No octopus?!

As alluded to in my previous post, I came up empty on octo-sightings today.  I didn't venture into the Big Pond, as the waves were still mashing that water around.

Not that I had no waves in the Kiddie Pond, but there, they are more manageable.

See the pole and sign just to the right of the palm tree in the middle?  That's the sign that tells you not to snorkel beyond that point; and that's where I have seen an adult octopus in the past, but lately I haven't been able to get close enough to see if it is still there.  At least not without being pounded by waves.
Before the sun came out:

I do love the early morning colors.  More sun would have been nice, but I'm thankful I was able to swim at all.  Just a reminder: Please do not always believe the weather predictors!  We were to have rain and winds....not so much.  We did have waves, of course.  I am awaiting the "real" winter, when the water becomes like glass.

I did hear, although I didn't see, that there were whales frolicking offshore. WISH I had seen that!

The island that used to be tied to the beach was under the onslaught of waves and tide:

 And folks were still walking out through the current to get out there.  Different goals, different folks..

Wana:

Love how it looks, but am happy to not have been hugged by this animal..
I was surprised to see Pencil Urchins in the Kiddie Pond.  I don't believe I've seen those in the shallower water before.  Perhaps they were just hiding better previously:

I did discover two in the Scorpion Fish family:
The Hawaiian Green Lion Fish:

I find these fish fascinating.  Not being the most patient person, I am amazed at any animal that can sit that still for that long.  And in this case, it was pointing itself downward, while clinging to a rock.

 The Spotfin Scorpion Fish. Not nearly as good a photo, as it was hiding between two coral heads.  But you can see the face and fins..

I can't remember the name of this crab, but will let you know.  It's very boxy and kept hiding in this hole.  There SHOULD have been an octopus in this hole....just sayin'!

I am always happy to get wet in the ocean....next time, I'll ask God again for an octopus.

Alpha & Omega

My sister-in-law helped us this week by volunteering to get our Christmas tree with us.  It's not impossible to pick one up in our Toyota, but it's not as easy as buying it and throwing it in the truck!

We've moved since our last tree and also traveled one year, so we haven't had a chance to see all of our ornaments recently:

We have too many t-shirts, so need dressers in the living room.  Yeah, it's not cool, but it's real.

One of my favorite ornaments: Alpha & Omega.  The Beginning and the End.  A great reminder.  And very comforting.









Two seals were snoozing on the little island when I arrived.  Since they were out of the immediate traffic pattern, I wasn't worried that folks would bother them.  And it gave me a reason to talk to a very nice lady from Colorado.

One biggish seal and one smallish one.  You can see the waves were still reporting to work, so the water wasn't the best when I got in.  And I only got into the Kiddie Pool, as there were No Swimming signs up.  I think because there was a drowning recently that the lifeguards are being more aggressive in trying to keep folks out of the deeper water where the rip current is more fierce.  It is sometimes within my power to stay clear of it, but I have noticed that once one person gets in, everyone decides it's ok for everyone to get in..and I don't want to encourage anyone to go beyond their skills.  I am NOT a lifeguard.

For my sweetie:

Trunk fish...in bad visibility water.  Waves = bad vis.

Pretty clouds:

AKA God's Rays

There seemed to be quite a few eel tails, too.  Here's one:

I never did find the head of this one.  But there were more eel heads to spot:

 I have noticed other eels have the protruding tubes in their noses.  I'm still pondering why they have those, as compared to our noses.

I spotted a lizard fish, too, which wasn't in the sand as I normally see them, but on the side of a rock:

I noticed it was on a "busy" rock too: at least 2 Drupe shells, some coral and some unidentified sea stuff.  (Yeah, I'm not the most scientific person...)

A tiny humuhumunukunukuapaa, too:

Maybe 2 inches at most!  And rather afraid of my hulking presence, but it didn't hide in the nearby hole, so it was being brave..

Also spotted a Hawaiian Green Lionfish:

Hiding near a rock..as they normally do.. Look at those spines!

And saving the best for last, one octopus, which peeked up at me:

It's the brown part, just below the pinkish stuff... and yes, after it saw me notice it, it slid under the rock.  I waited, out of sight, and it popped up just a bit to look at me.  Smart enough to keep an eye out...

Never underestimate God's plan

So I had seen my requisite octopus (I think the same one as the other day, at depth), and I pushed my way against the current back into shore.  No easy feat.

I strolled over to the Kiddie Pond, walking near the water to avoid any ant pests. I can learn.

I got in the water, steering around the people standing on the sand. (I never understand that: all the fun is IN the water, so why not get in and look?!)

Cruising around, I thought: oh, nice swim, but nothing amazing yet.  HA.  God had other plans for me!

First, the Hawaiian Green Lionfish:

I have never seen one of these in the wild, as far as I can remember.  It has red eyes, too.

And like other members in the Scorpion Fish family, it loves to hide, being a fish that awaits its prey in quiet and stealth. So its face was turned into the rock.  It scooted around a bit, trying to hide.

Thanking God for spotting it, I swam on.  Looking near the shore for another octopus, I saw something brown in my peripheral vision. And spotted this amazing beauty!

I heard myself say "OH MY GOD!!!" in my snorkel tube.  I have never seen anything like this.  A fully mature Partridge Tun shell with the animal inside.  It was slipping slowly along the bottom, leaving a slimy wake on the ground.  I was so stunned that I must have spent 45 minutes taking pictures of the thing. Thankfully, it was a slow mover, so I was able to battle the current and waves and get some shots that I like. Thank you, God!

This shows you the "mouth" and the 2 eye stalks. Sweetheart said that they were, but I couldn't see at first where the eyes actually were...so look at the 2 pointy things and go up the stalk. You'll see little blue eyes just about where the stalk is near the body of the animal.  So amazing!

Finally, I dragged myself away (fingers were getting pruney from the water) and on my way out, I ran into a group of Turban shells.  One of which was proudly sporting its operculum.  And an Electric Blue Crab was trying its best to sneak into the shell:

The little blighter was trying to get in. Granted, it was bigger than the one this crab was using, but really.  Stealing another's home is just not done!




























Not quite as rare, but still exciting was this Ambon Puffer fish.

This is the best photo I've gotten recently for one of these lovely fish.  I am amazed by the spots: see the aqua ones?  Then brown ones near its mouth.  Why?  Why design brown spots AND aqua ones?  Oh those amazing mysteries.
And more shells:

A Cone Shell, awaiting nightfall so it can hunt. I really should plan a night dive sometime.  I'm a bit afraid of that, though.  I've heard everyone comes out to hunt!  I would have to find a dive partner...

Pretty.  I didn't pick it up, so I don't know if anyone was "home", but figured since it was in good shape, someone probably still lived there.










And a nice little eel was hiding under the rocks:

So that's the report for today.  Aren't you glad I didn't include all 676 photos?!  And thanks for reading.
Oops.  Perhaps I should include the octopus that started it all!

He's on the rock, just behind the orange shouldered surgeon fish.  Just chillin'.