The lifeguard at the kid pond in Poipu had twice come on the loudspeaker to let people know there was a Monk Seal in the kid pond and they should stay away.
Most of the people were compliant. But as the poor seal swam around trying to find a safe, sandy place to land for a nap, this one idiot woman swam right up close-ish to the seal, so she could take a picture. THE NERVE!
I later thought maybe she was deaf....but surely she would see others walk away, toward the shore, right? No one was bitten, fortunately, but the seal didn't find a place to nap either. That's a shame.
Here is the little darling, surfacing to take a breath. And may I just say once again: this is the REAL ocean! It contains some scary animals, some that will surprise and possibly harm you. It's where THEY live.....We don't get to take a pass and say: Oh it won't mind if I get in its face.... It just might!
So the unthinking or uncaring lady wasn't injured by her bad manners. But not for lack of trying....
And to update you on the crab/operculum post from last time, it's an Electric Orange hermit crab. It is popular for aquarists apparently because it eats detritus, uneaten food and many kinds of algae, including something called "red slime algae"...which def sounded as if someone should eat it and get rid of it! The scientific name of the crab is Calcinus cf elegans....oh my, maybe I should have gone to school for marine biology...
Some enterprising person has planted a very pretty rose bush near where we live. And I finally got my camera in hand once again when I was out of the water...it does happen.
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| I call this Impressionist Rose because that style of painting helped you see something in a different way... In this case, pretty colors, just slightly out of focus! |
And these in focus. Am I crazy or are these colors just the best?!?!?!?
I love the fact, too, that some parts of the same petal are yellow and some pink and some white. Really cool. Um, I mean lovely. Magnifique!
A flower that's a bit older, but still has its pretty. I hope that people think that of me, too...
And the thing you can't tell about all these pix is that I had to wait for the trade winds to abate. Super-micro is different when the winds are blowing the flowers all around....Not that I mind. If the choice is taking longer to catch a photo or no trade winds, I'll def vote for the winds. Keeps us cool.
Palms and clouds for my sweetheart.
And octopus #1 for me. Just to the top of the white rock. I am still not sure if this octopus ever saw me, because in this part of the pond, the water was not very clear. That's why I was doubly thankful to see even one octopus. Two was a gift for sure.
Same octopus, different moment. Look for the white circle on the left...that's where it breathes. I haven't made a thorough study, yet, but I don't think they change the color of the siphon when they change the color of their other skin...I'll let you know.
And for comparison, look at the quality of the water above, versus below:
This was, surprisingly, in the more wave-y region, but for some reason it was also clearer. Ah, these mysteries!
And a nice surprise was this rainbow:
When I looked at the photos at home, it appeared almost like a multi-colored space meteor, streaking toward the earth. And also another kind of mystery, because it didn't seem to be raining anywhere.
Another for my sweetheart, who noticed there was no boxfish in the last post....I told him sometimes they don't do anything, just run away. So here's one of the fish running away.
And below is the Ambon Puffer. I don't know yet what size I'll make this for publishing, but it's in the upper 3rd of the photo. Just love the colors and patterns.
And below is the Drupe shell. I enjoyed the photo because it shows a lot of the other things that go on when there's a rock...algae, shells, plants, seaweed, etc.
Can you spot the Moon? (Sorry it IS tiny...compared to the clouds..)
And on our walk, nice waves...who could complain about walking for exercise when you have this nice scenery?!
And also, this nice scenery. Now, think about it: wouldn't it be nice to be an animal that is supposed to be fat?! This one was roped off for its protection and was having quite a wonderful nap, I think. I doubt I would be able to sleep with sand stuck to my face. But this seal's mileage may vary..
Sun, clouds, palms...
And this flower picture is thanks to my Poipu friend who spotted it, down below other smaller groups of flowers.
Look at this beauty, too:
It makes me want to go study Botany. What purpose do the small red balls at the end have? And I guess the yellow parts have pollen....
And a first since returning to Kauai:
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