Classic Photo Post

I haven't been diving in a few weeks, but I am going out tomorrow night. Local reports say that the La Jolla shores area has been cold (mid to high 40s) with good visibility. It should be a good night.

Here is a classic photo from right after I got my Nikon D80. In fact, I think that this was from my first outing with the camera. I took the photo at Casino Point at Catalina. The subject is a Garibaldi, the state marine fish of California. Garibaldis are a form of angelfish. They are fearless and willing photo models. Its a good thing that they are a protected species, because it would be easy to catch a lot of them. The lens used was the Nikon 60mm macro.

Bobcat Update

I haven't seen Bob in a week. I hope that he is doing well. In eight years of living here, he is the first bobcat that I have seen. Coincidentally, one of my friends in a neighborhood a couple of miles into the city (Paseo del Sol, for you locals) saw a bobcat last month.

Bobcat watch!

I've got a new neighbor! He's Bob the Bobcat. Okay, so it's not a very original name. I also call him Kitty, as in "Here, Kitty, Kitty. I want to take your photo." I first noticed something unusual when I found some clumps of fur in the backyard. Then, on Friday, I was sitting in the kitchen when I saw a large cat walk across the patio. Bob isn't particularly large, but he is a bit larger than the biggest domestic cat, but he's still small for his species. Maybe he is a youngster. I then saw him on Saturday afternoon. He passed by the third time on Sunday evening.

The picture below is the first picture that I took, through the sliding glass door. You can see his stumpy tail. You can also see how tall Bob is compared to my barbecue island. Bob walked past the island and then turned back to see what the noise was when I came outside. That's when I took the above picture.


You can find out more about Bobcats at Bobcat Information.

A few pictures of me

These photos are by my dive buddy Jeff Rose on the Truth VI Trip late last year. You can see how big my camera is.

Diving on the Bottom Scratcher

I got to go diving last week, only the second time since Maui. The local dive shop (Scuba Center Temecula) chartered the Bottom Scratcher out of Long Beach. The BS is one of our local favorite. The Captain, Greg, is a grizzled old coot with the pleasant habit of encouraging the divers to start their first dive by playing "Danny Boy" on his bagpipes. It sounds a bit like a funeral dirge, not exactly the way to start the day.

On the first dive, I found a new creature, the Mantis Shrimp. People say that this large shrimp has claws so strong and sharp that they can cut off a finger or shatter your camera lens.


I also spotted a Pacific Angel Shark hiding under the sand. Our presence disturbed him a little, so he shook off the sand and swam further into the kelp.


On the next dive, I found three Horn Sharks hidden in rocky crevices all within about twelve feet of each other. The first two were larger (up to 3 feet) and darker in color. The last one was young and spotted. This is the second one. Isn't he cute!


The Brittle Starfish all had one or two arms below the sand and their remaining arms sticking into the air to catch dinner.


Of course there were a few nudibranches. This one is called a Peltodoris mullineri.


We also found quite a few endangered Abalone. One of them was as big as two spread hands.


Thanks are due to everybody who put up with me for the first few dives. I was a little under the weather until a couple of Excedrin and a glass of water perked me up. I claim it was a mild case of sea sickness, but it might have been those beers and tequila with Tex and the guys in Long Beach the night before. Might have been, but probably not. :)

They're coming to America!

While scuba diving on a boat out of Long Beach, California, I saw this transport ship headed into the harbor. The Texas Highway is called a Ro/Ro car carrier - "Roll on, roll off". Built in 2003, it carries up to 6,043 vehicle. Wow!

Whale Watching in Maui

WARNING: This post contains a large number of whale photos. If you don't like whales, feel free to move along. There's probably a blog about housecats somewhere nearby.

On our last whole day in Maui, we went out whale watching with the Pacific Whale Foundation on their boat the Ocean Explorer. This is my favorite non-raft or RIB boat. It seats about 40 with most of the seats up front. Whale Foundation members get to board first and choose their seats (and at a discount, too, so be sure to join).


The whales were more active than I have ever seen. We had been seeing lots of them from the hotel balcony and beach, so we had high hopes. We quickly found solo whales and small groups to watch. We would find them by spotting their spouts and calling them out to the crew.


Most of the time, we would just end up with a presentation of the tale, if anything.



Sometimes the whales like to wave and slap their pectoral fins. Kind of a humpback hello.


This whale was cruising along on his side. You can see his tail sticking out of the water behind his pectoral fin.


This whale was fun. It was barrel-rolling through the water. It would roll onto one side and slap that fin, keep rolling onto its back raising the other fin, and then slapping the second fin on the water. This whale made several rolls. This photo was taken when the whale was on its back.


Of course everybody's favorite moment is when the whales "breach", or jump out of the water like in the next sequence of photos. They sometimes launch their entire body (except for their tail) out of the water.






I caught this one as it was crashing into the water onto its back. Although it looks like it is smiling, its really upside down.


And finally, here is a whale waving goodbye.


As we head back to the harbor (and were unable to pursue whales), we saw two or three whales doing a series of ten breaches in less than two minutes. It was an impressive display.