The Mixed Feeding Flock

Painted Nudibranch Kawaihae  November 2020

    Last Friday we met our friends at Kawaihae.  It is  a shame to be so jaded by the wonders of this place that two species of nudibranchs and a handsome brown sea fan waving amid some fine living coral has become sort of ho hum. In fact, you guys are being exposed to a plethora of nudibranch and seafan pictures and you may be getting bored with them, as well.  Shame on all of us! 

    Of these wonders, I'm sharing a picture of a small painted nudibranch, less than an inch in length, that was captured in remarkable focus, and a video of the feather duster worm, nestled among the living coral, waving back and forth in the  gentle swell.  If you work it just right, perhaps you can play this video while you go to sleep and it will usher you peacefully into the land of nod.

    (Due to the vagaries of this medium the video of the tube worm appears at the end of the blog.)

   The pillars where the nudibranchs live are covered with sponges, hydroids and a variety of other so called fouling organisms.  By and large these all look like plants.  However, in the sea, virtually everything turns out to be an animal.  A lot of these small critters do not photograph well.  On this day

Blue Fan Bryozoan, Kawaihae Harbour, November 20202

 I got an acceptable picture of a small round organism, with branching arms, called a blue fan bryozoan.  It reminds me a bit of lichen, if one needs to find a visual comparison from the terrestrial world.  Our friend John Hoover tells us that bryozoans are actually more advanced than corals.  To the uninitiated, corals look like rocks while these guys look like primitive plants.  So I guess from that standpoint it might be expected.

    That was Friday, and as you all know, Sandra and I tend not to go to the beach on weekends, when the multitudes emerge from their working worlds to descend upon the shoreline.  You may wonder, with the advent of  tourist season, if this strategy still makes any sense.  Clearly the tourists, who in this temporal comparison resemble retired people, couldn't care less if it is Saturday or Monday.  You would have a point.  So far, the tourists we have seen have been tested up the wazoo.  And they really seem to be trying to follow the rules.  Suffice it to say, mask wearing and social distancing are difficult at the beach.

A Chinese Dragon run amok on a hill in San Francisco.

   In hopes of generating a blog, late Monday morning, I made my way to the pier.  It was a dark and stormy day, not one that our Dear Good Lord would have designated for underwater photography.  On the other hand, it was Monday, so off we go into the cooling and modestly clear water.  

   I wasn't very far out, perhaps only as far as the second swim buoy, and in the relative shallows, halfway between the swim buoy and the malecon, amongst a bunch of living coral, when things started happening.  Three blue goatfish, hunting in a group with an adolescent ulua, went whipping by.  The blue is among our larger goatfish and the largest of these, who was batting cleanup, was possibly the largest I have ever seen.  He was the, in the words of Randall McMurray, the bull goose blue goatfish. 

The Blue Goatfish Trio, Ulua, Eel and Trumpetfish!

Now, when hunting, blue goatfish don't mess around.  I can't understand how they survive since all they do is swim really fast, never stopping for a bite. And this big fella, with his flotilla, was on a merry chase.  They circled around and were suddenly joined by a long, lightly pigmented eel. Let's call him a stout. Can you imagine an eel chasing along with these marauding goatfish?  Who knew that an eel could swim that fast? 

   This fast moving parade reminded me of that hysterical chase scene from What's Up Doc where Barbara Stresand and Ryan O'Neill end up on a delivery bicycle under a Chinese Dragon.  What a scene!

   In addition to the picture of the Chinese dragon, etc., I'm including a picture of this marine chase scene.  First, note how big that trailing goatfish is compared to the other two goatfish and the ulua.

Another look at the big blue goatfish.

Huge, right?  Now, in the upper right hand corner, notice how the eel is attempting to keep pace with this fast moving pack.  And finally, see how that trumpetfish, a piscivorous killer in his own right, is watching for a chance at a quick meal.

