As the annual Gurudeva Puja events have winded down and we head into Skanda Shashthi, sishya Rajkumar Manickam shares additional photos, taken with his fancy camera, of scenery and the San Marga murthi moves on day three. The final afternoon will be a separate post.

Two events in one post:
1) A couple weeks ago Island School made their annual student field trip over here as part of studying world religions. They also visited other religions' places of worship on the island.
Isani Alahan gave a tour which included attending part of the Siva puja in Iraivan Temple. Most of these photos were taken by 8th grade teacher Pat Gegen. He reported afterwards, "Thank You again for the wonderful tours you provide for us and our students and the wisdom and insights into better understanding Hinduism as practiced here on Kauai. I continue to learn more every year and it is always a highlight for the students."

2) The other day we affixed a kalasam to the top of the small Ganesha shrine on San Marga path. A Ganesha murti will be officially installed inside in the coming weeks.

Each day in Siva's Sacred Gardens something magical is there to surprise and inspire. Nature's beauty and complexity are truly miraculous, if we but keep a wonder-filled heart and eye, alert to and aware of Siva's presence in it all, working from deep inside.

Here we share a couple of blooms from today, coupled with some interesting quotes about reincarnation....

Now that the new metal building is finished on the outside, including gutters and drain pipes to move rainwater away from the building, the Siddhidata Kulam is adjusting the surroundings. The ground is now sloped away on three sides, with a slightly lower pathway cut to channel water further away. Narrow concrete pipes already in our possession were laid next to each other to form a wide culvert for diverting a large amount of water out into the nearby orchard. The road over this culvert is the main route for coming to and from the new building. A round catchment tank is being installed as another source of rainwater storage for emergency use, and we also just purchased a used, large, stainless steel tanker as another source of backup water. A mound of dirt and mulch is established around the south side of the building to grow plants for a visual barrier.

With some helpful dry weather in the last week, our big equipment operator and engineer Dennis Wong was able to complete the process of laying down rocks and gravel for the farthest section of the Iraivan Temple pilgrims' path. This portion is the most challenging because of longer distance for transporting the material, and susceptibility to muddiness in wet weather. He will move on to the flatter sections in the weeks ahead. The rocks and gravel were laid a bit further than the temple entrance hill steps, over to a picturesque stream. Next, Dennis is working backwards, currently around the svayambhulingam area.

In a walk near the Path of the Saiva Satgurus this morning we were greeted with this remarkable orchid in bloom. Wow! It is Grammatophyllum wallisii, a rare native of the Philippines. It is among the largest orchids in the world and has many nicknames in the botanical world: Giant Orchid, Tiger Orchid, Sugar Cane Orchid. The flowers are a full 3.5 inches in diameter and the 8-foot-long spikes each have dozens. In the days ahead the spikes will extend and the drama will only increase. The plant as it grows older will form a basket of aerial roots, which is designed to catch falling leaves which will decompose and release nutrients and thus sustain the plant. Above is a Before & After slider of Iraivan from high above.

On this dry and sunny afternoon we get a few shots of more mondo sprigs (the dark green fluffy grass) being added on the west side of Iraivan Temple. We've hired some extra help to move the big project forward a little quicker. The silpis are up there making some corrections on roof stones.

Fun photos for today. The first is a shot of Nimu, the African Grey parrot you have seen on TAKA before. This morning he was caught piloting our drone (which can be seen on the other side of the glass if you look closely).

The second is a shot of Rudraksha tree roots, taken in May by Rajkumar Manickam. This tree is near the Swayambhu Lingam, near the Muruga shrine.

Today our peripetetic photographer roamed and captured a handful of the many botanical exhibitions in the garden. The amazing thing about a mature garden is that it is different each day, always something new, something blossoming, something growing high above in the trees.

Years ago, seeing the deterioration occasioned by the tropics on all things wooden, we decided as much as feasible to use longer-lasting materials. So when a wooden garden bench rotted out, we had four rose-colored granite benches made by our team in India, and installed them in the gardens.

One among them became overgrown by the foliage, and no one was using it. So two days back we took a team of six out and moved it to a new location. It now sits near the flagpole, overlooking Rishi Valley, a place it will be used often and enjoyed.

Story in the slideshow.