Turtles and Friend

Being used to east coast beaches, it is not often that you see animals on the beach. So a visit to Hawaii that reveals a beach full of turtles is a real treat.

Turtles Sunbathing on the Beach

A few minutes walk from the condo is a small spit of beach where the green sea turtles like to come some afternoons to catch a few rays.

February Flora

The condo we were staying in was part of a large, gated complex of condos. While many, maybe even most are short term rentals such as the one we are staying in, there are probably some with people in them permanently. As a result of the need to keep things nice for the residents and visitors, there is a full time grounds crew working here, mowing, planting, trimming and cleaning.

Because we are in a place with near perfect weather year-round, we can find amazing flowers most any time.

Black Crowned Night Heron Again

By the time I was leaving the wetlands, the heron I photographed earlier had moved to a new perch closer to the boardwalk. I was able to get some good headshots of him for his annual report (or some such thing).

Some Other Birds I Saw

Continuing my walk at Kealia Boardwalk, I found a few other birds. This one above is, I think, pacific golden plover, but I'm not 100% sure. At any rate, he's a handsome birds and has a nice reflection in the water.

Black Crowned Night Heron

About a 15 minute drive north of Kihei where we were staying, is the Kealia Coastal Boardwalk. This is an elevated boardwalk just off the beach and along the edge of a wetlands. The first bird I came across was another of the black crowned night heron. These guys like to pose for the camera.

More Views of the Iao Valley Stream

While the images from yesterday's post were pleasant, deeper in the shadows we find more interesting and colorful compositions.

Kepaniwai Park

Once back down to where the views are dominated by the works of man, I drove south to Iao Valley to find a place to eat lunch. These delightful park is an oasis for the soul. Surrounded by mountains and beside a stream full of water and laughing children, it is great place to sit and relax.

More of the Crater at Haleakala

This place must certainly inform the artists who imagine scenes on other worlds. For, in my travels, few places have rivaled the other worldliness of these vistas.

Haleakala near the Observatory

At the very top of the volcano we find a collection of observatories, which we mere mortals are not allowed to drive to, and vistas that can be a bit difficult to comprehend. On the slope above we look along a field of broken lava to abrupt change is slope beyond which appears only sky and ocean. Like one of the modern "infinity pools" one finds on hotel roofs, this "infinity field" on top of Maui is equally unsettling.

Haleakala

No trip to Maui is complete without a visit to the top of Haleakala to see the volcanic crater and the curious landscape there. I picked a clear morning and was able to see all around the crater to the edge of the clouds that are apparently always present on the southern side of the island.

More Sunset Eye Candy for Your Viewing Pleasure

Being on the western side of the island, we get all the sunsets. The sunrises on the other side of Haleakala, so we only get the morning light once the sun is well up in the sky. but the evenings can be glorious. I'm actually surprised that the island doesn't tip to one side each evening since nearly every one seems to flock to the beach on foot and by car to watch the daily astronomical spectacle.

A Couple more Herons

This fellow gave me a great pose in the shallow water near some bushes. With his reflection in the sepia colored water it almost looks like some sort of headshot for a business tycoon.

Herons

 

Outside the pond with all the stilts, the most numerous birds are the herons. I find them perching in the trees and posing in the water.

Kealia Pond

The stilts are noisy bunch and are really running things in this pond.

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

The Kealia Pond is a nice wetland area in which to spy a few of the local birds. The most numerous here now and the most engaging are the Hawaiian Stilt. It is a subspecies of the black-necked stilt.

Morning Light and Some Longer Exposures

If only the boat had held still for my image! Such arrogance to move when I did not want it too. Otherwise a calming image of the morning.

Morning Time on the Beach

As the sun breeches the crest of Haleakala, morning comes to our section of the shore line. With only a small bit of investigation, I find a sailboat that has been grounded on the beach in a recent storm. Just can't be good news for the sailor/owner of that boat.

And the Sun Goes Away...

The scales of motion... the slow turning of the Earth, the glacial rate of erosion of the beach rocks, the fast rate of water motion, and the gentle ebb and flow of the ocean, combine to make this an interesting composition.

The Golden Hour

With the sun beginning to disappear, the light takes on a more golden hue and for a few minutes, everything seems to be aglow.

Secret Beach at Sunset

As the sun crept closer to the horizon, the reds and yellows got more intense.

Welcome to Hawaii!

Finally, an escape from the endless rain and cold of the PNW to sunny Hawaii. On my first night there, we drove to a place called Secret Beach (although it isn't much of a secret any more) to watch the sunset.

Mostly Man-Made Items Today

There are many metal fences in town, standing alongside the dominant white wooden fences. All degrade with time in the rain and epiphyte attacks, but the metal ones seem to do it with grace and dignity.

On the Prowl Between Rain Showers

Looking for photo compositions along my well walked paths leads me to both old and new things to see. Above is what was originally, no doubt, a driveway for wagons and has now become mostly unused. To wide and in the wrong place to be a walkway and to narrow to be a drive for cars, it sits gated and locked and largely ignored.

Local Artwork

Artwork in Edmonds ranges from the ridiculous to the sublime in some oder I cannot fathom.

Along the Streets

In keeping with yesterday's theme of things in Edmonds windows you just don't seem much elsewhere, here's a store filled with whale themed things.

A Trip to Edmonds

Since the lockdowns of 2020, our big event is drive to Spuds, the fish 'n chips shop in Edmonds, buy a order or their great cod and chips, then sit in the car and eat. We are extravagant and fancy on out outings!

This trip we went totally crazy and drove the few blocks to the main part of town and did some low level shopping. That is, E shopped while I bought a coffee and had a walk about to take a few photos.

This storefront above is something you just don't see on the east coast. A bookstore advertising books by and about Asians and promoting the lunar new year. 

A Little Color in Our Lives

This is the plant you saw in black and white yesterday. It is interesting how the green leaves have blue streaks on them.