Leave one large unripe mango on the ground and wait for the arrival of seven small piglets. Watch them bat the mango around, trying to snare it in their small jaws. There are no rules in this game, so pushing and shoving is common, as is running around for no clear reason.
The winner is the one who snags and keeps the mango.
It’s a strenuous activity so a post-game rest is advised.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Earth Day.’ See more responses here.
What’s more earthy than pigs. Of course, these piglets aren’t really back. The last litter is now much larger and correspondingly less cute. The ones in this photo are the latest batch. There are seven of them and they’re still in the ‘Everything is new and exciting’ phase. They root around in the dirt with such vigor that their back ends sometimes fly into the air. However, they haven’t yet learned that, while they’re doing this, they need to retain awareness of their surroundings. When something or someone, such as myself, can approach within five feet without them noticing, that might not end well. If mom’s around, she’ll warn them. If not, they’re easy to surprise.
In these photos, the piglets found something in the base of the palm and were clambering over each other to get a piece of it. I could have tapped one on the shoulder and it would probably have ignored me!
Then dad came along.
Time to head for the cane grass.
Wait for me!
I saw this piglet resting at the edge of the yard. It was clearly enjoying the strip of sunshine between the shadow of the mango tree and the dark sanctuary of a large clump of cane grass. But when you’re one of seven piglets in the litter, you can be pretty sure someone’s going to come along and spoil everything.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘A Numbers Game.’ See more responses here. I put all my fingers and thumbs to work for my response, starting with ten Sheep in formation (and ten Cattle Egrets, too, as a bonus).
Next we have nine Spinner Dolphins playing, eight Wild Pigs foraging, seven Cattle Egrets heading to work.
Then there’s six Dung Beetles at work, five Black Triggerfish feeling blue, four Japanese White-eyes bathing.
And finally, three Horses watching, two Hawaiian Monk Seals resting, and one Pueo anticipating zero and lifting off.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘What’s That Aroma?’ See more responses here. Well, for this theme I just couldn’t get past this photo I took a while ago.
I spotted this wild pig in a cow pasture, burrowing into exactly what you think that’s likely to be in a cow pasture. But it’s not just the pig’s dinner that’s aromatic, the pigs do too. When they go by the bedroom window at night, I sometimes hear them, but I’m almost always alerted to their presence by the aroma, which is pungent enough to prompt an immediate, ‘What is that smell?’
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Wildlife.’ See more responses here. I thought I’d go with a couple of photos from the air, on land, and in the ocean.
First up, a couple of native Hawaiian birds, a palila above and a pueo below.
Next, a group of goats blocking a trail in South Kona, above, and a wild pig snaffles a mango and runs off with its prize, below.
Finally, a pod of spinner dolphins that I encountered in the wild while snorkeling. This scene was made more poignant for me by having recently seen dolphins in a small pool doing their thing for tourists at one of the resorts here. I couldn’t bring myself to take a photo of that.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Under the Trees.’ See more responses here. Here are a couple of photos for this theme. They’re both under the trees and they’re both barbecue-related when you think about it.
The top one shows people sharing a barbecue meal under the trees at Spencer Beach Park. If this post featured ‘Smellovision’ you’d know it was a barbecue without me writing anything at all.
The bottom photo shows the six little pigs that have been daily visitors to the yard this past couple of weeks. They come for fallen mangoes, scampering out from the cane grass and racing around below the mango tree searching for fallen treasures. There are often one or two on the ground and the lucky ones bolt back into cover with their prizes. Their antics are a continuing source of entertainment. Mind you, it’s not all fun and games. There used to be seven little pigs!
Also posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Trees.’ See more responses here.
Something spooked these wild pigs and they took off in a hurry.
Posted in response to Becky’s January Squares challenge theme of ‘Up.’ See more responses here.
Graham's Island 