Winter morning

I'm still plugging along on the vacation pic front, but not even close to having a post ready to go. So I thought I'd share a few pics I took with my phone this morning; fresh snow and a clear morning worked in my favor, photo-wise.

This one was taken down where I wait for Kaylee to return from her walk with her buddy Robby and Robby's person Colin; you can see fresh deer tracks along the edge of the brush:

A look at the eastern face of Mount Equinox, lit up by the rising sun:

And from a slightly different perspective, with the blue spruce in the foreground:

Catchall

The last two full days of my vacation were both very, very busy photo days—too many to go through in the time I have after work. So I'll keep plugging away at that task, but in the meantime I thought I'd post a few pics I've taken in recent days; most have already been shared on Facebook and Instagram, but I figured I'd post them here as well.

A couple of Kaylee shots to start things off:

Yesterday's sunrise:

And a look at this evening's snowfall:

Winter sunrise

One of the few good things about having to get up extra early to accommodate Kaylee's schedule? Getting to see sunrise colors like these:

The eastern horizon wasn't the only one lit up with color, as the sunlight added a striking pink cast to Little Equinox on the western side of things:

Finally, some proof for my folks that their house is still standing, despite my having been staying here for over a week now:

Kauai 2011 day 14: Wailua Falls

You'd think that by the end of my vacation I'd have been taking fewer pictures, not more. I may ask my folks to put a shock collar on me this year... At any rate, it was a busy day that resulted in a ton of photos, so once again I'll get right to it.

A couple of sunrise photos:





A Myna stopped by to grab some breakfast:



As did this Red-crested Cardinal, which I was photographing between the legs of the chairs out on the porch:



Love the head tilt:



A cardinal that came almost right up to the sliding-glass door:



On my next-to-last day, we took a trip out to Wailua Falls, one of the most picturesque spots on the island. It's a gorgeous double waterfall, and I was eager to try my hand at photographing it. This first shot is one I took with my camera on its usual setting:



And this is one I took with a much slower shutter speed, producing the silky water effect:



A wider shot of the waterfall and pool:



Again, the same view with the shutter slowed down:



With all the mist produced by the falling water, it's pretty much a guarantee that when the sun is out, you're going to see a rainbow. On this visit, we were lucky enough to see a double rainbow:





On the other side of the pool, someone used a bunch of white rocks to leave a message for visitors:



While we were there, we noticed quite a few White-tailed Tropicbirds flying around. Then we realized that when some of the birds approached the rock face, they disappeared. Turns out they like to nest in cliffs:









We stopped for lunch at Puka Dog, where I ended up getting some of the best bird closeups of my vacation. First up, some Myna pics:



Very pleased with how this one came out:







An early model for Angry Birds, perhaps?



And some shots of a Red-crested Cardinal that came fairly close to grab some of the bread we'd scattered around:







A Zebra Dove taking a dust bath in the parking lot where we were staying:



Finally, some shots I took before and during sunset at Ke'e Beach:

Kauai 2011 day 10: Hanalei Beach

Another long post tonight, so I'll just get right to it.

Sunrise on day 10:



I convinced my folks to scatter some stale tortilla chips along the porch railing to see if we could get some birds to visit. Not only did it work, but by the end of Mom and Dad's time there it was working a bit too well: the Mynas would make noise in the morning if there wasn't any food out there when they arrived for breakfast. However, on the first day this particular Myna was a satisfied customer; it's not the best shot in terms of detail, but I liked the way it came out regardless:



A much better shot of a visiting Myna; I loved the effect of the palm leaves in the background:



A Red-crested Cardinal also stopped by to check out our offering:





About mid-morning, Mom, Dad, and I headed into the town of Hanalei to visit Hanalei Beach (for a little treat, you can check out a live webcam set up at this beach here). Its most memorable landmark is undoubtedly this dock, which stretches well out into the water:



I took this shot of Bali Hai while standing on end of the dock. It was a somewhat hazy day, so it's not the greatest shot ever:



No way was I not going to photograph dogs playing in the surf:



A look at the many folks who visit the beach every day, whether it's to hang out or get surfing lessons:



We spotted this tree sporting some gorgeous blue blossoms not far from where we'd parked:



A closer look at the flowers:





We weren't entirely sure what kind of tree this was, but it definitely looked like it was on the verge of bearing fruit:



Edited to add: my friend Matthew, who lives in Florida, tells me it's a Royal Palm Tree. Mystery solved!

Back at my parents' place, I got a great chance to photograph some Spotted Doves from fairly close range thanks to our tortilla chip buffet:



Down the hatch:



Posing for me:



"Sorry—didn't realize this seat was taken:"





A couple of poses that amused me:





Finally, I don't know if this bird was sleepy or simply savoring its meal: