Category Archives: Activities

A look back at 2025

A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii — This Humpback Whale encounter was probably the highlight of the year (here).

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Year in review.’ See more responses here. As usual, I’ve picked a photo from each of the past 12 months and included a link to the original post.

Lenticular clouds over Mauna Kea at sunrise — Sunrise over Mauna Kea (here).

A Monarch Butterfly on a leaf in Hawaii — A Monarch Butterfly on a leaf (here).

A Manta Ray swims by in the waters off Hawaii — A Manta Ray passes by (here).

View of Kilauea Eruption in May 2025 — One of the many episodes of the current eruption at Kilauea (here).

A Japanese White-eye on Octopus Tree flowers in Hawaii — A Japanese White-eye on Octopus Tree flowers (here).

The interior of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi, Hawaii — The interior of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi (here).

A male Sonoran Carpenter bee in Hawaii — A male Sonoran Carpenter Bee (here).

Art and chairs in the waiting room of Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii — A waiting room at the Hilo Benioff Medical Center (here).

A child jumps into the ocean from a rock tower at Coconut Island, Hilo, Hawaii — Jumping into the ocean at Coconut Island, Hilo (here).

Horses frolicking at Paniolo Adventures on the Big Island, Hawaii — A kerfuffle in the corral at Paniolo Adventures (here).

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii — A native I’iwi bird (here).

New year, new well

A new water tank under construction near Hawi, Hawaii

Since the collapse and closure of the old Kohala Ditch, there’s been no reliable source of water for the many agricultural enterprises in the area. This is a new well and water tank under construction near Hawi, which is intended to help mitigate that water shortage.

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

The Numbers Game #105

A Painted Lady Butterfly feeds on a kiawe flower — A Painter Lady Butterfly feeding on a Kiawe 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 227. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Two donkeys in Hawaii — Two donkeys drying out after heavy rain.

Spinner Dolphins in the waters off Hawaii — Two donkeys drying out after heavy rain.

Shadowing

A Peacock Grouper is shadowed by a Pacific Trumpetfish in the waters off Hawaii

A Pacific Trumpetfish shadows a Peacock Grouper. Trumpetfish often mingle with other fish when they’re hunting. They can change color to match their companions. They’re generally gray or brown, but can become yellow or black, and they can display stripes or bars to improve their camouflage.

Winter in Hawaii

Anaehoʻomalu Bay beach in Hawaii — The beach at Anaehoʻomalu Bay.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Winter Wonderland.’ See more responses here. These photos were all taken during the winter months, which is wonderful when you think about it!

The Green sand beach near South Point in Hawaii — There’s green sand at Papakōlea beach near South Point.

Water Globes at Kailua Kona airport in Hawaii — It’s too warm year-round even for snow globes!

A picnic table on the beach at Spencer Beach Park in Hawaii — For cooler temperatures, get there early. That way you can snag a picnic table.

Frosty schooners at the Harbor House restaurant in Hawaii — It can get frosty here though, at least at the Harbor House restaurant in Kailua Kona.

Pacific Day Octopus and Arc-Eye Hawkfish

I spotted this small Pacific Day Octopus on the move and it quickly headed for a spot to settle down. The place it chose was just below a head of coral, which was occupied by an Arc-Eye Hawkfish. The hawkfish didn’t move, but didn’t look happy with its new neighbor.

Monday Portrait

Three Finescale Triggerfishes in the waters off Hawaii

Finescale Triggerfishes line up to have their portraits taken.

Red birds in green foliage

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Festive Colors of Red and Green.’ See more responses here.

A couple of weeks ago, I hiked a section of the Pu’u O’o Trail, off Saddle Road. It’s one of my favorites on the island. The trail mixes old lava flows from Mauna Loa eruptions with kipukas, areas of old growth trees bypassed by those flows. These kipukas are home to several native bird species.

On this day, approaching a kipuka, the bird calls got noticeably louder. Clearly a lot of birds were active. I chastised myself for, once again, not remembering to familiarize myself with the different calls so I could identify the birds I was hearing. But I needn’t have worried. They were visible too, if prone to move about a bit too rapidly for my convenience!

This bird is the I’iwi and I saw more of them on this day than any other time I’ve been up here. I’iwis feed on several kinds of native flowers, many of which are found in these kipukas. The tangle of branches and the flighty birds made for tricky photography, but I was happy to get a few good shots out of the many that I took.

I know these aren’t Christmassy photos, but I was feeling pretty festive by the end of the hike!

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii