Tag Archives: Geckos

Ruby red images

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Ruby Red.’ See more responses here.

The top photo shows a Crown of Thorns sea star, which feeds on coral, though not to a problematic extent in Hawaii.

The second photo illustrates a definite problem. When I stopped by the Harbor House restaurant at Honokohau, these were the only two Kona Brewing taps available. I was told the company has discontinued their Castaway IPA, which, if true, is a sad state of affairs, it being by far their best beer in my humble, but completely correct opinion.

The bottom three show a Gold Dust Day Gecko on a torch ginger, a Budweiser (not my beer of choice) sign at the Harbor House, and what I think is a Western Blood-red Lady Beetle.

In the pink

A Pinktail Triggerfish in the waters off Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Pink.’ See more responses here.

The top photo is an appropriately named Pinktail Triggerfish. Below, we have a Gold Dust Day Gecko cleaning the windows, a pink hibiscus fronting an orange tree, and an Hawaiian Stilt with an itch.

A pink hibiscus in front of an orange tree in Hawaii

Who, me?

A Gold Dust Day Gecko with a moth in its mouth

Most predators, on land and in the ocean, have a relatively poor success rate when it comes to snagging prey. Even when they’re successful, there’s no guarantee they’ll get to savor their prize.

I don’t know whether this Gold Dust Day Gecko was the one that caught this moth because, an instant after the capture, two or three other geckos swooped down to snatch it. There was a flurry of bodies and this one emerged from the scramble with the moth firmly stashed in its jaws. This look suggests it was guilty of robbery.

Gecko on a railing

I thought this Gold Dust Dy Gecko looked quite scenic on this railing, surrounded as it was by tropical foliage. It has a sort of purposeful look, but wasn’t doing much of anything while I watched it.

The Big Galoot

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Love Your Pet.’ See more responses here.

Since I don’t have a regular pet, the next best thing would be The Big Galoot, our resident House Gecko. He (or possibly she) has been the dominant gecko in the house for several weeks now. House Geckos are nocturnal, but The Big Galoot does not seem to have seen that memo. He makes appearances at any time of day.

Nocturnal geckos tend to be very shy. If they’re caught out in the open, they scoot to shelter. This appears to be another memo missed by The Big Galoot. When I see him, he tends to remain in place and looks at me with a puzzled expression. There have been occasions where he has held his position so long that I’ve wondered if he was still alive!

The behavior of The Big Galoot has brought to mind the memoir, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. In it, Frank’s father, who hails from Northern Ireland, is described as having the ‘odd manner.’ This seems, to me, to be a perfect description for The Big Galoot!

Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.

Powder puff tree flower and gecko

A gold dust day gecko burrows into a powder puff tree flower.

Sometimes you have to dig deep to get to the good stuff!

The things we do

I was going through some old photos, came across this one, and realized I’d never posted it before. This was a gecko that lived in our house a few years ago. We called him Jones because he had a peculiar fondness for ant bait.

Like all geckos, he shed his skin periodically, but on this occasion he was having difficulty getting rid of the old skin around his feet. That’s a problem for a gecko because it meant he wasn’t able to climb around everywhere having lost the ‘stickum’ qualities of his feet. So he would wander around on the floor and once in a while make his way into the bathroom and be unable to navigate the step to get out. So I made this little set of steps for him, shoved it up against the big step, and waited. Jones quickly got the hang of it and used it for several days until he finally shed the last remnants of his old skin.

Pink flowers

A Leafcutter bee on a zinnia violacea flower

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘The Pink Side of Life.’ See more responses here.

The top photo shows a leaf cutter bee on what I think is a zinnia violacea flower. Next we have a ball of Egyptian starcluster (Pentas lanceolata) flowers and Pinkfringe (Arthrostemma ciliatum) flowers.

Next comes the lovely marking of a shell ginger flower and the puffy blooms of a sensitive plant.

Finally, there’s a pink banana hosting a visitor, a gold dust day gecko after a little something to drink.

A gold dust day gecko on a pink banana flower

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – In the Pink/Flowers.’ See more responses here.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii