Puakenikeni...

one of my very favorite flowers is Puakenikeni.

I love the different smells it gives off as it changes from pure while, to yellow

finally to orange.

Saturday night I met some friends at Aulani.

One of the musicians and I had talked before about Puakenikeni and how

there isn't really a song written about the blossoms when they first open in 

the early morning, still wet with dew.

So for their show that night he'd made three Puakenikeni leis for them to wear.  He 

remembered our conversation about the scent.  When they were done for the evening,

he gave me his beautiful double/double lei.  

Puakenikeni is such a fragile flower that it doesn't take much for them to start

turning brown.

I took it off for the drive home and snapped a quick picture of it sitting on my

hat.

as soon as I got home, I wrapped it and put it in the refrigerator.

The next morning I wore it to church and the whole chapel was filled with

the sweet scent of Puakenikeni.