   Movie analogies aside, this reminded me of a mixed feeding flock.  As I have said many times, bird watching is not nearly so much fun as fish watching.  But there are some analogies.  When one is birding in a forest, be it in Western Washington or the mountains of Venezuela, one is seeing virtually nothing for long periods.  Perhaps once every half hour, if he is lucky, the forest will explode in avian activity.  There may be seven or eight species of small birds moving through.  Ornithologists have trouble stating just exactly what benefit all these different species attain by hunting together, each in his own singular way, for insects.  Regardless, the phenomenon is well known and a mixed feeding flock is what a birdwatcher is hoping for as he traipses quietly through a moist forest.  And for a brief moment, we saw a mixed feeding flock at work on the Hawaiian reef.

Ryan and Babs.  Which way did the eel go?

    Well, the show was over in a flash.  The goatfish and ulua raced off in search of their prey while the trumpetfish and the eel settled down to hunt in their more accustomed fashion.  As far as fish go, that was it for this outing.

     As I came ashore, I was greeted by a friendly black lady of roughly 40 years  who was standing waist deep on the sand, enjoying the cool water and the high overcast.  As you know, I am (figuratively) embracing the tourists, so we had a pleasant, if brief, chat.  She was from San Jose and was so happy to be here in Kona.  She said that she had phoned her friends back in the Bay Area and told them that it was just like 2019 here. 

    Over the last few years we have recalled the Bush presidency as the halcyon days.  Here she was harkening back to 2019 in much the same way. Oh, what we took for granted!  I asked if she was staying at the Marriott and she replied that she was planning on being in Kona for two months and in no way could afford the Marriott for that period of time.  She had opted for an Air BnB up by Taco Bell, which puts her halfway between the beach and the KTA store.  Perfect.  Since my new friend is here for two months, maybe I'll be lucky and see her again.

Slender Lizardfish,  Kailua Bay, Thanksgiving  2020

   With Thanksgiving just a day away, yesterday was our day to look for a turkeyfish.   The Hawaiian Green Lionfish , which is the turkeyfish's nom de guerre, may be the most homely lionfish on the planet.  Over my many years I have seen only two, so finding one on a given  day isn't likely.  If we were representing this as an algebraic equation, we would be talking about x approaching  over infinity.  Or, as I get older, is x approaching infirmity.?  Regardless, the chance of seeing a turkeyfish on this festive occasion gives me an excuse to get out on or near Thanksgiving, no matter how quixotic the mission. 

    That morning I had harvested most of the oranges that remained on our tree and deposited half of them (roughly two dozen naranjas) in a bag on the cubby for our fish minded friends.  Shortly thereafter  I was changed and back into the cool water.  

    My experience with the green  lionfish is that it occurs in the shallows.  So I was focusing on that area when I came upon this nice slender lizard fish.  He has those wonderful lips with black and white stripes.  Sort of like the columns in the duomo in Pisa.  But without any leaning towers.  After that modest encounter, marine animals became pretty scarce.  All the way back at the pier, by the tender

The Bright Eye Damsel says, " Happy Thanksgiving!"

landing I spotted a stripe belly puffer and a large pictus moray eel.  Although the peppered moray is among our largest, he is also among the most reticent.  When I dove down to take a picture of this brute, at a respectful distance, he withdrew into his cave.   As the big moray had withdrawn, I snapped a picture of what was available, which in this case was a a Bright Eye Damselfish.  The bright eye damsel is small and tends to run for cover at the drop of a hat, so we don't have many pictures of this elusive fellow with the shining eye.  As is so often the case, we take what God gives us and in this case it was a bright eye damsel.  

    I dove under the floating line and swam around the shallows for another five minutes looking for the turkeyfish.  I had just made my turn over the sand in preparation for a landing when I ran into the school of bandtailed goatfish.  The water was a little clearer than the first time they were spotted and I got a couple pictures and a movie that you might enjoy.  This apparently was to be our Thanksgiving treat...psychedelic goatfish, in lieu of the the green lionfish.

