A moring at Kahalu'u including the juvenile Shortnose Wrasse

    This morning it was supposed to rain and that put a monkey wrench in the day's agenda, which was slated to feature doing the laundry.  This being Hawaii, where electricity is ridiculously expensive, we dry our undies in the sunshine on lines strung web-like across the lanai.  Its tres upper crust, dahling,  More like Dogpatch goes island living.  

The resident Milletseed, January 2026

   Anyway, we couldn't dry laundry in the rain, so I checked the wave predictor, which looked good, and the tides. Tides4fishing proclaimed that there would be a high low tide today, never lower than half a foot.  With the stars lined up like that, it was time to head to Kahalu'u.                                          

     We got to K Bay around 8 AM.  Yasuko was extracting parking fees from the tourists and the meet and greet part of the operation was being handled by Haley (with an H, like the comet.) She may be more competent in the fish watching department than some of the other reef teachers (God bless them, one and all), so I asked if anything new had come up recently.  As it turned out, she had been sick, so was not up to speed on what might be skulking about in the bay.

 

 Soon I was swimming.  the water was calm with modest current, as we had hoped and not too cold. 

     Early in the swim I spotted a the resident Milletseed Butterfly.  this guy may have lived here for a couple years.  Butterflyfish eat coral polyps, so his pickings are probably just enough for one as K Bay coral is on the decline.

Spiteful Cone, K Bay 2026

     Soon after, I found a large cone shell.  I'm calling this a Spiteful Cone, Conus lividus.  It was about 4 inches in length, which is pretty big.  I handled it carefully and got the pictures you see here.  It's not a very pretty species.  Hoover tells us it is fairly common, although I don't see it often.  I had been under the impression that it possessed a dangerous sting, but research tells us that it eats marine worms and its sting is painful, but far from fatal.   

I played carefully with this guy to position him for the shot you see.  At this point I was under the impression that the sting could be fatal, so I took care to keep my gloved hand away from the small, pointy end from which the siphon and the stinger protrude.

     Cone shells that kill and eat fish are the dangerous ones to humans.  In Hawaii that would be the Textile Cone.  In my experience, this species is rarely seen, and I've never seen one over two inches in length.  So, it would appear that vis a vis cone shells, we're safe.

     I made it over to the corner by the Menehune Breakwater.  As it was early and there were few swimmers, I was hoping for an octopus. We saw nothing of much interest there, so I back tracked and headed up the middle.  

     

    

         

 There, among the living corals, I had some success.  A juvenile shortnose Wrasse was schooling with some juvenile belted wrasse.   We had heard from Kathleen a few weeks ago that one of these had been seen, so I was very pleased, but not totally surprised.  This was a very active little fish, floating with the currents, making sudden bursts in unpredictable directions.  I followed it for a few minutes taking several still shots.  This was going nowhere so I took a short video.  And that is what you see above.  

 

 It took me about an hour to shorten this clip to a length that the blog would accept.  I hope you enjoy it.  

    While I was chasing the juvenile Shortnose Wrasse, a Freckled Hawkfish appeared at my elbow.  They are shy, but they seem so friendly, what with the freckles.  So, I'll leave you with Mr. Freckles and hope you have a great day.   

jeff

 

A Volcano Update

 As you may know, we live 90 miles by road from Kilauea, which hides from Kailua Kona behind Mauna Loa, a seriously large mountain.  It takes us two hours to drive to Hawaii Volcano National Park and any effects we experience from Madame Pele's eruptions have to circumvent the mountain.  In this same way, Mauna Loa protects us from hurricanes.  

   

A recent lava fountain at Kilauea

Since we have returned, Madame Pele (the Volcano Goddess synonymous in Hawaii with volcanic eruptions) has learned a new trick.  For the past few months, when Kilauea erupts, it shoots fountains of lava into the sky.  As we are pretty far away and my attention span is perilously short, it wasn't until the last few weeks that I realized just how high these fountains were.   Suffice it to say, I was surprised to find out that when the volcano erupts in such a spectacular fashion, it may be difficult to get into the park, for so many people in their cars are flocking to the sight.  But this isn't really a problem, because you can see the sky reaching lava from miles away while sitting in traffic.

Watch out King Kong!

