Pikake in Bloom: Whether Flower or Fowl #SundayHaiku

Pikake lei

 The words for today are brazen and cocksure. The brazen flower of   Hawai'i known as Pikake is certainly unashamed and audacious, while   the Pikake/peafowl is without a doubt cocksure.

 My first visit to Waimea Falls Park on the North Shore of O'ahu dates   back to 1992. I took a narrated tram ride to the Cliff Diving event at the   45-foot waterfall where world champion divers put on quite a show,   not just swan dives like the divers in Acapulco, but also double   somersaults, something that had my stomach doing flips just observing. 

After watching an Ancient Hawaiian Hula performance and taking a short tour of a burial temple, I found a quiet picnic area to relax and enjoy my lunch. The valley, cradled between two mountain range structures with a rainforest of trees and plants and flowers, includes hiking trails, water lily ponds filled with fish, many species of birds, including the Nene goose (the state bird) and a huge variety of plants and flowers.

Pikake, the Hawaiian word for peafowls, roam free and are always happy to pose for pictures. One of them, whether peahen or peacock, befriended me while I ate. He kept sidling up to the table until I finally tossed him a few pieces of bread with a side of cheese, which he gobbled up quickly. Then he let out a "honk" that sounded louder than a semi-truck horn! Maybe he was announcing that I had overstayed my welcome.

As I prepared to leave the area, I spotted another peacock behind a building and hurried over to take a quick picture. I wasn’t satisfied with the shot so I attempted to direct him to greener pastures. Not only was this pikake a willing subject, he slowly spread his tail feathers and all I could say was, “Oh, mahalo plenty!” as I snapped more pictures.

Pikake Surprise

Feathers Tipped with Many Eyes

Paradise Alive

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