Wordless Wednesday - View from my deck

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Wordless Wednesday - Maui Prince Beach

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Super Cool Bugs in my Yard

We found some really cool bugs in our yard last week..first this lady bug. I wish I got better pics of it..thought I had the camera set on macro but in fact had turned macro off. Plus she was bookin' it so fast it was hard to capture her. She was orange w/ lots of spots...




And then this guy was amazing. We mostly see the green stink bugs here..and I found a brown one the other day..but this guy was really beautiful. He actually sparkled like he was irridescent w/ a turquoise and green. The turquoise didn't show up in the pics..but you can kinda see the sparkle.



I was so amazed to see the red on this little guy. I never knew they were so colorful. I guess he can come in lots of colors and is actually called a Pentatomidae

Visitors in my backyard

I can never catch these guys on camera...they take off well before I can get my camera out...but this there must have been a lot of yummy seeds in my not so green grass..as I was not only able to get my camera, I was able to change the lense and sneak around the side of the house to hide behind some plants and pretend I was on a safari taking pictures of wild animals. (I think that would be so fun!)



Are these Cardinals you ask? Yes they are! They look a little different then the usual full red Cardinal..They are called Brazilian Cardinals..aren't they pretty? I don't know if they are in any of the mainland states...I'd never seen them in California before..but we have them all over here. I just love the bright flash of red against thier white feathered breast.



Oh..hello!



And these..I don't know what they are. Some kind of seed pod..but what? I've never seen them before. A few days later we found a couple more in our yard. Some new plant near us because we've lived in this house for 5 years and have never had these strange visitors.



Anyone know what they are?

Zebra Finch

We have wild zebra finch here..the story is that they got loose from a pet shop and multiplied..I'm not sure if it's true or not. They are so cute though and so colorful. Here are a couple that were going to build a nest as you can see the grass being held by the little guy on the right. This was snapped the other day while I having a good jewelry photoshoot under the diffused light of the high clouds.




In March I had a close encounter with a zebra finch and got some great photos. Click on the link to see the pics.

Another Close Encounter

We had another close encounter besides the Koi fish while staying at the Grand Wailea. It was our last day, we were done swimming and heading out to our car for our hour drive back home. This egret landed on some bushes along the walkway and did not move as we stopped and watched. I actually had time to get my camera out and snap some pics.



At first I was not as close...so I took that shot and we watched for a while. But then we needed to get going so we kept walking and the bird didn't move..infact he was walking closer towards me as he walked along the top of the bushes. So I stopped right in front of him and took a few more shots. He looked at me....


then turned...




and flew away...



It was so cool! A fun note to end our little mini vacation on.

Simple Beauties

Simple and beautiful, natural and organic...




Large white petal keshi freshwater pearls hand wire wrapped with sterling silver wire to sterling silver lever back ear wires. Shimmering beach petals to dangle from your ears..perfect for the beach bride or for those who love island inspired jewelry.

These earrings are available here at Jonara Blu Maui

The different stages of a king protea flower...

I took these at the Kula Lavender Farm. I didn't get one though with it all the way open...still these are so pretty and I think it's so cute how they start out as a little ball and change their shape so much as they grow.

Jonara Blu Maui- Fresh and Funky Beaded Jewelry with an Island Twist - Island Wedding Jewelry - Beach Themed Jewelry - Maui Pearl Jewelry - Beach Brides and Bridesmaids

More Purple from the Lavender Farm

Besides the purple lavender flowers we saw lots more purple..





Jonara Blu Maui - Fresh and Funky Beaded Jewelry with an island twist!
Jonara Blu Maui's Etsy Shop

A cute little visitor in my backyard

This little zebra finch decided to visit us the other day. He just hung out for a couple of hours while my husband was weeding. We thought maybe he was a baby, or he was sick. But you could just get out of reach to him and then he would fly up quickly and land not too far away. Then he would find his way back.



I think he liked our little garden and the seed that were growing on the grass weeds..he was eating and eating away.



He also liked the shade cuz he hung our here for a while..can you see him? He's playing hide-in-go-seek ;)




He was such a pretty little bird..walking around like he owned the place. He totally didn't mind my photo taking. It was cool to get to see him close up. Zebra finches are not native to the Hawaiian islands, the story is that a pet shop brought some over and they escaped. If thats the case..they did really well here because they are thriving...we see them everywhere. But then who wouldn't want to live on Maui?

Hiking a Rainforest on Maui

Sunday my husband, son and myself took a little trip to Iao Valley.






We hadn't been for a quite a number of years even though it's only 1/2 an hour away. It's a great place for a picnic and there is a paved hiking trail for an easy hike...or you can go off the path and hike along the creek.



I didn't remember these signs we saw posted along the stream...



I guess I never paid attention to them...beacause Iao valley is an actual rain forest, seeing these signs now made me wonder what this area got like during the huge storm we had Dec of 2005. That storm caused so much damage. A house was even washed off it's foundation. Here's a car that got taken by a flash flood caused by that storm..it's unrecognizable



This day we took the easy way and stayed on the trail..my son is just recooping from that flu so was not feeling too strong..he just needed some fresh air. I took it as an opportunity to bring my camera since I normally wouldn't want to be burdened down with it on a more intense hike. We went to the part where I used to take my son swimming when he was little..it seemed so big to him then ;-)



The air was cool and there was a slight breeze...it was perfect



Sadly my battery was getting weak so my camera lost the ability to auto focus..it took me a while to figure out how to do it on my own. But I did end up with some awesome pictures. This is just off the path..in amongst the trees are tons of ginger plants. They weren't blooming yet..usually they have white flowers and smell so sweet as you walk through...





After the Iao we went down the hill just a little bit to Heritage Gardens where we layed out a blanket and had a picnic. In this park there are monuments and different types of houses to show how the different races that came to Hawaii lived. They are fun to check out and look so pretty in the park

this is my favorite snapshot of the day:









There gardens are beautiful





and there is even a little bamboo forest to walk through





Good thing it's small and has a path..that stuff grows so thick!