The concept for Sky Watch came from Dot and if you want to join up or to see other Sky Watch photos, please visit Sky Watch, a dedicated site for this growing meme, kindly hosted by Tom at Wigger’s World, Sandy Carlson from Writing in Faith and imac from imac’s photos from the mind’s eye.

Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black
check out her website for the links to other players.

my other Project Black photos

I went into Honolulu yesterday afternoon to join OC for a team potluck. It was raining when I left home — and pouring by the time I hit the freeway. Traffic was moving at about 35mph, and there were cars pulled to the side of the road. I was considering doing the same, for fear of being rear-ended by the jerks in the SUVs who were still driving 60 mph and weaving in and out of the rest of us, when I saw the storm line about a half-mile ahead. Clouds on one side, bright, shiny, blue sky on the other.

When I drove into blue sky and safe diving conditions, traffic stopped all but completely! The next 4 miles or so we moved at about seven miles an hour. This was the freeway, three lanes of traffic bumper-to-bumper, and behind me I heard sirens, then I saw flashing lights, then two police cars, a firetruck and the ambulance passed us using the grass meridian as their road. Finally I came to the scene of the accident. One vehicle — a dry van — was on it’s side and blocking all three lanes of traffic. We slowly rolled past on the shoulder of the road. I could see that the jaws of life were used to open the top of the cab. The ambulance screamed away from the wreck about three cars ahead of me. We were on open, dry freeway and moving again.

In another 10 miles traffic once again came to a stand-still as cars tried to leave the freeway in droves for local city streets. This is a common occurrence and happens daily at about this time. OC called to see where I was. It looked like we were probably going to miss the potluck I’d come to town to join him for. At this point my hands were permanently tension welded to the steering wheel. I was exhausted from an hour and a half of stop, go, stop, go, stop, go and the accompanying nastiness. NOBODY was moving, so what’s up with the people who were honking horns and waving fingers?

I finally drove out of the highest congestion area. Two more exits and I’d be off the freeway and safe. I moved right one lane. I moved right another lane — and I safely made my off ramp. Yay! Only a couple more blocks to the college. At the foot of the off-ramp a pedestrian waited to cross the street. A line of cars was coming from the left. I stopped at the merging traffic sign — and the guy behind me didn’t.

split seams

Pow! My car moved forward about two feet and my forehead almost bounced off the steering wheel. It took me a few moments to figure out how to unbuckle my seat belt and get out of the car. The guy who hit me was waving his arms frantically. I looked up and realized the exit ramp was full of cars and backing up onto the freeway. I got back in my car and drove around the corner.

There is nowhere to stop on University Avenue, so I turned right onto Dole Street. There is nowhere to park there, either, but the college parking lot is just a half block away. I looked in my rear view mirror. The guy who rear-ended me came around the corner behind me, but he switched lanes and was headed for a forced right turn onto a one-way street leading back downtown. He motioned to me that he was turning. I had passed the traffic divider and couldn’t. I got his license plate number and drove to the college campus. Once there I called OC, then I called the cops, then I called my insurance agent.

black scratches

I am fine. I wasn’t so certain last night because my shoulders and back were tense and I had a screaming headache, but like I told OC — I had most of that from the stress of driving before the guy ever hit me! This afternoon my shoulders are still a bit tender, but I am not in any pain, I have complete mobility in my back, neck, and arms. My head doesn’t hurt — well, my sinuses do, but I didn’t remember to take my allergy pill last night (wonder why?).

My bumper looks like it has a few cosmetic problems, the trunk is sprung (it will latch but there is a gap where none used to be), but the biggest deal is that the tires rub when the car takes a sharp corner. we’re having a damage estimate done tomorrow. Afterward I would very much like to take it to Mike, my favorite mechanic at the Chevy dealership. I hope they will let me. He knows my car was in excellent condition before the accident.

When the police officer arrived to take my statement, he ran the license plate number I gave him and it turns out the guy who hit me only lives a couple of blocks down that street he turned on. I explained to the cop that I was NOT reporting the guy as hit and run. He had tried to signal me to take the corner, but it was too late for me to follow. The cop said that if the guy was waiting for them at his home, good and well, otherwise, he would be considered to have fled the scene.

So, we never made it to the potluck, and I can no longer tell people that my car is 5 years old and in almost perfect condition. However, I am uninjured. That’s the important part.

Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black
check out her website for the links to other players.

Getting Malled

Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black
check out her website for the links to other players.

Wordless Wednesday
more players here

my other Project Black photos

]]> http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/wordless-wednesdays-project-black/feed/ Quilly http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/project-black-bulbul/ http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/project-black-bulbul/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:01:02 +0000 Quilly http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/?p=947

The Red-Vented Bulbul seems always to be in motion. The bulbul are monogamous, non-migratory birds who mate for life and raise two broods (up to three eggs per clutch) yearly. Bulbul eat fruits and do hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to Hawaii’s fruit crops each year. They also eat insects on the wing.

Bulbul are a non-native species and are considered invasive — not just because of crop damage, but because of their aggressive nature and breeding practices. Bulbuls have crowded out many of the native birds and claimed those territories for themselves.

I took this photo on the University of Hawaii at Moanoa campus, but there are many bulbul right here at home. Quite a large contingency of them live in the mango tree outside my front window. They squabble and sing, fight and play within its branches all day long. They also dig long thin gashes in the mangoes when they feed. Once the fruit is opened by the bulbul, it becomes infested with other critters — flies and such — and is often spoiled beyond redemption before the tree releases its grasp and drops the fruit to the ground.

Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black
check out her website for the links to other players.

my other Project Black photos

]]> http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/project-black-bulbul/feed/ Quilly http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/must-see-me/ http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/must-see-me/#comments Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:55:39 +0000 Quilly http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/?p=941

Karen of 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires, (aka Karen of Sillymonkeez.com) gifted me with an award. Apparently I have a “must see” blog! Who hoo! [I'm doing my happy dance].

Btw — I have you all — yes, ALL of you — on feed reader and I check it several times a day and read you as you post.  That means that any and everyone on my blogroll is free to claim this award from me.  You wouldn’t be on it if you weren’t a must read!

What person (proper noun) does this photo represent? email your answers and leave a comment designed to either help or confuse your fellow game players.

The first contestant to EMAIL me the right answer wins a featured link in my blog which will display until next Monday when we’ll play this little game again. Enjoy.

PLEASE, do not write your guess in the comments. It spoils the game for the other players. Your guesses will be shared when the game ends.

Winners!

July 14th, 2008 at 12:42 a.m.
Hilary
Johnny Cash!

• July 14th, 2008 at 3:11 a.m. — Melli – Johnny Cash!

• July 14th, 2008 at 3:21 a.m. — Doug – Johnny Cash!

• July 14th, 2008 at — 4:56 a.m. — Cath — John Doe!

• July 14th, 2008 at — 7:51 a.m. — Jules — Mr. Money Pants!

See You All Next Monday!

Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black
check out her website for the links to other players.

]]> http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/project-back-5-punny-monday/feed/ Quilly http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/stop-thief/ http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/stop-thief/#comments Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:15:25 +0000 Quilly http://quilldancer.wordpress.com/?p=937

My Project Black #4 post was supposed to be a marvelous and mysterious little black bug, but O’Ceallaigh stole it and took it here! To see the Project Black #4 post he allowed me to keep, scroll down.

The last week before school dismissed for the summer, I found my car in the school parking lot with a flat tire from a nail puncture — the nail in plain view for me to see. I called road service and they changed my tire and had the car ready to run a full hour before quitting time.

After work I took the “nailed” tire straight to our local Goodyear Tire Service Center. I asked the guy at the front desk to fix the flat, and told him we’d been having trouble with a slow leak on another tire for a couple of weeks. I said I suspected the valve stem, and asked him to check it out.

When I returned to get my car the young man at the front desk told me that they’d patched my tire, but I shouldn’t expect it to hold. He said, “Your tires are old, bald, and no longer legal. You need to buy new ones.” I said, “These tires are only a year old, and if they’re in that bad of shape, I’ll be returning them to the place that holds their warranty.”

I asked about the second tire. He told me the valve stem was fine, and if I was losing air, I was losing it through the worn tread. He assured me that my life was in jeopardy driving home.

That evening when OC came home, I told him all this tire talk. He said, “There’s nothing wrong with your tires, but next week when you take it in to Mike (at the Chevy dealership) for the oil change, ask him to take a look.

Well, all week I worried about those dang tires. I fussed. I fumed. I put air in the rear tire three more times (it never went flat, just low), then finally came my Thursday appointment with Mike. “Oil change and check the tires,” I said. Then I left.

Twenty minutes later my phone rang, it was Mike. He said, “About your rear tire on the passenger side — no wonder it won’t hold air — did you know it has a big honkin’ nail in it?” I’d picked up nails in both tires, probably at the same time in the same place, but only one tire went flat. I asked Mike if the tire was worth patching. He responded, “Hell, these tires are almost brand new. Yes, patch it.” I told him what the Goodyear Sales guy had said, “See, that’s the thing about commission sales, they make people lie. You come in here, I can talk you into 20 extra things you don’t need, but why? They aren’t gonna pay me any more for it. Never go to commission shops if you want an honest answer.”

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Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black.

And this week, special thanks to Jeremiah of, My World in Pictures, for inspiring this shot.

On the other side of this black wrought iron fence is a charming brick sidewalk, Kalakaua Street, a rock garden with a fountain, and beyond that, where you cannot see, the pink sand beaches of Waikiki. This is where the tourists come to party.

The first time OC and I spent any time in Waikiki (we have both attended conferences there), I said to him, “But none of this is real!” He chided, “Don’t be silly, Honey. It’s as real as any reality money can buy.”

Anna, of Anna Carson’s Photography, hosts Project Black.
Visit her site for links to the other players.

About a week ago, with no idea that Project Black was coming, I began exploring silhouettes & shadows. Deep, dark, black shadows. Now, on this end of the island the best shadows come out to play about sunset, and they need a light source for contrast, so please note that each of these photos also qualifies for Sky Watch Friday.

Evening Falls on Kailua-Kona

Sunset at Sunset Beach
(Windward Oahu)

Early Evening in Makaha Valley

Dusk in Makaha Valley

Makaha Valley Sunset
(Leeward Oahu)

Sunset at Nanakuli Beach
(Leeward Oahu)

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Project Black hosted by Anna Carson Photography

Sky Watch Friday hosted by Wigger’s World