These goats, part of a large herd wandering in the environs of a heliport, weren’t authorized personnel. I wasn’t about to go out and point that out to them, in case they didn’t take kindly to the message.
Author Archives: Graham
Yellow-billed cardinal on a rock
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Something Red.’ (See more offerings here.) I had a few bird photos that fell into that category, but I chose these yellow-billed cardinal photos for their name.
When I’m out on walks, I’ve run into people who ask me about the name of the little bird with the red head. No one has ever asked me about the name of the little bird with the yellow bill, but that’s the feature that gives them their name. I guess it’s because other cardinals have red heads so calling this one a red-headed cardinal would lead to confusion.
I thought this one, seen on the beach at Pololu, looked particularly dapper.
Honokohau Harbor entrance
Honokohau Harbor, just north of Kailua Kona, is the main small boat harbor on the west side of the Big Island. In addition to private pleasure craft, a lot of charter boats operate out of the harbor, taking guests out to fish, snorkel, dive, and whale watch.
While it looks placid in this photo, once outside this harbor entrance, boaters are in the Pacific Ocean and conditions can change dramatically in a very short time.
Green anole lookout
A green anole keeps watch from the leaf of a ti plant. I like the reptilian look of anoles, the details of their scales, and the colors around their eyes.
Guzmania ‘Limones’
Guzmania ‘Limones’ is a colorful bromeliad with an interesting form. It’s native to Central and South America. Guzmanias only flower once and then die, but the bloom lasts a long time, and before they die, they usually produce pups.
This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
Big-eye emperor
This big-eye emperor fish gave me the big eye, which is very unusual. Big-eye emperors are the kings of hanging in the water and imperceptibly drifting away. It’s an act of extreme futility to try and get close. The more you try, the farther away they get.
Kawaihae dirt storm
The winds were blowing here last week, 30+ mph on a consistent basis. But one afternoon the winds picked up even more and triggered dirt storms off the hills above Kawaihae.
The wind whistled down the slope from Kohala Mountain and dry dirt was gathered up, whirled around, and blasted down the slope toward the ocean. This happened for an hour or so. Sometimes, white sand from the beach in Kawaihae harbor was similarly stirred up.
The unfortunate aspect of this display was that it visibly demonstrated the problems with erosion when the ground is dry. If it’s not the wind, then any rainfall washes the soil down gullies and into the ocean. All this dirt being deposited in the relatively shallow waters off the coast degrades the water quality and can have a seriously adverse effect on corals in the area.
Abstracts: Reflections
Reflections in the windows of a helicopter over the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel, between the Big Island and Maui.
Graham's Island 