Jump, jive, and whale

I really did have every intention of posting more often during my vacation on Kauai, but a spotty wireless connection completely screwed up that plan; it was only when I walked myself and my laptop over to sit in front of the building whence the signal originated that I was able to stay online long enough to get the sunrise photos uploaded and posted. On the other hand, I did end up snapping close to 5000 pictures, so doing things this way means I got to spend more of my break relaxing instead of on a computer.

I took this particular set of photos the second day I was there while visiting one of my favorite spots, the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Not only is it a gorgeous spot in and of itself, but the area plays host to a wide variety of seabirds, including Frigatebirds, Albatrosses, and Red-footed Boobies. It also provides a great vantage point from which to watch for Humpback whales, especially because during this time of the year they're not only migrating but the males are doing their best to prove their mettle to the females by engaging in behaviors such as fin-slapping, tail-slapping, and breaching. On this particular morning, one such Humpback put on quite a show for us observers, breaching several times. I took hundreds of photos, hoping for the best but having no idea what I'd end up with, given the distance involved and all—with the naked eye, the whale looked about the same size as a pencil eraser:



However, when I took a look at the downloaded images, I discovered I'd captured a lot more detail than I realized; believe it or not, this is the same picture as above, just cropped in to focus on the whale:



That image leads off my favorite of all the sequences I shot that day, for what I'm sure are obvious reasons. In the next pic, you can see that the Humpback has started to twist around as he makes his leap:



No, you are not seeing things—this animal, which averages 39-52 feet in length and weighs approximately 40 tons, had indeed launched himself almost completely clear of the water:



Even though he was sideways when he started, by the time he landed the whale was doing a belly flop:



Loved how you can see the plumes of displaced water curving away to either side:



Yeah, that was one mighty big splash:



Anyway. Just a little something to tide you over as I start to go through my vacation pictures.

Aloha

Jumping online very quickly to post some photos I took from the lanai (porch) of my parents' place my first morning in Kauai:











Loved the effect of the morning sunlight on the mist streaming off the incoming waves:









Finally, I just liked the contrast of the green and blue in this one:

Winter blues

One last group of snow-filled photos before I get to Hawaii...

Saturday morning, we woke up to another several inches of snow. After Greg and I finished our shoveling and snow blowing fun, I took a few photos of some of the Redpolls that had landed on the top of the blue spruce—this was my favorite of the bunch:



On Sunday, I decided to try something different in order to photograph the Blue Jays that were hanging out around the feeder. My efforts in the past have often been hit or miss, as the jays tend to not want to land on the feeder when I'm standing taking pictures through the sliding glass door. So I set up my new tripod, got the camera focused on the hook and feeders, turned off the auto focus, and plugged in the remote shutter release I'd also gotten for Christmas. Then I settled into the blue chair and waited to see if they'd return now that there wasn't a human-shaped object by the door. I was not disappointed:







Some Redpolls that descended on the feeders once the Blue Jays had left:



Greg came home with a jar of peanuts that he assured me were not palatable for human consumption. He put a few out on the porch railing, and as you'd expect the birds did not have a similar issue. I missed my chance to photograph a Blue Jay grabbing a few, but I did manage a few shots of a Titmouse doing the same:





And two last Blue Jay photos, both taken the old-fashioned way:

Kaylee time

The post title pretty much says it all...

First up, this is the sight that greeted me when I headed to bed on Thursday night; apparently Kaylee is very enthusiastic when it comes to providing turn-down service:



But how could I be upset with someone so absolutely adorable?



Friday morning it was snowing at a pretty good clip when I woke up, or at least enough to close the local schools for the day. Kaylee, of course, was full of pep after a good night's sleep, so I grabbed her rubber ball and took her out to play. However, in the winter there's a bit more this particular activity than just a game of fetch; more times than not, Kaylee will bypass whoever's throwing the ball in favor of climbing up one of the snow banks created when the driveway is plowed, dropping the ball, and then digging at it. Which drives it further into the snow, requiring more digging. She'll actually do this for several minutes before finally grabbing the ball and bringing it back to whichever one of us has been standing there doing their best imitation of a popsicle. Then we throw it for her, and the process begins all over again.

At any rate, after watching Kaylee dig for a while I decided I might as well do something with my downtime, so I snuck back into the house and grabbed my camera.

Loved that I managed to catch her just as she was glancing up to see where I was. And yes, she really was in the snow bank that deep:



Trying to get herself turned around:



Digging in a new spot:



Another check on me:



Trying to maneuver herself back down into the hole she'd created:



And, at long last, Kaylee decides she's ready to return the ball to me:

A couple of pics

I'm currently staying with Kaylee at my parents' house, as they left yesterday for their yearly trip to Kauai—where I'll be joining them in just under a week. As I mentioned before, I have every intention of taking and sharing pictures during my stay on the Garden Island. For now, though, just a pair of photos I took this morning when Kaylee and I went out for her morning constitutional.

First, I liked the way the tangle of trees looked against the early morning sky:



And a shot of Kaylee, as I find it impossible to resist a snowy nose:

Cat birds

Just thought I'd share some shots I took over the holiday weekend, starting with a photo of my neighbor's cat giving me the classic "What're you lookin' at?" expression:



I liked the symmetry of the birds' positions in this pic:



A Chickadee giving me a sidelong look:



I don't think this one could possibly have opened its beak any wider:



A little later on, it appeared as if this Titmouse found the other half of the Chickadee's peanut:



A closeup I thought came out pretty well:



A pair of Goldfinches:



A pair of Pine Siskins sharing the feeder with a Chickadee:





A closer look at the Pine Siskins:



Some Pine Siskin action shots for you:









Yup, that'd be four Pine Siskins sharing the feeder with a Goldfinch. Considering that before last month I'd never knowingly seen even one, I figured it was as good a shot as any to close out with: