At my local snorkeling spot, a lot of trees on the shoreline have suddenly sported fall colors. I’m sure this has nothing to do with the season. Rather, I think a series of large swells has battered the trees with more salt spray than they’re used to and this is the result. Hopefully, they will bounce back when things settle down again, although swells in Hawaii were large enough last weekend for The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surf competition to be held for the first time since 2016.
I noticed this Day Lily while I was driving and was moved to return and take some photos. I liked how the flowers stood out in the tangle of roots of a very large Banyan tree.
This Praying Mantis spent several days on this Agave Attenuata, waiting patiently for food. There were bees all over the flowers and I think the mantis got some of them, as well as other insects.
I presumed the mantis was a female as it seemed to be getting bigger. A couple of days after taking these photos, the mantis disappeared but I saw an egg sac on a nearby tree, so maybe there will be more on the way!
I don’t see a lot of mushrooms in the yard here, but this one popped up recently and I liked how it looked in the grass.
I see Java Sparrows quite often, but I’d never seen a juvenile until I took this top photo. The bird has the look but not much of the coloration, just a bit of pink in the bill and around the eye. The adult, in the second photo, shows the distinctive markings still to come.
This gutter sported a generous amount of greenery, which probably should be removed. I’ve seen trees growing in gutters and neither party benefits from that arrangement.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Your 2022 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. Like last year, I’ve gone with a favorite photo from each month of 2021, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in.
I saw this nest hanging from the mock orange in the yard. I think it’s the nest of a Japanese White-eye and I’m hoping it’s an old one and didn’t tip any youngsters out to their fate.
Graham's Island 