The Numbers Game #82

A bee flies to an ohia lehua flower in Hawaii.
A bee approaches an Ohia Lehua flower.

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

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Simply Red. See more responses here.

A cabbage butterfly on a tree heliotrope
A Cabbage Butterfly about to receive a visitor!
An abandoned car that was finally set on fire.
Rolling surf and dark clouds off the North Kohala coast.
A Varicose Phyllidia sea slug.
A day octopus in the waters off Hawaii
A Pacific Day Octopus caught in the open.
A spotted eagle ray
A Spotted Eagle Ray passes below.

Royal feathers

An endemic I'iwi bird in Hawaii

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

When the Polynesians first came to Hawaii, they brought with them many plants and animals for use in their new home. They also brought with them their traditional skills, one of which was feather work. Feathers were made into capes and helmets, as well as used in standards and staffs. These feathered items were mostly reserved for Hawaiian royalty, the ali’i, and were considered a status symbol, showing how powerful they were.

Red and yellow were the main colors used so the I’iwi (pictured) and Apapane were coveted for their red feathers, while yellow feathers came from Ō’ō and Mamo birds. These latter two birds are now extinct, but not because of feather collecting. Introduced predators and diseases, together with loss of habitat, are the primary causes.

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Simply Red. See more responses here.

Seeing blue, seeing red

A car brakes at the sight of a police car in Hawi Hawaii

We’ve all done it; I know I have. See a police car and we hit the brakes. Doesn’t matter if we’re going 5 mph at the time. It’s a reflex action.

So on this day, I was walking into town and saw the police car, with its little blue light on top, and thought I’d take photos of the cars braking as they saw it. Never mind that the police car is clearly targeting vehicles heading out of town. Never mind that I didn’t see any car speeding. They saw the police car, they hit the brakes. Every single car!

Cars brakes at the sight of a police car in Hawi Hawaii

I find this kind of action fascinating. And on this subject, it’s common here for drivers to flash their lights at other vehicles to warn them of a police speed trap up ahead. This is something that drives me nuts.

First up, these drivers might have passed the police car some miles back. On numerous occasions, I’ve been warned in this way and never seen a trace of a police car. Secondly, these drivers flash their lights at anyone, never mind if the oncoming cars clearly aren’t speeding. They still get the warning. And thirdly, and most irritating, It’s widely understood that the police here won’t pull you over if you’re going 5 mph or so over the speed limit. They’re looking for drivers ripping along well over the limit. So these light-flashing drivers want to warn speeders like that. I don’t. Frankly, I’d like the police to pull them over and ticket them. I don’t want cars whizzing through town at 40 or 50 mph. Give them a ticket and hopefully they’ll slow down a bit.

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