A tropical hibiscus called 'Maui Wind'

'Maui Wind' Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This hibiscus variety, called 'Maui Wind', is one of the newer additions to our flower garden.  Its petals are a lovely shade of pink, and it has a dark red center.  The leaves on the plant are quite glossy.  It is a hybrid cultivar of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Trade Wind Day in Rural Hawaii

Location:  Waimea, Big Island, Hawaii

It was a sunny day, but the trade winds were blowing, and to borrow a line from Bob Dylan, "You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows."  All the trees in this area lean permanently in one direction due to the prevailing winds.   On this day, even the clouds in the sky were pointing the same way.

The photo was taken from Kawaihae Road, the main highway between the up-country ranch town of Waimea and the Kohala Coast on Hawaii's Big Island.  We pass by this scene every time we go to the supermarket.

White Hibiscus in Full Sun

'Bridal Veil' hibiscus

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

'Bridal Veil' is the name of this white tropical hibiscus variety.   It is another of the innumerable cultivars of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.  The blossom is about four inches (10 cm) across.

I don't usually photograph flowers in full sunlight, but the bright light did seem to bring out the crepe-like texture of this blossom's petals.

Mr. Cardinal found a sunflower seed

Northern Cardinal - male (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This male Northern Cardinal visits our bird feeder several times each day.   Usually we put a mixture of seeds on the feeders.  The cardinals always choose sunflower seeds first, only eating other seeds when there are no more sunflower seeds left.

In case you missed them, here is another photo of this male cardinal, and one of his pretty mate.

Big Round Moon

Location: Photographed from the Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Here's the moon, looking like its about to settle on a wispy cloud.  The photo was taken one morning last month, about 36 hours after the moon was officially "full."

Endangered Species?

Public Telephone

Location:  Hamakua Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Have you noticed that ever since mobile phones exploded onto the scene, you see fewer and fewer public telephones?  Even at airports, which used to have banks and banks of pay phones everywhere, you'd have to search for one these days.  They are a dying breed.

Here is a photo of a roadside public telephone near the scenic lookout above Waipi'o Valley on Hawaii's Big Island.  When I saw it, I decided I had better photograph it and archive the image for posterity, lest we forget what these look like!  Note that this specimen even includes a rare accessory: a phone book.

The Long and Winding Road

Lake Wakatipu

Location: South Island, New Zealand

There is no lack of scenic drives in New Zealand, but one of the prettiest has to be Route 6, along the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu.  Situated in the Otago Region on New Zealand's South Island, Lake Wakatipu is a finger lake surrounded on all sides by steep mountains.

I took this photo from a spot called the Devil's Staircase Lookout, facing north.   Route 6 winds northward along the shore of Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown, where it turns away from the lake and continues a steady climb into New Zealand's Southern Alps.

The Pineapple's Crown

Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This is the third in a series of posts documenting the growth of a pineapple on one of the plants in my garden . In November I posted a macro photo of the fruit when it was not much bigger than a pine cone.  In the second photo, the fruit looked well-formed, though still small, and it was beginning to grow a crown.

Pineapples mature slowly, but this one's recent growth spurt makes us hopeful that we may be able to pick it and enjoy the sweet fruit a bit earlier than we had expected.  Thanks in part to the abundant rain we have seen over the past few weeks, the pineapple has become plump, and as you can see, it now has a well-formed crown.