charliedoggett.net
These two common butterflies were photographed in my garden last Friday – not brilliant but always interesting as all wildlife! See more of my butterfly photos in my Butterflies Gallery.
Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Because there is so much to write about now, I’m writing posts for several days ahead and these photos were made last Friday when I went grocery shopping after paying a bill at the Bank (which is also not normal and with fewer people, even on Friday).
Since no pharmacy in Costa Rica has surgical masks in stock, I am now using a bandanna tied around my mouth and nose when I go out such as to bank or supermarket. Bank employees have masks and rubber gloves (secret source?). My supermarket has now built a Plexiglas shield between the cashier and the customer (they can’t get masks either) and if I use my credit card I must insert it in the machine myself and then remove it, all for the protection of their employees which I really appreciate!
PLUS the next person in line must stay behind the black line (6 ft. from the cashier). People are taking the pandemic seriously here (except for a few Expat American Republicans here who are still saying it is exaggerated! Lord save us from Republicans, a minority here among expats, thank goodness!) and because Costa Rica takes it seriously, we have fewer cases here and fewer deaths. And businesses are working hard at protecting both employees and customers. Plus many businesses are closed now which is sad for those employees, but the government is helping them some. We must stop the spread of Coronavirus!
Note of explanation for below: The photo of my cart behind the black line has a sign which indicates it is a line only for the elderly, handicapped and pregnant women (just like the banks have always had, but new here). The black line is as close as the next cart should be to the cashier (caja).
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Signs posted by city downtown:
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
The Green Orchid Bee or Euglossa dilemma (Wikipedia) is a Central American Bee found only here naturally (and occasionally in my garden) though recently introduced into South Florida (an invasive species there). I like them for their iridiscente green color added to my garden from time to time. I do have a Bees Gallery for more photos of this and other bees here. Just one of the thousands of interesting insects in Costa Rica that I enjoy watching! 🙂 See also my Butterflies and More Insects Galleries for more bugs!
In my garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica.
¡Pura Vida!
I got usable photos of 19 species of birds from my little one-hour walk yesterday morning, 6-7 AM, in the neighborhood on Calle Nueva, the little country gravel/dirt road that separates Roca Verde neighborhood from the adjacent farmland. Nineteen is not bad and as good as some longer walks I take when at expensive birding lodges! 🙂 PLUS, if my identifications are correct, I got 3 new species, “lifers,” for me, though I may get corrected by an eBird expert reviewer after I post them on eBird. 🙂 The new ones are Giant Cowbird, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher and a Yellow-green Vireo.
This road and my own street uphill above my house always yield a lot of birds early in the morning. And I have another neighborhood further away that I intend to try for even different birds, a place my birding friend Margaret found to be good.
“Every bird, every tree, every flower reminds me what a blessing and privilege it is just to be alive.”
―
¡Pura Vida!
Like Costa Rica’s emblematic Sloth, the people here are always smiling and prepared for come what may – even Coronavirus! Feature photo is by the Sloth Rescue Ranch, not me, and from Tico Times. Read on to see how better prepared little Costa Rica is than the big ol’ USA and thus we will get over it quicker too! 🙂
Thursday’s Tico Times edition reminded us of how better prepared we are than a lot of bigger countries for the pandemic, like our great university is already making emergency respirators for when/if needed at only $140 each! (You think the U.S. would ever do that?) People are ready to sacrifice financially for the 25 days we are closed to all outside tourists (and it will be much longer before tourism is back to normal–like by next winter we hope). Here are the specific articles this week in Tico Times about the pandemic’s affects on Costa Rica:
Costa Rica now has 201 cases of COVID-19 (as of Thursday past)
UCR Develops Emergency Respirators for $140 each!
Zero Tourists allowed here for 25+ days!
Read why Christopher Howard is glad he lives in Costa Rica during this world-wide pandemic: The Best Place to be in the world before, during and after COVID-19 I agree with him! 🙂
“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.”
¡Pura Vida!
And for photos of why I like Costa Rica so much, see my gallery:
Well . . . that is sort of what it looked like this morning on my return home from birding on Calle Nueva (our nearby country lane). Birding was great but I still don’t have all the wild bird photos processed, so here’s the domesticated ones I saw! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Okay . . . not really new, but like new to me as my 5 year old rockers on the terrace had become faded by the sun to nearly white in color and the old cushions were dirty, ugly and too small. I threw the old cushions away and hired one of my very skilled gardeners to sand (even in the little grooves of the carvings) and re-varnish the two chairs on his own time (he had earlier painted 3 of my flower pots much to my satisfaction). I am very pleased with his work on these two matching chairs and their “new” look now. 🙂
Sometimes when you are “quarantined at home” the little things make a big difference! 🙂 Social distancing from my house in tropical Costa Rica . . .
I enjoy the small things.
~Michael Buble
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
See also the photo galleries of my house:
P.S. I’m writing posts 2 or 3 days ahead now, but decided last night to add this postscript note that I hope to get up at 5:30 this morning and go walking for birds again on Calle Nueva, so look for that birds post in 2 or 3 days! A friend walked it yesterday morning and saw a parrot and a trogon. Hope I’m as lucky! 🙂 I am so blessed! Retired in Costa Rica!
