I bet this is there because someone, down below, is sleeping with the fishes.
No wake zone
Zippy Spinners
In Hawaii, it’s illegal to be within 50 yards of dolphins in the water. The idea is to give them space to carry on with their normal activities without being influenced or pressured by humans.
However, during my last swim a few days ago, I was startled to see a pod of Spinner Dolphins zoom into view and pass by just a few feet away. Short of having access to Star Trek’s transporter, there was no way in the world I was going to be able to put 50 yards between me and the dolphins before they put several hundred yards between them and me. I had time enough to realize my camera had gone into sleep mode, wake it up, and get blurry shots of the disappearing dolphins. Regardless of the photos, it’s always nice to see dolphins and it had been quite a while since I’d done so in the water.
A few minutes later another small pod went by, also at speed, also with no good photo opportunity. A third pod followed with even less chance of a decent photo. But then I saw a fourth pod approaching at a slightly more leisurely pace and managed to get a few photos as they cruised by. Most of my photos weren’t up to much, but I was very happy that these two came out better than I had hoped for. Definitely the highlight of the weekend for me.
The Numbers Game #75
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 196. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
View of Honokohau Harbor from the top road
On the Big Island, Mamalahoa Highway is known as the top road. It’s part of the original road around the island. In the 1970s, the stretch between Kaiwaihae and Kailua Kona was supplemented with a new highway along the coast, known as Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway or Queen K Highway.
Mamalahoa Highway travels father inland, up on the slopes of Hualalai Volcano. When it get towards Kailua Kona, those slopes are steep. It’s a big residential area with spectacular views out towards Maui and the sunset. The downside of the location is that anyone living there needs to make sure the brakes on their vehicles are always in tiptop condition.
Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card. See more responses here.
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Parks.’ See more responses here.
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is the best known park on the island. It covers 354,461 acres, which includes, not just the Kilauea area, but up to the summit of Mauna Loa and down the southwest rift zone of that volcano. The park contains 106 miles of roads and 155 miles of marked trails, many of them well off the beaten track.
I’ve hiked a lot in the park, though I doubt I’ll ever cover all the trails, but these photos are from ones I’ve done with links to the original posts for those interested.
Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.
Power line helicopter
I saw this helicopter flying back and forth over these power lines. The power company hires the pilot to check out the lines to spot potential issues that can be fixed before they cause problems. These days, that work is being increasingly turned over to drone operators who can do it at less cost, though not as quickly as the helicopter.
Green Darner Dragonfly
I was down in Pololu Valley when I saw several of these dragonflies. I knew they were luring me in with their ‘Come on, we’re just hovering, you’ll get a great photo’ routine. Then they zip around evading every attempt to get them in the camera screen, let alone in focus. But I’m nothing, if not a sucker for that kind of temptation.
Shockingly, this was the second photo I took. Don’t tell the dragonflies. They’ll be very upset.
Hawaiian Crown Flowers
Hawaiian Crown Flowers (Calotropis gigantea) came from India originally, and became popular here because they were favored by Queen Liliuokalani, the last ruler of the Hawaiian monarchy. The purple flower was the one first introduced here, back in the 1880s, with this white variety arriving some 30 years later.
The plant gets its name from the shape of the flowers, which are used in making leis. As members of the milkweed family, they also host Hawaii’s Monarch Butterflies. The plant has a milky sap that is toxic, but that Monarchs, and their caterpillars, are immune to. The caterpillars are voracious eaters, decimating the Crown Flower leaves, but the plant will bounce back after the caterpillars pupate. The plant is drought tolerant and does well on the dry side of the island here.
Graham's Island 