I took this photo while waiting in a line of traffic on the mountain road. As usual, the cars aren’t in line, but they do match the temporary striping in the middle of the road. I use the word ‘temporary’ with hesitation. Often, these temporary road markings are still in place months, or even years later.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Frightful.’ See more responses here.
There’s a well-known brand of paper tissue that sells it’s products in cardboard boxes sporting a wide variety of designs, some more pleasing than others. Costco carries these items and currently sells a line that could be called colorful or garish, depending on ones tastes.
The top photo shows the end of one of these boxes. It features owls, which I love, but there’s something truly frightful in this image. I don’t know whether it’s the blood-tinged background colors or the bizarre purple owls from another dimension, and their dull black, vacant, staring eyes. I do know this isn’t what I want to see when I walk in the bathroom. So I’ve stopped buying from Costco until they get a less scary set of designs in.
The second photo is frightful in a fun, Halloweeny kind of way. I was picking up bread from the Sandwich Isle Bread Company in Waimea, when I saw these ”Mummy” Vanilla Choco Eclairs. Well, I couldn’t possibly pass them up, could I? They have several other Halloween-themed treats and they not only look fabulous, but always taste great.
These are the fruits of a palm tree, not sure which kind. I was hoping someone would walk by so that I could say, ‘Looks like this Roma Tomato Tree has a good crop coming along.’ Alas, life is full of little disappointments.
Kohala by the Sea is an upscale gated community on the northern edge of Kawaihae. What appeals to me in this image is the curvy roads terminating in little asphalt blobs. It gives it an organic feel, which I suppose it is in a way.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Comics or Funny Pages (aka silly or funny photos).’ See more responses here.
These are photos that I’ve run before, but quite a while ago. They still make me smile and I hope they do the same for you.
Geckos are endlessly entertaining.
But they’re not the only ones.
The Kohala Ditch was built in the early 1900s to carry water from the wet slopes of Kohala Mountain, to the sometimes drought-prone sugar cane fields of Kohala. A series of tunnels, flumes and ditches channeled water through ridges and over gullies for a distance of 14 miles.
After the sugar cane industry folded, ditch water continued to be used by other agricultural activities. But this valuable resource was always beset by difficulties. The challenging landscape was prone to landslides and flooding. Flumes were washed away, tunnels blocked. Increasingly expensive and time-consuming repairs did not provide the same economic benefit they once did.
After one such event, a few years ago, the operator of the ditch said it would no longer be repaired and maintained.
The top photo shows a section of the ditch in 2016. The others show how it looks today, in places, overgrown with weeds and even trees. In some areas it’s more manicured by those living next to it. In the meantime, access to water is a considerable problem, especially as dry weather is increasingly common in the area.
The current Governor of Hawaii knows this region well and money has been earmarked for finding a solution to the area’s water shortage, but when and how that happens is still very much in the pipeline!
For more information about the history of the Kohala Ditch, go to fluminkohala.com/the-kohala-ditch.
An aerial view of La Perouse Bay near the southern tip of Maui. With the colors and the stark landscape, there’s something alien about this view, I think.
On my way to work recently, this sunrise promised much, then faded, then regrouped with this vibrant display. Mauna Loa and Hualalai provide the backdrop.
Graham's Island 