Sexy Fins

 My buddy, Ryan, accompanied me on my first deep-water swim of the season this morning.

At one point he asked, "What's that?" as he pointed at my feet. A Sting Ray was attempting to mate with my swim fins! Totally freaky. When I pulled back and took a photo, it dove for the depths and quickly disappeared into the gloom below. Weird.

A little later a large female Humpback whale surfaced with a splash next to Ryan, swam under him, then surfaced again on his other side only feet away. Wow! What a day.

Year End Dolphins

 Twenty-two Spinner Dolphins came by to check me out on my ocean swim this morning.

They were wonderfully interactive and one of them played the "leaf game" with me for a while.

Click HERE for lots more photos from today's swim.

Hidden in Plain Sight

 

 Wailea Beach is packed with families here on Maui for the Holiday week.

It is possible to find seclusion despite the crowds. This little hidden gem of a beach is at the south end of Wailea beach, sheltered by rocky outcrops.

The photo below is an old Keawe tree which is home to a colony of feral cats.

Greatest Front Yard

I have the greatest front yard. The water was so calm this afternoon that I just had to go for a swim, and I'm glad I did. 

Reflective Time

I finally found a moment to dig through photos from my trip to Kipahulu with the in-laws. I was surprised to find several that I liked, including this one of my sister-in-law crossing the stream below Waimoku falls.

I also liked this reflection I saw in one of my neighbor's pools this morning.

Antique Like Me

 Just a few of my very favorite Christmas tree ornaments from our tree.

My parents no longer put up a tree, so they sent me a portion of their old ornaments. These are from my youth, so they are (like me) antiques.

Magnetic Personality

 

 Lucky me!

Christine found herself in Kihei this morning with nothing to do, so I was able to drag her out into the ocean for a swim.

Just like with people, turtles and fish were drawn to her magnetic personality.

Hana Hou

This weekend found me and the in-laws out exploring around the south end of Maui.

Both of our tents leak, and my attempt to solve the problem with trash bags created even bigger puddles on the floors of both tents. The good news is that our air mattresses float very nicely.

Lots of rain was good news for the lush green vegetation and for cascading waterfalls. In fact we saw streams running which we've only seen as dry courses prior to this weekend. Most impressive.

I'm going to miss the in-laws when they leave.

Bubble Lady

Today I got to swim with both The Bubble Lady (above) and then later with forty Spinner Dolphins.

Unfortunately, my in-laws did not get to experience the dolphins. They were in "vacation mode" which I greatly admire. Who wants to always be running, running, running when on vacation?

Click HERE for lots more photos from this morning's swim.

In Pursuit of Turtles

The Turtle Seeking adventures continued today with the entire gang from Seattle and Alabama in attendance.

Oh, and a birthday celebration as well. Happy Birthday, Charlie.

Who knows what tomorrow may bring?

Turtle Hunt

I'm loving having my inlaws visiting. This morning we went hunting for green sea turtles, and we found several. What fun.

Like Night & Day

I love my job.

My job is to go to beautiful homes and take photos showing just how beautiful they are.

A clear morning and spectacular sunset today certainly did not hurt.

Salt Spray

Surf was crashing ashore this morning and the air was thick with salt spray. My clothes were so caked with salt that they practically stood up on their own.

Even though they got knocked around a bit, the Keawakapu poodles did not seem to mind.

Apple Pie

I can't believe how fearful people can be. I got an email the other day from someone saying they hoped I was staying out of the ocean. What The HECK????!!

Sure, someone had a run-in with a shark way up the shore on another part of the island - but Really!!

Then again, I guess that FEAR is the American passtime. I, however, refuse to buy into that nonsense. Give me Apple Pie any day.

Warm & Sunny

Just another garden shot. This is the time of year that I celebrate no longer living in the Midwest.

All Wet Again

I've been somewhat out of commission recently due to a recurring cold, and it felt sooooo good to finally get back into the water this morning. My turtle friends thought so too and many of them swam by to say Hello. 

Surreal Model

Yet another glorious day on Maui. But, what's new?

We watched a Japanese photo shoot unfold across the street while we were dining at Fred's Mexican restaurant this midday.

It was a surreal experience. Their one model was very skinny and twice as tall as anyone on the team who were all Japanese. All in all we enjoyed the show and the lunch.

Who's the Hunter Now?

I went to capture Koi today and found out that I wasn't the only one. I was out to get photographs and succeeded somewhat, but this guy had other plans for the Koi and wasn't nearly as successful. Some of the fish were huge and I'm almost surprised that it wasn't the bird that got eaten.

A Big Grin

I feel no end of gratitude for my life. How could I not love being able to sit on a warm beach on Thanksgiving day?

In the past I would focus on everything which wasn't perfect. For instance, the fact that I have a cold and am completely broke (well, not completely, I have $78 to get me through the next two months). But those things do not matter at this exact instant in time.

What does matter is that I actually feel pretty darn good at this instant, I have no shortage of food to eat, I have a wonderful place to live and am in a glorious relationship. What more could I want or need? Truly? Nothing.

Even the cars travel around here with a big grin on their faces.

Red and Green

It must be that time of year again because Holiday decorations are going up all over town.

And here on Maui that is pretty much the only way you can tell, because winter weather is still a couple of months away. Brrr, I dread to even think of those chilly days in the low seventies.

Even Mother Nature is getting into the spirit. She is decking out nature in colors of Red and Green.

Looking in All the Wrong Places

I have recently been going to places often frequented by dolphins, but have not seen them.

Today I went down to the beach in front of my house - and there they were, waiting for me.

They didn't stick around any longer than it took them to say, "Hello." But that was okay, I was delighted to see them again.