Season’s greetings to everyone. As one would expect, we’re having a white Christmas here on the Big Island. The storm of last week dumped a generous amount of snow on top of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and much of it is still around. It’s a lovely sight, especially when viewed from somewhere where the temperature is in the 70s or low 80s!
Yes, it’s winter in the northern hemisphere. The nights are drawing in and the temperatures heading south. So pull up a chair, set that tall, cool drink on the little table, and just relax!
Merry Christmas everyone.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Light the Night.’ See more responses here.
A lot of people, myself included, don’t bother with lights here, but there are always some displays. Here’s one I quite like.
Following up yesterday’s Christmassy post, this image made me think of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. In fact, it’s not the nose, but the tail light of a Honda Metropolitan scooter, glinting in the afternoon sunshine.
Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ See more responses here.
What? Too early? This photo is from last Christmas, a wooden tree outside a local art gallery, with its bright illumination.
Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Night.’ See more responses here. Also posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
On December 21st of last year, I went down to the coast to get a clear view of the ‘Christmas Star.’ This event was the closest coming together of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in almost 800 years. This isn’t to say that the planets themselves would be closer, but from our planet, they would appear so, so close that they would seem to be a single large ‘Christmas Star.’
I got down to the coast before sunset and stayed until it got dark enough that I knew I wouldn’t get more decent photos. I knew my best shot would be with some foreground still visible. The top photo is the best I could do with my camera. The two planets can clearly be seen close together, but with a sliver of late evening sky between them.
I headed home, downloaded the photos, and went to bed not long afterwards. Why the early night? Well, the next day I planned to drive over to see the new eruption at Kilauea Volcano, in the pre-dawn darkness, which required a 1 a.m. start. (That story can be found here.)
It was as I was wrapping up taking photos of the eruption that I turned to see the eastern horizon lightening. But there were still some stars visible in the sky and the brightest light of all was the planet Venus. That’s when I took the second photo before heading back to the car to start the three hour trip back home.
In Hawaii, snorkelers get to celebrate Christmas year-round thanks to the Christmas wrasse. I’m not sure why it got that name – it has others – but I suspect it has to do with its colorful appearance. Regardless, I’m sure it would like to join me in wishing everyone a happy Christmas.
Graham's Island 