 

       As I came ashore, I was greeted by a young gentleman and lady, perhaps of the Indian persuasion, although they spoke English flawlessly.  Ankle deep in the water, the young man was wearing shorts and a nice shirt while his lady friend was wearing a skirt.  She also had what might be a backpack purse, or perhaps just a small, fashionable daypack.  Obviously they weren't swimming at that juncture.  They were from Las Vegas and had just arrived in Kona for their honeymoon.  Awww.  Did I mention that they just looked as sweet as pie?

   They were eager to get recommendations for their four day stay in our island paradise.  I gave them Ho'okena, City of Refuge (for the tikis, etc) and Beach 69.  They had never tried snorkeling, so I  recommended the very spot they were standing.  You can never go wrong with a swim at the pier..

jeff

Thanksgiving Hibiscus at Casa Ono.

 

PS.  By the time I was done changing, most of our offered oranges had found a new home.
 

Snorkeling with the Joy Luck Club

   For the most part,  it was a rainy weekend in Kona.  This afforded me the opportunity to do some gardening in the rain, including the removal of a venerable banana tree.  When I explained to Sandra that gardening in the rain reminded me of what I used to do in Seattle, she replied, "like cutting down banana trees?"  Suffice it to say,it was a rhetorical question.

A Dramatic November Sunset

    How did the banana tree get to be so old?  It bore its single bunch of bananas over a year ago, while we were in Vancouver doing Trick or Treat with Colsen and Reid.  By the time we got back in November there was so much else to do that the old brute was forgotten.  Which doesn't mean it stopped growing.  By the time I tackled it on Saturday morning the trunk was eight inches in diameter and the leaves reached twenty feet skyward.  

    I had offered Vernon Yoder, a harvester of trees par excellence, the opportunity to cut down the tree, but Kathy was adamant; they are not coming to Hawaii this winter, banana tree or no banana tree.  I'm including a picture of Vernon and, his father with the family log truck circa 1960.  And I ask you, "Do you think he could handle a measly banana tree?  

   In addition to the Yoders, this winter we will not see any of our friends from British Columbia. Under current Canadian policy, anyone who leaves the country loses their health insurance.  Lonely us.

Vernon and his Father ca 1960.

    The sky full of clouds yielded some wonderful sunsets, but it wasn't raining all the time.  On Sunday afternoon the sun came out and we took a drive, looking at the throngs of tourists at White Sands beach and Kahalu'u.  Just past  K Bay, Sandra was astounded as she looked at the still barricaded grounds of what was the Keahou Beach Hotel.  She exclaimed, "They've turned it into a golf course!"

   You long time followers of the comings and goings in Kailua Kona will recall that the hotel closed its doors in October of 2012.  We were told at the time that it would be turned into a cultural center.  Over the next five years, the owners of the property, which turns out to be Kamehameha Schools, demolished the building.  That's right.  It took five years!  Talk about Hawaiian time.  For the last two years we have been looking at a vacant lot. Just a few days ago we spotted a flowing lawn with a few picnic tables.  No shelter whatsoever. Is this Kamehameha Schools idea of a cultural center?  

The Kahalu'u Cultural Center,  photo SKG

   Being vulnerable kapunas, we tend not to go to the beach on weekends.  Yesterday being Monday, we headed wiki wiki down to Kahalu'u.  Sandra took off to take more pictures of the new golf course,
while I headed for the beach.  The water is getting cooler, it is a little cloudy and there are definitely tourists swimming in the bay.  But what the heck, Hawaii is getting back to normal, virus or no virus.

   On this outing I did not see any new fish or critters, but I took the opportunity to work on my movie making skills.  Out of six efforts, four are fit for human consumption.  Or close enough.  Obviously there are countless moving pictures of Hawaiian fish, shot in focus and in clear blue water.  These clips give you a chance to see what was up on a cloudy fall day at Kahalu'u.

