Kona-Cam

Kona Kai…our Chocolate Lab

Well, you've seen photos of her, you've seen and heard about her here on this blog, you've seen her on YouTube, and she's even been offered a TV show by a Producer on Animal Planet. You've seen her run, jump, swim, speak and use her 'inside voice' for Scooby Snacks, and even lounge around on the couch and do nothing at all.

You've heard about her, we've talked about her, and some of you know her in person, or should I say, in "dog." Yup, she's our puppy, my trusty First Officer, Kona Kai Waikoloa.

Hey, wait! What the heck is that around her neck, you ask? Well, that is a high definition, underwater video camera. Yup, my GoPro Hero 3, Black Edition that I use for SCUBA diving and lately for Hummingbirds and now Chocolate Labs.

We went to the cabin this past weekend and I decided to attach it to Kona and see if she'd accept it while she runs about the beautiful redwoods surrounding Donner Lake and the cabin. I knew we would go on a hike or two and even though there is still a little snow remaining, Kona would be bummed if we left without going swimming in the frigid lake before she left. And by swimming I mean her, not me!

Well, she did. So, Kona-Cam was born!

Here is a link to the YouTube video and Kona's new addition.

Kona-Cam

Did she enjoy it? I don't really know, but she sure didn't really mind having it on at all. I tested it both on the ground and in that water and it worked well. I was mainly worried about battery life and the collar slipping off and losing the camera; neither of the two were a problem. 

Unfortunately, we didn't come across any animals either, like a rabbit (her favorite to chase) so that was a bummer. It was probably better in the long run as this was just a testing run anyway. The only real problem I came across was the camera swinging side to side a lot and getting stuck to one side when she swims. I'll have to work on that. I really think she'd be cool with wearing a small helmet with the camera attached, but I'm afraid at what the other dogs would say.

Mahalo for Testing Kona-Cam with Captain Bobby Mitchel

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Springtime Hummingbird

So Spring is just around the corner and with our busy schedules, we finally made time to work in our garden and begin planting our vegetables and herbs for the first grow season of the next many months to come before another dreaded California Winter. Yeah, I know it's not home in Hawaii, but it'll do for now :)

With our 4, 8x10 above ground boxes tended to, Dawn began working her way around the yard cleaning off dead branches from some of the bushes and trees. Our prized possession, our 'Zen Garden' as we call it, with its colorful dry river bed, Japanese Maples, pagoda, lights, torches, large rocks, plants, and a beautiful Lincoln Rose was next.

All of a sudden, Dawn became ecstatic with joy and her arms waving about as she ran up to me. "Hummingbird, Hummingbird!," she yelled out. Within her Lincoln Rose was a Hummingbird nest and inside of it a cute little beak pointing out like a spear.

We are just so very lucky she saw it before she began cutting. So, I got out my new GoPro Hero 3 Black camera, set it up on a tripod and began filming. I put together what I gathered from day one and this is what I made:

Oh, I have hours of video now and a lot to look through. Each time I look at the video or the raw footage a get a little leaky. My followers definitely know what that means. I hope that when you watched this video, it either brought a smile to your face, a tear to your eye, or both. If it didn't, watch it again. If it still does nothing, whatever, brah!

Watching this beautiful bird on the small screen is quite different from the 65 inch high definition screen I viewed it on after making it, so here's a link to a better resolution video so that you may better enjoy it.

Hummingbird

Now, how was that, brah? Better? Did you see the mother Hummingbird fly in from the right, stop, turn her head to look at the camera, and the proceed to the nest? Wow!

*** UPDATE ***

19 March 2013

You are not going to believe this, but it just happened. I was hunched over a chair inside of the house with the one half of the shutters open and the camera pointed right at the hummingbird feeder in the 'Zen Garden' in an attempt to catch the mama hummingbird getting a drink before heading up to the nest which is now up and to my right, but on the outside of the house.

Well, she didn't. Instead, she came right up to the window, within about 2 inches of the window and, get this, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, and just hovered there looking at me as if to say "Hey, I'm right here, why did you move the camera off my baby?" If the window wasn't there I could have touched her. Even with the window there, I could hear the humming of her wings as she maintained a hover right at my level. I pulled my head off the camera and we just looked at each other for what seemed like minutes, but was in actuality, only about 10-15 seconds as she hovered and I trembled, not knowing what to do. It was so unbelievably cool; I couldn't believe it.

She then moved off and went up and fed her baby just like normal and moved on. This was not a dream; I kid you not! WOW!

Mom takes a break between feedings

Mahalo for Hummingbirding with Captain Bobby Mitchel



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