Around the Cottage in Paradise

We saw many wonderful and beautiful sights in Maui, and as I would sit on the lanai, or walk the grounds around the cottage, there were some lovely sights right in our backyard….or not far from it!

We would see some wildlife right off the lanai.  One was an egret that seemed to visit the front yard fairly regularly, and the other was an interesting looking red-headed bird. I looked it up and it was a red-headed cardinal, whose body was mostly blue!

Cardinal and Egret

Every so often, we’d hear an incredible racket that was clearly made by some animal, and at first, I thought some larger creature would cause it.  Then, one morning, I was standing at the door to the lanai, and found out it was these two birds!  The one on the lower right in this image might be a robin, and the one on the upper right is a kolea, or golden plover.  This little bird flies over 2500 miles nonstop to Alaska every year for the summer, and then returns to Hawaii after mating.  Some actually then continue to fly another 2500 miles to Samoa and other South Pacific islands.  I guess when one does that type of travel each year, one can make as much noise as one likes!

Quite the Noisy Pair

We also saw geckos around the cottage a lot!  Now, that might freak some folks out, but I happen to think they are really cute!  Besides, they are always busy keeping the bug population down!  We never knew where they hid, tho, as they seemed to just disappear when we’d look away for a minute.  Once, we managed to catch this little guy making off into his hiding place!

Gecko Hidey Hole

There were some beautiful blooming trees and plants around the cottage as well.  One tree that served as a wonderful privacy fence between our cottage and the home of the property owners produced these beautiful blooms.  I’m thinking they are hyacinths, but I’m not sure.  What I am sure of is that they made the most beautiful privacy barrier that I’ve ever seen!

Luscious Bloom

I’m not certain if this particular type of day lily is only found in Hawaii, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this color in any day lily I’ve seen on the mainland!  I was very glad I captured this image when I did.  A few days later, a heavy (altho brief) rainstorm really battered these flowers, and they never looked as good as they did when I got this shot.

Hawaiian Day Lily

There were also small bushes that grew oranges, I think.  They never got ripe enough for me to be absolutely certain, but as time wore on, they seemed to be turning orange. This image, tho, was taken early in our visit, when the color was more of a yellow-green.  I just loved the perfection of nature.

Perfect

This bloom reminded me a lot of a variation of water lily….except it was attached to a shrub or bush that most definitely was not in water!  The impossibly bright pink color is the actual color of this bloom – no adjustment done by me!

Impossibly Bright

I also loved the way the light would play thru the leaves of some of the shrubs around the cottage.  It made the leaves on this bush seem almost translucent.

Lines and Shades

Even when the leaves were beginning to dry out, they offered some pretty color contrast that just winked at me until I took their picture!

Green and Gold Leaves

There were a couple of these interesting trees on the far side of our cottage.  Their leaves – or blooms – I’m not certain which – were strings of what looked like tiny green pearls.  Of course, they weren’t pearls, but they certainly looked like that.  And, these sort of blooming pods just seemed to erupt from all around the tree.  I’ve never seen anything like this before!

Interesting Tree

And, finally, one morning, after a shower, as I wandered about, I noticed this raindrop just hanging onto the very tip of a long slender leaf.  It wasn’t until after I processed the image that I realized I was reflected in the raindrop!!  I don’t know if you can make me out in this small sized image, so you may just need to take my word for it!

Raindrop

Enjoy!