Gotta have rain for a rainbow

A rainbow off the Kohala Coast, Hawaii, seen from the water

A couple of mornings ago, it was teeming down with rain at home. I still headed out for a swim because that spot, a few miles down the coast, is usually warm and dry. This was not one of those days. The sky was solid gray, the precipitation steady.

I have an irrational dislike of it raining when I swim! I mean, I’m getting wet anyway. What’s the difference? The main compensation on this occasion was the presence of this rainbow offshore. This rainbow stayed steady throughout the swim and was still there when I drove home, with the heater cranked up and the fan blowing strong.

From a tropical garden

A Lennart Karl Gottling 'Hula Skirt' orchid at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens — A splendidly named Lennart Karl Gottling ‘Hula Skirt’ orchid.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Plant Life.’ See more responses here. Since I went to Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden a couple of weeks ago, it seems appropriate to post a few of those photos for this one.

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

A Gecko on a heliconia at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens — Got to have a gecko in here, this one looking for bugs or a drink of water on a heliconia.

An Episcia plant at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens — Got to have a gecko in here, this one looking for bugs or a drink of water on a heliconia.

Tropical foliage at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens — Sun and shade on lush tropical foliage.

A Philippine Ground Orchid at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens — Sun and shade on lush tropical foliage.

Common Waxbill

A Common Waxbill keeps a sharp eye open from a skinny tree branch.

Fishing from the breakwater

A man fishes from the end of the breakwater at Kawaihae Harbor, Hawaii

There are signs asserting that fishing is prohibited in Kawaihae Harbor. This fisherman could argue he’s not in the harbor, but on the edge of it. However, since walking along the harbor breakwater is also prohibited, he’d still likely be in trouble. A lot of potential drama for what was a very tranquil scene, with Pu’u Wa’awa’a and Hualalai in the background!

Red Pencil Urchin

I saw this Red Pencil Urchin in the shallows of Kawaihae Harbor. In the gentle waves, it oscillated between mostly exposed and mostly covered.

Beware

The old boat hoist at Mahukona has been replaced, though it’s not yet ready to handle boats apparently. But recently, two new signs appeared at the site.

The top one, advising swimmers to beware of boaters is OK, though it implies there are boaters out there, cruising the waters, searching for swimmers to run down. If those boaters exist, I’ve yet to encounter them.

The second sign was the one that caught my eye though. Beware of swimmers! What do they think we’re going to do? Bite a hole in the boat? Attach a mine? Reach a long arm over the side and drag the boater to a watery grave? I guess ‘Watch out for…’ was too many letters!

The Numbers Game #26

Sunrise from the road to Mauna Loa Observatory, now no longer accessible since the 2022 eruption.

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