   Two days ago, Madame Pele added a new twist.  This eruption sported the highest lava fountains yet, over 1,600 feet.  This is higher than two Space Needles stacked on top of one another or (if you are oriented to the east coast) higher than the Empire State Building.   (Watch out King Kong! Madame Pele gonna toast yo ass!)

    But that's not all.  This eruption forced me to learn a new word: Tephra.  Tephra is any solid material that comes out of a volcano.  The ash from Mount St. Helen's was tephra.  Kilauea has spouted some ash, but it also sends tiny glass particles, which Hawaiian's call Madame Pele's Hair, into the atmosphere.  In addition to the ash and the glass, this time Kilauea dropped rocks the size of golf balls as far away as Pahoa, 17 miles away.  The evening news showed the lacerated scalps of some unsuspecting pedestrians and a broken windshield or two.  

    Up to this rock dropping moment, we had been planning a trip to coincide with an upcoming eruption.  This little jaunt is under reconsideration pending a discussion with State Farm.  

   

The perfect libation.  Just add ICE.

All of the above leads me into last night's local news.  As the rain from the sky quickly percolates through the lava and into the sea, it is difficult to dig wells...the water just isn't down there.   The way they catch their water is by channeling what falls on the roof into a tank.  Some people use an above ground swimming pool.  And many of these people live near Kilauea.  It took the nice people who look after us only a day to decide that all the catchment water near the volcano was compromised.  

The state has provided a service for old folks who can't clean their roofs and tanks, someone will come and clean your roof, etc.  So, with any luck, the tiny, jagged glass particles won't end up in anyone's gut where they can cause a lot of damage.

  

   Or if you are an entrepreneur out in the wild west town of Pahoa, perhaps you could capture some of the runoff and put it in a bottle.  I understand that a few Mexican restaurants around Minneapolis might be interested.

jeff

       

The Exhibit: Sea Creatures of Kawaihae Harbor at the Kailua Kona Library

    Snorkeling has been slow this week, but on the other hand, the exhibit is up and running through the end of February.  So here are some pictures for those of you who can't make it to our library in the next five weeks.  Jennifer Kau'i Losalio Young (she's has somehow through marriage and her renewed emphasis on her Hawaiian heritage acquired a bunch of names), was a big help.  We insisted that she give herself a little credit and I, in turn, gave her a clay hermit crab.  Everybody's happy.  

 

Here I am standing in front of the exhibit.  If you look carefully, you will see that in the "About the artist blurb," there is a picture of Sandra and me butterfly watching on Mount Hood.  Jen insisted that we have a picture that included both of us.  She really appreciates how much Sandra brings to the project.

Here is the exhibit map that Jen put together.  She told us that when previous exhibits have been running, people will stand in front looking at the guides and attempt to identify all the fish, butterflies, and what have you.  It's gratifying to think that we might be making a tiny difference.

  And here is the brochure that Jen put together that we are attempting to place in strategic spots around Kailua.

     For completeness' sake, here are three pictures taken by schmoopie, showing each side of the diorama and the hermits and shrimp in the middle.  

To all you out there who support the blog, thanks a bunch.  If someone is looking at this and they have time to get to the library, pleased stop and say hHi to Jen.  You'll find her ensconced behind a desk in the young adult section.

Last but not least, I have really gotten into the clay hermits.  Here are a few of the new style hermits.  A bit like a carcinologist's paperweight, perhaps.

See you at the library, 

jeff

The Invertebrates of Kawaihae Harbor An Exhibit at the Kailua Kona Library January 15th

     While we have been mostly focused on the finishing touches to the upcoming extravaganza at the library, which opens this coming Thursday, I have squeezed in a little snorkeling.  

     On Wednesday, Sandra dropped me off at the pier.  The cruise ship was in, so I walked through the hotel and chose to snorkel on the Ironman side.  The tide was high; there was more swell than we expected, and the water was cloudy.  Not only that, but with the cruise ship tenders coming and going, I was restricted to the designated swimming area.  

Hazlitt's Hermit Crab

    I saw very little and the camera stayed in my pocket.  The only picture I took that day was of an Asian couple who posed for a photo in front of the Kona Boys shack.  After taking their picture (with their camera) I asked where they were from.  The gentleman said Toronto. The New York City of Canada, I replied and his wife chuckled.  They spoke with a thick accent, which I assume, as they were Canadian, was a French accent.  But of course!

