pōhaku noho on the pā pōhaku (stone wall) at Keanakākoʻi

See?  Constantly shape-shifting and evolving.  And see above, the emanations werenʻt consistently constant.  Puffs arose from the pit.  And seemingly constant is the thrum, or tuktuktuk of infernal helicopters.  They intrude, they make noise, even from afar when you canʻt see them, theyʻre heard.  So much for the sounds of lau kapalili, as leaves tremble and quiver in the wind, or too, the voices of birds. The Worst are Blackhawk helicopters, apparently sightseeing from Pōhakuloa Training Area or wherever.  They are loudest, biggest, and apparently National Security is at risk because they fly right over Kaluapele to inspect Her work.  No matter that theyʻve over the 1,500ʻ height, or whatever.  So much for their cultural sensitivity.  You saw the dust storms at PTA.  Yes.  I get the value of a well-prepared fighting force.  But just futting around and sightseeing at OUR expense???  Cʻmon...

Hard to see, but a third of the way down, near center, on Thursday.

But back to "pua".  Years ago I had noticed a little strap-leafed plant nestled at the base of one of the used-to-be-alive now dead roadside ʻōhiʻa.  I imagined it was an ʻukiʻuki (Dianella sp.), the endemic blue-fruited used-for-dye lily.  But it didnʻt seem quite right.  Below, itʻs that bit of yellowgreen on the right-hand side of the base of the tree.

And yes, Maunakea is caught at the right horizon, as is the dark hump of Kūlani.  Remember that Kūlani is where the moku of Hilo, Puna, and Kaʻū are pili.  Their boundaries join at that prominent summit.

Then one time, a friend noticed a fatness amongst the foliage.  A seed pod.  Of an orchid.  Not ʻukiʻuki after all.  Then Thursday last (I know...it was a week busy with E hō mai ka ʻike and nā mea huna being revealed) with other friends, I pointed out the orchid plant, and cfp leaned in:

Turns out, (thanks Jaime!) that itʻs an orchid species, rather than a plant hybridized.  

From orchidspecies.com:  Cymbidium dayanum.

Itʻs invasive, in that itʻs invading habitat in the Park, and is becoming relatively common in dry mini-kīpuka on the lee side of Kīlauea.  But not as invasive as faya, alien grasses, coqui, fire ants, melastomes, kāhili ginger, Himalayan raspberry, blackberry, albizia, fountaingrass, mullein, knotweed (Polygonum capitatum), cattle egrets, rose-ringed parakeets, feral cats, mongooses, and what-la.  Any yes, all the mentioned invasive alien species began as a single (or few) colonizer.  And then because we werenʻt Paying Attention, they spread and spread and spread...

Mohala nā pua ʻokika (Blossoming are orchid flowers)

mohala

vs. Unfolded, as flower petals; blossoming, opening up; spread, as a turkey's tail; blooming, as a youth just past adolescence; shining forth, as a light; appearing clear, as a thought; evolved, developed; freed or recovered, as from fear, worry, illness.

And now back to things Pelehonuamea...

She still going...but seemingly at a lower rate of effusion, emission, output.  Nearly half the papa loko ahi, the surface of the lava lake is active.  But, as weʻve seen, that can change nearly instantaneously.

And you see above the zigzag designs near the bright hot outlet?  Howʻs this from HVO, 101721:

Silver...as I shake my head (again)... Pūʻiwa is the contemporary orthography, "updated" from Andrewsʻ 1865 Dictionary:

PU-I-WA

s. Amazement; a surprise; a stupefaction on account of wonder; 

Say the "w" as "v"...

Sigh...  So.  Just because, I going put raincoat on and holosolo to Keanakākoʻi...

Aloha, always aloha...

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com