A sketch

A sketch.  Of what??  And what needs correcting?

I thought about creating a free online coloring book about the coral reef, and all the critters and stuff.  Y'know what I mean, like, wow, man.  (lol)  I'm still considering it.  There' so much ignorance of what's there, and how it lives.

I might still do that.  For adults, as well as kids.  Children.

OK  things to do...

Thanks for stopping by my slowww blog.

I dislike winter.

I want to say I hate winter,,, Even here in the Caribbean! Yes, the seasons change here, a lot.

Polydamus Swallowtail

Lemon Swallowtail(from SE Asia: uh, oh...)

but I am trying to delete "that word" from my vocabulary, like I cleaned up from the old hippie s---f---d--- dumbie talk. Ha, once I met a young guy from southern California, and he said, "----man, like, ----, y'know what I mean!!" I replied, "NO!! I have no idea what you're saying! Speak English!"

Poor boy, he was stunned, and never really replied, couldn't, and although we could have had many interesting converations, we didn't. "----man! Like ----!y'know-what-I-mean?

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar munching passion fruit vine

Winter has begun early this year, with two Canadian, blame it on someone!, cold fronts bringing rough seas all the way here, one thousand miles southeast of Miami.

Owell.

Gulf Fritillry Butterfly on Bouganvillea flowers

Hold still!! Wish I could get closer!!

I am separated from my paints. I am still here in the rental, the house has most of my stuff, ten miles, 45 minute drive away. My income, from the USA stock market, has shrunk like a man's haha in an Alaskan blizzard. But this might be good, might force me to get moral support and business help and begin selling my little paintings.

"White Peacock" butterfly, with birdbites

In the meantime, I'm running around taking photos of caterpillars and butterflies!! Gadzooks, they're beautiful!

But I miss my fishies, critters, and corals.

OK, worn out for now. Thanks for visiting me!

Melissa

Slow Times

Hello,

I'm stumbling along slowly here, not diving because it is too rough, from cold front from Canada or someplace.  Big surf, murky water.

Here are a couple of photos for you.

The fishie is a Creole Wrass, and, yes, he's standing on his head.  If you look closely, there's a little black and white fish along the middle of the Wrass''s back.

Milling around.  These fish usually swim up in the water column, high above the reef.

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But, sometimes they come to 'cleaning stations', here, you can see, close to the bottom fish, a little yellow and blue juvenile Spanish Hogfish.  His job is to peck off any parasites or fluff he can find, from the Wrass, or other fish that come by, and pose.  The pose is usually head down, with an open mouth.  Fins a-flutter. 

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The first fish picture I posted here has a ?? another cleaner fish, the black and white striped little guy.  Sorry about no name, they all run together, sometimes.

OK, soon to get going again on this, my dear blog.  Thanks for looking in!

Hi, there,,,,

I'll post something. Still not painting, stressing with the move-that's-taking-forever.

I named this coral "Bad Hair" All those things sticking up are Rope Sponges. The little bushy things in the sand on the left are corals---animals, not plants. More on them in another post.
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Looking a little closer, those yellowish corals are Maize, or Butterprint corals, a type of brain coral. The wine colored worm looking things in the bottom right are rope sponges, I don't have my book here, so I can't give a better name. Over on the left is a spotted looking thing, a Great Star coral, with a Christmas Tree worm. (click on the image for a larger view, then the back button to come back here)

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Here is aother view including two Christmas Tree worms. They feed by capturing microscopic critters that float by, and get caught in their feathery,,,, umm, I don't know the name, Mantle? haha. Besides white and red, they can be yellow, brown, black, and maybe even blue. If you get very close, they instantly zip back into their shell that runs along under the surface of the coral.

The two star corals have different kind of algae that give them their, in this case, pink or orange/rust colors. The rust colored coral is feeding a little, the polyps semi-open.

OK, thanks for stopping by!

moving

Hi,

Wowee, what's happened to me?  Am in the process of moving to the new old fixer upper house I bought.  I just don't have any energy.  One or two carloads a day.  I'm getting very bored with not painting, it'll return soon.  OK, sorry I don't have anything interesting for you this post.  I'll feel guilty and come up with something better!

just found this---

Why photography was invented...

http://www.greatdanepro.com/Chiquitita/index%20a.htm

I don't know.

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Why am I not painting?
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