Tag Archives: Hiking

A look back at 2025

A humpback whale and her calf swim in the waters off Lapakahi Historical Park, Hawaii — This Humpback Whale encounter was probably the highlight of the year (here).

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Year in review.’ See more responses here. As usual, I’ve picked a photo from each of the past 12 months and included a link to the original post.

Lenticular clouds over Mauna Kea at sunrise — Sunrise over Mauna Kea (here).

A Monarch Butterfly on a leaf in Hawaii — A Monarch Butterfly on a leaf (here).

A Manta Ray swims by in the waters off Hawaii — A Manta Ray passes by (here).

View of Kilauea Eruption in May 2025 — One of the many episodes of the current eruption at Kilauea (here).

A Japanese White-eye on Octopus Tree flowers in Hawaii — A Japanese White-eye on Octopus Tree flowers (here).

The interior of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi, Hawaii — The interior of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi (here).

A male Sonoran Carpenter bee in Hawaii — A male Sonoran Carpenter Bee (here).

Art and chairs in the waiting room of Hilo Benioff Medical Center in Hawaii — A waiting room at the Hilo Benioff Medical Center (here).

A child jumps into the ocean from a rock tower at Coconut Island, Hilo, Hawaii — Jumping into the ocean at Coconut Island, Hilo (here).

Horses frolicking at Paniolo Adventures on the Big Island, Hawaii — A kerfuffle in the corral at Paniolo Adventures (here).

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii — A native I’iwi bird (here).

Red birds in green foliage

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Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Festive Colors of Red and Green.’ See more responses here.

A couple of weeks ago, I hiked a section of the Pu’u O’o Trail, off Saddle Road. It’s one of my favorites on the island. The trail mixes old lava flows from Mauna Loa eruptions with kipukas, areas of old growth trees bypassed by those flows. These kipukas are home to several native bird species.

On this day, approaching a kipuka, the bird calls got noticeably louder. Clearly a lot of birds were active. I chastised myself for, once again, not remembering to familiarize myself with the different calls so I could identify the birds I was hearing. But I needn’t have worried. They were visible too, if prone to move about a bit too rapidly for my convenience!

This bird is the I’iwi and I saw more of them on this day than any other time I’ve been up here. I’iwis feed on several kinds of native flowers, many of which are found in these kipukas. The tangle of branches and the flighty birds made for tricky photography, but I was happy to get a few good shots out of the many that I took.

I know these aren’t Christmassy photos, but I was feeling pretty festive by the end of the hike!

A bee on Pinkhead Smartweed

A bee feeds on Pinkhead Smartweed flowers in Hawaii

The last photo from a hike on the Pu’u O’u Trail a couple of days ago.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card. See more responses here.

Mahukona walk

The old Kohala sugar railroad is now a trail, at least for a mile or two north of Mahukona. It’s very curvy with many cuttings and embankments. In the early morning, the walk is a succession of changes from shade to sun and back again.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.

Shades of orange and yellow

The morning sun illuminates clouds over Kohala in Hawaii — Early morning clouds over Kohala.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge is ‘Ocher, saffron (yellow hues), plus burnt orange.’ See more responses here.

A dirt road at Kaiholena, Hawaii — A dirt road at Kaiholena.

One of the Keawaiki golden pools in Hawaii — A dirt road at Kaiholena.

Colorful pahoehoe lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii — Colorful pahoehoe lava.

Golden Bamboo in Hawaii — Colorful pahoehoe lava.

’Ulei flowers

A bee forages on ’Ulei flowers. ’Ulei, also known as Hawaiian Hawthorn, is an indigenous shrub that grows in a variety of habitats. I saw this one hiking on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The Numbers Game #83

A Long-tailed blue butterfly on a tasselflower in Hawaii — A Long-tailed Blue Butterfly on a Tasselflower.

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

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Simply Red. See more responses here.