Apparently, searching for octopus is tiring

Came home after only a 2 hour snorkel and after looking at 208 pix, promptly fell asleep!
Three octopuses. No seals. No turtles. But a nice snorkel. It is different to feel raindrops on your derriere while swimming...

 I showed two young boys this octopus above. At first, they couldn't see it, but eventually they did! I told them that now they could say they'd seen a Hawaiian Octopus!

I found out that in some areas, the peacock grouper, above, is hunted to exterminate it! It's pretty but apparently very aggressive and destroys other fishes.

A REALLY REALLY Good Good Friday!

Having a holiday, especially one like Good Friday, is always great. I have been sad today thinking about what Jesus went through. But for such a great reason!
And since I had some time and some great weather, I visited Poipu and was gifted with sighting 4 octopuses! Do you see the one below?

It is almost directly above the fish. Look below to see it better, adhered to the rock.

This was #2. really hiding well, near the island.

And below is the one that I found by following the Rock Mover Wrasse. I still cannot figure out why these fishes like torturing the octopuses, but they rub up on 'em! This octopus was about to thwap the fish to get it to go away.

 Below, you can see the octopus arm out, ready to strike. My hubby said it's a good thing they never did that to me! (They know I would never hurt them...)

You can see the siphon of the octopus hiding in that den.

And if you'd like to see the octopus video, click here. Or copy it in your browser.
https://youtu.be/K9mRdLv0_KI

 This seal was watching those of us on the beach. It was also directly in the path of the water entry! I waited, just to make sure it wasn't going to re-enter the water. I try to give them lots of room. I have never had one attack me, but don't want a first time. Also, they deserve their space. After all, they LIVE there; I just get to occasionally swim there in Poipu.

 Nice Honu swam by. 

This might be the same seal as above, but I didn't see the identifying number, so couldn't tell.

 And then a seal swam by me! It looked over, decided I wasn't that interesting. The cool thing was that I figured it was coming: all the convict tangs ran from it. So I knew something was coming. And might I say: glad it was a seal!

These two Bluefin Trevally were waiting for a shave! ha. Well, actually waiting to have parasites picked off...but doesn't a shave sound better?

 These were shell parts that I brought home. Having checked that no one was living in them, of course.

This little Ambon Puffer was apparently either in dire straights, or just wanted to wedge itself in between two rocks. If you look carefully, you'll see that some of the normal coloration is a bit rubbed off, so perhaps it was hiding because it had issues. I have seen this on t.v. with other bigger puffers: they can wedge themselves in between rocks and blow themselves up to avoid being preyed upon.

Below is the normal, pretty coloration.

And the nudibranchs were out today! Note the two "antenna" to the upper left of the shot. Since they are brightly colored, I really must check whether they have poison...sometimes we get warned by bright colors.

This is the complete shell on sand, like the pieces of shell above. Very pretty with nice little bits of color. Note the crab leg to the left...apparently a crab had ousted the original owner.

Basket shell. This was maybe an inch long...

 This was an amazing surprise: the Devil Scorpion Fish! I haven't seen one this large in a long time. Maybe a foot long. They do the bright colors warning other animals of its poison. But only when the expand their side fins.

Tail to the left and slightly open mouth at the lower right. See the white?

This little blenny or goby (not sure about all these little guys) hid when it noticed me. I wish all these animals would realize I won't hurt them! I'm just about taking their pictures...

 Nice female Trunk Fish.

You can see why this is called a Brighteye Chromis. Love these fishes. Fast, too.

 A very pretty Cowry shell hiding in a hole.

Another female trunk fish. This one was tiny.

 And this is why I had to walk down to the Waiohai to get out. By the time I swam down there, found a sandy place to get out, and walked back, of course, these two seals were gone....that figures.

Juvenile Barred Filefish. Juvenile because they have spots, no bars yet.

 A very nice Cone shell. Some day I'll get out my shell book and figure out what KIND of Cone shell this one was.

 Male Trunk Fish. Showing something else in addition to the tail this time. I usually catch their pictures when they are swimming away. (Again, with that distrust!!)

 Another nudibranch.

And here's a still of the octopus that gave me the movie. I love how they can not only change their colors, but make bumps!

 If you have read more than one of my posts, you'll know I LOVE pencil urchins. 

And Picasso Trigger fishes. So colorful. 

