Calathea roseopicta is a native of Brazil, notable for its large leaves that have conspicuous markings, and are various shades of green on top and dark red underneath.
Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Lifted Spirits.’ See more offerings here.
It was uplifting to see this group of horses feeling in top form as they cavorted around a pasture off of old Saddle Road.
Also posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.
A java sparrow checks out its surroundings as it clings to the top of a twig.
Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.
The latest Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge is for April 3, 2020. (See challenge rules and more responses here.)
I saw this seven-spotted ladybug on my usual walk along the coast (which is still permitted here). Its bright red elytra jumped out against the largely green background. I’m not sure what the weed in seed was that it was clambering over.
The top photo was the last on my card for that day. The other two were taken earlier in the same encounter and have been cropped and adjusted.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Fantastic Florals.’ See more offerings here.
This seemed like a good theme to post a few photos, of different colored flowers, from my last visit to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, back in February.
Top photo: It took me a while to identify this as Petrea volubilis, also known as purple wreath, queen’s wreath, and sandpaper vine, because the long blue parts are actually calices, not petals. The flowers are the smaller darker blue centers most easily seen on the blooms to the left side.
Second Photo: A lavender version of the cattleya maxima orchid was first found in Ecuador in 1777. The yellow stripe down the center of the lip is characteristic of all forms of cattleya maxima, of which this alba variation is one. For more information about the history of cattleya maxima, visit chadwickorchids.com/content/cattleya-maxima.
Third photo: Yellow plume flower (Justicia aurea) is a blaze of color in a sea of green.
Fourth photo: Yes, there are green flowers, including this Anthurium ‘Princess Alexia Jade.’
Bottom: New Guinea Trumpet Vines (Tecomanthe dendrophila) produce a fantastic array of white-tipped pink flowers.
For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Re-imagine Orange.’ See more responses here.
A shoal of orangeband surgeonfish is fun to see with their orange bands making them easy to identify and follow. For the purpose of this challenge, I took the photo below, desaturated the other colors, then boosted the orange to emphasize their defining feature. These changes virtually eliminated the other fish, particularly the yellow tang which went from bright focal points to almost invisible.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Yellow.’ See more responses here.
This is a good excuse to post more photos of bees foraging on bright yellow māmane flowers. Māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) is endemic to Hawaii, but while its flowers attract many insects, the seeds are highly toxic. The endangered palila, one of the last endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, is a bird that feeds mostly on the māmane’s immature seed pods without any ill effect.
Graham's Island 