So glad I went!

So glad I went to the beach today!  Two octopuses and one bubble shell...with the animal still in it!!!

The shell itself was probably an inch long....the animal, much longer!

 I felt really blessed to see this one. It was so small that I could easily have missed it, swimming by.

It was on top of a rock.

And making pretty good time across the way. I almost started a video, but wanted to take pix instead. I find it quite interesting not only the shell pattern, but compared to the animal inside, it's amazing! Alex said: all that fits in the shell?! I think so.....

 Abudefduf. Say that 3 times fast....

Brighteye Chromis. See why it's named that?

 Another brighteye....upper right quadrant.

Buried eel nose. It was pretty well hidden. Note the long yellow nose thingies (yes, that's the scientific word for those!) Snowflake Moray eel.

 Two cowry shells well dug into a rock.

Well hidden eel... well it probably thought so! Reminded me of a kid, thinking he is hidden...with his butt sticking out. ha.

 Female Trunk Fish.

Flea bite cone. Delicate, but poisonous.

 Two hawkfish...different kinds. Same m.o..

The Rock Mover Wrasse that helped me find octopus #1.

 Octopus #2.

 Wrasses can be very bend-y. This is a yellow tail coris. and a parrot. and orange shoulder surgeon. and Moorish Idol. Yeah, a whole mess of fishies!

 Look how many colors! And this is the one that is red with white spots in the juvenile form.

 Lizard fish waiting for prey. Sometimes they burrow in the sand, to be even more hidden.

 Male Trunk Fish.

Nudibranch.

Palms and gray skies. Still a great swim!

 About a week ago, there was an octopus in the hole behind this spotfin scorpion fish. I would hate to think that the fish ate the octopus. Not impossible, but hopefully not a fact.

This seems like a nudibranch, but it was all balled up and rolling around like it was dead, maybe. Of course, I didn't touch it..

 Another mystery. This was sticking out of a rock. Really no guess about what it was..maybe some kind of sea cucumber?

Another shot of the possible nudibranch...









Great octopuses. Lots of pretty. A couple of firsts. And this was on a day when the predictions were for bad visibility, rain and possible brown water! Glad I went.

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.