This was one of three octopuses I saw together recently. I think this one and one of the others were looking to mate, but my presence was spooking them. So I backed off and they did indeed appear to be going to mate, but none of my photos turned out as I was then too far away!
I spotted this small Pacific Day Octopus on the move and it quickly headed for a spot to settle down. The place it chose was just below a head of coral, which was occupied by an Arc-Eye Hawkfish. The hawkfish didn’t move, but didn’t look happy with its new neighbor.
The 2022 eruption at Mauna Loa produced its own weather in the form of this cloud.
The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 225. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
Water Lillies at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.Lady Beetles and ants on a Passionflower leaf.An Hawaiian Noddy skims the waves off the North Kohala coast.Waiting room lighting!An A’ama Crab clings to a rock.An orange Hibiscus just starting to fade.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful.’ See more responses here.
Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.
Reef fish at Two Step.Aechmea blanchetiana bromeliad.An Ember Parrotfish.A Crowned Jellyfish catches the light.Rcl Sharon king ‘Volcano Queen’ orchid.North Kohala sunset.
When I go snorkeling, I often go by a place known as Viper Rock. It got this name because in this rock is a small cave that was often occupied by a large Viper Moray Eel. I haven’t seen the eel in a long time, but the cave often has other occupants.
On a recent swim, a Giant Porcupinefish had claimed the spot and it rebuffed the approach of a smaller Giant Porcupinefish several times (top photo).
Next day when I got there, there were two Giant Porcupinefishes outside the entrance to the cave. Several times they swam towards the cave, then came back towards me (middle photos). It was only when I shifted my position a bit that I could see, inside the cave, the shape of a large lobster (bottom photo). It’s just to the left of the top porcupinefish, in the shadowy cave. Clearly the two fish did not relish the prospect of trying to evict the lobster!
Posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.
This month’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Any shade of brown and/or gray.’ See more responses here.
Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.
Grill shadows.A Reticulated Cowry.A newly-harrowed field in North Kohala.Door handles in Kapaau.Growth on a tree trunk. Not sure if this is moss or lichen or something else!A Sonoran Carpenter Bee confirms that it’s not forbidden to drill nest holes in the fence.
I was looking for shadow photo opportunities one late afternoon when I spotted this Pallid Ghost Crab on a small beach at Kawaihae. It fit the bill and when they’re stationary a photo is easy to take, but when they move they’re practically a blur!
Posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.