Underwater Wednesday: Bubba the Diver

Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to dedicate today's Underwater Wednesday to perhaps the silliest underwater creature I've ever seen...Bubba the Diver!

Who's Bubba the Diver?!

Bubba the Diver photographed in Cozumel.

It's Michael...proudly sporting his "bubba teeth." Yes, he actually took the regulator out of his mouth (just for a quick minute) to pose for this picture! Scary, huh?!

 

Happy Halloween!

Underwater Wednesday: Jackknife Fish

Today's Underwater Wednesday is a shy, delicate little fish named....the Jackknife Fish.  



©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Jackknife Fish photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• It's not much of a mystery how this fish got its name...the formation of the long dorsal and caudal fins resemble a jackknife!

• This unique shape has an important function...it confuses predators as it appears to be two fish instead of one.

• These fish are very recognizable with their black and white coloring, however, don't expect to see a big school of them...they typically swim alone.

• These fish aren't big underwater travelers...they tend to stick around in one place (a coral or rock formation) and swim around in circles!

• Jackknife Fish feed at night on crabs, shrimp, and worms.

• This Jackknife was about 7 inches in length.

• Michael photographed this fish at a depth of about 40 feet during a night dive.



Underwater Wednesday: Coney

Would anyone like fish tacos for dinner?

Well, we’re actually having some yummy homemade soup tonight, but whenever I see today’s Underwater Wednesday I think of fish tacos. Unfortunately, this “taco” just doesn't look too tasty...it's a little skimpy on the fish!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Coney photographed in Cozumel.

Photo Fun Facts:

• Michael stumbled upon this coney cutie tucked inside a piece of coral during a night dive.

• Coneys use coral pieces to lay eggs...and protect themselves from dangerous predators.

• Coneys are categorized as groupers.

• This coney was about 18 inches in length.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 50 feet.

Underwater Wednesday: Starfish

Today’s Underwater Wednesday may be a STAR, but it’s actually not a FISH. Huh?! The starfish is an echinoderm – a type of invertebrate marine animal.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Starfish photographed in Cozumel.



Photo Fun Facts:

 

• Since this isn’t a true “fish,” scientists are trying to replace the name “starfish” with “sea star.”

• They protect themselves from dangerous predators with their bony and calcified skin.

• Most starfish have five arms, but some species can have up to 40 arms. (Wow, I bet they are great multi-taskers!)

• And if a starfish loses an arm…no problem! They can regenerate what they lost.

• This starfish was about the size of a dinner plate.

• Michael took this photo at a depth of about 40 feet.

Cowboy Needs A Truck

Mikey (aka “Cowboy” to many of his friends) desperately "needs" a truck. ;)

When we purchased our land to build our home over six years ago, one of the first things Cowboy did was buy a good ole truck.

The truck’s name was Jimmy. (By the way, Jimmy is a "she"!)


Cowboy's old truck named Jimmy.

Jimmy was perfect. She was in good condition. She was heavy duty. She had low mileage. She had a solid sound (very important to Cowboy). She even had a touch of camo (we do live in Wisconsin, after all!) She was just an all-around great truck to use for our house/construction site and woods.

Cowboy loved Jimmy...and so did our teenage neighbor.

Last summer we hired this neighbor to help out with some yard work and he became obsessed with Cowboy’s truck. He told Cowboy all summer how much he wanted to buy Jimmy and even put in a lot of extra hours to try and convince Cowboy to sell her.

The problem? Cowboy wasn’t even thinking about selling her. But, being the big-hearted man that he is, he decided to help the kid out and somehow convinced himself that he didn’t really need Jimmy anymore. Alas, he sold it to him at a great, GREAT price.

Big mistake.

Where was my wifey intuition?! Why did I agree that it was a good idea to sell that truck?!

For over a year now, Cowboy has missed his truck terribly. It’s like he lost his second best friend. (I think there's a country song in here somewhere!) He's realized that "Gosh darn it Marti, we live in the woods, we just gotta have a truck!"

So, he recently started to look for a Jimmy II. He has very specific criteria with a specific budget.

Cowboy’s Truck Criteria:

• Make: Ford, GMC, or other American model
• Year: 1992 - 2005
• Other: (See Jimmy’s traits above. Okay, so the camo isn’t a "must-have.")

Cowboy has spent hours searching online and we’ve spent a lot of time driving around checking out trucks in car lots and random “for sale by owner” listings. But, nothing has compared to Jimmy.

Perhaps I need to keep Cowboy better focused during our outings….

Cowboy, I think this one has a little too much rust...and it's not a truck!

Umm Cowboy, this isn't a truck either...and definitely not in the price range!

So...the truck search continues for Cowboy and his trusty, patient sidekick :)  He's found a few more to look at and hopefully one of them will be THE ONE.

(He's just gotta find a truck...cuz every cowboy "needs" a truck!)

To be continued...

Underwater Wednesday: Octopus

Today’s Underwater Wednesday features one big head, two strong eyes, and four pairs of arms. We’re talking about the ah-mazing octopus, of course!

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Octopus photographed in Cozumel.

©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Octopus photographed in Cozumel

Photo Fun Facts:

• Because the octopus doesn’t have a skeleton, it can squeeze easily into reef crevices for protection.

 

• Three other defense tactics of the octopus include: changing colors to camouflage into the background, discharging an ink substance, and swimming very fast.

• The octopus is an extremely intelligent invertebrate with a super complex nervous system.

 

• This little guy was only about 8 inches long.

 

• Michael took these photos at a depth of 40 feet during a night dive.