   The fist clip shows a palenose parrotfish, one of our prettiest fish.  Back in the day, we were told that parrotfish ate coral and what came out the other end was made the sandy beaches.  As you can see here, the parrotfish now graze on what is growing on the bare rocks.

  

The next video shows a Rockmover.  These amusing wrasses aren't found just anywhere.  For some reason Kahalu'u is the best spot on the Big island.  This is a nice crisp video which shows off the fish nicely.  Unfortunately I didn't catch it turning over a rock.  Larger yellowtail coris, also found at K Bay, also turn over rocks looking for comestible invertebrates.  Perhaps we will find one of those next time. 

   The third video is quick shot of a saddleback butterflyfish.  This is another of our very attractive fish.  That alone justifies my including this quick clip that seems to have been shot too close.  The saddle back is bigger than most other butterflies and I suppose that accounts for this fish filling the frame to excess.

The last little video (this blog site limits us to twenty second clips) is of everybody's favorite fish, the Yellow Tang. These guys are herbivores and will clean the green stuff of almost anything, from a rock to a turtle. Here you will also see a bunch of  Lavender Tangs and a few other fish.  Identifying them should be good practice for you.

    When I got ashore, Sandra greeted me with the news that the place was crawling with flipper walking  Japanese tourists.  Things change daily, but as far as I knew, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a Japanese tourist (currently) to come to Hawaii and then return to Japan.  Never the less, there was a plethora of Asian tourists in the shelter and they were speaking to each other in an inscrutable (to my ear) oriental tongue. 

A family from Oakland gets ready to hit the beach. photo SKG

   As I passed through the throng on my way to the shower. I was hailed by a chubby gentleman with a
fu manchu beard.  Although my ears were full of water, there was no mistaking that he spoke in highly accented English.  After explaining the ins and outs of snorkeling at Kahalu'u, I took a chance and asked him where he was from.  To which he replied, "San Francisco."   I took another chance and asked where they were staying. "At the Marriott.." he replied.  He wasn't sure if that was the King Kamehameha Hotel, but the next nearest Marriott is at Waikoloa, an hour away.

   After I got changed, Schmoopie and I looked around.  There were at least four of these Chinese American families, with no fewer than six members in each family  unit.  Mothers were giving stern instructions on water safety to their children in Mandarin.   

   One chubby little girl plopped down near us.  Having no boundaries whatsoever, I asked where she was from.  She looked up at me like a panda in the headlights, but when her father encouraged her, she blurted out, "Oakland."  Sandra couldn't help herself.  She told the father that our nephew had just purchased a home in Oakland for a tidy sum, to which he replied, "Ahh,  Very expensive.  Ha ha."  

   We love having our tourists back.  It makes everything seem normal even if it quadruples our risk of getting the plague.  Meanwhile, you can join me for the dim sum special at the Billfish Bar and Grille. Sammy Fong is picking up the tab. 

jeff

    My mother was a singer, not a famous one, but she loved to sing the hits from her favorite shows.  I can sing One Hundred Million Miracles in my sleep.That's Jackie Fong embracing Mei Li.  Earlier in the movie, Mei Li sings my mother's favorite song while she keeps rhythm on a small drum.

  If you haven't read Amy Tan, you have a treat in store for you.  The Chinese experience is alive and well in the Bay Area and Amy really brings it to life.

 

This Week in Kona

Achilles Tang,  Kahalu'u November 2020

   This week I went swimming four out of five days.   This shouldn't be unusual, but sad to tell, I have been slacking off over the last few months.  Perhaps we have turned the corner.  More snorkeling and more fish.

