Autumn leaves

Fallen leaves in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Hints of Autumn.’ See more responses here.

What’s more Autumnal than fallen leaves. OK, so this leaf fall has little to do with the season, and the leaves have already been replenished on the tree, but the top photo certainly looks the part!

New growth on a mango tree in Hawaii

Meet the ohana

Great barracudas swim in the waters off Hawaii

A week or so ago, I was snorkeling when I happened to glance behind me and saw I was being followed by the local barracuda ohana. Ohana is the name for family in Hawaiian and these were Great Barracudas, which sometimes congregate together in this way. I think they follow people swimming in the hope that they’re spear fishing, and might catch something which they can steal. I offered no such rewards, so they soon moved on.

I see 10 in this photo, but I counted a dozen in the water, and there might have been more. They were all what I call small barracudas, perhaps a foot to 18 inches in length. The biggest around here get to be three- to four-feet long and much bigger around.

Relax and sit a while

A covered lanai in Hawaii

Looks very inviting, doesn’t it? A covered lanai in the late afternoon sun with a comfy, rattan sofa to relax on. The lanai above this is even more inviting, with a view toward Maui, currently blocked by trees.

But this is my neighbor’s old house, currently unoccupied and falling further into disrepair, with broken windows and a floor collapsing. I’d be leery of sitting on this sofa for fear of what’s living in it or that it might collapse. There’s also a chance that the hot tub on the upper lanai, could end up dropping on your head.

So perhaps, like many things these days, this is an invitation best experienced virtually.

Cattle Egret on a snag

A cattle egret on a snag on the Big Island Hawaii
A cattle egret takes off from a snag on the Big Island Hawaii

Cattle Egrets are usually seen flying or on the ground, in the company of cattle, horses, goats, and lawnmowers, as they forage for food. I saw this one perched on an old snag, and it remained there for some time, looking this way and that, before taking to the air and disappearing.