A Morning at Kahalu'u

   Yesterday Sandra and I made plans to swim together at Kahalu'u.   To make the trip really worthwhile we planned to combine it with a stop at the KTA at Keahou.  As we made the turn from Kam III for the descent into the (almost deserted) shopping center we came upon a line of parked cars that snaked past the entrance to the Chevron station.  A moment's inspection revealed that these cars

A peacock flounder, Kahalu'u 2020.  Can you find the eyes?

had drivers who were in a super long line waiting for Covid testing.  For those of us who aren't sick, this was a sobering wake up call.

   Our mission at the KTA was to nab a brace of Swanson's bouillon, both beef and chicken, which were on sale for a whopping 77 cents per can.  After nabbing our broth, we took a look at the fish.  Low and behold, they had tambo, also known as bluefin tuna or albacore, on sale and we picked up a fine big chunk.  Luckily, Sandra had the forethought to bring a blue ice, which was inside the refrigerator bag given to us ever so long ago by Kim Hillis.  The Kimmy-bag would keep our tambo cool and collected while we swam.

   As per the new usual, there was hardly anyone at Kahalu'u at 11 AM on a Friday morning..  With the scarcity of patrons, we were able to secure one of a very few shaded parking spots.   Soon we were reclining in the warm water in that giant tidepool that constitutes our entry.  Out in the bay, we ran into a colorful peacock  flounder.   You can enjoy his fine blue rings and test your powers of observation by looking for his eye stalks and mouth.  This fish certainly has to be the envy of every

Our octopus imitating a chunk of coral rubble.

would be Jackson Pollock.

   A few strokes further into the bay and we found a strawberry drupe.  I tested his connection to the coral and found it firm; this was most likely the snail and not an opportunistic hermit crab and I did not pry it off for a glimpse of his golden operculum.

   Out by the Menehune Breakwater we were cruising along when a small octopus swam under me.  He quickly found refuge in a coral.  He wasted no time in coming out for a visit, first on one side of the coral and then, after I scared him a little, on the other.  Once situated on this second perch he changed colors and textures a few times, doing his best to imitate the coral to which he was attached.

    Obviously, when we see an octopus, it is rare for him to remain in a posture that one readily identifies, with eight legs visible and his big snout thrust forward.  I thought I would show you a just such a classic octopus picture purloined from the internet.  In searching for such a picture, I came upon an article on octopus farming.  The author noted that octopus farming is occurring in many countries, what with ocopi being a favored food dish in a variety of hungry cultures.  He went on to take the position that this was not a great idea.  First, octopus farming has the same negative ecological implications that fish farming presents, pollution from the food fed to the octopus and the subsequent waste they produce.  Nitrogen, phosphorous and all that crap.  Literally.

Day Octopus, Kahalu'u.  July 2020

   He then went on to complain about the inhumanity of keeping these intelligent creatures in captivity.  At the outset, I would like to say that I harbor a personal kinship with the octopus.  I recognize his intelligence and wonder about his life.  But its hard not to look at a different side of that coin.  I am not about to become a vegetarian and I have no misconception about the sad conditions in which the chickens and cattle are confined.  At the table, I say a little prayer, thanking the animal for his sacrifice.   I ought to be more reverent about my eggs and milk, as well. Clearly a cow or chicken can't open a jar, solve puzzles or play with a toy.  I'm not going to eat octopus, but I still hold the souls of those less clever animals in esteem.

    Meanwhile, back at the bay, we were heading for the exit.  Right there, in the shallows of the tidepool entry, I encountered a juvenile Racoon butterflyfish.   I still have not gotten over how many years it took before I started seeing this handsome juvenile, mostly in this single location.  I tracked him up the entryway, taking multiple pictures.  You can probably tell that the water in which I was working was quite shallow and turbulent.  Once we got the pictures into the

A handsome Raccoon Butterfly juvenile,    Kahalu'u   July 2020

computer, I found that I had perhaps my best ever shots of this remarkable juvenile.  However, there truly was a lot of debris stirred up by the turbulence.  Can you tell that I worked with the clone brush to make the picture a bit more appealing?

  In the evening we enjoyed our grilled tombo and we even saved some for tonight's picnic dinner.  Watching  the news as we ate our fish, we caught Meahlani Richardson on Hawaii News Now telling us that more quarantine breaking tourists have been caught and persecuted on the Big Island than any other, even Oahu.  With that level of enforcement, Sandra and I might actually be able to stay out of the Covid testing line.  And we hope you do as well.

jeff