   Early in the week it was someone's birthday, and to celebrate she joined me for a snorkel at Kahalu'u.  We didn't see anything very unusual, but the water was warm and clear, so it was an enjoyable swim.  Out by Surfer's Rock, we encountered a teenager-size Achilles Tang that was sufficiently cooperative to get his picture taken.  Achilles tang is one of my favorite fish and not nearly as common as it once was.  Part of this is because it is edible and the other part is that the whole ecosystem is on a down turn.  Probably because it favors the wild surge zone, Achilles Tang has never been common at Kahalu'u.  It was a pleasure to get a chance to photograph this cooperative individual in calm, clear water.

Aren't you glad you don't have to crawl out of your skin?

    On our second pass up the middle we found the carapace of a tufted spiny lobster lying in the sand.  considering how large and ornate this exoskeleton is, it was probably there not as the act of a lobster predator, but rather just the lobster engaging in a regularly scheduled molt.  This involves crawling out of his exoskeleton in the middle of the night and then going off to some hideaway for a day or two to grow a new one.  

    Most of us have just endured an experience that, had it gone the other way, we might have wanted to crawl out of our skin and go away for an extended period, so I suppose we can empathize with the lobster.

   On the way in I spotted a snowflake moray eel.  Finding myself in a fortuitous position, I got this little clip showing the eel crawling under a rock.  The film ends, but after an additional moment, the eel poked his head out from under his rock as if to say, "Is he gone yet?'  Oh!  Did I just sneak in a little more political commentary?" 

    For those of you on the other side, you can visit Donald at Crowbar College starting next June.  Don't forget your MAGA hat.  

   Back on the beach, I had showered off and we were just getting ready to go, when we saw a young couple getting ready to go snorkeling.  They were obviously tourists and the Reef Teachers were having

Lady Liberty pretending to be a small snowflake eel.

a field day plying them with coral friendly sun screen and unsolicited advice.  The guy looked a bit like Conan O'Brien, so he needed all the sun screen he could get.  The young lady was at least a little bit Asian and drop dead gorgeous.  I offered to apply her sun screen...No!  I did not do that...only thought about it.  But I did notice them carrying familiar flippers.  Having no boundaries what so ever, I approached and asked if they had rented their gear from my old buddy, Snorkel Bob.  Receiving an answer in the affirmative, I gave the Reef Teacher a run for her money, by boring them to death, recalling the last time I had seen Snorkel Bob's equipment.  It could be six months!  So the tourists are definitely back.  And at least some of them are worth a second look!

    The next day I went for an afternoon swim at the pier.  As I arrived, I realized that I had forgotten my fins.  Given this equipment deficiency, I decided to swim in the Inner Harbour.  The tide was super high and it was blowing about fifteen knots straight in.  The first thing I did was stub the bejesus out of my right middle toe.  At this point I was looking around trying to see what else was going to happen, when I noticed that the King Kam Hotel looked like it might be back in operation.  I mean, the barriers were down and there were guys moving stuff around.  I inquired of the young lady in the Kona Boys Surf Shack, a

The Surf Shack is open and the hotel will open on Monday.

convenient fifteen feet away from me and my throbbing toe, and she declared that the hotel would be open in five days.  So the tourists are back and now they will have a place to stay.  Its all coming together.

     Brimming with useful information, I had my swim, sans fins.  I made it out as far as the end of the little jetty, seeing a miniature humu humu and a full sized Christmas wrasse on the way out.  As I suspected, the gale created some motion on the surface and I sailed effortlessly back to shore.

   All of which brings us to today.  I arrived at the pier a little after 9 AM.  We had actually timed the swim so that the tide was not super high.  And it was clear and the water was only moderately cloudy.  Obviously I was hoping for the barracuda, so I swam back and forth on my way out, not seeing anything of inteest.  I turned it around about twenty yards past the last swim buoy and repeated the process on the way in.   I got to the pier right where the tenders pick up the sea going snitches (Scent of A Woman, the famous soliloquy) and just a couple stroke seaward and the beast was there, less than ten feet away.  

