Category Archives: Animals

An uplifting experience

The boom of a crane in Hawaii

As this month hurtles towards its conclusion, I realized I’d failed to post any crane photos for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. (See more responses here.)

They’ve finally got around to replacing the turbine blades at Hawi Wind Farm, after months of the blades just lying next to the turbines. The operation requires a crane to lift the blade assembly into place. These photos were taken while they were still preparing for that operation. The last photo shows the security for the operation!

The Numbers Game #58

Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.
The fire hose of lava entering the sea from Kilauea Volcano in 2017. Original post here.

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

Another thrilling Humpback Whale encounter

A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii
A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii

I’ve lived in Hawaii for more than 12 years and go snorkeling whenever I can. New Year’s Eve was the first time I’d seen a Humpback Whale in the water (here). Yesterday, less than a month later, my wife and I had this even more remarkable encounter.

Walking down to swim at Lapakahi Historical Park, I spotted a humpback not far offshore. When we got in the water, the whale was still there. It wasn’t very active, just milling around, as they sometimes do. Also, in the same general area, was the same woman who had been with us on New Year’s Eve. We swam out and headed in her direction.

As we got closer, the whale could be seen ahead, still not doing much, but it became apparent it wasn’t alone. The fins of another adult whale could be seen a bit farther out. But that didn’t quite explain the activity I was seeing until I realized that I was seeing a third whale, a calf swimming close to the first whale, which was clearly its mother.

A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii

I put the brakes on then as I had no wish to accidentally come between a mother and her calf. But at that point, the whale and her calf turned in our direction. The mother was huge, much larger than the previous whale, and getting bigger by the second, with her calf poised close above her. I have to say, there was a moment there when I was a tad nervous. But she simply continued her turn before heading away with an imperious swish of her tail.

A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. See more responses here. Also for Clare’s Share Your Desktop. See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #57

The crosswalk leading to Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
The crosswalk leading to Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park during Covid restrictions.

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

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #56

A praying mantis drinks from a puddle of water
A Praying Mantis takes a drink of water.

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

What happened here?

A Humpback Whale hits the water off Hawaii

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

I’m going with this big splash of whitewater. But how did it get there? The splash was the finale of the sequence in the slideshow below.

  • A Humpback Whale breaches off Hawaii
  • A Humpback Whale breaches off Hawaii
  • A Humpback Whale breaches off Hawaii
  • A Humpback Whale breaches off Hawaii
  • A Humpback Whale breaches off Hawaii

Seeing this Humpback Whale in the air was a lovely follow up to the magical encounter, a couple of weeks ago, with a Humpback Whale in the water (here).

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric, for the curve of the jump and the shapes formed by it. See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #55

Mauna Loa erupts on the Big Island of Hawaii
Mauna Loa erupts in November 2022, seen on my drive to work.

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