Author Archives: Graham

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About Graham

I take photos when I'm out and about, recording life on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Clouds in the Saddle

Clouds in the saddle on the Big Island, Hawaii

The Big Island’s weather is greatly influenced by northeast trade winds blowing up against Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and dumping generous quantities of rain on the wet east side. Not much of this moisture reaches the much drier west side.

On a recent hiking trip to the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, I saw a visual example of what goes on. Cresting a hill, I saw a bank of cloud rolling in from the east. My hike was somewhere under that cloud. When I got closer to that wall of cloud, I could see it fading as it pushed to the west.

My hike started under gray skies, with some light rain, but on this day, the clouds did not keep building. Instead, they burned off somewhat so that it was dry and quite hot by the time I returned to my car, such is the fickle nature of Big Island weather.

Clouds in the saddle on the Big Island, Hawaii

Cattle with a twist

A cow with twisted horns in Hawaii

On a recent walk I passed a couple of fields of cattle. In the first, I saw the one in the top photo. I noticed its horns going in different directions. But in the next field, I saw another one with a similar set of horns, with one important difference. My immediate thought was that these two should get together and swap horns and each would end up with a matching set!

A cow with twisted horns in Hawaii

Sunrise from Pelekane Beach

Sunrise at Pelekane Beach, Kawaihae

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Waiting for Peace.’ See more responses here.

This peaceful scene was taken at Pelekane Beach in Kawaihae. It’s a favorite spot of mine for an early morning walk, when it’s very quiet and calm. But it hasn’t always been that way.

In the late 1700s, King Kamehameha I ruled the north and west parts of Hawaii Island, but was engaged in a war with his cousin who ruled in the east. Kamehameha was advised to build a sacrificial temple for Kūkaʻilimoku, the war god. So Kamehameha had Puʻukoholā Heiau built. That’s the structure silhouetted on the hill to the left of the photo.

Kamehameha invited his cousin to the site, ostensibly to talk peace, but when his cousin arrived, he and his entourage were duly captured and became the first sacrifices to dedicate the temple. So not so peaceful after all. But this action ultimately led to Kamehameha being able to bring all the islands under his rule, ending many years of fighting and bringing stability and peace to Hawaii.

That situation largely lasted until the late 1800s when the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a coup d’état by a group seeking annexation to the United States. This duly happened, though the aftershocks of this event continue to disturb the peace in the islands to this day.

Redmargin Spanish Dancer

A Redmargin Spanish Dancer egg sac in the waters off Hawaii
A Redmargin Spanish Dancer nudibranch in the waters off Hawaii

This is Hawaii’s largest nudibranch and can reach a foot long. Mostly active at night, the best chance for snorkelers to see signs of this nudibranch, is to see one of their egg sacs, such as the one in the top photo, attached to a rock. These rose-like sacs are quite beautiful and waver as the water swirls around them.

I’ve only seen an actual Redmargin Spanish Dancer once (second photo). My marine invertebrate book says it resembles fatty ground beef, which is a pretty good description!