This rather splendid sailing vessel was anchored recently, for a few days, in front of Mauna Kea Resort. It’s the Robert C. Seamans, a 134-foot steel-hulled brigantine that, despite its classic appearance, was built in 2001. The vessel is a Sailing School Vessel (SSV) operated by the Sea Education Association, which conducts sail training and research.
For more information about the Robert C. Seamans and Sea Education Association, go to https://sea.edu/.
I saw this Erckel’s Francolin walking up an angled tree trunk on the side of Mauna Kea. It got to the spot in the top photo, had a look around, and then walked back down again. Francolins prefer to walk everywhere because, being game birds, they know that when they take wing, people try and shoot them.
There’s still a bit of snow on top of both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Every time it looks like it’s going to disappear, a new dusting bolsters the coverage.
This view is from Kohala Mountain Road. The dark strip snaking through the center of the photo is housing alongside Kawaihae Road, which goes down to the coast. These houses are part of the town of Waimea, which sits in the saddle between Mauna Kea and Kohala Mountain. This part of Waimea is known as the dryside because it receives significantly less rainfall than areas on the east side of the saddle, which is known, correctly, as the wetside.
A couple of days ago, Big Island skies were graced by lenticular clouds. These kinds of clouds are uncommon in Hawaii, but strong winds blowing up against Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa created perfect conditions.
Lenticular clouds appear to hover in one spot, but while they don’t move, they can change shape constantly. These two clouds behaved quite differently. The one on the right retained its basic shape all day. The one on the left was constantly morphing from one shape to another. Alas, I only got these photos because I was working and to photograph the clouds without an array of wires in the foreground meant a walk down the road a ways.
These clouds look like they’re close to the ground, but they form in the troposphere, between 6,500 and 20,000 feet. By the end of the day, the cloud on the left was largely broken up and disappearing, but the one on the right was still going strong, albeit while becoming masked by lower level clouds.
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!
A couple of days ago, I saw this sliver of a moon rising over Mauna Kea. I didn’t have my tripod, so wedged myself as still as possible against a van. The close up shows that technique isn’t perfect, but still kind of interesting.
A view of Mauna Kea Resort and beach, with Kohala Mountain in the background, looking north from the coast path.
The morning I first saw Mauna Loa’s latest eruption (here), the sunrise was equally spectacular.
Graham's Island 