Kimberly, my beautifully talented sister, went Christmas tree shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend with her family. Pangs of jealousy and want shot through me. Not only because I was not there with them for the holiday, but also because we would not be getting a tree as well. Sure, we have a small wooden one for the boat, but it is not the same. Yes, even living in paradise, with the one you love, still has you wanting more. Greedy little thing that I am!
A few days later, Matt took me snorkeling in the little protected reef where we are anchored within the Amanu lagoon. It has been calling to us to explore for a few days, but the winds have been such that it was not conducive to good visibility.
There were not many fish, but there were tons and tons of ocean christmas trees! I love these little creatures (yes, they are live)! When they are out in their full glory, they look just like miniature christmas trees.
Sure, I can’t smell them or decorate them or even enjoy them for a month like you landlubbers do. But I have living, breathing, colorful christmas trees.
Love the variety of colors on each christmas tree
Each worm (yep they are worms) sprouts two trees. You always see two by two in the same colors. They also seem to like the same type of coral. Check out the black tree with a white top (3rd photo down on left). Just love all the colors.
A Christmas Tree in every nook
They are fascinating and fun to play with. Probably not nice, but I love to watch them disappear and reappear.
We also found loads of clams with a rainbow of lips.
Colorful clams
Several really large oyster shells – all growing upside down with little things that look like teeth.
Large Oyster Shells
A beautiful, little starfish sitting in the middle of the sand with nothing else around her, large sea cucumbers, and my own little fish enjoying the snorkel.
The reef is full of beautiful coral sculptures that invite closer to visit its communities.
The reef itself is beautiful. The top photo is the reef above water and the rest are below water.
When they get scared or feel threatened, they suck themselves up into their little tubey thing. These are my favorite shots from this snorkel. I love the pink and white christmas tree.
Love the pink christmas tree
We may not have access to all of the holiday trimmings, but seeing these sweet christmas trees brightened my holiday season!
Events from this blog post occurred around the 1st week of December, 2020. Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.