Eureka! One!

Yay, I saw one octopus today! Normally, that's not cause for super-excitement, but since I saw none this past weekend, I'll take one in a hot minute.

Snorkeling is just better with octopuses.

 The brown part is the octopus peeking. This will help you in seeing it below. It was a young one, so, not big. And very well camouflaged.

 Not easy, is it? If you see the spiky yellow-ish urchin in the hole just below and to the right of the middle, look left, up and over a bit. You'll see the octo-eye. It is the same color as the rocks, so that's why the camouflage is so amazing.

Was God having a good day when He created octopuses or what? (Also, think of how superior they are: they didn't need an ark. Just sayin'.)

The visibility was really odd today: there would be pockets of clear water and then cloudy right next to it. Very strange. So after I found the octopus, I went out past the cable to the deeper side.

This is the cable as I was coming back in. Do you see the big cone shell? I didn't until I got this photo home. (Triangular, just below the clump at the end of the cable on the right.) It's covered with sand and other stuff, so you can't tell what type of cone it is. 

 The Bigeye Emperor was hanging out in the deeper side.

 As were the Durgon cousins: the black and the pinktail. So similar, yet so different.

 A Yellow tang took at look at the pinktail.

 This Cornet fish looked like plaid.

And there was a unicorn fish without the horn. Don't faint, but I looked it up: A Sleek Unicorn fish!

The deeper water was also a bit plagued with less than clear water. So today's photos were only 168! Can you believe?

OK, so back inside, in the less deep water:

 Barred filefish showing its bars and teeth. Oh and the sock money eye. haha

And a Christmas Wrasse. I do wish I knew why there is such a difference in the water here vs. Kauai in terms of which fish are most prevalent. I see these all the time on Kauai and not so often here. And we won't even bring up the Rock Mover Wrasse lack.

 But there was a Cigar Wrasse.

 This wrasse swept rather slowly through the scene, so I was able to catch several shots. And it caught something, darting toward the rocks to snag it. Of course, not caught on video, as I was in photo mode at the time. You just can't predict these things.

You can predict the Picasso Humu, though. So pretty.

 And Needlefish for Alex.

I'm not trying to get sideways, but they stay up just below the surface, so you have to twist to get them in the shot. 

I did have fun, though. Any day with an octopus....

And now for the clouds, planets, sun and moon: Oh yeah, and palm trees.

 Nice clouds and palm trees. Sometimes the gradation of colors is so nice.

As I walked toward the area where I had stashed my gear until the sun came up, I noted a haze around the moon. Pretty and kind of eerie.

To the left, the moon from near the car. You just can't get a bad view here.

 Sun almost up.

 Sun shining in a path on the water. My pal, Perry, always loved seeing that type of photo. Here's to you, Perry!

Venus above the palm tree. 

After the swim, I was able to have lunch with a friend and also visit the Sanrio/Hello Kitty store at Kahala Mall. Winner! I was also able to check in with a dear friend at OneLove Ministries in Honolulu, who gave me the skinny on a better way to get home. So it was a very helpful and fruitful day.

Funky viz, tough water and no tako!

 But there were seals, honu, yellow cigar wrasse, pencil urchins and a Spotfin Scorpion Fish! Take a look.

 A sandy nose....

Not surprised the he'e were hiding!

Aliens probably can't tell they have legs!

In looking at the photos from today (477 of them, thanks very much), I thought: hey, if an alien looked at this octopus photo, they would not know octopuses have legs! They would probably also assume they are small, since most of the ones I see are in a den and you can't tell their size...

This was the first octopus. Hard to see, but I was very happy to spot it.

 Better hidden, but I still saw it.

He'e #3. Nice colors

 Showed quite a bit of siphon and the eye (red) is visible also.

I love the aqua color you can see sometimes.

 The photo below that made me think about aliens...one wouldn't assume that they had anything like legs from this photo! And of course, one wouldn't assume you could eat them, either. I like this aliens idea more and more....

I am rather surprised that these octopuses stay where I saw them: near the beach! Where it is so easy to get a foot directed toward you. (I am resisting asking why the visitors walk instead of swimming.....but I'm trying to be good. I guess it's better to be critical in my mind, rather than in my mouth..)

 Three cowries, hiding in a hole...

I'm told the spots show that the Barred Filefish is a juvenile. It is certainly smaller than the adult version.

 Ah the lovely Brighteye Chromis.

A dead Slipper Lobster carcass. I don't usually see these, alive or dead, so this was a surprise.

 Eel, poking out and looking aggressive.

Snowflake Moray Eel. Pretty and not mean looking normally, although this one also has its mouth open.

Goat fish in huge numbers again. They must like the protection of the Kiddie Pond.

Isn't this one of the ugliest fish? Alex said that we should send it to Grumpy cat to show why it's grumpy. ha.

 It's the spotfin Scorpion Fish. Hiding in a hole. So not only octopuses do that.

 Juliana's Sea Hare. Even though Juliana, my co-worker, doesn't like it because it's not pretty. Sure is interesting, though!

A juvenile Rock Mover. They are quick and blown about by the water, so it's a feat to catch em with my camera.

 Leaf Fish. I know where they hang out, so I can see one almost every time.

 And excited to be seeing more Picasso Trigger Fish. This one has its spike raised. This one was probably 3 inches long, including the tail.

See the Lizard fish on top of this coral head?

See it now?

 Male Trunk Fish.

 Nice rainbow at home.

 Humu. Don't make me spell it all out! But I can. I'm all about spelling...

This nudibranch was less red than the one I saw yesterday, but was in the same general area between two rocks. I'm not sure if they can alter their colors. Research topic for when I'm retired.....

 Rain at sea. And palm trees.

Peacock grouper

 Pinktail Durgon. For an inexplicable reason, this one kept circling me, so I got a whole bunch of pix. It is amazing behavior: normally they swim away as fast as they can!

 Rain dumping out at sea.

Earlier rain at sea.

 Rainbow in the cloud out at sea. I wonder if the paddlers and the people on the boat could see it...

 Self Portrait. I wondered what my hair looks like, so I took the photo. It's longer now, so I feel it moving when I swim. 

 Here's the crab inside the shell that made me put it back down. It was funny too: I always check to ensure the shell is empty. When I thought so, I put it on my purple glove to take a picture. And it started crawling away, along my glove! So I guess that answered that question.

 You can see the thin barbs at the end of the smaller legs..that's what I was feeling on my hand as it dragged itself away..

 Here's a photo that shows you why it's called a Threadfin Butterfly...that long thin tail off the top fin.

 Yellow phase Cigar Wrasse and an Indo Pacific Damsel. It intrigues me how many shades of yellow are on the fishes I see..

Five octopus! A very nice dive. I waited for the seal to leave before I got in. The least I could do. Thanks to God for the safety and the many octopuses and other cool creatures!!!