Friday, November 18, 2016

One of each...

Today I saw one of each of my favorite things: octopus, scorpion fish, seal, juvenile rock mover wrasse, sea hare, lizard fish.  Oh the days are packed!






I seem to be pretty good at spotting beige things. (If only that were a job!)
While the octopus remains my favorite, finding the Spot Fin Scorpion was the coolest: I saw a rock.  I thought oh hey, if I were a Scorpion Fish, I'd hide on the other side of this rock. So I swam to the other side, and there was one there, hiding under the overhang! How cool is that?!
There were lots of great clouds today, too:

I had to wait until 8:30 before going in. No one was lingering at the beach.  If I drown (God forbid), I want someone to call someone for me.  My plan was to use my wetsuit instead of my dive skin (the usual), because at home the wind made me feel almost cold....but by the time I got in, I was sweating in that heavy suit.  It's only a partial (the elbows to wrists are bare, as are the knees to feet), but the sun bearing down on that black neoprene was HOT. 


I did spot 4 3-spot damsels, guarding their coral head:
I smile every time I see these...especially since there are 4 of them. One much bigger, so perhaps the MOM of the group. I appreciate their dedication, too, because the coral head isn't in very good shape, but they guard it anyway. True blue.
And for my sweetheart, I'm calling this Climb Every Mountain:

Doesn't it look as if the Box Fish were starting a long climb?

Perhaps I'm just having a Sound of Music moment..let's see: so far, I've had my favorite things, now climbing every mountain.  Gosh, I'm scaring myself.  Or maybe I'm just thrilled that I don't have my old job: they are in the Annual Meeting this weekend.  I thank God that I don't have to plan or put those together anymore!

I liked the clouds and the seal, of course.  All alone on its own island..as it should be.
I thought you might appreciate seeing a portion of the bottom...coral, stones, sand and probably operculum that I missed seeing. (I did bring home 30 of the little things...my record-to-date is 78.  That means at least 78 dips down to pick 'em up.  Yeah, I agree, that's crazy..)
And the snakeshead cowry hiding in some nearby rocks.  They THINK I don't see them. 
Early morning sunlight.  Well, I had to do something while waiting to go in.
What a difference a little light makes, right?
And these two urchins must be cousins: same general appearance, but diff colors.  These are the Boring Urchins: they bore into the rock to make these holes.  That's why they always look just the right size.
And I did find several eels, so lest you think I'm ignoring them, here you are:

This one was really trying to disappear, but not being very successful.
I was very thankful for the creatures I spotted (Thank you, God!), but also for the protection He gives me each time I ask.  (See Matthew 7:7.)  When I got into the big pond, the current blasted me right down the line. Thankfully, I was able to swim at a 45 degree angle and get where I wanted to go.  It's when you're in a current that you realize how small and powerless you can be.
Please have a great weekend!  It's Aloha Friday.

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