Write a post or attend a baby shower....tough decision!

As you may remember, I like to write my posts on the same day as the swim, so as to remember all the pertinent details. But yesterday, I was able to attend a Baby Shower, so the post got put off until today.

Normally, attending such an event wouldn't ring my bells at all but it was a nice lady from my church, so I wanted to attend. Thankfully, the baby games were not stupid, so I mostly didn't mind. (I did mind that it took 3 and a half hours...and that was just to greet, eat and open presents...then they started opening cards! I left before the card opening. A girl can only take so much.)

All that said, I did see 3 or 4 octopuses, so I was in a good mood. 

And you might wonder how I am not sure about the 3 or 4 count. The last octopus was a maybe because it was really hard to see. So here we go:

 Octopus #1, to the left and below.

 You can tell the octopus by the bumpy skin and the siphon just below the rock on the left. My friend tells me that she has a hard time seeing the octopuses, so here is #2:

 Between the fish and the rock.

 The octopus in the one below is "peeking" at me..on the right with just its two bumps/eyes showing in brown.

This Rock Mover wrasse was creating difficulty for #3. The octopus is in the middle near the top. Yes, really. You can just barely see the white of the siphon.

 This is #1 again.

And below is maybe #4: see how it could be one?

Sometimes, since I am usually more than 10 feet away from the animal, it helps to have locators, such as rocks, to remember where they are.

 You might almost think this is one Peacock Grouper, but actually it's two, one going in between the rocks and one coming out. Apparently, they are not big hugely social animals. 

Two tiny unicorn fish. Aww.













Three Moorish Idols. These were smallish ones, near the rocks between the big pond and the little one.

 My pal, the Abudefduf. I try to take a photo when they are side-on, but that doesn't happen often.

 Nice small Snakeshead Cowry, in between two rocky outcrops.

Same shell, showing more about the surrounding hiding area.

 Haha. This is a Snowflake Moray eel. You can see the head; look up and to the left to see the tail. There must be quite a cavern underneath this eel.

Pinktail Durgon 

 I rarely see this: a puffed out Puffer fish, or toby. I don't know what made it puff, but it was doing that before I got there, so don't blame me, please!

 The poor octopus #3 was below this Rock Mover. For some reason, it kept trying to rub against the octopus. I really wish I knew why they do that!

Juvenile Yellow Tail Coris. And yes, I know there's nothing yellow about it at this stage. But trust me.

See? Here's the same type of fish, just a bit older. You can see the white line as in the juvenile, but the older fishes have the adult coloration, if not the fully adult size.

I always feel I'm missing something if I have the chance to swim, but don't. After all, I couldn't go every day....could I?

I thought: Just wait for God's timing....

I got in the water early today and then spent almost an hour trying to find even one octopus!

I have been fortunate lately to see at least one right away, so it's always a bit stressful to await the sighting of that first one.

So after almost an hour, I thought: Just wait for God's timing. And then, there it was right below me!

This one was being hassled by a rock mover wrasse. I have often thought to follow that fish, since they are often associated with the octopuses, but unless they are actually circling something or rubbing up against the octopus, that can be a waste of time. Much better to wait on God, than fish. 

So after the first one broke the ice, I immediately saw 3 more. And then none for the rest of the swim. Crazy, right?

Above is he'e #2....smaller. And on top of a rock.











Number 3:

The 3 photos are all octopus #3.  This one has two photos of what I call peeking. Where the octopus slink down behind a rock and then watches to make sure you go away.

Don't think I'm a weirdo, but I do ask God to let the octopus know that I won't harm it. I think God has amazing powers, but not sure if communicating with octopuses is one of them. ha.



Octopus #4 was the truly amazing sighting: the Rock Mover wrasse was totally rubbing on the octopus. The octopus had enough of this, so it flew under a nearby rock, becoming mostly invisible.

Yes, all 3 of the pictures have the octopus in it. I don't lie. In the first one, you can see the small white lines that branch out from its eye. The eye is red. It is just a little bit down and to the right of that pink urchin. If it weren't bumpy, it would be even harder to see. Actually, I am rather surprised that it didn't turn that dark angry brown, as they normally do. After all, I had to dive down, hold my breath and snap a few photos from underneath the rock. Just sayin'. But it was worth it...

