This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Urban.’ See more responses here.
North Kohala is mostly rural, so in this part of the world Hawi and Kapaau are the only urban centers and pretty small ones at that.
The top photo shows downtown Hawi on a moderately busy day. Some days, the traffic and crush of visitors can make it almost impassible. Downtown is mostly shops and restaurants, though there’s a small local grocery store and, of course, real estate agents.
One kind of store you don’t get in most downtowns is Hawi’s Aloha Man which features items made in Hawaii. There’s even a hammock just out of sight to the left of the store, in case walking the two blocks of downtown is too much for you!
Clouds off Upolu, a scene not greatly different in color.
A black and white cow with her mostly white calf.
A trio of black and white cows, the middle one looking particularly suspicious of what I was up to.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Daylight in Black and White.’ See more responses here.
I was going to post a single image for this but then got caught up with the idea of black and white images of black and white things. This is the result.
Black and white sheep doing sheep things.A black and white Great Frigatebird gliding into a stiff breeze off the coast of North Kohala.
Some shadows on a wall, not so different in black and white from the full color original.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Monthly Color Challenge: Jade.’ See more responses here. I think these photos are in the ballpark.
At the top is a selection of colorful kayaks available for rent on the beach at ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay. The one on the left looks jade to me, maybe a couple of others, too.
The middle photo is a sign at a business in Hawi.
Finally, this building in Kapaau, housing L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and other businesses, has some jade as well as a multitude of other colors.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Meaningful Memories.’ See more responses here.
This seemed like an opportune time to revisit my first visit to Hawaii, back in 2010. My wife and I stayed in a vacation rental near Captain Cook, overlooking Kealakekua Bay. The sky was hazy with vog from Kilauea Volcano, but the place was awash with colorful flowers. Just down the road was the Painted Church and at the foot of the hill, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park celebrates Hawaiian culture and history with its wooden ki’i and towering palms.
We traveled the whole island from the black sand beach at Pololu (even if we had to pass the carcass of a dead whale twice) to the black sand beach at Punalu’u, dotted with resting green turtles, and rocky surrounds. There were waterfalls big and small, and roads lined with tropical foliage leading to the active lava flow at that time.
There, signs warned that flowing lava is dangerous (who knew?), but we were still able to get within 10 feet of oozing tongues of red, and saw small fires still burning in nearby brush.
There was even a house for sale: ‘Buy now before it burns!’ We didn’t, though that house still stands while others, much farther from that scene, have since been consumed by subsequent flows.
It was this visit that prompted us to return permanently two years later. Hawaii isn’t paradise – it has its pros and cons like any place – but we haven’t regretted the move and are looking forward to the next 10 years.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Fresh.’ See more responses here.
Here’s a weekly ritual of mine these days. There are two tangerine trees on the property and they constantly churn out fruit. I rarely see the flowers, though I did eventually notice that they do exist (here).
Each week, I pick a small bucket of ripe fruit. Often I can just reach up an pick enough for my needs. Sometimes I use a ladder and rake to snag the higher fruits. Then I take my bounty inside and juice it. I use a hand juicer; I tried a powered one, but it didn’t really work for me. It doesn’t take long to fill my jar. This time I used 29 tangerines, but the number varies from week to week depending on how ripe they are and how juicy.
I could juice them daily for truly fresh juice, but this still tastes pretty good to me.
Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Love Your Pet.’ See more responses here.
Since I don’t have a regular pet, the next best thing would be The Big Galoot, our resident House Gecko. He (or possibly she) has been the dominant gecko in the house for several weeks now. House Geckos are nocturnal, but The Big Galoot does not seem to have seen that memo. He makes appearances at any time of day.
Nocturnal geckos tend to be very shy. If they’re caught out in the open, they scoot to shelter. This appears to be another memo missed by The Big Galoot. When I see him, he tends to remain in place and looks at me with a puzzled expression. There have been occasions where he has held his position so long that I’ve wondered if he was still alive!
The behavior of The Big Galoot has brought to mind the memoir, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. In it, Frank’s father, who hails from Northern Ireland, is described as having the ‘odd manner.’ This seems, to me, to be a perfect description for The Big Galoot!
Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Amethyst.’ See more responses here.
With no immediate ideas for this challenge, I plumped for some odds and ends from my flower folders. First up is a ‘vase’ of vincas followed by a Doritaenopsis orchis (Yu Pin Dream Girl). Then we have the leaves of a Persian Shield plant and finally a water lily surrounded by reflections.
Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Feed the Birds.’ (See more responses here.) We don’t put bird feeders out here so I was going to go with a selection of birds feeding out and about. But a few days ago, I was reminded that, while we don’t put out bird feeders, it doesn’t mean we don’t have them around.
Right now, the cane grass bordering the property has gone to seed and has been attracting birds. Seeing them is one thing; getting photos another. The cane grass is up to 10 feet high and the little birds that feed on them are notoriously skittish and will take off in an instant. I’ve found my bathroom window to be a good spot for photography – as long as it’s clean! The window looks out at the level of a lot of seed heads, but they’re usually in motion because of the wind and the little birds working them over. And other stalks of cane grass swish back and forth, obscuring my view of the birds and playing havoc with my focusing.
However, I was lucky enough to get photos of two recent visitors. The top trio of photos show a Common Waxbill stripping a seed head that was nicely illuminated and in an open spot right across from the window. The bottom three show a Nutmeg Mannikin. This one hopped around more, but stayed long enough that I was able to get several photos.
Both waxbills and mannikins generally travel in small flocks. This waxbill was the only one I saw clearly, but I saw others flitting about and could hear them in the vicinity. The odd thing about the mannikin was that it was the only one I saw or heard. Also, as the sun went down, I went outside to see if I could get better shots from a different angle. This bird did not seem bothered by my presence. Normally, mannikins would disappear at my appearance (I don’t take it personally!). I suspect this one was a juvenile that was, hopefully temporarily, separated from the flock and hadn’t learned about the many dangers facing it.
Also posted in response to this month’s Becky’s Squares challenge theme of ‘Odd.’ See more responses here.
Graham's Island 