This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Yellow Autumn or Leaves.’ (See more offerings here.)
These leaves might not be Autumnal, but they still feature a good portion of yellow. They’re ramshot crotons (Codiaeum variegatum) and I don’t know if this is why they got their name, but the shape of the leaves is reminiscent of rams’ horns.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘All About Pets.’ (See more offerings here.) I don’t currently have a pet, but at work, we have several cats, formerly feral, but now fixed, shot, and chipped.
One of these cats is Sunshine. I’ve posted photos of her here. In this photo, she’s about to do a little personal grooming and looks none too pleased to have someone pointing a camera at her.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Something Scary.’ See more responses here.
Here’s a photo of a whitetip reef shark passing almost directly beneath me. In truth, these sharks aren’t especially scary since they’re more curious than dangerous, but the sinuous movement and serious chompers can send a shiver through anyone who encounters them in the water.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Birthdays.’ See more offerings here. I don’t really have anything birthday-related so I’ve plumped for a photo taken on my birthday this year.
This is an adult black-crowned night heron at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, just north of Kailua Kona. I watched it for a while, as it moved around the edges of the Aimakapa Fishpond. In the top photo, the heron is coming in to land, and in the bottom photo, it’s taking off again.
The photo to the right shows the bird perched on a float. This was a good shot for my birthday since, with its large beak and somewhat puzzled expression, the heron looks a lot like me!
For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to https://www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm or bigislandhikes.com/kaloko-honokohau-park/.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Think Pink.’ See more responses here.
I chose this pinktail triggerfish, not just for its tail, but for the pink around the mouth and the strong colors and lines of the rest of it.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Lines and Squares.’ See more offerings here.
This is one of the roads in Isaac Hale Beach Park at Pohoiki. This park is where last year’s lava activity came to a halt leaving a wall of lava making a border to the public area of the park. Walking beyond the ‘No Trespassing’ sign won’t result in your immediate arrest, but the powers that be don’t want people walking on the flow itself.
But this is a road after all and the sign makes it seem likely that someone driving here might continue on and run into the flow. Actually, this is entirely possible, given how some people drive around here.
Regardless of the intent, I like how the lines on the road disappear into the lava and the red squares are warning signs.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Signs of Autumn.’ (See more responses here.) So here two photos of a stink bug. I think this is probably a four-humped stink bug or rough stink bug (Brochymena quadripustulata), but it could be a brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys).
What does this have to do with ‘Signs of Autumn?’ Well, stink bugs start gathering around and inside homes in the fall. As natives of Southeast Asia, they’re sensitive to the cold and spend winter in a hibernation-like state called torpor. So in the fall, they’re looking for a suitable safe spot and a warm house fits that bill. They also have a tendency to gather in large numbers, so one stink bug could quickly be joined by many others.
Stink bugs don’t bite and they’re not dangerous, but they can release an offensive smelling liquid if threatened, hence their name. Because of this, they’re not exactly welcome house guests.
Canoe racing is part of a resurgence in traditional Hawaiian culture and activities. Before contact with western civilization, canoe racing was widely popular. But missionaries, who were among the early western arrivals on the islands, didn’t like the races and the gambling on them (along with pretty much every other enjoyable activity). Finally, Queen Ka’ahumanu, influenced by the missionaries, banned canoe racing.
In 1875, King David Kalakaua reinstated the sport, leading to renewed participation in the activity. These days, canoe racers come from all walks of life and take part in the sport for the exercise as well as the racing. Many of the boats, based on traditional designs, are made from fiberglass, but most canoe racing clubs have at least one canoe made from koa wood as it would have been in the old days.
In these photos, a group of local women train in a double-hulled canoe, zipping into Kawaihae Harbor ahead of one of the inter-island barges.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Sports or Hobbies.’ See more offerings here.
Graham's Island 