Blog – Small Island, Big Life

Humble hermit crabs are Kwaj evening entertainment

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 30, 2019December 30, 2019

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Every Kwaj evening, a surprisingly comical show begins at sunset, when the beach suddenly begins to move.

Day 514: Pint-sized octopus steals the morning

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 28, 2019December 29, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogbaby octopus, featured, kwajalein, kwajalein atoll, octopus, octopus video, reef walk

She had spotted a half-inch long baby octopus, thin-skinned, translucent as the papery layer between orange sections. He seemed to be investigating the edges of the tiny pool, sliding out of the water to – we speculated – look for a bigger pool with a place to hide before reversing direction and flowing back into the drink.

Day 511: Marshallese weaving and Christmas trees

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 25, 2019December 25, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogfeatured, jeti-ed, Marshall Islands, Marshallese culture, University of the South Pacific

Among the treasures on our Christmas tree this year are hand woven flowers, stars, angels, turtles and tuna fish, deceptively simple with all their Christmas charm. Their basic silhouettes reflect a deep Marshallese weaving tradition that is still celebrated and passed to a new generation of women.

Day 500: Kwaj hermit crabs and the fly angle

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 14, 2019December 28, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogcrab experiment, featured, flies, hermit crab, hermit crabs, kwajalein atoll, Kwajalein flies, Marine Science Institute, Pacific Science, small island big life, UCSB

A 1983 Pacific Science article detailing a hermit crab project on Enewetak Atoll has direct connections to the pesky evening fly problem on Kwaj.

Update: 1 year of Postcards from Kwaj

By: Vanessa Wamsley September 4, 2019September 5, 2019

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We have a new goal: send a postcard to every state in the USA.

Day 176: So gross (and astonishing) I can’t look away

By: Vanessa Wamsley January 24, 2019August 7, 2019

Blogfeatured, kwaj, kwajalein, kwajalein atoll, sea cucumber, sea life, underwater pictures

Here on Kwajalein, sea cucumbers abundantly dot the swimming area and the reef, but we’re pretty grossed out by them.

Day 173: Octopus love

By: Vanessa Wamsley January 20, 2019August 7, 2019

BlogAtoll Life, featured, kwajalein, kwajalein atoll, Mr. Octopus, octopus, snorkeling, snorkeling with friends, tide pools1 Comment

I fell in love with Mr. Octopus when I walked into a November craft fair and spotted him across the room: towering above the sand and rock, beak reaching to the water’s surface over stiff extended arms, skin red, suction cups at attention.

Day 114: A Thanksgiving toast from Kwajalein

By: Vanessa Wamsley November 22, 2018August 7, 2019

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As much as I try to remind my kids that Thanksgiving is a time to practice gratitude, for Brad at least, Thanksgiving Day is all about the mashed potatoes.

Day 88: Snorkeling with puffers, day and night

By: Vanessa Wamsley October 29, 2018August 7, 2019

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I had the pleasure this weekend, to make the acquaintance of a very large white-spotted pufferfish during an afternoon snorkel. He and I first locked gazes underwater, his black eyes encircled by bright white rings and stark toothy beak in a wide O, as surprised to meet me as I was to spot him, perhaps?

Day 70: From small-town Nebraska to a dot in the Pacific

By: Vanessa Wamsley October 9, 2018

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From small town Nebraska, to a dot in the Pacific, we’re welcoming my parents to Kwajalein this week.