 Pinktail Durgon. I love their colors. But if I had designed them, I would have probably continued the pink on the side fins too. But I will never second guess God.

And speaking of nice colors, this Saddle Back butterfly fish had a nice bit of sun on its face.

 Scarface Blenny. These guys, like  the Brighteye Chromis, are very quick and dart back into their holes if they feel threatened. In a better photo, you'd see they have a cool maroon color and patterns.

A really old shell in my collection. Sorry, I don't remember the type. I do remember how pretty it is! The hole in the middle was where the animal once lived. And I think the groove from the hole to the right was where the animal could push itself out.

And a great day would not be complete without the Snowflake Moray eel! This was one of two eels that I noted today: the second one was a huge brown moray, lurking in the rocks. So I couldn't catch a photo.

A very enjoyable day in the water! And tonight, we will go to Good Friday service and enjoy being with other Christians, celebrating Easter. Have a great weekend!

Spring break

Well, I'm not in college anymore (please don't ask how long ago I graduated...), but Spring Break was in full swing today at Poipu. There wasn't a parking spot in sight, so I depended upon the kindness of my friend who lives nearby: I parked in her drive and she gave me a lift to the beach. Winner!

And saw two octopuses. Yay. They are hard to see, so you may doubt me, but you'll learn never to doubt the Octosnoop!

 Yes, there really were octopuses in these dens. Showing how smart they are, they stayed INSIDE, which was a good idea because all kinds of people from other states were standing around and walking on the reef! I used to get really angry and express my opinion when we lived on Oahu: but that was a protected reef. So here, I usually just feel bad for the animals and let people do more or less what they want..

I was very happy to see these, even if only a part of them. Because octopuses, being smart, avoid being seen and/or stepped on by people. They have better things to do.

 Spanish Dancer, resting on a weedy rock.

 There's a crab in the Top shell. Drat! So I had to put it back down. These are really lovely shells! The pearly white inside and the swirly colors. I think if you click on the photo, it will enlarge.

 For Randy: see the white mouth? It's a white mouth moray, hiding between two rocks.

 The Snowflake Moray. Look for the cool little yellow nostrils.

 Abudefduf. This is a fresh looking one. Somewhat different colors than most.

 My fave puffer: the Ambon Puffer! Look at all those dots and lines. Notice that the lines on the bottom half of its face are different colors than the top half. And there's a bit of the pretty electric blue fin underneath. Just perfection, I'm thinking. And that's not even mentioning the green eyes.

 This seal apparently wasn't worried about the rip currents. I didn't worry either. ( I have been reading Isaiah the prophet: Fear not, for I am with you!) I was more careful about all those swimmers lollygagging about in the water. I mean, if you're in the water, why not swim and look at all of God's cool creations?!!

Female Trunk Fish. And above it, the spines of the blue spined unicorn fish. I have NEVER had them cause me any trouble, but I have heard they can hurt you with those spines on that tail.

 And possibly the fastest fish on the reef: the Brighteye Chromis! Quite small and quite lovely. They peek up at you, as if begging you not to pester them.

 Can you see the Devil Scorpion Fish right away, above? If you can't go to youtube and search for octopigirl7...there's a video. Mostly I spot them because they move. This one was about 1 foot away from the octo-den. Later, when I came back to see if the octopus was out of its den, I couldn't see the scorpion fish anymore. Doesn't mean it wasn't there, just that I couldn't see it. When they are still, they are really well camouflaged. The other way to spot them is when they have their mouths open. You can see the line of the mouth.

 This crab (yellow eyes on the left) had not only appropriated a cowry shell for its home, but another shell which I cannot currently remember the name of! And it had these cool pale orange strings flowing off of the shell.

The oft seen resident Leaf Fish. Still hanging on. I love this ambush predator. It must find a lot of food here in the shallows, because I am often able to find it.

Pencil urchins.

Male trunk fish.

Pinktail Durgon swimming away from me as they often do. And the Hawaiian Hog Fish at the lower right.

I think these are Sergeant Major fish eggs. There are many Sergeant Major fish around this area, and they fend off other fish when the other fish get near. So I think they are protecting eggs. I wonder what kind of glue is needed to keep them adhered to the rock?!

I would like to thank God for not only the wonderful swim, but also for the fact that my friend feels better and I got a good email from work that shows the book we have been working on has finally gone to the printer! Hurray!