Another Random Mix

I took this photo of the turtle yesterday, but forgot to include it in the earlier post. If you look closely at the top of the shell, you'll see the satellite tracker that was attached for migration documentation purposes.

I think I mentioned that I stayed overnight at a friend's in order to babysit today. I noticed these two "guitars" in the corner and thought they were pretty colorful, so I decided to use them for my subjects.

This is just one of the two Siberian Huskys that live here. Beautiful and so friendly.

Posted at 3:10 on Sat., Feb 28, 2009

Post for Friday (even though it's Sat)

I was on honu duty Friday afternoon. There were two turtles on the beach when I arrived. One had just had a satellite tracker attached to its shell. They expect that she may be getting ready to migrate.

Within a few minutes of being there, we saw a monk seal playing around in the shallow surf. She entertained us for a while, and then began her trek up the beach. Just so awesome!!

Posted on Sat, for Friday, Feb 27, 2009

Just Look At This Face!!

1965. A new freshman class arrived at college. Young, eager, nervous, ready to take on the challenges of new experiences...

Michelle was one of those people who are perky, pretty, vivacious, outgoing, talented, smart, well-dressed, and, darn-it-all, sweet and likable at the same time. It was impossible not to like Michelle.

I was a sophomore. I knew my way around the small campus, I knew practically all the upperclassmen (very small college), and within weeks knew practically all the freshmen (if not personally, at least by their first names).

She had a twin brother attending too. His name was Michael. Yep, Michelle and Michael Morrison. Oh dear. So Michelle became Mickie. She got involved in campus life very quickly, and we remained, if not close friends, at least good acquaintances until I graduated three years later.

We never saw each other again. I never heard anything about her until the other day! A roommate of mine, who was in the same singing group as Mickie (The Windy Hill Singers) sent out an email that Mickie is suffering with stage IV cancer, and that the prognosis is not good. I understand from Kathe that Mickie's college boyfriend from the singing group and her husband both died years ago from the same cancer. Is it contagious?

It took my breath away. The day I received the email, Kathe said that it was Mickie's 62nd birthday!!! Oh. My. Gosh!!! How did that happen? How can she be that old? Ooops, that means I'm that old too. Is that age old? Not according to my head.

I feel like this is an echo of Jayme's recent blog about the death of her dear friend and I don't mean to steal the thunder from her sad experience. I just needed to vent about this. It's been on my mind since I received Kathe's note. I'm sad about this. Sad for Mickie's family, for the life that's ebbing from her beautiful body and being, sad for our long gone youth (and, contrary to what most people say, I would love to have the chance to do it all over again), and sad that I will begin hearing stories like this about my friends and family more and more frequently.

I know that God is in control. I know that He numbers our days. I know that all our deeds were ordained for us before the world was created. I know that He loves me more than I can comprehend. And I know that my eternity with Him in heaven is going to be more than I "can think or imagine".

May Mickie know that security too. May she look forward to her new eternity in Heaven with the Author and Finisher of our lives. May she be comforted in this dark time of her life by the everlasting love of the Father, and the care and concern of her family and friends.

(this is not my photo post for today--check back later for that one)

Byodo-In Temple

I made a quick stop at Laniakea Beach again today. No turtles, but there was a monk seal on the beach. The photos were bad, so you don't get to see her today. However.......today the weather was wonderfully beautiful, even if a little cool. Blue skies, a breeze, and the water was that awesome azure color that just takes your breath away and almost doesn't seem real.

Then I met a friend at the Japanese Temple. The temple is beautiful as are the grounds it sits on. It was built entirely without nails and is an exact replica of the original temple constructed in Japan over 900 years ago. This first image is deliberately out of focus because I zoomed while pressing the shutter button.

The next two images show the grounds.


This Buddha is over 18 feet tall. It was carved, then covered with cloth and painted with 3 applications of gold lacquer Finally, gold leaf was applied over the lacquer finish.

This next image is just a detail of the railing surrounding the buddha.

Some koi swimming in the ponds--dirty water and a slow shutter speed.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go there today was to practice some more with my infrared. It's always random whether the images come out good. I made 8 images and I only really like 2. Here's one of the better ones, although not spectacular.

Posted at 7:30 on Thurs, Feb 26, 2009

N.O.A.A.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association

[The foundation built by these great organizations has given rise to an agency whose realm extends from the surface of the sun to the bottom of the sea, whose concern for life in the sea extends from microscopic creatures to the great whales, and whose reach in time extends from thousands of years in the past to decades in the future with global change studies and observations.]

N.O.A.A. was busy at Laniakea Beach today, and all this week. This is just about the time of year when random honu (turtles) will begin acting like they are ready to leave Oahu and swim to their mating location. That location is 500 miles northwest, the very farthest point in the French Frigate Shoals which is the outermost boundary of the Hawaiian archipelago.

