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







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







This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Favorite Flowers.’ Here are some of mine. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here






And finally some photos from the Hilo Orchid Show last year. I’ve definitely become an orchid fan since moving here.




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 141. Captions are on the photos.
You can see more responses here.
Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.








This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Feed the Birds.’ See more responses here.
I don’t feed the birds here, but they seem to have no trouble feeding themselves, with the notable exception of the one in the top photo. Here’s a selection.





A Hawaii Amakihi rests in a tree fern alongside the Pu’u O’o Trail off Saddle Road.

I saw this endemic Hawaii Amakihi on the slopes of Mauna Kea, feeding at Mamane flowers. The Hawaii in the name refers, not to the state, but to the island of Hawaii, otherwise known as the Big Island. There are different species on Oahu, Maui, and Kauai.


This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Great Outdoors.’ See more responses here.
In Hawaii, people spend a great deal of time outdoors. It’s common for people to have an outdoor kitchen, sometimes their only kitchen, sometimes a second one where a barbecue is the featured cooking apparatus. Carports often feature chairs and tables with cars parked elsewhere. The lanai, or deck, is as well-used as any room in the house.
Outdoor activities are popular here, too. Many involve the ocean and its inviting water: swimming, snorkeling, paddling, and of course surfing. Plenty of people go fishing and hunting, longtime sources of food for the table.




For me, experiencing the great outdoors primarily involves hiking and snorkeling. Hiking isn’t especially popular here, especially along the coast where it can get quite hot. I get strange looks when I hike the length of popular beaches togged out in hiking gear, including shoes, hat, and fanny pack loaded with water. For most, the beach is a place for stretching out and broiling in the sun, not actively working up a sweat.




The vast majority of photos on this blog are taken in the great outdoors. These photos are a small selection of things I’ve seen while out and about, from sweeping views to birds and bugs.



I was at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail, on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, when I looked up and saw this Hawai’i amakihi, a native honeycreeper. When I got home, I was happy to find that one of my photos had caught the bird in mid hop, from one branch to another.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here. For more information about Palila Forest Discovery Trail, go to dlnr.hawaii.gov/restoremaunakea/palila-forest-discovery-trail/.