Tag Archives: Sunday Stills

Amethysts

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge is ‘Amethyst.’ See more responses here. Just a couple from me this week. The top photos is a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air auto looking very clean and shiny, though a closer look shows a few signs of age. I know the feeling!

In the second photo, we are amethyst even if the look of this sign in a window doesn’t exactly lure one in.

They got it at Costco

Rosy-faced Lovebirds and others feeding in the parking lot of Costco in Kailua Kona, Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Feed the Birds.’ See more responses here.

Just the one photo this week, of a recent encounter at the island’s Costco. These Rosy-faced Lovebirds and others were snacking in the parking lot. I’m not sure whether someone threw this there or accidentally dropped a bag of seed or something similar. Either way, this was the only photo I got because every time I was ready to take another one, a car would come by and the birds would scatter!

All kinds of storms

A great frigatebird flying off Upolui, Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Storm.’ See more responses here.

I’ve gone with a few different kinds of storms starting with a Great Frigatebird or ʻIwa, which is known in Hawaii as a storm bird as they are considered indicators of approaching storms. Below is a rain storm in North Kohala on the road to Upolu.

Rain falling at Hawi, Hawaii

The next two are scenes at Kawaihae port when the winds are whipping. A dirt storm above and a sand storm below.

Dirt blowing at Kawaihae, Hawaii
Sand blowing at Kawaihae, Hawaii

Ten years ago

A Green Anole shedding.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Ten.’ See more responses here. January of 2016 was the first full month for this blog, so I thought I’d post a few photos that ran back then.

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).

Winter in Hawaii

Anaehoʻomalu Bay beach in Hawaii
The beach at Anaehoʻomalu Bay.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Winter Wonderland.’ See more responses here. These photos were all taken during the winter months, which is wonderful when you think about it!

The Green sand beach near South Point in Hawaii
There’s green sand at Papakōlea beach near South Point.
Water Globes at Kailua Kona airport in Hawaii
It’s too warm year-round even for snow globes!
A picnic table on the beach at Spencer Beach Park in Hawaii
For cooler temperatures, get there early. That way you can snag a picnic table.
Frosty schooners at the Harbor House restaurant in Hawaii
It can get frosty here though, at least at the Harbor House restaurant in Kailua Kona.

Red birds in green foliage

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii
An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii

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.

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii

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!

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii

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.

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii

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