No Parking

Just a beginning note to let you know that I often crop out the stuff that needn't be shown.  But in attempting to get this cloud and palm pic, I ended up with the No Parking sign too. HA.  Another example of seeing things once I get the pix home that I don't see when I take the photo. 

The clouds were amazing yesterday! The lower light gave 'em shadows that normally would be lost in the brightness.



Found another, even smaller juvenile Rock Mover Wrasse. This one did a fab job of hiding in the green seaweed:

Amazing, right? The 2nd photo is easier, because the fish is at the top and you can see its "antlers" better.  This little guy didn't do a lot of bending in the current, as they usually do, but stayed near the seaweed to hide.  What is also intriguing to me is how the personality really changes as they grow older and bigger: they are quite aggressive, throwing rocks around and driving off any other fish that gets in their way.  Size helps, of course.






Another demonstration of why one shouldn't pick shells up to take home: you may be depriving an Electric Blue Crab of its home:

This photo is blown up a bit.  I see a shell move in a way that it wouldn't if the original animal were still in there, so I know it's a crab.  But I never see the legs until I get it home and blow up the photo.
Octopus #1 just appeared underneath me.  No warning. 

Good camouflage, but just enough color difference so it can be spotted.  No pun intended.

The legs all curled up, this one stayed like this a while, then proceeded to the "peeking" stage.

This also pointed out why I carry a backup camera, because my 1st choice camera was out of juice just as I found this one and snapped a few shots.  So there was a hurried change of camera, getting #2 out of the dive pouch, taking off the #1 camera and attaching #2 to my wrist with its leash.  Oh yeah, how often would I drop the camera if it didn't have a leash attached to it?!

Peekin' at me, peekin' at me.  While hiding, of course.  In the original photo (this one is cropped), you can barely see the octopus as it blends so well with the colors of the bottom and seaweed.

Octopus #2:

Look for the red rock near the top.  Then just down, the white and greenish brown is the octopus.  A little guy. Always a thrill, not just because of the challenge of seeing it (always followed by a spoken Thank You, God!), but to know that new octopuses are being hatched and growing.  This is a pond where they can be caught, so I don't advertise where I see them.  






I also found a very small, probably 2-3 inches, Spot Fin Scorpion Fish!

 This is what I saw at first: just "something" in the hole.  There was a thread of some kind over the hole, so not sure how the scorpion fish actually got in there without disturbing the thread..

Once it spotted me, it zipped to the wall of the hole, hoping I would go away.  Good thing I don't take these movements personally!

I hope someday to get a closeup of the Scorpion Fish eyes...they are very odd and cool.  In this case, red and kinda reflective.  This one also has little "horns" on its head and good camouflage..










Would you have known this was a Scorpion Fish?

Hole in coral just to the left of these words... What I said in my head was: No, it can't be!









And for those of you not lucky enough to live in Hawaii, I got an email from my cousin who lives in Canada.  They have now to wear jackets...winter is coming on!  Here in Hawaii, we are wearing sweaters, even though it's only 73 degrees.  We have breezes, too, but doubt it would be called a wind chill factor.  Enjoy God's blessings today.  I thank God for my readers, too, even if there are only 25 of you...tell your friends! And thanks for reading.