Last year, only one of the females made the migration and it took her only about 33 days. The honu swim to the Shoals, mate, lay their eggs and then return to Oahu. The babies, which are only about two inches long when they hatch, make their way to the water, and eventually back to Oahu also. When they become sexually mature, at about the age of 20, they then repeat the pattern by returning to the French Frigate Shoals to lay their eggs.

So N.O.A.A.'s job this week is to document as many honu as possible, and to put satellite trackers on the females most likely to migrate. Each female doesn't go each year, so based on past history, it's an educated guess as to which ones will leave in any given year.

Not only are trackers attached, but some honu, like this juvenile pictured below, will be tagged with a number and a chip for identification purposes. The volunteers have a photo album of all the honu that frequent the beach and when one comes to bask, they have to document: the time the honu comes out of the water, which honu it is and what time it returns to the water.

Relax, the gadget in the image below is not a saw, although I have to admit, it looks like one from this angle. It measures the turtle from the underbelly to the top of the shell.

Even though I wasn't on duty today, I just happened to have my badge in the car, so after putting it on I was able to step over the red rope and get close for these photos.

George is releasing the honu back into the water.

Jackie and I then headed back to Haleiwa to our favorite coffee shop. It's just the neatest place, and here's another sign I just love. Glad to see that some businesses have their wits about them concerning cell phone use. This is the same shop that says it will give your uncontrolled, unruly child a shot of espresso and a dog...

Just a quick shot of part of the inside of the coffee shop.

A few doors down is a jewelry store with this great framed momento. Click on the image to see what it says. Okay, so Gilligan's Island was a no-brainer of a show, but I know an awful lot of people who watched it, and for me it brings back memories of a "sweeter" time to be a young person. And didn't we all wish, to some degree or another, that we could live like them, even for a short time? (If you still can't see what it says, here it is: Beads used in the making of the hit series Gilligan's Island.)

Posted at 7:50 on Wed, Feb 25, 2009

Leso, Sarong, Sari...

After reading Leah's post for Feb. 13 "Another Use for a Leso" or something like that, I was a little intrigued by this piece of fabric and its uses. If you haven't already read the post, go there. Not only will you learn something about one of the local customs, but there's a little humor included about the weather. The address is: www.iminkenya.blogspot.com

(In addition to not knowing how to get rid of unwanted underline, I don't know how to make a link--if anyone knows and would like to share the info, I'd love to hear from you)

Back to leso. The other day when I was in Haleiwa with my friend, we were wandering through a shop that had beautiful pieces of fabric for sale, labeled "sarong". After choosing one, because after all, I'm just the type to wear one of these slinky dress things, I began talking with the saleslady. She informed us that many cultures have this type of rectangular fabric, and they each have their own name for it. I mentioned what Leah had said in her blog, and sure enough, it's the same type of thing.

So now I own a leso/sari/sarong... Don't know what I'll do with it. I just know I love the pattern and the idea of it. After all, you can use it for a window treatment, then when company is coming, you can whip it off the window and use it for a table cloth, then as the evening gets cooler, just toss it over your shoulders like a shawl. Or, use it as a cover-up at the beach, a mat to lay the baby on while changing the diaper, or as a decorative touch to your bathing attire. Multi-use, kind of like multi-task.

The saleslady gave me this little cheat-sheet to help me learn how to tie it if I want to use it as a dress. Cool, huh?

Posted at 11:05 am (MVP, notice I said A.M.--really on the ball today). on Tues, Feb 24, 2009

And Yet Another Turtle (and that darned underline again)

I had to get the car inspected today, so I went online and found a place on the North Shore near Haleiwa, which is near Laniakea (the turtle beach). I thought I was going to need a search and rescue dog to find the place--but I finally did. Talk about tucked way back in the end of nowhere...

When I left there, I found my way to town and then to the beach, hoping, again, that the light would be nice and there might be some kind of sunset to brag about. WRONG!

Very cloudy skies, drab light and no color in the sunset. Oh well. So you get a picture of a turtle, yet again. Well, actually, two turtles and a volunteer (in the red visor) talking to 2 other volunteers who were, like me, just visiting the beach to hang out.

So just imagine the red glow in the sky, reflecting off the waves, and the sound of the water lapping up on the shore. I'll keep trying for the image of the pretty sunset, but you'll have to keep imaging the sound of the waves.

Posted at 7:30 on Monday, Feb 23, 2009

In the Great Outdoors

My church meets in an elementary cafeteria normally. Last week, pastor announced that we would be meeting in a park this week, due to the fact that the school had an event scheduled in the cafeteria this Sunday, so we were preempted.

So today we gathered in this park. Not a lot of trees, but fortunately it wasn't extremely hot, so it was tolerable. There were a few times, however, when we thought we'd swept away by the wind. But all in all, it was a pretty neat experience, if not a lot of work to get set up.