Great Barracuda, Kailua Pier November 2020

   I started taking pictures in this not perfectly clear water, aware that the one thing you can do to reduce the effect of cloudy water is get closer to your subject.  The barracuda was looking at me, not giving any ground, wiggling his tail every now and then in a manner of a brave bull pawing the earth of an arena.  My efforts were not helped by the knowledge that he was in an area where the coral seem to abound with eels, great big pictus and yellow margin eels,  Now just imagine, diving down to take a picture of a Great barracuda only seven feet away, grabbing on to a coral four feet blow the surface and immediately finding yourself in the vice-like and toothy grip of a large moray.  Sucks to be you, right?

   So I backed off a little, dove down and swam towards the eel without achieving one of those tantalizing hand holds.  After a couple pictures I took the movie you see here.  After a couple minutes the barracuda swam slowly away, leaving the coral and swimming over the sand.  As he swam over the lighter surface he became much more silvery.  I followed him for another couple minutes until I felt like I had created a sufficient amount of irritation.  

   As I was leaving the water a couple of about my age were entering.  I told them about the baracuda and the lady said that they had seen it every day this week.  And one day they swam with a manta ray right in the bay.  But did they get any pictures? And would they like to join me for a slice of crow washed down with a vintage made from sour grapes?  Actually they were very nice and I wish them all the luck in the world.  You too.  But not the First Fibber.

jeff 

  

Barracuda.

     Today was declared a vacation from the household chores that have been taking precedence of late.  I still made it out in the early morning to pull down some infernal vines and fill the barrow with debris in which the coqui frogs might be hiding.  But by 8:30 I had recovered from that and it was time to go swimming.  Although the fish have not been teeming at the pier, each of my last three visits had produced at least one worthy animal: the Freckled Snake eel, a  Bandtail Goatfish and the diabolical Devil Scorpionfish.  So it was with a certain amount of hopeful anticipation that I put on my suit and prepared for a snorkel at the Kailua Kona Pier.

     Sandra dropped me off, to go in search of broccoli and other delights and I made my way to the cubby.  I had just started to extricate my costume from the mesh bag, when I realized something was missing...my camera.  Undoubtedly it was lying deserted in the bedroom calling out pitifully, "Here I am, here I am."  Sometimes swimming without the camera is unencumbering, a throw back to the good old days.  But at that moment all I could think was, "I guess this means I'm going to see something good."

A Great Barracuda..photo wikicommons

   And the conditions were perfect.  As I waded in, the water was clear and the sun was beaming down through a blue sky.  I plunged in, put on my fins and took a few strokes.  There was a nice dead leaf, then a tiny Linckia starfish, about two inches across.  That might have made a nice picture, I thought. And then, right at the edge of the rocks, not even as far out as the first swim buoy, was a Great Barracuda!

   We see a Great Barracuda once every couple years.  The last one Sandra and I saw was at Mahukona two and a half years ago.  It was a big fish, pushing up to three feet, hovering in mid water, and it was having nothing to do with us.  I tried to sneak up on it and it swam away, never letting me get within fifteen feet.

  This fish was completely different.  He was seemingly content to be in an area where there were lots of people.  And the water was shallow and clear with the sunlight reflecting up off the sand, illuminating the barracuda perfectly.  As many of you readers may not be totally familiar with Great Barracuda, I'm including a picture from the internet and a link to a youtube video of fish that approximate the one I saw.  As in the picture, he was just a couple inches over two feet.  He was not the biggest barracuda I have encountered....but not the smallest either.  My impression is that he was heavier in the body than the fish pictured and I guess he may have weighed six or seven pounds.  With that heavy, muscular head, he could certainly take a chunk out of you if he was so inclined.

   Barracuda attacks are uncommon in Hawaii, but not unheard of.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfHejAz0Fe4

  The picture shows the tail angled slightly away, so you don't get a very good look. My barracuda had a large flag-like tail with bold black and white markings.  The video gives you a good look at the tail,

Finescale Triggerfish  Kailua Pier  October 2013

although I don't think that fish is as nice as the one I saw.