   The next day, Thursday, the surf was down.  I checked the tides and decided that a morning swim at Kahalu'u was just the thing.  We arrived around 9 AM to find the gate locked and bearing a Beach Closed sign.  We saw people in the water, so we walked in and found our friend Yasuko on patrol.  She said that the park was closed for maintenance and would reopen in an hour.  I asked about swimming and she said the swimmers were breaking the rules, but nobody would stop them.  So it was OK for me to swim?  

Indian Caloria Nudibranch

    I put on my neoprene vest and hit the water.  I had been swimming for about ten minutes when the lifeguard got on his horn and told all the swimmers that the park was closed and we had to get out. As it turns out, this didn't make much sense because all the swimmers were tracking sand where the cleaners had just done their job.  I had one picture of a Hebrew cone for my efforts.

    Note to beach goers: Kahalu'u is closed the first Thursday of every month from 8 to 10 for maintenance.

    As per my opening, most of our time lately has been spent fine tuning the exhibit which will run from January 15th until the end of February.  A month ago, I solicited help from Hai On, our friend who got us started at Kawaihae years in the past, and who several of you out there in Blog-land have met personally.  Hai was too busy with his children and other relatives to take me snorkeling at the scene of the crime.  However, he has become involved with a project supported by iNaturalist, the populist arm of the California Academy of Science.  In lieu of a snorkel, he sent me the web page iNaturalist has devoted to his species list (two other observers are included in the compilation, but I only used Hai's).  There is a map of Kawaihae with itty bitty numbers to show where the species were found.

   Not to mention a veritable plethora of captioned pictures of the animals of Kawaihae.  Eureka!

Ornate Hermit Crab

    Of course, I had a lot of my own information, but Hai, being the veritable Tom Bombadil of Kawaihae, had much more.

    I had already produced six species of nudibranchs that I had seen at Kawaihae, along with several sponges, bryozoans and what have you.  Hai's list gave me two more nudibranchs and some other obscure animals.  I'm including here models of one of the nudibranchs.  New to you, unless you happen to be Peter Krottje...the Indian Caloria.  The Kahuna Nudibranch is safely tucked away.  As you can see, the Caloria doesn't lend itself to tucking.

    Additionally, over the last few weeks, I started making hermit crabs.  Joyce Kilmer might protest: only God can make a hermit crab.  Well, these are merely models, they can't walk around or pinch you if they end up, somehow, in your pocket.  But I think they are pretty darn good and despite the fact that they are not emblematic invertebrates of Kawaihae, they are common enough that they must at least be in the vicinity. And possessing a modicum of hubris, I'm including them in my diorama.

Seuratt's Hermit Crab

    It seemed like everything was coming together.  On Thursday I repainted the background.  this sounds easy but I was exhausted from ten minutes of snorkeling, so it was a significant task.  Then on Friday morning we staged a dress rehearsal.  We put the two panels on the table on the lanai, got out all the clay and paper mache figures with the intention of attaching many of them permanently to their new cardboard home.  We had everything in place.  

    At this point, I got out my little bag of rooster tail feathers.  Amazon calls these craft feathers and you can buy a couple dozen for about eight clams. 

     Suddenly disaster struck.  I had totally underestimated the circumference of a rooster quill.  Someone like Thomas Jefferson, who history tells us penned the DoI with a quill, would have known these things are not exactly small.  Aside from watching the handsome devils strut around our rural neighborhood, I possess a minimum of first hand experience with roosters.  

Is Kailua Kona ready for this?

    The craft feathers are destined to fill out two feather duster worms.  The small upright brown tubes I had fashioned on the cardboard (which Sandra declared to be more than a bit phallic) were each supposed to contain a dozen quills.  The best we could stuff in was five. 

   There is a current joke about Melania.  When asked if she was aware of Donald's venous insufficiency, she replied, "Yes.  Donald has a very small venous."  You can see this on youtue/SNL.  LMFAO.  I just learned that.  Isn't the internet wonderful?

    Meanwhile, my small venouses have been, much like MacDuff, untimely ripped.   MacDuff went on to kill MacBeth.  My little brown tubes went on to the garbage box. New tubes have been fashioned and I am debating whether or not I will repaint the background on both panels for the third time.  And do I have time for another substandard snorkeling excursion before the exhibit goes up? Stay tuned.

jeff