A scorp, an octopus and a leaf!

Did you know there's a fish called the Leaf Fish?

It's a member of the Scorpion Fish family:

At first, I actually thought it WAS a leaf!  There are several types of leaves that find their way into the Kiddie Pond at Poipu. But the other view I got showed me its leg more closely:

 The cool thing is that it does rock back and forth in the water, further making one think it's a leaf.  But leaves don't have legs, usually. HA.
You can see its leg leaning on the bottom.  And the frilly part all along its back isn't leaf-like, either.







So, since we're in the Scorp family, here's the actual regular Devil Scorpion Fish I saw today:

Got it? Mouth slightly agape at the top of the shot.  Eye further down and to the right.  Side fins just below the center of the photo.  This guy didn't move at all!  It also didn't show me any of the cool orange and yellow colors.  It just sat there on the bottom, hoping I would go away.  And eventually, I did.

The octopus was a small one and very calm...it just kept breathing as I took pix:

 

If you don't immediately see it, look for the siphon, through which it breathes.  It's a light brown circle, about in the center of the shot, with white inside.  Then just above that is its eye!  Remarkably, it didn't change to that angry brown color, until the current swept me over its den.  Sorry, tako! I do love the warty bits...it can make its skin smooth or warty, colored just like the bottom or angry brown.  Amazing creation, God!!

And of course, there were clouds:

I think the last one is my fave: not only can you see, compared with the palm trees on shore, how huge the clouds were, but it also looks like powdered sugar.  Perhaps that's just my sweet tooth talking to me.  And me without ice cream.....

There was a turtle, and after I had a nice talk with the folks who were too close, it was left alone to sleep on the beach.

That's it, to the left, just out of the incoming water...
I was surprised to learn that many folks don't know about the turtles. As I spoke with the visitors who were at first too close, I noted they had no clue that the turtle was actually OK on the beach; I told them that often folks make the mistake of thinking the turtle is "beached" like a whale, and therefore in trouble.  But they are just napping.... I did appreciate the people giving this one room..

There were plenty of eels today, too.  This Snowflake Moray was accompanied by the Blue Fin Trevally, which helped me see where the moray was..If you see a trevally circling, there's a reason. Sometimes it's an octopus, but most times lately, it's an eel.

It is a mystery to me why I am ok with Moray Eels, for the most part, but a sea snake would freak me out!  Perhaps because in the videos I've seen of the latter, they are up in the water column where a diver/snorkeler would be.  The eels tend to be on the bottom and out of my danger zone.  This type of eel is quite harmless.  BUT that doesn't mean you should try to pet or feed one, should you swim up on it.  Please don't!

This Horn Shell was almost in the rainbow:

I did see other shells, like the Cowry and a Drupe or two.  But the one that really caught my eye was the Hebrew Cone.  Mostly because it was right next to Wana, which has those poisonous spikes...I thought: Oh two poisons so close together!!!

And when I got the pictures home, I saw the Brighteye Chromis also in the same photo:

Maybe I should call this post Two Poisons and a Cute!

Cone on the left.  Wana in the middle.  And the Chromis on the right.

And then we had what might be the biggest mystery lately:

Now, call me crazy, but if you look closely, you can perhaps see 2 eyes on the top of this fish.  At least, I think it's a fish! See the lines headed down toward the bottom?  And check on the right: some odd opening, seemingly covered in some plant-like material.  I could be all wet, (HA), but it does seem like some weird fish.  Obviously, no fish I've ever seen before. 



And sadly, what I thought was an octopus den...but apparently empty:

I did wait patiently to see if any octopus poked its head out.  OK, truth: I waited impatiently!!  But no octopus ever emerged.  Sometimes if they see me coming first, they duck down and hide.  If there was one inside, I never did catch sight of it.  However, the fishes did dart in and then come right back out, so that tells me also that it might have been occupied.  But my rule is that I have to see at least one sure part of an octopus before I can count it.  So today's count was ONE.  But any day with octopuses is a good day for me.

And the water was low tide, so I was able to get in and out near what I once called The Spit...which is now no more:

You can see how the two different pools collide here. Where there was once a spit of sand, now there are just the two pools and waves, bouncing off against each other.  One does have to pay attention not to be swept off.

So another nice dive: safe, cool animals and no one got hurt in the production of the photos.  It's all good!