   I watched the barracuda for about three minutes, often within ten feet.  If I had had the camera I would have worked him for another ten minutes, but I got a really good look and swam off.  There was little of interest all the way out to the palace and some very cloudy, green water between the fourth and third swim buoys.  Closer in, the water cleared and I got a good look at a Finescale Triggerfish and a large Whitemouth Moray.  Both would have been subjects for the camera which was still on the bed back at the ranch.

   Before getting out, I patrolled back and forth around the entry, hoping for another encounter with the barracuda.  There was a big Peacock Flounder in the shallows and he let me watch him as his eyes twitched back and forth.  At least once that I can recall, a small barracuda was quite regular at the pier for over a week.  Maybe we'll get Sandra up for a little barracuda hunt tomorrow.   And believe me, we won't forget the camera!

jeff

For old times sake, a flounder taken with the Canon D10 in 2012. 

   

     

The Day of the Dead ... Greenwell's Coffee Is Open!

 Dia de los Muertos fuses with Halloween.  Mexico City 2018

     In the United States we celebrate Halloween, which is mostly a holiday revolving around children, costumes and candy.  To quote Alex Karras as Mongo in Blazing Saddles, "Mongo likes candy."  And so, many adults relive a bit of their childhood on this day, donning a bit of a costume and enjoying a piece of chocolatey goodness   Elsewhere, mostly in Europe and Latin America, the first and second of November are known as the Day of the Dead.  Families remember their departed and spend some extra time in the cemetery, cleaning, placing flowers and even partaking of their favorite foods and beverages. 

   Since Halloween is fun, almost anywhere that one finds himself in the Westernized world on October 31st,  he is apt to see children and young adults cavorting in costumes and getting candy from caring adults.  Meanwhile back in the U.S., as our Hispanic population has expanded,  many of us find ourselves observing the Dia de los Muertos.  The world has become a smaller place and, as we see here, sometimes for the better.

Omphisa anastomosalis, the sweet potato vine borer. Kona 10/20

   October 31st dawned bright.  I was recovering from my exertions in the garden in front of a fan with a glass of ice water in hand when Sandra summoned me.  She had found an unusual moth resting in our carport.  It was a smaller moth, perhaps an inch and a half in wing span, mostly white with some brown markings that made the front wings appear to be sculpted like bat wings.  On careful examination, this proved not to be the case.  We took pictures, me with the Olympus and Sandra with her Samsung phone.  Comparing our efforts, it was obvious that the phone was carrying the day.  We returned to the moth for another round, only to find a gecko eyeing him from a distance of only five inches.  Well. I shooed the lizard away and we took more pictures. 

    Over breakfast, Sandra noted that at the after end of the thorax there were white markings that looked very much like a Death's Head.   I thought that it looked a bit like Darth Vader and we invite you to contribute your impression.  After breakfast we went  out to the carport,only to find a gecko literally licking his chops and, not surprisingly, no moth.

  In any event, it was so distinctive that we repaired to the computer to see if it could be identified. Suffice it to say, we had no luck.  So the next day (it was now the Day of the Dead)  I emailed our pictures to Daniel Rubinoff at the insect museum in Manoa. 

   That night we experienced a milestone in our Hawaiian experience in the form of a sweet little girl named Ramey, dressed as a a fairy princess.  Our first trick or treater in almost two decades of living here. 

   Dr. Rubinoff wrote back the next morning, saying that he could not put a name on that moth, although he did have a guess that it belonged to the family Crambidae.  The following day, when he was back in the lab, he showed out pictures to a colleague who was able to name it as Omphisa anastomosalis, the sweet potato vine borer.  If you check this out, you will find that in some of the photographs on the internet the markings on the dorsal thorax are even more skull-like.  This is an agricultural pest introduced from South East Asia.  So when we go through the agricultural check points at the airport, it is not without reason.  Even Daniel Rubinoff can not keep up with the onslaught of introduced moths!

