Secrets Beach, near Kilauea, Kauai

Portuguese Man of War, washed up by the storm. These were all over the beach. Good thing I wore my trusty Tevas!

Trail to Anini Beach

Still fighting this nasty cold, so everyone left me at the condo today to rest while they headed off to Poipu for the day. It poured rain in quick bursts all morning. When the clouds dispersed and the sun came out, I decided to walk down to the beach, to rest in the sun. The very steep trail consisted of red mud, 6 inches deep. Starting at the top of the bluff, it slid quickly downhill, through a forest of flowering trees beside the golf course, into a thick jungle of mangrove at the bottom that opened up suddenly onto a quiet, golden sandy cove. Luckily, a friendly neighbor offered me a ride back to the top.

Taro

Hanalei church

Sunrise at Hanalei

Sunrise at Hanalei Bay

Jack O' Lanterns

The harbinger

This tree is always the first to turn.
Summer is gone, and fall is here. But nature is just barely starting to show us what's ahead. Every year, during my fall runs through Redwood, I notice this single tree changing colors before any others. Not all of the trees here turn colors, just a few- one right after the other. And some leaves never change at all. Some turn yellow, and then drop. Some just drop. And many trees here stay green all year, thank goodness. I know soon my weekend runs will come to an end, right when I need them the most. Soon it will be too cold to come here at all. And this tree reminds of that.