I wonder why the Clown Fish is so Grumpy!

This little gecko found her and hung out with her

for all of outdoor play at the daycare.

She then insisted on bringing it home and releasing it in our yard because,

"Gecka doesn't have a family and I'm now her Mommy!  I need to take care of her!"

So, we released "her" on our little palm tree in the front yard.

Gotta love the 5 year old logic!

The above image settings are ISO 1600, f 4.0, 1/60 sec.  Still too slow for handheld, and you do get some of the movement blur in the water, however, it looks like the water is stopped in time.

By changing the settings slightly to f 10 and 1/8 sec, we now have nice, smooth, milky flowing water.  It gives the illusion of seeing the water moving.  Now get out there and try it out!

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe

this past week.

The flowers were in bloom and gorgeous!

Such a beautiful setting nestled right up next to the Ko'olau Mountains.

The ducks are so tame

they walk right up to you

and beg for a treat!

Of course, my daughter felt they got a little TOO close to our picnic

and decided to try chasing them away.

I am SO lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

the halfway point of my

52 Weeks of Nature

Than to show you a few of the images

from yesterday and today.

I love Nature and I LOVE Newborns!

Put them together and I'm ecstatic! 

Baby Oliver is my dear friend, Lisa's third boy

and an absolute joy to photograph!

We spent a gorgeous evening at the beach

(right after a torrential rainstorm)

with the goal of getting one image.

I was overjoyed to have gotten three! 

Then today, we hiked to Likeke Falls

with baby and bowl.

Funny things people say to you when you are hiking with a big bowl:

"Wow! Were you doing laundry in the falls?!"

and

"Were you girls making poi or something?" 

While we were getting baby set up,

about 40 people walked by and Oohed and Aahed

along with imparting random wisdom such as,

"Don't let that water splash on the Baby!"

Let me assure you,

No babies were ever in any danger during these shoots.

Safety is ALWAYS first on our mind.

But, Boy oh BOY was I happy to get these images!

These are images I've wanted to do for a while.

Thank goodness for photographer friends who have babies

and are willing to do almost anything!

Thanks, Lisa, for being my mentor and friend. 

May I say,

What a great way to spend a Sunday morning!

The kids really got into it.

Give kids something to look for that is slimy, creepy or otherwise grody to the max

And they are in hog heaven!

Who would have thought that my little princess

Would be SO into getting muddy

and picking up those creepy little Crustaceans?!

She probably caught the most out of everyone!

Little Sister desperately wanted to be just like Big Sister

and followed her around trying to steal her Crawdads!

Poor thing never caught her own.

She was so intent on finding them, too!

While she was concentrating on finding Crawdads,

A couple of the boys were engineering a Dam.

Try as they might, water kept coming through!

But, they did slow it down enough to get a pool forming.

And just because she's mine and I love how much she loved gigging,

I'm showing one more of my daughter.

Hope you don't get sick of seeing my kids! 

The only thing that could have made today even better

Would have been that our whole family was together

to celebrate Father's Day.

I want to wish all Father's out there a very

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

Beach Clean Up at Ft. Hase Beach

organized by Liisa Roberts.

This is a project near and dear to her heart

and we were proud to be a part of it!

We found some big stuff, too!

It's crazy how people just throw their trash anywhere.

They should be ashamed of themselves!

Really!

In that bottom left picture you can see them walking along the "rocks".

Honestly, I'm not savvy enough to know whether it is

A'a (a type of lava rock) or an old coral reef.

But, I thought I'd get a closer look at it.

It's very interesting what you will find in the little holes throughout!

We found shells, snails, parts of shrimp (we think from fishermen using as bait),

parts of crabs (eaten by birds), and Barnacles

(which lead me to believe that perhaps it's a coral that may actually still get underwater at times of high tide.)

Doesn't it look like a mini landscape?

A rather rough one, though!

Maybe like the Moon?

All I know is that it is VERY sharp!  

I wouldn't try to walk on it barefoot if I were you!

OUCH!

I had some fun with processing these a bit differently.

They really screamed for some playing around. 

I like the effect of this last one the best.

But, the real point of this is:

Please, dispose of your trash properly!

You don't realize who you are hurting 

and it could turn out to be yourself in the not to far off future!!

As my oldest says,

"We should keep the Earth healthy and clean!"

by Robert Graves

Strawberries that in gardens grow 
Are plump and juicy fine, 
But sweeter far as wise men know 
Spring from the woodland vine. 

No need for bowl or silver spoon, 
Sugar or spice or cream, 
Has the wild berry plucked in June 
Beside the trickling stream. 

One such to melt at the tongue's root, 
Confounding taste with scent, 
Beats a full peck of garden fruit: 
Which points my argument. 

May sudden justice overtake 
And snap the froward pen, 
That old and palsied poets shake 
Against the minds of men. 

Blasphemers trusting to hold caught 
In far-flung webs of ink, 
The utmost ends of human thought 
Till nothing's left to think. 

But may the gift of heavenly peace 
And glory for all time 
Keep the boy Tom who tending geese 
First made the nursery rhyme.

The Place of Refuge.

Hale o Keawe(above) acted as the royal mausoleum and held the remains of 23 Chiefs.

The mana (spiritual power) of the remains bestowed sanctity upon this sacred area.

This temple was constructed in honor of Keawe'ikekahiali'i o kamoku, the great-grandfather of Kamehameha I.

Above is the view across the bay. 

This is what they would have to cross to reach the holy man and chief to receive Refuge.

Hale o Keawe is protected by several watchful ki'i (wooden images of the gods),

alerting visitors this is a special and important place.

This stone held many "offerings" in memory of the Chiefs that had been laid to rest here.

My daughter playing the ancient game, Konane.

Anywhere is paradise, 

it's up to you.

~Author unknown

Why not learn to enjoy the little things - 

there are so many of them!

~Author Unknown

Say "yes" to the seedlings, and a giant forest cleaves the sky.

Say "yes" to the universe, and the planets become your neighbors.

Say "yes" to love and freedom.

It is the password to Utopia.

~Brooks Atkinson

For every day that there is sunshine,

there will be days of rain.

It's how we dance within them both

That shows our love and pain.

~Joey Tolbert

Heaven is under our feet,

As well as over our heads.

~Henry David Thoreau

Enjoy the little things,

for one day you may look back

and realize they were the big things.

~Robert Brault