The frog fish will have to wait

Felt a touch of the vertigo again today, but being a stubborn person, I decided to chance it and see how I was in the water. I wasn't dizzy, but a bit queasy.

So once I got to the water, I was really unhappy to not be at my full strength, as the seal was sleeping on the beach and the waves were mostly flat. Which in a normal healthy world would mean I am in on the deep side! Dang! But I kept at least a part of my sanity and decided to swim in the shallow side, to see how I did.

I was talking to a nice couple from Idaho, so I missed the actual shots of sleeping seal, but got some of it in the water. It was deciding, I think, whether to come up and sleep again or get away from the people. 

But thank God, I was able to spot my "regular" octopus, so my short swim (about an hour) was rewarded. But I did feel a bit of the queasy, so I got out immediately after spotting the octopus.

And since I didn't go into the deep side, I don't know if the frog fish was still there....here's hoping this queasiness goes away and I can check next time I swim. 

The octopus was awaiting my visit. Thankful for that. I don't like being "skunked" and not seeing any, so it was a treat to see one, even though I was only looking for a short time.

Isn't it nice that the octopus places these rocks around its den?

 I could tell it spotted me, as it turned that dark color...but I can spot both its eyes, which is unusual, so that's why I'm including it in the post.

And this shows why I usually see only one eye: I see them from the side. I'm not sure what the dark yellowish thing is to the right of the octopus' body. Could be part of the octopus or a shell.

 And here's one eye again and the siphon.

Thanks to God for showing me these amazing creatures!

 Above two 4-spot butterfly fish. Whenever I see one, I immediately turn to see where the other one is. They usually travel in pairs, so it's a habit to complete the set. And below, the female Box or Trunk fish.

You'll notice the trevally right away, but look under the rock to the left to see the eel with its mouth open. This is what the Trevally swim in circles around over here. On Oahu, it used to be mostly octopuses. 

And this Urchin had a lot of stuff on its back. It is interesting to see what all they pick up for this protective purpose.

And I give you the example of several things NOT to do:

1. Don't walk on the reef.

2. Don't walk with your fins on.

3. Don't get that close to a seal.

4. Don't leave your kids to fight the rip off shore on their own!

And here's why:
1. If you walk on the reef, you run the risk not only of falling down and/or stepping on something hazardous (like urchins or scorpion fish), but also you can stir up sand in the water, to the detriment of the visibility.
2. If you walk with fins on, you will probably fall down. Bad idea when the reef and rocks are sharp and hard to maneuver around.
3. I have heard differing distances of the legal requirements to stay away from a seal, but please keep in mind that the seal is an endangered and Federally protected animal. Not to mention a WILD animal. One never knows what they will do. And the sad part is that if one bites you, the authorities will probably move the seal. The real villain, YOU, may get a fine. So really, why chance it?
4. There is a rip current at this beach in Poipu on Kauai. It'll sometimes be so strong that not only can you not leave the water the same way you came in, but it can take you down the beach to the hotel where you probably aren't staying! I did make the parents aware of this possible issue. So here's hoping they stay safe and in close touch with their kids.

Just saying. Stay tuned for more posts on water safety. 

That's it for today's post. Look again, please, in the next few days for a hopeful frog fish update!

Frogfish OMG!

Imagine my surprise today when I saw the little frogfish!!!

 It had been years (at least 3 or 4) since I last saw a frogfish in the wild. And boy did it make me happy! (The older blog that I could find showed it was May 27, 2015. And on Oahu at Hanauma Bay.)

 Yes, God was hearing all about how thankful I was. Even though I had a snorkel in my mouth.

 Here it is with the small toby to show you the size.

 And yes, I am very glad this was a yellow one...had it been a darker green kind as in my Frogfish eats Puffer video, I might not have seen it.

 It was nice of the Orange Shoulder surgeon fish to stop by, as a size comparison.

 It wasn't upside down...I was. You can see its two little legs and the bumps where the eyes are.

 God was definitely not asleep when He created these guys....what an odd creature, right?!

I am wondering if any of the other swimmers heard me verbally thanking God for this little guy's appearance...

I am also grateful that this one didn't move around while I was filming. They can, but there was no reason to: it was in the deep side of the pond, so it probably didn't even know I was there. 

I am still so surprised and thankful that it's hard to move on to the other good things of this 3 hour dive. But I will.

One octopus:

 This is the "regular" octopus that I have seen quite a few times now. I can usually find it because of the bigger rock that is near it. And the red rocks it keeps near its den.

 Showing a bit of eye and siphon in the following photo. With sand in the water.

 From above it

Two cute Four Spot Butterfly fish

 The cats eye operculum (one of the few I have collected that show the spot) and two small Snakeshead Cowry shells.

 Abudefduf group near the divide between deep and shallow ponds

 The Ambon puffer that is actually showing the blue fin underneath.

 And the big cone. Because of all the ocean gunk on its shell, couldn't tell what kind of cone it was, but I could tell there was an animal in it.

 Bluefin Butterfly

 Christmas Wrasse scooting through the scene.

 This is a bunch of coral near the buoy that I see often.

I had to enlarge the following photo to discover why I took the photo: the frogfish is in there. Really! It was in the deep side, so it is hard to spot. it's in the center of the photo. As I said, I was glad it was yellow.

 An urchin with plant material on its back and the eel hiding underneath.

 Fleabite Cone shell

 Hawaiian Hog Fish

 This is an urchin with a heavy burden of rocks on its back.

 Hebrew Cone shell. I think these are pretty cones.

 Big old Honu. Again, in the deeper side, so since I don't swim up to them, not a great photo. But you can see its "hands" and "feet".

Small Horn shell hiding in a coral head 

 Juvenile Yellow Tail Coris

 A Lizard fish for my sweetheart.

 And a male Trunk or Box fish

 Moorish Idol

 The photographer with her new blue shades...and the hair style created by using God's own hair dryer on the drive home. Pretty, isn't it?

 If you need an Easter Venue, we will be singing at Koloa Missionary Church on Sunday. This ceramic octopus is on my desk, next to the operculum that was sitting at one point in the water near a real octopus.

 I love the twirly part of the operculum.

 Pencils and fish. How often does one get to combine those two subjects in a sentence?

 Pinktail Durgon showing its tail and spike on its head.

 There were at least 3 Pinktails in this photo on the deep side, where I often see them out near the wave break.

 The clown face of the Rock Mover wrasse

 And the not so funny face and body of the Devil Scorpion Fish. Look at youtube for octopigirl7 to see the video. It obligingly swam and showed more of its orange and yellow fins. In this photo, note its mouth open a bit, on the left.

 Shells from my collection

 Snowflake Moray eel

 A Spotfin Scorpion Fish, hiding behind a rock.

 And showing more of its spots:

 Bluefin Trevally circling the eel under the rock...you can just see its head.

 Urchin with rocks again.

I am happy to announce that the vertigo is gone. I was a bit leery about swimming again, because waves could only make that spinning feeling worse. So glad to see the back of that affliction. No lie. And very happy for the frogfish and octopus and scorpion fishes. All good sightings and I am most appreciative! Thanks, God!