
Hawaii isn’t all sandy beaches. There are lots of rocky shores and lava ledges such as this stretch north of Kihilo Bay.

Hawaii isn’t all sandy beaches. There are lots of rocky shores and lava ledges such as this stretch north of Kihilo Bay.

Recently, while waiting to visit my dentist, I walked the trail in the Waimea Nature Park, also known as Ulu La’au. The trail follows the Waikoloa Stream for about a mile from the town center down toward the ocean. It’s a work in progress, with volunteers removing invasive species and planting native and canoe plants in their place.
On my walk, the Waikoloa Stream had water in it, but not much. I think it would be fun to walk there after a heavy rain. But one thing I liked was the abundance of benches, some of which offered nice views of the park, the stream, and the hills surrounding the town.

I was going through photos, sorting out what to post this week, when I came across this one. My immediate thought was that this should definitely have been included in yesterday’s Sunday Stills post, and its theme of Orange. Well, it’s a day late, but not a dollar short, so here it is. See more responses here.

This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Orange and Gold.’ See more responses here. First up is a very orange Passion Vine Butterfly taking a break.
Next, orange is the official color of the island of Lanai, represented here at this year’s Kamehameha Day celebrations.






When I was putting this post together a few days ago, I thought a sunset photo would be a nice way to wrap it up. I trolled through my files before picking a suitable one out, and was on the verge of processing it, when I happened to glance out of the window and saw this developing. Another reminder to live in the present and not the past!


A few days ago, I headed out on the trail from Spencer Beach Park to Mau’umae Beach Beach. I was curious to see how far last month’s brush fire, that burned near Mauna Kea Resort, had reached down by the ocean. A hundred yards into the walk the answer became clear. It reached the shore. Spencer Beach Park was untouched, but the woods on the edge of the park are one tree deep in places.

I walked back to Spencer on the service road, a quarter mile inland. The power line ran along the ground or was draped in blackened trees. There was a clump of poles and other supplies in one spot, ready for restoring service.



The vehicle access road to Mau’umae Beach beach is closed now, as two small wooden bridges were destroyed in the fire. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, the only access to the beach will be along the coast trail from Spencer. It’s only a 15 minute walk, but that’s often enough to discourage people from going there.


Who cares if the greenhouse is in disrepair? It’s still good for growing plants.

One recent early morning, I spent a while watching A’ama Crabs on the rocks at Spencer Beach Park. This one held its position as the waves washed over it and then receded ….



…. Time after time.

Since the big windstorm of a few weeks ago, I’ve seen a number of Kiawe trees looking like this, on their sides with a disc of roots and dirt exposed. They’ll get cut up and probably used for smoke meat, but it will take a while to clear all of them. This one was below the trail at Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site in Kawaihae.