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.

Over the lava and through the woods

The Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii
Trails come in all shapes and sizes. Some meander through the woods.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Paths and Trails.’ See more responses here.

A Trail along the coast on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some follow the coast.
A Trail over Pahoehoe lava on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some wind through barren lava fields.
A path across Nanue bridge on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some pass next to busy roads. Don’t look down!
The trail to Akaka Falls on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some are paved and have rails for safety.
A sign marks the trail at Weliweli Point on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some have handy signs.
A Walkway over lava on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some are built to carry you above ancient petroglyphs.
The Ka'awaloa Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some trails are mysterious.
The Powerline Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii
Some are clear and easy to follow.
The Hilina Pali Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii
And with some, it’s a long way down, and twice as long coming back up!

Isabelle’s Hermit Crabs

Isabelle's Hermit Crabs in a head of coral in the waters off Hawaii

Lately, I’ve been taking photos of heads of coral to see what lurks within. In this instance, I thought I saw something down there and snapped a couple of photos. When I looked again, I thought, maybe that’s just dead coral.

It was only when I got home and zoomed in on the photos that I saw red in the bands on the legs of what proved to be Isabelle’s Hermit Crabs. According to my marine invertebrate book, this crab was unknown in Hawaii until 2003, meaning that it is a new arrival or has somehow been overlooked by previous researchers. The species only got a formal name in 1997, from a French zoologist, who named it after his wife.

Cybertruck

A painted Cybertruck in Hawaii

Elon Musk is in the news again (when is he not?) thanks to his falling out with Donald Duck Trump. This contretemps was big news, which is somewhat surprising since it seemed impossible for it not to happen. When you get two men with overinflated egos, who behave like five-year-olds, what does anyone expect to happen?

Elon is now backing off government work to return to his private interests, one of which is the electric vehicle company, Tesla. This photo is of one of those vehicles, which is commonly known as the Cybertruck.

This is the point where I should say something nice about the Cybertruck. However, the only thing that springs to mind is that I loved reading that raccoons have been climbing on these vehicles and scratching them. Apparently, they think they’re dumpsters! The downside of this news is that now, every time I see one of these vehicles, I can’t help but shout out ‘Muskrat in a dumpster!’ Yes, I can behave like a five-year-old too.

I’ve seen this Cybertruck several times, and I can’t decide whether the paint job makes the truck look better or worse than the usual shiny metal look. My initial thought is it’s worse. I thought the shiny metal look was the one redeeming feature of these trucks, and I liked the echo of the original Ford Model T, where Henry Ford allegedly said, “Any color the customer wants, as long as it’s black.” I wonder if Ford had any trouble with raccoons?

The Numbers Game #76

A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron watches from a Kiawe tree.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 197. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Orange Sulphur Butterfly on a Bougainvillea.
Gold Dust Day Geckos warm up in the morning sun.
A Northern Mockingbird snags a meal.
A Green Turtle swims by.
A cat in the grass.
Cement tanks at sunrise.

Pretty in pink

A Pink container in Hawaii
This shipping container, parked in Kawaihae, isn’t likely to blend into the background.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Pink.’ See more responses here.

Maiapilo flowers in Hawaii
Maiapilo flowers are white when they bloom but turn to pink within 24 hours as they fade.
A rider in the Kamehameha Day Parade in North Kohala, Hawaii
June 11 is Kamehameha Day and there will be a parade in North Kohala as usual. Pink is the color representing Maui.
A green anole puffs out its dewlap.
A Green Anole puffs out his dewlap to let evereyone know who’s in charge here.
A Pink Ginger in Hawaii
A pink ginger.
A Bee on pinkhead smartweed in Hawaii
A bee on a Persicaria capitata flower.
Hawaiian Stilts in Hawaii
Hawaiian Stilts wade through the shallows looking for food.