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.
An Oriental Stink Bug.An Indian Blue Peacock at Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo, HawaiiCattle keeping an eye on passers-by below Hawi Wind Farm.Osmoxylon lineare.Japanese Aloe.Dead fish on shore at the head of the lagoon in Kiholo Bay.
Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. See more responses here.
Sunday Stills challenge theme this week and last week is ‘Your 2024 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. As before, I’m going with a favorite photo from each month of 2024, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in. Last week, I posted favorites from January through June (here). This week, it’s July through December.
Yesterday, driving into Lapakahi Historical Park to go snorkeling, my wife and I saw a Humpback Whale, close offshore, doing multiple tail slaps. After we parked the car and headed towards down to the shore, the whale was still slapping its tail. By the time we had our gear on and ready to swim, it looked like the whale was done and heading south.
But, as we got in the water, I saw the whale heading north. We swam out, without any thought of seeing the whale. Chances were it would dive and disappear, or move on, or turn around again. But once out toward the edge of the reef, we realized the whale was hanging around and even nudging towards the shore. By this time it was doing fin slaps.
We had never been this close to a whale in the water and the sight of the huge fin reaching up and then slapping the water with a loud thwack was impressive. As we watched, the fins got larger. I dipped my head underwater and could make out the hazy shape of the whale, the first time I’ve ever seen one in the water. Eventually, the whale came into full view and paralleled our course for a few minutes before it eased away, though it remained quite close to shore.
The whole encounter was deeply moving, an end of year gift for us and another swimmer who was there. During that swim, we also saw three reef sharks and later, a pod of dolphins. It says something that those encounters, normally the highlight of any swim, felt anticlimactic!
January: A Feather-legged Fly (Trichopoda pennipes) on a Tree Heliotrope (link).
Sunday Stills challenge theme this week and next week is ‘Your 2024 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. As usual, I’m going with a favorite photo from each month of 2024, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in. This week’s post is for January through June. See the rest of the year next week.
February: A Ring-billed Gull struts at ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay (link).March: A woman walks the beach at Kohanaiki Beach Park (link).
A Black-crowned Night Heron in a spot of bother in a pond at Kawaihae.
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 174. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
A lively Lesser Brown Scorpion.A Passion-vine Butterfly getting to grips with a tasselflower.A White-tailed Tropicbird.Beer taps.Just so you don’t get lost at Kaulana Manu Nature Trail.The breakwater at Kawaihae appears to lead the way to Maui.
Mahukona was the terminus for the railway which served the sugar plantations of North Kohala from the 1880s until its closure in 1945. There was no proper dock at Mahukona, so ships anchored offshore and the sugar was boated out to them.
There are quite a few relics from that time at Mahukona, including a terminus building. The area in this photo was likely a place where railway engine and equipment maintenance took place.
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 173. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
Building houses in Hapuna Resort, with a good view of Maui.A gin and tonic is a welcome drink on a hot afternoon.A Yellow-billed Cardinal sees itself in the glass of my car. For the full sequence, see here.Lava oozes on my first visit to Hawaii in 2010.Forgotten on the beach at Spencer Park.The very popular beach at Kua Bay.