Rain at sea and 3 octopuses

You may know by now that I love clouds, especially those with rain or interesting colors/light in and on them. Here we go!

 There was a helicopter buzzing us. I would say it was irritating, but I think it was the rescue chopper, so hope they found what they were looking for.

 Looks like a bomb went off.

Palm trees for Alex.

Rain out at sea

And 3 octopuses. Not so easy to see!

 You'll have to trust me on he'e #1...very well hidden. And never came out that I saw.

 He'e 2 was more accommodating and was out for all the times I visited.

 The octopus is behind the Unicorn fish.

And then octopus #3:

 You can barely see its eye in the den on the left.

Of course, there were other interesting animals, like the Spotfin Scorpion Fish. Actually, I saw 2 of these:

 ... even though the lifeguard said we don't have Scorpion fish. HA.

Nobody said they were pretty...

I rarely see a group of Christmas Wrasse, but there were some young ones frolicking near each other today.

 And a big Cornet fish. Bigger around than my wrist...

 This crazy Ulua kept swimming around and around. Never did figure out what it was hoping for.

 I figured this crab was dead, as it didn't move, but it still had legs. Weird. (They normally get bitten off by predators.)

Humu out in the deeper water:

 A two very cute juvenile Barred filefish. Love the polka dots!

Dots not as evident in this one.

 Juvenile Rock Mover wrasse. These guys can really move and bend gymnastically.

 Kihikihi. You can barely see its well disguised eye.

 And speaking of well disguised... The only reason I saw this is because it scooted along the bottom and dug itself in this sand.

 Needlefish

Pencil urchins

Rock Mover Wrasse adult

 I think this is in the Trevally family because of its shape, but it had a yellow tail and fin.

Circling and circling

 More pretty clouds and waves.

 OH YEAH: hard to see the lizard fish

Nice water and good swim. Until the visitors arrived and walked on the bottom. They don't know any better, apparently. Can't teach 'em all.

Seven octopuses yeeha

It has been a while since I've seen 7 octopuses in one swim. Today was quite a day.

Perhaps because the waves are lessening as we approach winter on the south shore. Doesn't matter why, though, just glad to see all these big and little octopuses.

 If you find the siphon (white tube), look just above for the eye.

 I nearly missed seeing this one....very well blended in to the surrounding rocks.

 Once you know where it is for sure, it becomes much easier to take photos. As long as the octopus sits still, that is.

This octopus was in a group of rocks that I routinely check, as it's known to house octopuses in the past. It's been a while though.

I spotted this one only because a Rock Mover Wrasse was sliding along the rock. 

 You have to look really carefully. It is the exact color of the surrounding rocks. On the one following, look on the left, at the edge of that triangle of rock. It's peeking out from underneath. (If it appears I'm lying, I don't blame you for thinking that!)

He'e 3:

It's in the divot on the rock. It's a small one. Look for the white markings.

 I told myself to look for it again in a minute and reminded myself that it was in a "divot" in the rock. It's amazing how many divots there are in the rocks.

He'e 4 with some rainbow nearby.

 You can see its eye, siphon and a sucker. Below, mostly the brown body and white siphon.

This is how I first saw it: peeking out from its den.

He'e 5, a small one

 Even at a young age, they know how to hide. You can see its eye, below.

He'e 6

 and with a bit of rainbow light

 More rainbow. Note the eye on the right.

 Light really does make a difference. 












Note the bumps it can make in its skin.

Wishing I would go away, no doubt.

He'e 7 was way down in its den.

Christmas Wrasse scooting by:

A cleaning station

 Cone shell

Cornet

 I think it's a juvenile hawkfish. Waiting on top of some green coral.

A big Honu was sleeping on the island. Two hours later, it finally started making its way back into the water.

 A tiny Humu, about to dart into that hole.

 A blurry picture of the juvenile Barred Filefish. Love those polkadots!

 So you see the Lizard?

These fish are also good camouflage artists.

A whole bunch of Manini or Convict Tangs.

 Needlefish

Rock Mover Wrasse: think of all the places an octopus could hide!

 This shell was near the rainbow colors on the coral:

 Two 4 spot butterfly fish.

Did you see the octopus first? or the Unicorn Fish? I was photographing the octopus (look on the rocks below the fish's tail) when the Unicorn Fish swam by.

Any day with an octopus is a great day. Seven is a stellar day! And no sharks, either. There had been one sighted a few days ago near where I swim. So I'm very thankful it left our area! And thankful for all of God's great creatures.