This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Shadows.’ See more responses here.
This view was taken near the summit of Mauna Kea. Pu’us – little volcanic cinder cones – dot the landscape here, giving the area an otherworldly look. As the sun sets, the pu’us cast shadows on one another accentuating the slopes and craters.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Design.’ (See more responses here.) For this, I’m posting photos of the Hawaii State Capitol building in Honolulu. Opened in 1969, it’s a relatively recent structure. Some of the design features of the building are striking because they represent elements of the state.
In the middle photo, the reflecting pool, surrounding the building, represents the Pacific Ocean. The columns resemble royal palm trees, and the conical structure, the base of one of the legislative chambers, is the shape of the volcanoes that formed the island chain.
The bottom photo shows how the building is open to the elements, and reflects life in Hawaii where many activities happen outside. On the right is one of four kukui nut trees, the state tree, which represent the four main counties.
The top photo is a view of a segment of the open roof and the walkway that encircles the upper level of the building. I like the strong lines and colors of this view.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Illumination.’ (See more responses here.) I plumped for this image for the early morning light and for the two house lights, nicely positioned above the illumination of the passing car’s lights, as though they are somehow all connected.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Chair.’ (See more responses here.) Usually I dig through my files for something suitable, but I knew I was light on chair photos. Instead, I went out and took a photo specifically for this challenge.
I’ve always liked the front of this hair salon in downtown Hawi and, in particular, the old barber’s chair located out front. This is a spot where customers can hang out prior to an appointment, but it’s also fine for passers-by to take a seat and watch the world go slowly by.
A few weeks back, I posted (here) about a new monk seal pup that had recently been born on the Big Island. I’m happy to report that the mother and pup both continue to do well.
The pup is now about six weeks old and is much closer in size to his mother than he was in the previous post. It’s likely that his mother, RA20, will soon leave him to fend for himself. She has lost a lot of weight and is also looking quite green on her head and flippers, so she will head out to feed and then to molt.
The pup’s sister, Manu’iwa, has been a regular visitor to the area, but the mother is very protective and drives her away. Once the mother leaves, it’s likely that the two siblings will spend some time together in the area. Eventually, the new pup will head out on his own and make his own way.
Manu’iwa has had a very good first year, which is often a very testing time for a new monk seal. Hopefully, the new pup will be equally successful and be another step toward boosting the endangered monk seal population to more sustainable levels.
I’m posting this in response to this week’s Friendly Friday challenge on the theme of ‘Posing.’ (More responses here.) The top photo in particular could easily have the caption, ‘That’s my boy.’
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Looking up.’ See more responses here.
Birds were my first thought for this theme since I spend a fair amount of time gazing skyward, either looking for birds or following their flight. While I had several options of which birds to feature, great frigatebirds seemed an obvious choice for three reasons.
First, they fly with no apparent effort, using the wind currents to glide along, even into strong winds. Second, they’re big, imposing birds, which catch the eye as they soar overhead. And third, they are forever sneaking up on me, easing up from behind so that I don’t see them until they’re alongside, and by the time my camera is out, they’re disappearing into the distance.
Great frigatebirds are pretty easy to identify thanks to their size, their distinctive wing shape and their forked tails. The wickedly hooked beak is another distinctive feature.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Mood.’ See more responses here. For me, mood elevation often comes in the form of interactions with nature. Anything from bugs to birds, fish to flowers, can leave me in a better mood.
I had been watching Japanese white-eyes visiting Japanese aloe flowers on a daily basis. But I was really happy to capture one, perching on a stem, with purple bougainvilleas in the background.
This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Raindrops.’ (See more responses here.) It was convenient therefore that today, just as I finished waxing some metal parts, a shower of rain passed over. The raindrops beaded up nicely on the shiny surface.
Graham's Island 