The Machinery of Night

Friday, April 29, 2011

Foto Friday: Gold in Them Thar Hills

I've struck gold!

Sunset from Home, April 2011

I rarely take pictures from this angle, because it compels me to like, put on my shoes and go into the yard. But it's nice.

Right now, from the deck the sun is inconveniently setting behind the large tree on the left, thus forcing an unwonted field trip.

Labels: April 2011, Foto Friday, Hawaii

Friday, April 22, 2011

Posted 10:18 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Guessing Game II

Here's another guessing game. Do you know what this is?

No, it is not a sea anemone, nor the hideous looming mouth parts of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. Here's another hint.

Good guess! But it happens not to be Don King buried up to his neck in sand. No, it instead...

Silverswords!

Beware the Silversword Alliance!

Haleakala silverswords like these are found exclusively on -- prepare yourself -- Haleakala. These particular specimens were found in the parking lot of the viewing area at the summit of Haleakala. They are endangered, and the rangers take a dim view of disturbing them. Try not to breathe on them. These pictures are probably illegal, so don't look at them too hard.

As those of us (like me) who have researched this topic for many seconds know, silverswords are part of the "silversword alliance", a linked group of plants which show adaptation to various conditions in Hawaii. They (apparently) are related to continental plants poetically known as "tarweeds".

Here's a website (freshly updated in '03) with more pics, including one of men pondering "the sticky exudates of Dubautia sherffiana." We are all about the sticky exudates here.

Frankly, I don't see how you can not see that the silverswords are actually aliens. Look at them in the last photo. They are plotting something. They probably move at night, and giggle when no one notices.

Labels: Feb 2011, Foto Friday, Hawaii

Friday, April 15, 2011

Posted 3:54 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Mesozoic

This is one time where I said, "I'm going to be energetic and go to the highway where there's not all these pesky trees." Got down there: only mushy gray clouds. So I waited, and waited, and almost gave up, and then...

Sunset from Upcountry Maui, Mar 2011

It looks like Lanai is erupting. Cool! Sometimes, looking at these pictures, I half expect a brontosaurus to poke its head in. (See also the first picture here.) I could arrange that! I have a plastic bronto somewhere.

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii, Mar 2011

Friday, April 08, 2011

Posted 11:58 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Supermoon!

Supermoon! from Maui
Mar 19, 2011

OMG! The full moon of March 19 was larger than any full moon since the last time this happened, in 1993. Sharp observers will note that the world failed to end THEN, too. I hate to refer you to Wikipedia, except that it does have a nice comparison between the Supermoon and an ordinary full moon, plus this exciting information

The term supermoon is not widely accepted or used within the astronomy or scientific community, who prefer the term perigee-syzygy.

"Perigee-syzygy" is hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and makes you sound as if you're speaking in tongues, so, heck yeah! Kind of like "magnetohydrodynamic" or "rovibrational". (Although I'm pretty sure Perigee-Syzygy is one of Lovecraft's Outer Gods.)

Anyhow, I confess to fiddling with the contrast in this photo. I was impressed at how well the camera captured the moonlit clouds, and even the landscape. This was using the B&W mode on the camera, taken in my front yard.

For those of you not sophisticated enough to appreciate the subtle beauty of black on black, here's an ethereal ray. sniff Peasants.

Sunset from home, Mar 2011

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii, Mar 2011

Friday, April 01, 2011

Posted 6:57 PM by Angie Schultz

Foto Friday: Holy Mackerel!

In order to see the sunrise on Haleakala, you have to get up at oh-dark-thirty, gather your warm clothes (even though it's still 75 degrees outside), and drive for about an hour and a half (from Kihei, longer from the west side) up a twisting, turning road, dodging the occasional cow. And you have to pay ten bucks for the privilege. Most days, in my opinion, it isn't really worth it.

On this particular morning, it was:

Sunrise from Pukalani, Mar 21 2011

And this was just from Pukalani, still an hour down. It must have been awesome at the summit. The best times to go for sunrises (as for sunsets), is when the sky is cloudy. Unfortunately you have to get up and try to ascertain whether the sky is cloudy at the summit before you leave. And even then you can be bitterly disappointed, as I have been for countless sunsets: there's cirrus everywhere, the sun is setting in a golden puddle, and finally -- naw, forget it. Just a gray mush. So I've never gone to the summit specifically for a sunrise.

These are "mackerel" clouds, by the way.

Labels: Foto Friday, Hawaii, Mar 2011

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