Also saw a cool scorpion fish:

Doesn't it look mean? I shall have to research how to tell male from female. If one can.
Here are the other cool things I viewed:

 a pair of raccoon butterfly fish

 The Ambon puffer showing its pretty blue under-fin

 6 tiny Cornet fish....awww c'mon, so cute! (thinner than a pencil)

 A hiding cowry shell

 fleabite cone shell (and it's still there, on the floor of the ocean)

 I used to call these needlefish, but I'm now thinking since it's larger, it might be a half beak.

 Nice humu. There are tons of little ones around these days (but this isn't one of those little ones.)

 Pinktail Durgon. These usually hang out in the deeper, and therefore more wavy and bubbly, water.

 OK, test your viewing skills: the octopus is on the ground, just two bumps down from its eye. and just above the pink urchin.

 A pair of teardrop butterfly fish. I do think they are the most lovely. Well, other than Lined Butterfly fish, which I don't usually see over here for some reason.

Someone had urchin for breakfast. I would probably collect these if they were really shells, i.e., hard. They are very breakable. 
Four octopuses: thanks, God!

Seals, turtles, octopuses, scorpion fishes and eels...oh my!

I thought I'd start the post the same way the day started...with a Monk Seal, snoozing peacefully. I had the kind help of a visiting nice lady, who was willing to call the seal hotline to report this one, so they could come and put up tape to protect it from prying fingers. There were also two turtles (honu), also:

One of the two already snoozing when I walked from the deep side to the kiddie pond.

 The honu above totally surprised me! It appeared to my right side as I was bobbing up and down in the deep side. Of course, I got out of its way.

Another bigger turtle snoozing.

This honu looked to be the same size as the one above that surprised me. What also surprised me when I got home to look at the pix was that it appears to maybe have tumors near its armpit. Or at least something attached to it! I shall have to report it, as they can sometimes capture the turtle and take the possibly harmful things off....

Two octopuses. Yay. I never get tired of seeing them.

 Look for its eye in the photo above...red "eyelid".

Neither octopus appeared too bothered by my presence, which I why I didn't get too close. I hate it when they turn brown and slink away into their dens.

Yellow Tailed Coris. Is it just me or are these a wonderful combination of colors and stripes and spots?!

 I popped up and saw some nice white clouds and a rainbow in one of them.

 Here's the rainbow. I didn't say it was easy to spot.

 Cone shell near the in-between part...yes, I was bobbing for operculum.

 This poor cornet fish had a chunk taken out of it, but appeared to be fine.

Cowry shell hiding in some rocks.

 Lizard fish in the Kiddie Pond for my sweetheart. And the male Trunk fish below is for him too. Note the difference in the water quality. The Trunk fish was in the earlier morning hours, before the sun really came out.

 The pencil urchins were hiding again, between two rocks.

The seal gave up on a nap and started to swim into the kiddie pond. It's the long dark line just above the rock in the water on the right.

 Spanish Dancer nudibranch. The "naked lungs" are on the right hand side of the photo. The "head" is on the left, with its two antenna....not sure what a scientist would call them. Certainly not "the pokey out things.."

 Threatening Clouds and waves. Yes, I watched carefully before getting in. It is never smart to go in when no one else is there, but that's my fave time, as no one has scared the octopuses yet. 

 I was able to have a very nice chat with a young lady from Southern California. She had recently visited the Galapagos islands! Snorkeling! They saw sharks and enjoyed the beauty of the area. I apologized for the condition of our reef...too many people for good coral.

Ze Devil Fish. My hubby likes that name....otherwise known as Devil Scorpion Fish. This one was hiding its head, so I couldn't get a good complete shot.

I did have some eel pictures, but I'm ashamed to say I missed the fight: two eels of different types flew out of the rocks between and darted at each other. Unfortunately, my camera finger was too slow to capture that. But it did make me more careful when picking up the operculum. One never knows what lurks under those rocks.

Enjoy God's wonderful creations! and please respect the distance from seals and honu....thanks.