Category Archives: Volcanoes

Where dinosaurs roam

A view of South Point from near Ocean View, Hawaii
A dinosaur looks out over Kau, Hawaii

I drove to the southern part of the island recently. Just past Ocean View is a scenic viewpoint that I stopped at. There’s a decent view towards South Point, which is a little farther on from the line of wind turbines in the top photo.

The land down to the ocean is mostly old lava flows with scrubby vegetation striving to maintain a foothold. It’s a bit bleak and primeval, the sort of land I could imagine being roamed by dinosaurs, so it was no surprise to see one on the wall of the viewpoint. It was pink and surprisingly small, but quite friendly-looking. I was not in fear for my life and did not run screaming back to the car.

The dinosaur came with a little note underfoot which said something about posting a photo on Facebook, but since I’m not on any social media, I paid no further attention. I suspect the idea was to have the photo posted and then the dinosaur moved to a different location. I’d have hidden it in a dark, dank place where it might not have been seen again for millions of years, so it’s probably just as well that I left it where it was and continued on my journey.

Lenticular clouds

Lenticular clouds over the Big Island Hawaii

A couple of days ago, Big Island skies were graced by lenticular clouds. These kinds of clouds are uncommon in Hawaii, but strong winds blowing up against Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa created perfect conditions.

Lenticular clouds appear to hover in one spot, but while they don’t move, they can change shape constantly. These two clouds behaved quite differently. The one on the right retained its basic shape all day. The one on the left was constantly morphing from one shape to another. Alas, I only got these photos because I was working and to photograph the clouds without an array of wires in the foreground meant a walk down the road a ways.

These clouds look like they’re close to the ground, but they form in the troposphere, between 6,500 and 20,000 feet. By the end of the day, the cloud on the left was largely broken up and disappearing, but the one on the right was still going strong, albeit while becoming masked by lower level clouds.

Lenticular clouds over the Big Island Hawaii

Crossing the line

Late afternoon sun of the coast of Kohala, Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Silence.’ See more responses here.

The current eruption at Kilauea has been putting out a considerable amount of vog. This volcanic haze can make life difficult for people, causing respiratory and other medical complications. But it can also cause colorful skies.

I was driving home from work last week on a day when the vog was heavy and the sky glowed. There wasn’t much wind – another reason the vog has been hanging around – so the ocean was calm. I’d stopped to take photos once, but when I saw this little boat heading for this band of sunlight, I pulled over again.

I’d lucked into a quiet break in the traffic and was far enough from the coast that there was no sound from waves coming ashore or from the boat’s engine. I watched for a while until the boat crossed the glittering band, before returning to my car and heading home.

Favorites from 2022

Surf crashes ashore on the North Kohala coast in Hawaii
January: High surf crashes ashore in North Kohala. (link)

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.

A Common Waxbill feeds on cane grass seeds
February: A Common Waxbill grabs a mouthful of seeds. (link)
A Monarch butterfly on purple bougainvillea flowers
March: A Monarch Butterfly on a bougainvillea. (link)
A Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle swims by
April: A Green Turtle swims by. (link)
Three cats resting in Hawaii
May: A trio of cats hard at work! (link)
A photo of an owl in a car wing mirror
June: How to keep birds off your car. (link)
A view of Green sand beach (Papakōlea) on the Big Island, Hawaii
July: The green sand beach near South Point. (link)
A white-tailed tropicbird flying over North Kohala, Hawaii
August: A White-tailed Tropicbird glides by. (link)
A Black-crowned night heron struggles o get out of an algae covered pond
September: A Black-crowned Night Heron struggles to get out of a pond. (link)
A Spinner dolphin leaps from the waters off Hawaii
October: A Spinner Dolphin leaps from the water off North Kohala. (link)
Two manta rays in the waters off Hawaii
November: A pair of Manta Rays swims toward me. (link)
A cloud forms over the site of the eruption on Mauna Loa , Hawaii
December: Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 40 years, capturing attention and changing the weather. (link)

White Christmas in Hawaii

Snow on Mauna Kea at Christmas 2022

Season’s greetings to everyone. As one would expect, we’re having a white Christmas here on the Big Island. The storm of last week dumped a generous amount of snow on top of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and much of it is still around. It’s a lovely sight, especially when viewed from somewhere where the temperature is in the 70s or low 80s!

Cloud over Mauna Loa eruption

A cloud forms over the site of the eruption on Mauna Loa , Hawaii

On my way to work yesterday, I pulled over to photograph this view of Mauna Loa, early on day three of the current eruption. The heat and emissions from volcanic eruptions can create their own weather. Here, smoke and gasses from the most active vent can be seen rising up into a cloud over the northeast slope of the volcano.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge. See more responses here.