Can you spot the giant moth in Steven's hanging plant? I'm pretty sure it is a Black Witch Moth, which in Hawaii is a symbol of someone's soul visiting you.  Maybe it was Steven's grandmother :) I like to think that it was...

The other day on Coconut, I was feeling nostalgic and decided to take a walk around the island.  It is funny how I took it for granted everyday that I could live somewhere where I could take a walk and see sharks, beautiful coral reefs, exciting invertebrates, native birds, and of course the wonderful octopuses.  They seem to have acquired a new addition to the shark lab, a small tiger shark.  It was a bit skittish, but I got a picture.

 Here are the little sandbars they have inside the lab. I know I've taken pictures before, but I decided to do another batch.

I went to the touch tank and took a picture of my favorite hermit crab, the Hawaiian Zebra Hermit crab. I love their blue eyes and orange legs.  I even love their weird shriveled up posteriors.  Have you ever seen the back legs of the hermit crab? It looks like they stayed out in the sun too long and they got all wrinkly and dried out like a raisin.  I always feel sorry for a naked hermit crab, all vulnerable and scared looking.

Here is a ubiquitous feather worm, extending its feathery feeding tendrils in the water picking up particulates to eat :)

The last female I will keep in captivity has laid eggs. Here she is with her precious strands of pearl-like eggs.  She will protect them until they hatch, likely in early December.

The obligatory sunset shot...

Last week, I got some ceramic pieces back that I am a little happier with than those original hand built pieces.  There are two cups, the one on the left is obviously an octopus and the one on the right that looks like a bird pooped on it was supposed to be a dragonfly.  I really like my little bowl on the right too--I think the colors turned out well. It was one of those rare moments where I looked at the rack of finished pieces, thought "ooo, that's nice, I wonder who made that," and I picked it up and it was mine!

A little care package from my dad.  This made me very happy :) Back to work. I've got two chapters under my belt now (just terrible first drafts, but it's a start). Going to try to get the third one done this month and then I've got a committee meeting coming up next month. Then, one more chapter and I should finally be able to call myself a doctor...