Tag Archives: Sunday Stills

Candlenut

The flowers of a candlenut or kukui tree in Hawaii
The flowers of a candlenut or kukui tree in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Leaves and Trees.’ See more responses here.

Candlenut (Aleurites moluccana) is known as Kukui in Hawaii. It’s a canoe plant, brought to Hawaii by the early Polynesian settlers. The tree can grow to around 60 feet tall but is usually shorter. Large clusters of small white flowers are followed by round nuts, which can be seen at the top of the second photo.

The tree had many uses. Oil was extracted from the nuts for various uses and the nuts themselves were burned for lighting, hence the name. Roasted nuts are edible and were used for flavoring. Raw nuts are a potent laxative. The plants had several other uses, both decorative and medicinal.

Because of this versatility and cultural background, Kukui was named the state tree of Hawaii in 1959, replacing the coconut palm. It’s the only state to have a non-indigenous state tree.

Red junglefowl

A Red junglefowl in Hawaii
A Red junglefowl in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Fur and Feathers.’ See more responses here.

This bird is probably a red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) or Moa in Hawaii. I say probably, because some regular chickens (Gallus domesticus) can have a similar look and there is considerable interbreeding between the two species.

The red junglefowl is considered to be the first introduced bird species in Hawaii, since it was brought here by early Polynesian settlers.

Trees and cloud

Trees and clouds on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawaii

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

I couldn’t think of too many eerie things amongst my photos. This image of trees on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea, shrouded in cloud, is as close as it gets. This is a fairly common occurrence as clouds tend to build up during the day and often reach this area in the afternoons.

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Sky’ (See more responses here), and to the current Friendly Friday challenge theme of ‘Weather’ (See more responses here).

Parrot bench

A bench at Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens in Hilo, Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Indoor/Outdoor Decor.’ See more responses here.

I don’t have a lot of ‘decor’ photos, but I think this sort of fits the bill. It’s one of several fun benches at Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo. Probably less fun to sit in, but you can’t have everything!

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Blue/Bright.’ See more responses here.

Pink flowers

A Leafcutter bee on a zinnia violacea flower

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘The Pink Side of Life.’ See more responses here.

The top photo shows a leaf cutter bee on what I think is a zinnia violacea flower. Next we have a ball of Egyptian starcluster (Pentas lanceolata) flowers and Pinkfringe (Arthrostemma ciliatum) flowers.

  • A ball of Pentas lanceolata flowers
  • Arthrostemma ciliatum flowers

Next comes the lovely marking of a shell ginger flower and the puffy blooms of a sensitive plant.

  • Shell ginger flowers
  • Sensitive plant flowers

Finally, there’s a pink banana hosting a visitor, a gold dust day gecko after a little something to drink.

  • A gold dust day gecko on a pink banana flower
  • A gold dust day gecko on a pink banana flower

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – In the Pink/Flowers.’ See more responses here.

Vriesea splendens

Bromeliad Vriesea splendens at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Monthly Color Challenge: Burnt orange or blood orange.’ See more responses here.

Vriesea splendens is a bromeliad with long green leaves strongly marked with dark brown bands. But the show stopper here is the sword-like red-orange inflorescence which can be 2 feet long.

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Flowers.’ See more responses here.

Surfing looks easy

Surfers returning to shore at Pine Trees in Hawaii
Surfers returning to shore at Pine Trees in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Sports and Hobbies.’ See more responses here.

Hawaii is the home of surfing, a sport that accommodates everyone from the casual weekender to fixtures on the professional circuit. On this day, Pine Trees surf break at Kohanaiki Beach Park was thronged with surfers in the water, but not many catching waves. Those that did tended to be far away from where I was. But I liked watching these two surfers casually glide back to shore on white-topped blue-green water, under a blue sky.

Also posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Blue.’ See more responses here.

Sunrise over Kohala Mountain

Sunrise over the Kohala mountains

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Signs of Autumn.’ See more responses here.

We’re a little short on autumnal changes here. I tend to mark seasonal changes in terms of wildlife, such as the return of humpback whales in winter. For autumn, the return of Pacific golden plovers from their summer breeding grounds in Alaska is probably the most notable.

Outside of wildlife, the shortening of the days does register here. It’s not as dramatic as when I lived in Washington State, with summer sunsets around 9 p.m. and winter darkness setting in a little after 4 p.m.. In Hawaii, the equivalent times are 7 p.m. and 6 p.m., not such a big difference.

But it does make a difference for my morning commute, and autumn signals the time when I usually leave home when it’s mostly dark and arrive at work when it’s mostly light. I also try and give myself a little extra commuting time so I can pull over and take photographs when the sunrise merits it, such as this streaky red sunrise over Kohala mountain.