This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Future.’ See more responses here.
These days, our photos and videos are in the cloud, our music is in the cloud, our backups are in the cloud, our records and files are in the cloud. One day, it’s virtually certain, we will end up in the cloud too, which will be a good thing, as it will give Earth a chance to recover from everything we’ve done to it!
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Wild Animal or Bird of the Month.’ See more responses here.
Pu’u O’o Trail is a few miles east of the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, on the south side of the main cross-island highway. It’s all above 5,000 feet and can be cold, wet, and windy, but I’ve had good luck picking warm, sunny days. These photos are from a couple of recent hikes I took up there. Captions on the photos.
The trail crosses old lava flows from Mauna Loa, but there are kīpukas, areas of old-growth forest missed by the lava, which are home to several kinds of native birds.
On my last visit, I was lucky enough to see an ‘Akiapola’au, an endangered native species, which is only found on this island these days. This one was high up in the trees with the sun behind it. While my photos weren’t great, I was still able to see this industrious bird foraging for a meal. The shorter lower mandible is used to drill into branches and then the curved upper mandible digs out the grubs hiding within.
These native birds make this trail popular with birders, but it’s a good hike for anyone. A 9-mile loop is possible, but I usually do an out-and-back hike through the first two or three kipukas, which totals about five miles.
Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Dark Green.’ See more responses here. Since we’re surrounded by green here, I’m staying close to home this week. Captions on the photos.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Water.’ See more responses here. Let’s see what’s happening below the surface. Here are some photos from my swim yesterday. Captions are on the photos.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Bicycles and Biking.’ See more responses here. Yesterday, the Hawaii Ironman 70.3 race took place on the island so I went out to take photos of the cyclists as they went to and from Hawi.
The day was a hot and sunny with moderate trade winds, which meant the ride to Hawi was uphill and into the wind. The reward was turning around and zipping downhill with the wind at their backs.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Family, Friends and People.’ See more responses here.
I rarely take photos of people, but while I was waiting outside Costco I saw this woman walk by the tire center and snapped this quick image.
This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge is ‘Pink or Pastels.’ See more responses here. Here’s a couple of Java Sparrows making sure the coast is clear.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘National Garden Month.’ See more responses here.
A while ago, I spent some time in Lili`uokalani Gardens, in Hilo. The gardens cover almost 25 acres, including Moku Ola, better known as Coconut Island. They date back to 1917 and are named after Queen Liliʻuokalani, who was the last ruling monarch of Hawaii, before the kingdom’s overthrow by the U.S.A. in 1893.
Over the years, tsunamis have damaged the gardens, which are situated on the waterfront. But reconstruction, after these events, has restored and improved the gardens and kept them as an integral part of Hilo’s downtown.
For more information about Lili`uokalani Gardens, go to https://www.liliuokalanigardens.org/
Graham's Island 