Rain almost convinced me

When you wake up because the rain on the roof is so loud, it gives you pause about whether you should snorkel.

So, thinking that Poipu would also be raining, as we were having a flood watch, I wondered if it would be a waste of time to swim, since I knew the surf was still up and it was later than usual, so people would have had time to mess up the water. BUT, I was glad I went.

It relieved my almost itchy feeling that I would be missing something if I didn't go. And knowing full well that bad water would give the octopuses even more camouflage than they normally have, I was doubtful it would be worth the gas to drive down. I was wrong!

Below is octopus #1 (and only.) Once I saw it, I knew it was ok to get out. 

But not before I shot another photo of the dark color the octopus turned when I swooped down to get closer. 

If you look carefully, you can see the octo-eye about midway down on the brown blob. I know it's not a great photo, but wanted to demonstrate the color change. And it happens in a blink of an eye!

It amazes me how fast octopuses can change color. I do wish that they were a bit more friendly. Having said that, I have to remember that here in Hawaii people are rude enough to eat octopuses, so I  am grateful they have life preserving tendencies.

 Of course, the eel above would not turn down an octo-meal, so perhaps I should lighten up.

The juvenile Rock Mover Wrasse was flitting around also. They are skittish around big predators too.

There were only 50 photos taken today. Yeah, bad vis = not many photos. But here's the one with the Turban Shell and the operculum still in it! I did put it back down and it's probably still happily living in Poipu. But glad for the shot.

That is such a cool creation: it's like a protective door to keep predators out. Sometimes it works. And sometimes the crab gets in. But in any case, glad I went down to swim.

Five octopuses and two seals...

Another great day in the water, even though the high surf kept me out of the deep side. Five octopuses, including at least 2 that were small. And a flounder. And a Spotfin Scorpion Fish! But I'm getting ahead of myself:

The before and after of He'e #1: regular at-ease color and then dark. The eye is just above the v of the den.

 In this one, even though there was a lot of sand in the water, you can see both eyes of He'e #1.

It even popped up a bit to see if I was gone.

He'e #2, a small one. 

He'e 3 This octopus was on the ocean floor and wedged between two rocks.

 He'e 4:

He'e #5: this one moved the rock in the left of the photo. The waves blew it down and it picked it back up.

 Even the little octopuses have caught on to the "peeking" concept..they'll put just an eye above the ground to see if the enemy is still there.  I was a bit concerned about this octopus, as I had seen a snowflake moray eel come near the rock, at the bottom. Not sure if it could easily mess with the octopus, which was on top in a den....hope it's safe.

You can see the little wrinkles they can get between their eyes.

 I was happy for the rock with pink on it: it helped me be able to see the octopus to keep taking the photos.

I had my finger on the button for a long time, hoping for a great shot. They are wonderful animals with good camouflage skills..

Whoops! My sweetheart mentioned I had forgotten to add the flounder I saw. That would have been such a shame...this little guy was about the same size as my hand length...and if you click on the photo, you can see its eyes never left me...like I would eat a flounder. NOT!

 These two seals surprised me...I got all these shots in less than 30 seconds, I'll bet, as I swam away. And let the two people know that they shouldn't follow the seals and that they could bite. The lady said We know that thanks! and then followed them anyway. Some people can't learn.  But the lifeguard was good about making an announcement. Following is harassing and that is illegal! 

A very nice cowry shell. 

Cute little trunk fish, the body maybe an inch and a half long, not counting the tail.

Male Trunk Fish

 Moon and palm trees for my sweetheart.

Needlefish. You can see that the surf had messed with the visibility. 

 Spotfin Scorpion Fish. One of the reasons not to walk on the bottom. 

So happy with the swim today. God is great. I am very thankful for all the great creations I get to see only 20 minutes from home. 

They're back!

I told a friend that the octopuses were back today, and celebrating her birthday! (She's a friend who says she can't see the octopuses, even in my fabulous photos. ha.) I even had a bit of purple in my gray hair, just to entice the octopuses. Oh yeah, like they noticed. Octopuses are about color, just not purple, as far as I know.

 Yes, there really is an octopus in the den, but the main thrust of this photo is the golden earring...I didn't pick it up, because I have heard it rumored that octopuses will pick up sparkly things and leave them outside their dens...as a refresher about where the front door is, perhaps. Who understands the minds of these amazing creatures?!

 This is octopus #2. Look carefully and you'll see the small siphon in the little v of the photo above. 

 Another of the surprise octopuses. This one was small and I heard myself say "No way! Thanks God!" when I saw it.

Same octopus, different colors.

 This was octopus #4 and so incredible to see it. It was just a very small one and fairly well hidden.

The surf was big today, so I didn't spend much time in the deeper side. As it was, I had to ride the rip down to the hotel and get out there. So all four octopuses were hiding in the Kiddie Pond.

 Maybe the size of the photo does matter. 

  

Once they see you, it's all over...they sneak down and it's tough to see them. Well, tougher than usual.

Very happy about all the sightings, especially since my last swim garnered no octo-viewings.

 During one of my pop-ups while swimming, I caught these cool clouds. So pretty and I imagined how hard it would be not only to visualize those, but the paint them. 

 Sleeping Honu. And some poor kid somewhere is missing his pail and shovel...

The Humu probably figured out there was an octopus in the hole below and to the left in this picture. Sometimes the little Humu dart into holes when they are afraid...but this hole was occupied.

 A seal swimming in and approaching the sleeping seal already on the island. The 2nd seal is the smooth "rock" just barely on the sand. They snoozed together for a bit, but then disappeared. I think that even though the people who visited the island later stayed away from the seals, but they probably made some noise. All that is a guess, though, as the seals don't speak to me any more than the octopuses do!

Needlefish in a flotilla. They are not usually so far down in the water, so I took the opportunity to take the photo.

 Progress had been made in getting closer. They do a cute wiggle to move on land.

 Rainbow out where the surfers were.

 The seal snoozing when I got there..you can see how people would worry it was dead, as they really don't move often and you can't easily see them breathing.

Trevally with a female Christmas Wrasse....the wrasse is the same type of fish that I set loose from a fishing line a while ago. One does what one can. I also pick up fishing line and a lot of glass. Who would think of throwing beer bottle pieces in the water? Perhaps they fall off the boats. In any case, the water was in many places nicer than expected. And of course, octopuses makes the dive wonderful.

I guess after a banner day, you gotta have the other kind...

I'm not saying I didn't have a good time swimming today, but there were no visible octopuses. And there were two seals so we know who to blame. ha.

 A whole mess of cornet fishes in a group...

 A Brighteye Damsel fish and a Spanish Dancer nudibranch.

 An eel hiding inside the reef (maybe it ate those octopuses!)

 And for my sweetheart, a lizard fish. And a rainbow seal. I haven't seen the light on my camera lens do this before, but it was rather cute..

 Rock Mover Wrasse. Every time I see them throw rocks around, I am once again amazed.

 Three Cowry shells hiding until night time.

 Trevally and the eel it was harassing.

 If the pretty off-white shell had been on the ground, I would have picked it up and brought it home. But it was in use....it would be interesting to know if the animal is still inside...just getting a free ride around the bottom.

So it was disappointing to see no octopuses, but there were some bright spots...so I shouldn't complain. I did report the gold ring I found recently to the lifeguard. He took my data and will let me know if someone comes in having lost theirs....I can't imagine explaining how I lost my wedding ring! Especially since mine is one of a kind.  Thanks for reading...even though there were no he'e!