Poinsettia Plants (Euphorbia pulcherrima) Can Become Humongous

Today I was out on Tsuken Island off the east coast of Okinawa, Japan.

For a couple of years I've been meaning to shoot one of these Poinsettia Plants.

Not the little potted things you see on sale at Christmas time around the globe,  I'm talking about the ones that get over 6 feet tall (180cm plus).  This isn't the largest one I've ever seen but,  it came in handy.  That's me in the photo and I'm shooting a sacred site.  I'm just a tad under 6 feet tall (179cm) when I ain't wearing my flipflops.  I didn't have to worry about bumpimg into those flowers because the plant is humongous.  They have even taller poinsettia plants on these islands.

One of these days I'll find a bigger one for you to see.  That guy I've been calling RyukyuRu took this shot.  It was the only way I could get him to stay still for a few seconds.  I handed him my other camera, the CANON G12 and told him I need a picture of me next to a poinsettia for my blog.

He runs this blog called MAP IT OKINAWA that has us running all over this island and any other island that belongs to Okinawa and probably won't quit until he maps the whole Ryukyu Island Chain.

Now, I ain't complainin or nuthin like that.  Just, everytime we come across a humongous poinsettia plant I'll be asking him to stop and shoot a photo.  Just so my tired old bones can get a break !

LEARN MORE ABOUT POINSETTIA PLANTS

The Streets of Kudaka Island for Thursday's Travel Photos

These photos were taken on the Island of Kudaka-Jima.  It is the island where the people of Okinawa, Japan believe life originated.  I had heard the legends of this Ryukyu Garden of Eden way back in the last century as a college student but, had never set foot on the ground until October 2011.  I told you all, I would go there someday and shoot some closer-up pictures in the caption of THIS PHOTO OF THE WEEK.  So, that's what I did, hopped on a boat one day with a camera and tripod (Oops, forgot to tell the Missus) and went over there just for a few hours.

They had paved streets.  That kind of surprised me.

But, there wasn't much traffic on the roads.

It was no problem setting up a tripod in the middle of any street.

People started using those modern construction materials, like blocks, instead of stones and they even have indoor plumbing, drain pipes and those newfangled manhole covers.

All that stuff, downtown, wasn't what I'd expected to see.  Moving away from the residential/commercial district of the island, things got a lot better.

There's a whole lot more of Kudaka-jima to see once you get off the city streets.

If you want to see some of what lies beyond the streets of Kudaka-jima, I've 

POSTED SOME HERE 

There is plenty more about this island undergoing research at the present time and a few hundred more photos on file waiting to be published.  Maybe, someday I'll get hooked up with one of those government, or education researchers from Okinawa Prefecture so they can do all the writing.  Then, I could just continue my island hopping with the cameras and shoot photos of the whole Ryukyu Island Chain.  That'd be a lot more fun !

This is my contribution to TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY  (TPThursday)

Visit TPThursday and have a look at what LadyE is doing with her FISHEYE LENS.

TO VISIT KUDAKA-JIMA: HELPFUL INFORMATION MAY BE FOUND HERE.