Category Archives: Volcanoes

The Numbers Game #55

Mauna Loa erupts on the Big Island of Hawaii
Mauna Loa erupts in November 2022, seen on my drive to work.

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 176. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Something seen just after sunset in Hawaii
A giant illuminated duck!
On the Ala Kahakai Trail between Spencer Beach Park and Hapuna
Hapuna Beach.
Heavy rains flood a road on the Big Island, Hawaii
Flooding on the drive home.
Orange fungi on a tree stump
Cinnabar Polypores fungi.
A Hawk Moth Caterpillar in Hawaii
A Hawk Moth caterpillar.
Clianthus puniceus in a tropical garden in Port Townsend, Washington
Clianthus puniceus in my old garden in Washington State.

Waiting for the flood

A culvert beneath the old Kohala railway in Hawaii

I’ve always thought this would be a great place to see a flash flood, or at least a little to one side of here. This is a culvert through an embankment of the old Kohala railway. Most of the time, it’s dry as a bone, but when it rains a good deal of water would be funneled through this spot.

These days, round pipes, made of steel or heavy duty plastic, are often used for culverts. This square concrete one looks built to last.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Geometric. See more responses here.

A culvert beneath the old Kohala railway in Hawaii

The Numbers Game #54

A view of the 10th hole at Hapuna golf course in Hawaii
A view of the 10th hole at Hapuna Golf Course.

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 175. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Vegetation has reclaimed a section of the original 1969 fissure of the Mauna Ulu eruption of 1969.
Tenacious plants grow in a lava flow.
A cigarfish and pinktail triggerfish add color to a shoal of surgeonfish.
A Cigar Wrasse in a school of Whitebar Surgeonfishes.
A view of Kohala Mountain from the trail up Pu’u WaaWaa.
Wiliwili tree flowers in Hawaii
A bee on a Wiliwili flower.
A four-humped stink bug (Brochymena quadripustulata) in Hawaii
A Four-humped Stink Bug.
A sign for the Banana Leaf Coffee & Tea shop in Hawi, Hawaii
The sign for the Banana Leaf Cafe in Hawi. It never opened!

Two views of Hualalai

Hualalai seen from offshore North Kohala in Hawaii

The top photo shows a view of Hualalai under cloudy skies, taken from the water yesterday morning.

Hualalai obscured by vog from offshore North Kohala in Hawaii

The second photo shows pretty much the same view, taken on Christmas Day morning. What do you mean, where did it go? It was actually a less cloudy day. The big difference was that the wind was blowing from the southeast, driving vog from the latest eruption of Kilauea in this direction. Vog is volcanic smog and when it’s this thick, it can be quite acrid and you can taste it! It makes life miserable, especially for those with any kind of respiratory ailments.

The vog was bad for two days before the trade winds returned and blew the vog away from this part of the island, allowing the view in the top photo.

The Numbers Game #52

A windsurfer cruises in the bay 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 173. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

House construction at Hapuna Estates on the Big Island, Hawaii
Building houses in Hapuna Resort, with a good view of Maui.
A glass of gin and tonic
A gin and tonic is a welcome drink on a hot afternoon.
A Yellow-billed Cardinal is fascinated by his reflection in a car window
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.
A toy watering can left on a beach in Hawaii
Forgotten on the beach at Spencer Park.
The beach at Kua Bay Beach Park in Hawaii
The very popular beach at Kua Bay.

The Numbers Game #50

Gullies on the side of Kohala Mountain are illuminated by early morning sun
Early morning light on the Kohala Mountain hillside.

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 171. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Gold Dust Day Gecko on a pink banana.
A switchback on the Kilauea Iki Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
A switchback on the Kilauea Iki Trail.
ripples on a pond
Ripples in the water of ʻAimakapā Fishpond at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.
A Common Waxbill feeds on cane grass seeds
A Common Waxbill feeds on cane grass seeds.
Hawaiian Stilts in a pond at Kaloko-Honokahau Park
Hawaiian Stilts.
African Silverbills at a window
African Silverbills at a window. See the full sequence here

The Numbers Game #49

Kiawe trees and Muana Kea telescopes silhouetted against an early morning sky
A view of telescopes on Mauna Kea from Mahukona.

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 170. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A lion statue with a air of sunglasses
A cool lion at The Hilton.
A firefighting helicopter drops water on a brush fire in Hawaii
A fire helicopter dropping water on a brush fire hot spot.
Three cats resting in Hawaii
Hard working cats!
A Sonoran Carpenter Bee clambers through agave attenuata flowers
A Sonoran Carpenter Bee on an Agave Attenuata.
A couple performs on the beach at sunset in Hawaii
As The Pretenders once sang, ‘I got to have some of your attention.’
The beach at ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay in Hawaii
ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay beach, more commonly known as A Bay.