The Devil Scorpionfish  Kailua Pier 11/20

    Later that day Sandra took me swimming at the pier.  On the way down, we had to avoid a lady of color as she was wheeling her rolling suitcase down Alii Drive.  As I was preparing to enter the water, the suitcase wheeler arrived at the pier.  The poor thing was in another place, cursing the voices in her head at the top of her lungs.  Of late, a gentleman in a wheelchair has taken up residence in the shade of the building that contains the restrooms.  At this moment he took it upon himself to maintain order, bellowing at the lady to quiet down.  This didn't create peace, of course, but it did allow the troubled lady to ignore, for a moment, the voices in her head, and focus verbally on someone real.  On that happy note, I slipped into the bay.  

Devil Scorpionfish showing the fins.  Kailua Pier 2016

    The water was clear, pleasantly cool and mercifully quiet.  I swam out as far as the palace and back along the outside of the swim buoys without seeing anything of real interest.  I had made my final turn and was swimming right in front of the spot where, until six months ago, cruisers hopped onto the tenders to return to the mother ship, when I spotted a Devil Scorpionfish.  This was a nice big fellow in six feet of clear water.  He permitted me to approach and take pictures to my heart's content.  I even took a movie from a distance of a few feet, in hopes that he would swim a bit, showing off his colorful fins.  As it is, I have a wonderful movie from 2016.  The trouble is, it runs 44 seconds which is too long to fit
in this blogger's format.  In its stead, I am showing you a picture from the same day which displays those fancy appendages.   In the words of Nathan Lane in The Birdcage, "One does want a hint of color."

   It has been a year or two since I saw my last Devil Scorpionfish, impressive beast that they are.  The same can not be said for schizophrenics at the pier.  They have become permanent residents.  Give them their space and be prepared.  I guess that's the best we can do.

   On November 2nd, which is still part of the Day of the Dead, we attempted to mail a package of

Back in 2014 Sandra shares a kiss with Lola.

Hawaiian themed goodies to our grandson in Oregon.  At 9:30 the line at the post office was out the door.  (Presumably once the voting is completed the post office with be permitted to return to normal staffing.) We thought about going home but Sandra convinced me to drive up to Kealakekua. At that tiny post office, there was no line at all.

   Having sent our package on its way, I noted that it was only another mile to Greenwell's Coffee Farm.  We had noted a sign a few days earlier proclaiming a re-opening and so we headed over to check it out.  Indeed, they are open.  The tasting room has been remodeled and not for the better.  I liked the traditional Old Kona ambiance.  Perhaps virus related safety issues had something to do with this.  The pleasant shaded picnic area is still there.  Missing, however, was the friendly old dog named Lola, with whom we have shared many a sandwich.  The young lady behind the counter broke the news of Lola's passing and allowed that, on many an occasion, she, too, had shared her lunch with Lola.   We'll miss you, girl.

The remodeled tasting room at Greenwell's.  Now Open!

   Another thing that is missing is some of the coffee trees that until recently were both ornamental and produced choice berries.  This row of trees just outside the tasting room had been hit by coffee leaf rust, a fungus disease only recently found on the Big Island.  Apparently the only thing one can do is rip out the trees.   Bummer.

   There had to be some good news.  Indeed, the same gentleman who told us about the trees and the leaf rust took notice of us under the nearby orange tree.  He recognized what we were after and pointed to an area of the tree where he had recently seen a Jackson's Chameleon.  It took my sharp eyed sweetie only a minute or so to find the little green lady.  Whipping out her phone, Sandra was able to capture the picture you see here.   As an additional treat, while we watched the chameleon shot out her tongue to nab her breakfast.  What a delightful way to way to cap off the Day of the Dead.  

Jeff

A female Jackson's Chameleon smiles for the camera.  11/20  Photo by SKG