Putting the Sand in Sandy

     Before charging into this weeks tale, I'd like to bring you up to date on the progress of our divine snorkeling student.  Last Friday we moved Pastor Sunny over to the Ironman side of the pier.  She had

Blue Stripe Surgeon, juvenile  Acanthurus nigoris   Kailua Kona 2016

added a new pair of fancy orange fins to her equipment, and along with her full face mask she was ready to go fishwatching.  The sea was flat and the morning was sunny, so our foursome was full of confidence.  A bit of fiddling with the mask (apparently the cumbersome headgear isn't foolproof) and we were off to the races.   As before,  Sandra was guiding Sunny by the noodle, to which she was attached with both hands, like Linus with his security blanket.  In this fashion we made it out to the third swim buoy, seeing a nice variety of usual suspects in the cool clear water.  The big news is that halfway back to the beach Sunny released the noodle and swam free for about two minutes.  One can over do the freedom thing, however, and Sunny was soon clamped back on to her yellow noodle.

   When my son James was three he had a yellow blanket.  To separate him from the blanky was to court disaster.  At times, though, leaving it at home was the sensible thing to do.  In order to discuss the impending subterfuge, my wife and I code named the yellow blanket yerba buena.  Why we used that name, aside from the words beginning with Y and B is a mystery.  Yerba buena refers to the vegetable matter one might find in Mexican potpourri and the blanky was neither Mexican nor especially fragrant.  All that aside, one wonders if that yellow noodle is heading for a code name. 

   You can submit your suggestions for a code name in the form provided below or email them to Yellow Noodle Saimin, shadowfax302@gmail.com.  The winner will receive a lifetime supply of yellow noodles.  No need to ask the origin.

Holy Underwear!  The Christmas Season is Upon Us!

   To prepare for the Friday swim, I had snorkeled the pier the day before.  It was all usual suspects in moderately clear water, except for the cute little fish you see here.  As you see, he was out in the coral rubble twenty yards mauka of the the third swim buoy, chilling with a small school of juvenile convict tangs.  This cutie propelled me to the books.  I've decided it is almost surely a blue lined surgeon, Acanthurus nigoris.   The adult of this species comes in two flavors.  One is dark with the scale lines separated just enough by light bands to give it a finely striped appearance.  The less common fish is a light gray with a white band at the caudal peduncle.  Voila.  In any event, this is an unusual keiki and I hope you enjoy speculating as to what he might grow up to be.  

Albert the Alligator:  My mother said I was goin' to grow up to live in da White House.
Pogo;  I think she said you was gonna grow up to live in the Jail House.

   A day or two after we supervised Sunny as she swam ever so bravely with her noodle, Sandra and I went to Kahalu'u.  It was super high tide, so we were hoping for something good.  We didn't see another octopus, but I was lucky to find this large cone shell hermit crab chilling in the coral.  He let me hold the camera within a few feet and Mr. Olympus did the rest.  Sandra and I call the cone shell hermit crab Stripey and he is one of our favorites.  And, to the best of my recollection, K Bay is the only place we have ever seen this species.

Saint Peter's Little Blue Church.  Pure Kona.

    As we swam across the bay on this calm day with blue sky and fleecy clouds I nabbed this picture of St. Peter's Church.  You have my permission to use it on your Christmas cards, assuming that manner of greeting is part of your repertoire.

    As we were swimming, Sandra noticed that people were getting out over by the smaller kiosk, where the surfers enter.  This is the spot we call Rescue Beach, as we escaped a strong out going current on a blustery

Cone Shell Hermit Crab,  Kahalu'u 2016

day long ago by crawling ashore on that beach.  That was not my finest moment, but nobody died. Usually the shoreline at this beach is rocky, but as the tide was so high, we decided to try  landing there for old times sake.  As we came ashore there were more waves than expected and Sandy got that coarse black sand everywhere.

    She was still muttering about the sandy situation as, après la douche, we passed by the small kiosk.  To our surprise, the entire structure was fenced off.  Back at the main structure we asked our friend Mark the Reef Teacher what that was all about.  He said that the floor of the kiosk was deemed unsafe.  To repair the shelter and the rock wall that protects it, the county would have to get a report from a marine architect approving the plans and this would cost $100,000.  While this figure seems to me to be a little high,  I have no problem with the essence of his remark.  He  further reported that people have come to the county to say they would do the work for free, but that the county was unwilling to spend the money for the report.

      I can tell you from personal experience that, with its front row view of our favorite bay, that little shelter is (was) a fine place for a picnic.  I guess we need to wait for the election of President Trump and he will cut through the obstructionistic regulations.   And peace and goodwill will return to the Kona Coast.

jeff

"OSHA, Smosha." says President Trump.