Category Archives: Activities

The Numbers Game #67

A Japanese White-eye on a pink banana flower.

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 188. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Sunset off Kohala.
Lesser Grass Blue Butterflies.
Vireya Rhododendron flowers.
Orchid Onc. Tsuiki Magueritte.
A Snowflake Moray Eel.
A lava breakout from the Kilauea lava flow.
A lava breakout on a 2016 Kilauea lava flow. The couple on the right hadn’t yet noticed it. Original post here.

A small world

Tiny fish shelter in a tangle of lines in the waters off Hawaii
Tiny fish shelter in a tangle of lines in the waters off Hawaii

During a recent swim, I saw a small tangle of lines floating in the water. While I’m not a fan of debris ending up in the ocean, I know these kinds of thing can have a positive side, so I headed over to check it out.

While I liked the color and reflections of the scene, what I was looking for was whether this floating raft sheltered anything. I had to look closely, but saw a few tiny fish hiding in the lines. As I approached from one side, they disappeared to the other. We played this game for a while and I was able to get a few photos.

I don’t know what the fish were, but they were likely juveniles of one of the pelagic species. They were very small, a half to three quarters of an inch long. The clump of line itself was only 6 to 9 inches across. But such environments provide valuable shelter for a variety of tiny creatures. It was only when I looked at the photos that I noticed another one, the small orange crab on one of the lines.

Oceanic Blacktip Shark

An Oceanic Blacktip Shark in the waters off Hawaii

OK, so it’s not a great photo, but this is the first time I’ve seen an Oceanic Blacktip Shark. At the time, I didn’t know what it was, but another snorkeler, who has had a few encounters, was able to ID it.

Reef sharks aren’t considered dangerous here, but there are oceanic varieties of both blacktips and whitetips. Oceanic Whitetip Sharks are considered very dangerous, but are rarely seen close to shore. Oceanic Blacktips are more of an unknown quantity, something to be wary of on the rare occasions they’re encountered.

The Numbers Game #66

A view of Waipio Valley from the air.

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 187. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Citrus Swallowtail butterfly.
An Allograpta Obliqua Hoverfly on a Mamane flower.
A Leafcutter Bee on Aptenia Cordifolia flowers.
A view of the base of the petioles of a Traveler’s Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis).
A Gold Dust Day Gecko on a red bamboo stem.
A cow extricating itself from a jam!

The next big thing

A poster of surfer Chippa Wilson behind shopping trolleys in Hawaii

We’ve all seen surfers and surfing competitions. Ho hum. We’ve seen big wave surfers falling off 50-foot wave faces. Yawn. Well, here’s a glimpse of the next big thing. Surfing over shopping trolleys! This can only lead to surfing over cars and semi-trucks. What’s not to like! You heard it here first.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge. See more responses here.

A walk at Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park

A View of Maui from Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A distant view of Maui.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Walk in the Park.’ See more responses here. These photos are from my last hike at what is officially known as Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park. The hike took place under heavy skies, but the clouds hovered just above the top of the hill and the rain held off until late in the walk.

A Northern Mockingbird on a snag at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A Northern Mockingbird announces its presence.
Silk Oak flowers at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Silk Oak flowers.
A View of Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A view of Pu’u Wa’awa’a from a new section of trail.
A Sheep in the grass at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Sheep and cattle are often seen on the trail.
Wiliwili seeds at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Seeds on an endemic Wiliwili tree.
A View of Trail up Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
The trail up through the center of the pu’u, pu’u being Hawaiian for cinder cone.
tree roots at Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
Tree roots snake across the trail in places.
A Horse and rider on Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A horse and rider enjoying the walk, too.
A View from Pu'u Wa'awa'a in Hawaii
A view from near the top, looking towards the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.