Rose jatropha

A Rose Jatropha on the Big Island of HawaiiA bee forages on a Rose Jatropha flower on the Big Island of Hawaii

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I’ve posted photos of rose jatropha before (here). In fact, those photos were of this same plant, but probably not the same bee. They were taken later in the day on a previous hike. These photos were taken in the early morning when the light was better and the flowers were just starting to open.

The flowers really glowed and the bees, well they had to work a little harder, burrowing down into the bloom, but obviously with great success.

Wo On store

The old Wo On Store in North Kohala.

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

Early morning light illuminates the Wo On Store at Halawa. This was one of many shops in North Kohala back in the sugar plantation days. A lot of these businesses were run by immigrants. The name ‘Wo On’ means ‘harmony and peace.’ The building now houses the Rankin Gallery.

Cattle egret hunting

A cattle egret wrestles with a green anole.A cattle egret wrestles with a green anole.

Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.

I looked out of the window early one morning, and saw this cattle egret staring intently, as they do, into fallen leaves bordering the yard. After a few minutes of that, a sudden lunge was followed by the top photo. That’s a green anole wrapped around the egret’s beak as it struggled, unsuccessfully, to get free. The photo on the left shows the egret swishing the anole back and forth, in an effort to finish it off.

I doubt the anole was happy, but the egret certainly glowed in the morning light.

Pu’u Wa’awa’a goat

A goat stands on the steep sides of Puu Waawaa on the Big Island of Hawaii

The theme of this week’s WordPress photo challenge is ‘Glow,’ so I thought I’d use that as my cue for the week’s posts.

First up is a goat clinging to the precipitous side of Pu’u Wa’awa’a. I particularly like how the goat is looking at me, but casts a crisp, more profiled shadow in the early morning light.

On the downside, there must have been a dozen or so goats in the area and, between their avid grazing and scampering about on the exposed slopes, they contribute greatly to erosion. My time watching them was accompanied by the constant sound of small rocks tumbling down gullies and puffs of dust and dirt churned up by their hooves.

Ironman follow up

Sarah Piampiano of the sweats up the hill toward Hawi.Cyclists duke it out in the Ironman World Championship.Tools of the cyclist's trade on the bike of Mike Blackburn.

Here are more photos from last weekend’s Ironman World Championship race.

Top: Sarah Piampiano of the sweats up the hill toward Hawi.

Second photo: Tessa Kortekaas, Karen Steurs, and Lisa Tyack duke it out on the way to the cycling turnaround in Hawi.

Third photo: Tools of the trade on the bike of Mike Blackburn.

Fourth photo: Christian Godtfredsen zips downhill. Many of the riders would go long distances with their heads down like this. If it were me I would undoubtedly veer off the road into a tree.

Fifth photo: Robert Kenneth and Asbjoern Bakken push uphill and into a headwind.

Bottom: A long line of cyclists straggle up the slope toward Hawi. Around this point the hill eases, but the headwinds picked up.

Robert Kenneth and Asbjoern Bakken push uphill and into a headwind.A long line of cyclists straggle up the slope toward Hawi.