Hawaii has birds that are new to us. The Red-crested Cardinals pictured below are smaller, bolder and (may I say) prettier than Northern Cardinals, though the Iowa variety can boast superior songs. On our walks these guys are not shy and will gladly stand firm 2 feet away from us before sauntering away. The males and females look identical, quite different from the Northerns where the females are camoflaged to improve their chance of personal and species survival.
Our condo sported 6-foot tall Bird of Paradise plants with new blooms appearing every several weeks adding to the tropical setting.
The next picture below shows a rainbow (sometimes doubled) seen on the Oahu southeast coast. The hike where we spotted this was en route to an historic lighthouse just 20 minutes for our town of Kailua. Whales were active in the water though it was late season for that activity. With binculars we saw dozens of humpbacks spouting and breeching though at a distance too far for good pictures
The next picture shows Dianne in triumph at reaching the top of the trail well above the aforementioned lighthouse. I frequently give her grief about the fists she makes with her thumbs inside her fingers but I guess it shows she doesn’t punch things so, what’s the difference?
New Zealand Sabbatical 
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