Category Archives: Scenes

Coast Guard ship

I saw this Coast Guard ship outside Kawaihae harbor. Here, it was hauling out one of the buoys marking the entrance to the harbor for inspection and maintenance. Buoys like this are commonly seen in coastal areas, in the vicinity of ports. They help guide ships into harbor, marking safe, deep channels or shoals to be avoided.

From shore, these buoys look like little green and red floats, but anyone who has ever been in a small boat being swept toward a buoy by a surging current knows better. Up close, they’re a big chunk of metal that you run into at your peril. In the photo to the right, the figure next to the buoy being hauled aboard gives some idea of the scale.

Hawi Christmas lights

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Holiday Decor.’ See more offerings here.

This theme forced me outside after dark, something of a rarity these days. As usual, when I walked into Hawi, I thought, ‘I should do this more often.’

Here are a couple of the downtown buildings illuminated for the season. In truth, this was pretty much it for holiday trappings, but it’s still a good deal more than at my house!

Also posted, belatedly, in response to the last Friendly Friday challenge theme of 2019, ‘Christmas Preparations.’ See more responses here.

Uh oh

There are few more disturbing sights than a portable toilet lying on its side. This one was at Upolu Airport, a victim of the strong winds which often blow there. I’d always thought the toilet was fastened to the fence behind it, but apparently not.

Luckily, I didn’t see any suspicious looking puddles, nor smell any untoward aromas, so the unit might have been empty.

Hualalai and Pu’u Ahumoa

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Peace.’ See more offerings here.

I’ve always found looking down on clouds gives me a peaceful feeling. Those fluffy balls of cotton wool look like they would make a comfy resting place. The irony is that those clouds may actually conceal roiling, turbulent air currents that are anything but peaceful, but let’s not allow reality to spoil the image.

This cloud layer blanketed the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The two peaks poking above the clouds are, in the foreground, Pu’u Ahumoa, and in the background, Hualalai.

Lokahi Garden Sanctuary entrance

This is the entrance to Lokahi Garden Sanctuary. It’s on a narrow road with trees on both sides so there’s only a short time when the sun hits these plants. I’ve driven by many times when it was dark or in the shade. Other times, when the sun was right, I didn’t have my camera. But I really wanted to get a photo of the plantings with the sun on them.

On this day I had my camera, stopped the car, and took a couple of photos. I’m glad I did because shortly after this, a tall, purple banner was placed in the center of the plants. Depending on one’s point of view, this banner is either lovely or a garish eyesore. It certainly removed my desire to take any more photos.

The sanctuary itself is a great spot. For more information about Lokahi Garden Sanctuary, go to https://lokahigardensanctuary.com/.

Signs: Practice makes perfect

I was hiking in Kalopa Native Forest State Park when I came across the trail sign above. Nothing too remarkable about that, but I happened to notice the back side of the sign (middle), which showed that getting the sign right took a bit of practice.

On a subsequent visit, I noticed that the back of sign at the other end of the trail (bottom) had also seen a rejected first effort.