When I’m snorkeling, I like seeing the colors and patterns of the surface of the water from below.
Aiopio beach
A view of the beach at the Aiopio Fishtrap in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. There’s a large turtle in the center of the photo at the water’s edge, not the best spot in the world to get some undisturbed rest.
Sphecid wasp
I saw this creature on a wall being eyed by a gold dust day gecko as a possible meal. Eventually the gecko thought better of it, which is probably just as well. This is a sphecid wasp and they can pack a sting, though they aren’t aggressive.
From searches on whatsthatbug.com and bugguide.net, it appears that this sphecid is in the genus Prionyx, probably P. fervens.
Maui from the water
Maui stands out above puffy clouds and long, low swell.
Stripebelly pufferfish
Most pufferfish are extremely toxic and the stripebelly pufferfish is no exception. The stripebelly differs from other pufferfish in that its skin is unusually high in toxins, rather than being concentrated in internals organs.
These pufferfish will eat most anything and have a powerful beak (see the second photo) that can inflict a nasty bite. People have lost fingers and toes to these fish, so they aren’t to be messed with. That said, they mostly hang around just above the sea bottom and, as a result, I’ve never actually seen the striped belly that gives them their name.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
Signs: Rainbows next 3 miles
I saw this sign when I was hiking out to see the current lava flow from Pu’u O’o to the ocean. Sure, the sign was a little vague, but I figured it must refer to the rainbow which it appeared to point to.
By golly, the sign was right. There were rainbows for the next 3 miles.
Wild turkeys
One of the joys of driving the old Saddle Road from Waimea towards Hilo, is that one will almost certainly see groups of wild turkeys. These birds were introduced to Hawaii almost 200 years ago and are going strong still.
From what I’ve seen, the question of ‘Why did the turkey cross the road?’ is best answered by, ‘To get back to where it came from.’
From a driving perspective, encountering these birds gives me a chance to yell, “Get out of the road, you turkeys,” which must be the mildest form of road rage.
Milking time
Cows are rounded up for milking on one of the Big Island’s two remaining dairy farms. These days most cowboys, called paniolos in Hawaii, do their work on four-wheelers, though horses are still sometimes used.