Last night I went to a Scottish Music concert. This lady, Coreyanne, plays the bagpipes with a military group. Before the actual concert began, three local groups performed: the bagpipers, a Scottish dance group, and an Irish band. It was just too wonderful!!!

Then this morning, Coreyanne played the flute for the hymns. She not only has this musical talent that she uses to bless people, but she has 4 children, 2 dogs, 1 military husband (who by the way was away this weekend), she bakes her own bread (after she grinds the wheat flour--even if it is with an electric grinder), she's involved with Right to Life, she homeschools her oldest child and tonight at Bible Study she was organizing people to provide meals for one of the other families that has just had their third baby. Whew!

Pastor had an article printed in yesterday's newspaper, and apparently he and this guy were having a chuckle over something concerning the article. The article paid off, we had a guest family that came because of reading what Doug had to say. God at work.

John lives right at the far end of the park, and he was busy showing one of the newer members where his house is.

Posted at (that underline sure gets around) 9:30 on Sunday, Feb 22, 2009

More Haleiwa

Today Jackie and I got up before dawn to drive to Haleiwa, thinking that we could get some good images of the town before it got too crowded with people. Well, we were only about an hour early. To use up some time, we drove to the beach--no turtles--then drove back. After stopping at the harbor and then at a coffee shop for some breakfast, we began walking around town. I took way too many photos to post here, but these are two that I really like. MVPers, you'd be proud of me. After asking this guy permission to take his photo, I then returned and asked if he'd sign a model release!!! Hi Five!!! He said yes, and I'm now the proud owner of my first ever, model release from a stranger.

This bridge is very fun to look at and photograph. If any of you have seen "Blue Crush"--when the local girls are going to teach the football players to surf, this is the bridge they drive over to meet up with the guys. (I think it was probably cleaned up a little for the movie....)

Posted at 3 pm on Sat., Feb 21, 2009

Pineapple Anyone?

I decided to take a ride to the Dole Plantation this afternoon. I spent the morning and the early part of the afternoon catching up on emails, bills, cleaning and just puttering around the house. Nathan went to his Grandma's this morning, so I had the house to myself. Glory!!!

But by mid afternoon, I was getting cabin fever. So I decided to take my camera and get some images at the plantation.

When you first arrive, there are several kiosks outside, specializing in Pick-a-Pearl. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, they spin a drum with pieces of paper and then you pick one out. It usually has a price on it or "free". This is the cost of the pearl you get when you "pick your pearl" by choosing a clam.

Once you get a pearl, you're encouraged to pick some jewelry to have the pearl "set" in. The jewelry is truly beautiful, and it's very, very difficult to say no.

There is a large pond on the grounds, filled with koi. I was standing on a small foot bridge and the people next to me were feeding the fish. You can see what a frenzy they were in.

There are many, many things to look at and purchase inside the building, including that delicious Pineapple Ice Cream I treated myself to last week with my friend, Sue. But I didn't succumb today, I was just there to look and photograph. Tucked into a corner, where I wouldn't be seen taking this photo, is this display of beautiful Hawaiian quilt wall-hangings. I just love the patterns and the colors, and you can buy almost any type of item made out of these quilts--purses, pot-holders, bed quilts, throw pillows, etc.

After finishing there, I headed toward the North Shore and stopped at Haleiwa again. Didn't take too many shots, but this sign caught my eye.

As a last resort, I headed to Laniakia Beach to see if there were any turtles basking and to see if maybe, just maybe there might be some kind of sunset. The weather has been so cloudy and rainy lately, that a pretty sunset seems like a thing of the past. This picture gives you an idea of the "grey" conditions this afternoon. But it was still beautiful.

And last, but not least, a turtle for Jayme. The light was pretty flat, but I did manage to catch this guy when he was moving his head. So there you go!!

Posted at 7:55 pm on Friday, Feb 20, 2009

Silhouette
(there's that pesky underline again)

It was dark outside before I remembered about the silhouette assignment. So I tried this with my point and shoot. Just a partial silhouette.

Posted at 7:15 pm on Thurs., Feb. 19, 2009

Haleiwa

My friend, Jackie, and I went to Haleiwa today. It's a quaint little town with shops and eateries and a lot of personality on the way to the North Shore. These are some random images I made as we walked along. No rhyme or reason to them, just whatever caught my attention.

Love these beach towels. Would have bought one last year, but I had just purchased one in NY and knew I didn't need another.

Enjoying Shave Ice.

This vase is really about 2.5-3 feet tall. It's the perspective that makes it look like it's sitting on a table.

I saw this old ice box inside a bakery.

This plaque is inside a gift shop window.

And this is my favorite one. Just love it!

Posted at 7:15 on Wed, Feb 18, 2009