Once upon a time

An old photo of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau Mountains in Switzerland

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Favorite Vacation Spots.’ See more responses here.

I thought I’d go with a couple of old photos from a vacation I took many, many years ago to Switzerland. I really enjoyed Switzerland because the scenery was wonderful, the trails were well marked and maintained, and good chocolate was plentiful.

The top photo shows the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau Mountains in the Alps. The bottom one shows some hairy yob atop the Mettelhorn, near Zermatt, with the Matterhorn in the background.

An old photo of me on the Mettelhorn in Switzerland

This second photo amuses me because I rarely take selfies, and back then a selfie involved finding a stable spot to place the camera, activating the timer, and scurrying back to, hopefully, get in the shot. Then, as now, it was a struggle because I’ve never remembered how to find the timer and set it, on any camera I’ve ever had!

Wet weather

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Rain at a parking lot in Kailua Kona, Hawaii — Yes, it rains in Hawaii too.

It’s Halloween, and visitors to the island, here for blue skies and sunshine, must wonder what kind of scary place they’ve ended up in. We’ve had a system of tropical moisture funneling across the state for the past few days and it has been mostly gray skies and rain.

Rain rippling through a parking lot in Kailua Kona, Hawaii — Little rivers and waves.

I was at Costco, having my car’s tires rotated, when the dreary weather unleashed one of its heavier downpours. Luckily, it eased up before my car was ready for me to go.

Feet splashing through rain puddles in Kailua Kona, Hawaii — No one was hanging around, coming…

Moon over Hawi

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This photo was taken on the same evening as yesterday’s post, looking in the opposite direction, where a fullish moon had risen.

Sunset in Hawi

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These clouds helped make a nice sunset a few evenings ago.

Green turtle in the shallows

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A Green Turtle swimming in shallow waters off Hawaii

Near the end of a recent swim, I saw this smallish Green Turtle. It was cruising along in shallow water near the ladder I was aiming for. It disappeared into the rocks, but I hung around hoping for another sight of it, and was rewarded when it came back out and swan past me before returning to the shelter of the rocks. I didn’t follow since I don’t have a shell to protect me from the bumps the turtle was undoubtedly encountering.

Paph. Johanna Burkhardt ‘Raptor’

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Another orchid from the Hilo Orchid Show. I think the Raptor name fits this one. Posted for Terri’s Flower Hour. See more responses here.

Water leak

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A broken water pipe in heavy foliage in Hawi, Hawaii

A week ago, in a post (here), I noted that my water line had broken. The other day, I remembered that I took these photos of the break. The top one shows the tangle of vegetation the water line runs through. The second gives a better view of the break.

I wet myself

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This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Scary Animal of the Month.’ See more responses here. I’ve dipped into the archives for this one, which is mostly water shots. What else did you think I meant by the headline? Captions on the photos as usual.

A Devil’s Scorpionfish has poisonous spines and flashes colorful fins to warn off predators.

A Great Barracuda in the waters off Hawaii — A Devil’s Scorpionfish has poisonous spines and flashes colorful fins to warn off predators.

And finally, for all you arachnophobes, a lovely Cane Spider.

A cane spider on the Big Island of Hawaii

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii