Beautiful Kualoa Ranch , Oahu, Hawaii

Cows In The Valley

Koolau Mountains at Kualoa Ranch

For a visual treat, a trip to Kualoa Ranch on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, is a must visit !

I have been there 3 or 4 times, maybe 5 times as I have lost track.   It is a 4000 acre working ranch that was established in 1850 and is a sixth generation family owned ranch.   Many movies as well as the Lost TV series have filmed on location here.   For more detailed information visit their website  www.kualoa.com .   On their site they have some short videos with lovely scenery.

Entrance to Kualoa Ranch

The above photo gives you an idea of the size of the Koolau Mountains.   Inside the center building is a gift shop and a cafe.   

Great ocean view from one of the stops on one of the tour buses (or jeeps) at the ranch.

Beautiful teal blue or turquoise coral waters with the Koolau Mountains in the background.  I took this photograph when I went on the ranch's catamaran boat tour.   

A hut from a previous movie filmed at the ranch.

Another scenic overlook at Kualoa.   I believe the foreground water here is part of the 800 year old fishponds .  I can't remember too well if this is that area or not.   

I have taken one of their large buses for tours, as well as their jeep tours that go more in the "jungle" areas.   It's lots of fun and they stop for you to take photographs, but I also took some shots from the windows.   The tour guides are very informative and make it interesting as you travel along.

This is directly across from the Kualoa Ranch entrance.   Well, near there anyway.   The island in the background is known as Chinaman's Hat, or Mokoli'i  .   It is a basalt islet in Kaneohe Bay and is about a 1/3 mile offshore.   I have painted this "island" 3 different times.   

Below is some bright color of a desert rose plant inside the ranch property.

  For more photographs of Kualoa Ranch, please visit my artist blog

 Thank you for visiting !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Scenic Hawaii Videos (Flowers, Birds, Ocean and Landscape)

Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron

Photo by Carol Reynolds

The Hawaiian Black-crowned Night Heron is very similar to those on the mainland and in other countries.   For my blog post about this bird go here

The first video below has footage of the Nene , Hawaii's state bird, as well as other birds and various flowers.  I thought maybe you would like more information about Nene shown here

Enjoy the beauty of Hawaii in these two videos!

If you view these videos, you will see they are not my own.   I intend to post  videos of my own soon.   

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Flower Power

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine to the mind."  - Luther Burbank

Double White Hibiscus 

in Makiki (Honolulu) 

White can be beautiful, because there are many subtle hues of colors in the color white when you observe closely.   I agree with the quote above by Luther Burbank; flowers can make you happier and are a joy to have around.    But I have always enjoyed beautiful things, in particular flowers and nature and lovely scenery.    

Better than flowers being sunshine, food, and medicine to the mind is a close personal relationship with God and reading and studying His Holy Word.   That is the best cure for everything, especially in trials and sorrows.   

Almost Lavender Plumeria 

Kaimuki (Honolulu)

Orchid Tree Blossoms 

Honolulu

It is officially Spring now and I thought a blog post here about flowers was rather timely.   Some of the flowers shown here are in the Honolulu area and photos of  others were taken on the mainland when I visited there.    

Water Hyacinth

Honolulu Zoo

Water Lilies

Ala Moana Beach Park Honolulu

Magnolia 

New Orleans, Louisiana

I have only painted 2 magnolia works in my life.   The first one was when my daughter was about 10 years old and she picked a magnolia blossom for me and it was beginning to fade to a pale beige shade when I painted it.....it turned out rather well even though it was not the pretty white you usually associate with a magnolia blossom.    Several years later I completed a much smaller painting of magnolia blossoms and it got stolen at an art show in a mall.   Maybe I better stick to painting other flowers.   

Iris

New Orleans, Louisiana

Lily , Honolulu

Ti Plant in bloom

Ti plants are native to the Hawaiian Islands as well as the Philippines.   I have one on my lanai here but it has never bloomed for me.   They are quite popular landscaping plants here in Honolulu and elsewhere in Hawaii.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to my blog and I will post more flowers at another time.   Here in Hawaii something is always in bloom because it is like Spring all the time.   In the winter it gets a little cooler (especially at night) but not that much and it rains more here in the winter months.  Hawaii is a perfect place for flower lovers to live !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

My Website

Beautiful Wyoming In Photographs by Carol Reynolds

Grand Tetons Wyoming

The above photographs I took in Wyoming over a decade ago.   The image directly above is one I would like to paint, with maybe the addition of some bison.

These last 2 photographs were also taken the same time as the previous ones.  Wyoming is so breathtakingly beautiful and quite inspiring for an artist.    Maybe someday I can visit there again but, if not, I have experienced the grandeur there and I have reference photographs I have taken to remind me of how special that State is.  

The above photograph is of Wind River in Dubois, Wyoming.   Below is the recently completed painting of mine of this scene.

"Brokenness Amid Beauty"

8" x 10" oil on museum quality panel

Available

Both the reference photograph of mine and the painting depict the Wind River at twilight time.

Hope you enjoyed the scenery !    Check back soon .

My Website

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Excellent Video of Exotic Birds of the World

Below is a video with photos of exotic birds that includes bird chirping sounds as well as soft music.  Usually when I watch bird videos on You Tube I do not want music playing in the background, but this video is an exception; the music does not interfere with the enjoyment of the birds singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5aAp__XQOQ

Enjoy !

In the future, I will be making more posts more frequently to this blog.   I have been busy painting lately and have neglected this site for too long.   Below is a recently completed landscape of a scene in Dubois, Wyoming.

"Twilight at Wind River" - John 7:37-39

12" x 16" Oil

Available

I have been working on other Wyoming oil landscapes as well as seascapes.    Click here to view oil works in progress and also some photographs I took of Wyoming scenery.    I  may include some of those photos in a post on this blog in the near future.    

Thank you for visiting !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

My Website

Hand Feeding Hummingbirds and Videos Of Hummingbirds

Hummingbird With Bluebonnets

9" x 12" oil on canvas

Black-Chinned Hummingbird with Indian Paintbrush

9" x 12" oil on canvas

Both oil paintings above of  hummingbirds and Texas wildflowers were painted when I lived in Texas several years ago and are no longer available for purchase.   Living in Hawaii, I miss the little hummingbirds as there are none to be found here.   They are found in South America and North America as they migrate.   I used to have hummingbird feeders in Texas and enjoyed watching these little feisty birds .   I never tried to hand feed them as in one of the videos below.    Check it out :

None of these 3 videos are of my own making, as you will notice if you view them.

Below is an interesting video showing 2 baby Allen's hummingbirds from birth to leaving the nest .

Below is a video of an Anna's hummingbird building a nest.   It might get boring for some people, but I found it fascinating to watch.

Hope you enjoyed these interesting videos.   A wonderful website for bird lovers is allaboutbirds.org

Be sure to check out the links there.   

I will be posting more about Hawaiian birds in the future, as well as other subjects.   The fascination of birds for me began when I was a child, and has intensified as I age.   

Feel free to comment as to what subjects you would be interested in my posting as time goes by. 

  

Thank you for visiting !

My Website

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Alien or Introduced Birds of Hawaii (Finches and Common Waxbill)

"God loved the birds and invented trees.   Man loved the birds and invented cages."  - Jacques Deval

Yellow-Fronted Canary

The yellow-fronted canary is very common in Hawaii. I have seen most of the ones I have photographed on Oahu at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki.  They are native to Africa and were introduced to Hawaii in the 1960's.

Below is a painting of mine which includes one of these canaries.  

"Contemplating Life"

9" x 12" oil on canvas

Available

In this painting is a little story:  the beautiful and sweet canary can wreck havoc on the butterfly and the lady bug in the painting.   Life is sometimes cruel and also fragile.  I based the title of this painting on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8...... "To everything there is a season....." 

Saffron Finch

I photographed this beautiful Saffron Finch in the artsy town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu.  They are suppose to be more common on the Big Island of Hawaii than on Oahu; I have only seen them in 2 or 3 other areas of Oahu. They are 7 inches and mostly yellow with orange on the forecrown.   They were introduced in the 1960's from South America.    I get a big thrill whenever I see them.   

Common Waxbill

Not the best photograph, but I have my mind set on a future painting with this reference photo and I can make improvements then.

Common Waxbill

The Common Waxbill is a tiny little 4" bird that  is found in small flocks and they are fast and furious when they fly.  They are very shy and very common on Oahu.   They are native to Africa.  They are not an especially pretty bird, but I find them cute and charming and enjoy watching them.

Java Sparrows

Java Sparrow

The Java Finch or Java Sparrow is quite a handsome bird as far as I am concerned, and remind me of Puffins.    They are literally everywhere on Oahu, and on the Big Island of Hawaii as well as Maui .  These birds also travel in large flocks.  They are native to Indonesia.   

The House Finch as well as the House Sparrow have also "invaded" Hawaii.   I love all of these birds and they remind me of the mainland USA, but so many of the native birds of Hawaii have suffered because of these and other introductions (like the mongoose - that is a subject for another post) and several native birds have become extinct.

We can learn a lot from nature and birds.   For instance,  you have never seen a bird sitting on a wire or a tree branch having a nervous breakdown wondering about the next meal !  Reminds me of Matthew 6:25, 26 where it says that the heavenly Father takes care of the birds of the air; and also in Matthew 10:29-31 where it says we are worth more than many sparrows to Our Father.   He will take care of us and provide for us; just trust and have faith. 

My Website  

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com