5 octopuses and one seal

Awwww. Two little cowry shells hiding in a hole in a rock. I have seen them do this quite often. And it might not be "hiding" exactly, but just awaiting darkness.

 Two ornate butterfly fish. I don't see these often over here on the waters off Kauai. More on Oahu.

A nice palm tree and clouds for my husband.

 A Rock Mover Wrasse being thwapped by octopus #1. Get away!

 Abudefduf. I still love saying that name.

 A couple of Blue Fin Trevally swam through the scene.

 Not sure why this seal was pushing its face in the sand...maybe camera shy.

Cornet Fish getting cleaned by Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse.

 This Cowry shell felt empty, but since I couldn't be sure that it was, I put it back down. :(

 Female Box, or trunk, Fish.

 Gravity didn't seem to impact this urchin on the side of the rock.

 Octopuses galore today! The one above was continually followed by the Rock Mover. I do not know why they stay close. Perhaps hoping for leftovers?

The octopus above and below are harder to see, but were present, nonetheless.

 If you look carefully, you can see not only the siphon, but also its eye (lined in red below).

 Look for the tentacles to the left of the red rock. And the operculum I had to leave in place, as I didn't want to take a chance on the whole rock configuration falling in on the octopus!

This one was hiding quite well. The sun wasn't out all the time, so the camouflage was pretty good.

 See? That wrasse loves to rub on the octopus.

 Male trunk fish.

 This is the odd paddle fish.  Nah. Just kidding. This is actually a stand-up paddle boarder paddle. It took me a while to tell what it was! I knew what it wasn't....and then when I figured out what it was, I put it in the stuff around my waist to haul it in to shore. What a pain that was....really messed with my aerodynamics.

Peacock Grouper. Apparently, these fish aren't popular, as they really kill a lot of other fish on the reef. But I do love the blue fins.

 Rainbow at sea.

 What a cute face.

 Wrasse. This is the same type that I released about a month ago, by cutting the fishing line that it had around it. Seems that I see more of these now. Perhaps they are flourishing!

Nice day in the water and very welcome, since I had to miss last weekend, due to work meetings.

Go that way if you want to see fish!

As I neared the end of the Sunday dive, a cute little boy swam up to me, tapped me and said "Go that way if you want to see fish!" How adorable. Of course, I'd been seeing fish all along, so it wasn't surprising. But he was so excited.  So I thanked him.  If I told him I was trying to see octopuses, he probably would have followed me, hoping.  Anyway, it was cute.  And I didn't see octopuses anyway.  Two days, no he'e! But as I told God, I enjoy the swim anyway.  I am always a bit disappointed when I don't see octopuses, but I am thankful for the swim.  I did see some cool stuff, so it wasn't like there were no neat things to spot.

Hiding eel.  He's the brown part, inside the hole, wrapped around the rock. No wonder I didn't see any octopuses!!!

Money Cowry. It is SO tempting to pick 'em up! I don't think I have any of these at home.  But I didn't.  I do try to be good.

This is why lots of folks don't see Leaf Fish.  The big rock, at the bottom. You can see it, kinda light green...leaning one "paw" on the rock. They are good at disguise.

Christmas Wrasse.  Just occurred to me that it is brightly colored, but as far as I know, not poisonous.  So I guess that "bright colors" means "leave me alone" isn't always the case.

A friend, in town from North Carolina, said these Rock Mover Wrasse fish look like they have makeup on. HAHAHA. 

I think this is a yellow phase of the Orange Shoulder Surgeon Fish. Correct me if I'm wrong!

This Spanish Dancer might be about to crawl off a cliff. I don't know how their eyesight is, but I hope it doesn't get poked.

 Trunk Fish. Alex and I really love these..

As we do the Lizard fish.

 This neat 4 spot butterfly was about 2 inches long. Awesomely cute!

Can you see the scorpion fish? It has its right fin on the red rock. They, like the Leaf Fish, are really good hiders.

As is this box crab! I would NEVER have spotted it if it hadn't moved.  It's the middle "rock"..you can see the slightly opened mouth. And 2 eyes just below the mouth in this photo.

Cowry near a drupe.  I don't think either would eat the other..i hope.

 This is the same Cowry that I found yesterday.  In the same general area.

This large Cone shell was in the rocks between the big pond and the little pond.  I spotted it just as I was pulled over into the big pond! So this is the best photo I got, as I couldn't find it again when I fought the current and went back over...nice big cone and definitely filled with the real animal. You can see it near the bottom of the shell, inside.

Today's trash and shell and operculum haul.  Thankfully, I didn't see any yucky trash (paper, old shoes, dental bridge...yes I have found one of those. No lie!)

So no octopuses were spotted, but I have heard that since we have so many seals, turtles and of course, that lifeguard that hunts 'em, I'm not surprised.  Perhaps God will show me some next week. Thanks for the safety, God!

And speaking of God, please pray for my friend with cancer, when you can take a moment. She is having hospice care at home now. 

One Octopus!!!

You might well wonder why one octopus merits 3 exclamation points: it's because it has been over 2 weeks since I saw the last one! I was afraid the Monk Seals

that were now napping on the beach might have eaten too many. Of course, any is too many, so there ya go!

You can just see the white of the siphon. This one slid down into the whole almost immediately upon spotting me, so there are no great shots. But any sighting is a good thing.
I also was gifted with a Turban shell still holding onto its operculum:

I just think it's the coolest idea: hiding a shell inside, well, a shell, and then giving it a little trap door to keep out intruders.  Is God creative or what?!








I saw two cute little fish...yellow, but I think they are orange shoulder surgeons. Can't be sure:

They had the color of tangs, but not the body shape. I could be wrong.

Male trunk fish. Note the bent tail. One of the dive shows we watched recently said they do that when they don't need to use the tail.
And below, a hawkfish. If you look closely, you'll also see the Mystery Damsel. That is, well, a mystery still. Nice blue eyes and blue on the body. Don't worry, one day I'll get my lazy self up and look it up. The immediate at hand book didn't show this one.

Blue in the front and yellow in the back...
And a small flounder! Yay!

Two eyes and a nice pattern. This was a small one, but both eyes were on the same side of its head. I am not sure at what age one moves to the other side.
A nice 4 spot butterfly:

 And a Christmas Wrasse. I do love these. 

So a nice 2 hour swim...waves were crashing, but the water was amazing. And please, when you go to the water, watch yourself and your kids! I saw some 11-12 year olds today who were in water that could have drowned them. 
Thankfully, the lifeguards saw them and told them to come in.  It's the REAL ocean, folks! And thanks to God for His protection!