I Found a Pole

If you read my about me you know that I “[find] wonder in the ordinarily mundane” (#wordmagic) and this post & pole will serve as proof.

I found a pole in the ocean and I loved it.

Two poles to be precise. All ocean-goers know the excitement of finding any big structures in open water. It means marine life will flock to it… just as we do. Guess we aren’t so different from animals after all.. ARE WE???

Swimming next to them made me feel so small. Here’s my tail for scale:

Sirenas(Spanish for mermaids) are actually very real and have legs and elongated carbon fiber fins… as seen here. In this picture. Of me. Specifically of my legs\tail.

Look I’m a mermaid. So whatever I am is what a mermaid is. That logic is sound and if you can’t follow I can’t help you.

Young bar jacks and a few sergeant majors circumnavigated the pole top to bottom the entire time I was near, picking off little morsels and staying just a few cautious feet away.

At one point I took note of this big snook and chased him around… snapping pics with crossed fingers. I got a few good ones.

See him down there? ^

Is a pole on the ground still a pole? Yes, obvío.

Inside of dead pole:

Up & back down again following my little blue bar buds.

Hiding under the big pole were some parrotfish and a cute pork fish.

I hear parrots are delicious but you shouldn’t eat them… Does anyone know whyyyy?

I’ll give you the time it takes to admire and scroll past this pic to think about it.

Parrotfish are ravenous. They eat a lot of algae… and yes they eat coral too but the benefits outweigh the costs… they basically clean up reefs. When a rock (or coral skeleton) is covered in algae, coral polyps (baby coral) cannot grow on it. So these parrots basically demolish algae and provide safe landing for highly endangered coral pups. Actually, some studies show that overfishing of parrotfish has been more detrimental to corals than climate change. In Florida, I am pretty sure it is illegal to eat them\kill them.. I know for certain that you cannot spear them but I couldn’t find anything about fishing for them. However, people with proper licenses can collect them for aquariums but just because something is legal doesn’t make it right… RIGHT? Right. How scientific do you want me to get on this blog? Because…

*wipes nonexistent dirt off shoulder* I can get real scientific ❤

There was a hog too. Chased her around for a bit.

Question. Hogfish are more closely related to which of the following:

A) Wild Hog (lechón)

B) Snapper

C) Parrotfish

Yes, we call them hog “snapper” but hogfish are actually wrasses which make them most closely related to wild hogs like the ones out in Africa.

JUST KIDDING… just wanted to make sure you were awake. Wrasses are very closely related to parrotfish ❤ They both are very colorful groups of fish and honestly do look alike.

The give away is that parrots have those big buck teeth to scrape up coral and algae while wrasses have something a little different going on. You know that saying thick lips sink ships? It’s was about wrasses… probably not but let me live my life. Their lips are thiiiiick…  because they have protractile jaws which allow them to very quickly extend their mouth outward to snap up prey. Thick lips kill fish more like it. #science

This is just height of “me-time.” Me & Bullet taking pics and chasing fish.

Those orange patterns of life are made up of sponges, fire coral, Christmas tree worms, and other such sedentary cuties. Yes, fire coral is cute… and ANNOYING.

SUPER IN THE WAY.

LEAVES SCARS FOR DAYS

But cuuute.

I imagine my future husband will describe me similarly.

The patches remind me of that perfect crispy layer on the top of homemade brownies… umff. Hay hambre (= “there is hunger” in Spanish)… (= send me brownies)… I make some bombass brownies guys… *currently thinking if I have all the ingredients to make some real quick*

Alas, no. I do not. I push forward devoid of chocolatey satisfaction.

Isn’t life stunning?

If you aren’t convinced yet check out these two they’re my favorite from this dive:

Try to tell me there isn’t magic there.

I’ll tell you to go see a therapist…

 

(which is what I call boat dealers)

 

 

Stay Fascinated.

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