THE ORIGINS and A BIG OOPS

LEGENDARY BEAUTY

   At first sight, the trees take your attention as you enter
Waimea Valley considered a sacred ahupua'a, land that runs from mountain to sea.

   This wahi pana, place of kings and high priests, is a remarkable botanical garden. It is how this land was before development and commercialization.  It is a glimpse into origins.

    Common name for the tree above and below is Canon Ball.  Any questions?

   Deep canopy and lush forest enliven your imagination to

 ponder how Captain Cook's English sailors must have regarded this paradise when they landed here, looking for water.

  One begins to understand how natives of this land were shaped by the stunning beauty and richness of the natural order.

   Life here is rich, exotic and vibrant. One can sense how all of it is part of the same web.

   Hawaiians say the mana or life force and essence of those who lived and ruled in this valley remains. It is indeed an extraordinary place, and to this writer's mind a satisfying world away from Waikiki Beach on the other side of the island.

OOPS

    Oahu's north shore is legendary for big waves and big wave surfing.  Shortly after sunrise on a day when the waves were 30-40 foot, my friend Jim caught this series of shots of surfing photographers getting caught off guard.

 Photo by Jim Cahill

 Photo by Jim Cahill

   What a desperate moment, fishing for your gear!

 Photo by Jim Cahill

Photo by Jim Cahill

    

   Those are expensive cameras, lens and tripods to get soaked and in some cases lost.
    I was able to catch a shot of what may have been the safest camera platform of the morning

     The flight controller had this drone down at wave level, between swells and then rapidly got it out of harms way. It was a neat side show.
     The other good spot was high ground.

    The eyes of the two surfers, the veteran and the boy speak volumes about the big waves.

   See you down the trail.

BIG WATER-BIG WASTE

BIG WATER

  A riled Pacific leads a wind and rain storm into the Central Coast.

AFTERWARDS

   As you have probably seen or read, California is getting soaked by the "Pineapple Express."  Though the rain has created problems it is a beginning to make up the deficits of three years of drought.  There is still a long way to go.

   I wonder why communities who have been plagued by water shortages do not take more seriously the idea of rainwater capture or harvest.  Many of our Cambria neighbors have done so on a personal basis. Still, hundreds of thousands of gallons are washing away. These photos were taken hours after the last rain.

  Just in this one half block water flows away from the Pacific, down hill and away from potential use in a gray water system.  A French drain, perimeter drain and/or system of storm drain cisterns could harvest millions of gallons to be pumped for treatment or re-injection into the new multi-million dollar brackish water desalination plant.

  Living through drought ought to sensitize us to a more prudent utilization of a precious resource-don't you think?

   See you down the trail.

IMPRESSIVE POWER and SOME SELFIE HUH?

BIG WATER

    It was no drought buster, but Central California got soaked the last few days. The 2-5 inches of rain was appreciated. The big story of the storm was the high surf.

       Piers were damaged in beach communities to the south. A few boats were beached and a wave smashed a window at a wharf restaurant giving a few people a scare. One worker was washed out of the building but walked out of the surf below the pier.

     Cambria's famous Moonstone Beach, all but disappeared  under the heavy surf.

    Massive drift wood pushed around like tinker toys.

OSCAR

    Did you watch the telecast?  What do you think? Wonder how many calls to pizza shops, Ellen prompted?  What a group selfie eh? Despite all of those famous faces, it looked pretty much like anyone else's-though our's don't crash Twitter.

    Did your choices win?  
    BTW we saw The Great Beauty this weekend. No wonder it's a winner.  I'd like to hear what some of you think about it-especially boomer men. 

    See you down the trail.