Is it still called fishing if a fish is doing the fishing?

Maybe the fish would call it shopping. Who knows?

The Trevally seemed quite interested in what the goat fish was digging up. 

So, it seems time to get it over with: no octopus views today! There were plenty of other lovely things and quite nice water, so I'm not too bummed.  Just a little.

I guess the good thing about seeing no octopuses is that it leaves space in the post for more Pinktail Durgons. (Your mileage may vary.)

This was in the deep side. It's rather unusual to see more than one Pinktail at a time, so I took full advantage of seeing a small group.

This Pinktail was on hand while the Peacock Grouper swam from one rock to another. 

I think it's interesting that the fin on the side is yellow. I guess it would be too matchy-matchy if it were also pink. They would have had to name it Pink-tail and fin durgon...

In any case, I really love these fish. They do have some serious teeth, though, so kinda glad they are not aggressive.

The clouds were very pretty today over the water. Note how clear the water was. The clouds look almost as if they are a train with similar cars, pulling out of a station.

This urchin chose to create its camouflage with plant material instead of rocks.








Instead of the usual Trevally chasing the Snowflake, today the Christmas Wrasse did the honors. Christmas and snowflake do go together.

 I discovered a possible reason that the octopus no longer inhabits this den. Snowflake eels and octopus are not friends.

Cleaning the gills. Two Hawaiian Cleaner wrasse clean the Convict Tang.

 Hawaiian Hogfish

Horn Shell. I think it was probably inhabited, either by the animal or a hermit crab. In any case, I left it undisturbed.

 Juvenile Yellow Tail Coris. They are very bend-y.

More pretty clouds 

 You can see the water was pretty flat, except out near the surf break. The octopus that once lived out there has apparently moved. I hope it wasn't my photo taking that made it go.

 No post would be complete without a Trunk or Box fish. Here ya go, Alex!

 Some needlefishes were low enough in the water that I could catch em with my camera.

Cleaner Wrasses awaiting clients.

 I have been threatening to start a blog about what not to do in the water. Here's the start: don't walk or sit on the bottom! It throws sand into the water and destroys the visibility. Not to mention that it can be dangerous for you: there are scorpion fish and eels and all kinds of urchins that can mess with you! Especially if you put your hands down on the bottom.

 Didn't see the animal that threw out all these white strings. I'm told if you pull on them, they will pull back. HA.

So, a nice swim. I kept myself from telling people off when they did something stupid. Well, except for the one guy who was walking on the bottom with his reef walkers. When I told him there were things that could puncture his foot, he thanked me...and went right on walking. As my pal would say, "Can't kill 'em!"

I also desisted from mentioning to the man feeding the fish that God gives them all the food they need. It's a real shame that some stupid fish and snorkel stores feel the need to sell fish food. But that's for another post. 

Be careful out there! Protect the beautiful ocean!

Diet Coke and Vichyssoise

I am not a food blogger...occasionally, I'll put up a photo of some cool food in France, but routinely I think it's stupid to post pix of what you eat. My bad.

Today, however, and there is no photo, I found myself with Diet Coke and a very nice bowl of Vichyssoise for my at-home lunch. YUM. Good thing my pal in Poipu doesn't routinely read my posts.  She is correct in telling me that Diet Coke is bad for you. I do agree, but do still find myself not stopping drinking it! But the Vichyssoise was so good. I didn't make the recipe, so I'm not bragging, but when a soup is so good that as you're falling asleep you find yourself wondering "where is the rest of that soup?!", you fall upon it once you remember where you stashed it. And since there wasn't a lot left, my husband, bless his cotton-pickin' heart, let me have it all! I did let him have a spoonful...

I made it partially because I love that soup (leeks and onion and cream and sour cream how could you NOT love it?), but we had purchased leeks for something else and there was one left over. As pricey as leeks are, one should not waste the remaining one. Hence the yummo soup. (And just in case you're thinking "How could she have French soup without French wine?", the answer is that it was tough, but I have promised myself not to drink alcohol during 2019, so there ya go.)

And today was my first day back in the water as the vertigo has now dissipated, I hope entirely. I'm surprised at how much of a strain it was not to swim. Truthfully, although I know my gym workouts and treadmill are good for me, the hard part was not viewing my octo-pals in the big drink.

 The previous photo shows a Unicorn fish...the octopus had thought I was gone, so it popped up a bit more on the right. It's the dark blob above the rock.

 What I saw at first from above. This was in the deep side, mind you, so not as easy to get close. The octopus is in the center, to the left of the greenish rock.

 And, as I have noted before, one never knows exactly what you have until you get the photos home! Note the nice basket shell to the left of the red pebble....The white tube above it might actually be the animal. But since I didn't see it, and therefore didn't pick it up, we may never know.

This octopus eventually tired of me snapping its photo, so I left it alone...a couple of times...perhaps I was testing to see if I could remember its den's location and find it next time. 

There was a Scorpion Fish, a smallish one:

 The previous shot shows its eye, too, which sometimes I have a hard time catching with my camera. Its head is to the left of the lavender rock.

This Scorp was maybe 8 inches long, including the tail.

The cute little 3 spot damsel fish that hangs out near coral..

 Upcoming rain

My hubby received a Coolamari ice cube maker for his birthday. I had one already, so there may be a  party in our future. Cute, yeah? You can see the octo-cube, and also the cube maker below.

 Crab. The eyes are about a 3rd from the right. Not sure what these are called. I know it's a Hermit Crab, because the shell it stole is in the middle, but not sure if there is another name for this particular type of Hermit Crab.

 The original "I've got yer back" photo...2 hawk fishes on top of a coral head.

 There were 2 turtles having breakfast this morning. One big one and one smaller..

 I do wish someone could tell me what the circular thing below is. I think it's some kind of poo, but not sure what makes it. If you know, pass along the info, please.

Male Trunk or Box fish

 I found this small collection of pencils out in the open. The pink is my new glove color. I'm so fashionable, I can't stand myself. Oh yeah..

Picasso Trigger Fish. Love these colors.

 And the Pinktail Durgon

I tried to use the microscope portion of my camera to catch raindrops as they hit the surface.

 And I did catch the cloud rainbow, rain offshore

 and a bigger wave.

 More of the turtles. This is the smaller one.

And what swim would be complete without a Trevally and a Snowflake Moray eel?

 You can see the Snowflake below, near the bottom.

 This poor urchin had waaaaay too much baggage! Yes, there is one under all those rocks.

So glad for a snorkel adventure, especially with an octopus. Glad to be back.

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!