Though we have fewer cases of the Coronavirus here in Costa Rica, our government has done a better job than many countries of educating people and keeping the number of cases low and thus as an “older person” I am staying in my house now (as recommended) except for these limited people contacts:
And what keeps me from having “cabin fever” or boredom staying at home all the time? Well, that is easy to answer! I keep doing what I’ve always done since I retired in Costa Rica (minus the travel now):
(1) Birding that I can still do early mornings right here in my own neighborhood or even walk to other parts of Atenas away from the crowds solo as I prefer anyway.
(2) Blogging started becoming a regular thing for me back in 2014 before I even moved here as I focused then on the decision-making of such a move and now it is my replacement of many failed attempts at journaling, plus I actually have regular followers now and enjoy helping others who are considering retiring in Costa Rica, plus it is still a report to family and friends back in the states who want to keep up. Its a fun and creative outlet! 🙂
(3) Life History Recording (very slowly in the background) as it becomes much of the undated portion of my blog/website, the way WordPress blogs/websites have been organized from the beginning (dated blog & undated “static” pages). And in some ways a part of this history is my . . .
(4) Photo Gallery which was originally going to be pages of this WordPress website, but because of the future potential problem of using too much memory and slowing down access, and me not liking their gallery templates that well, I chose to use a photo gallery specialist at a separate address with a link from my site menu where I can put the full-size photo files (WP wants me to “web-size” photos). Though it is only a click away from my website/blog Home Page, it is actually located on a different server where I have a plan with unlimited space, thus putting all of my important photos, both historical and current on it. And I’m still working on the historical part! 🙂 Hey! I have thousands of photos made just since 2000 and still picking through them for the best to put in the gallery. And oh yes, I chose SmugMug.com as the best looking and easiest to use of the many options today! (Having tried Flickr & Pbase.) And from my gallery you can even order prints or wall art of any of my photos! 🙂
(5) Spanish Lessons Online now! No people contact there! 🙂
(6) The heaviest people contact I’ve had in the past was in almost monthly trips to lodges all over Costa Rica. I postponed two trips, one next week to San Gerardo de Dota and my May trip to San Isidro del General, which had included going on public bus (not healthy now). After that I’ve planned a July birthday trip to Manquenque Lodge in a tree house room as I turn 80 and things will have to get pretty bad for me to miss that! 🙂 I’m using my personal driver to get there and its in “the middle of nowhere” jungles where there should not be any virus. But I wait and see! 🙂
“At this point, it is believed many of the world has come in contact with the virus. And for that reason, we all have to experience social distancing and self-quarantine at various levels.”
¡Pura Vida!
RAIN — RAIN — a real rain with a lot of water yesterday afternoon, not the little sprinkle we had on the 24th. This is good news! The gardens and trees will love it and maybe the rainy season is starting early this year – we will see. But at least I don’t have to water for a few days now! 🙂
I still find it hard to show rain in a photo, so I won’t share my effort. But this is a big deal because there has been no rain since early December and we sometimes have to wait until May! I am not living in a rainforest, even though nearby. The Central Valley is in between the cool/wet cloud forests and the hot/wet/humid rainforests, thus our claim of “the best weather in the world” needing no a/c or heat ever here! But we do have rainy and dry seasons and it is still considered “tropical.” 🙂
SETTING THE WAY TO GO FOR ALL GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS COMBATING THE PANDEMIC
The United Nations (UN) representative in Costa Rica has recognized the “exceptional and innovative” way in which the country has responded to the Covid-19 Pandemic. “Under the leadership of the President of the Republic (Carlos Alvarado), the Minister of Health (Daniel Salas), the Emergency Operation Center (COE) and all related institutions are truly developing an inter-institutional response and an exemplary articulated response,” was said by Alice Shackelford, UN coordinator in the country.
Shackelford highlighted, for example, the fact that the National Liquor Factory (Final) is producing gel alcohol, instead of Guaro Cacique, to supply demand and that “Correos de Costa Rica” is providing facilities to distribute this product to the population. “There is a coordinated, articulated response, also thinking about an innovative system that can help us against Covid-19,” said the representative.
She states that “on behalf of the United Nations System we want the citizens to know that the country is being accompanied to develop this response by the different implementation plans to ensure that no one is left behind.”
Hackelford indicated that they are supporting the communication and development of the country’s official’s message to the population about the novel Coronavirus, with a more specific focus on more vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples, children and adolescents, senior adults and people with disabilities to ensure that no one is left behind.
On Thursday morning the country had registered 69 people infected with the virus, one of whom died last Wednesday and five others continued hospitalized. The first fatality is a retired doctor (pediatrician), 87 years old, who was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of the San Rafael de Alajuela Hospital.
Daily, the health authorities offer a press conference to inform the population about the new cases, the measures to be taken and insist that citizens do not leave their homes unless for urgent needs. Among the provisions that have been taken as a result of the pandemic, there is the suspension of classes until April 13th, the cancellation of large public gatherings, the suspension of sports activities and the closure of discos, bars, and casinos.
Also, as of this Thursday, all borders are closed for the arrival of foreigners, while nationals and residents entering the country will be placed in mandatory quarantine. For its part, the bank system will prioritize the adjustment of debts for those affected by the virus, and the National Rehabilitation Center (Cenare) was designated as the exclusive hospital to attend patients with Covid-19.
¡Pura Vida!
“El gorjeo” or “tweeting” or “chirping” is what many of the birds are doing every morning now and earlier than usual, before sunrise! But none of the birds are singing as much as the Clay-colored Thrush or Yigüirro it is called here (feature photo), the National Bird of Costa Rica. Yigüirros have started their pre-rain singing earlier this year, which is usually in April. This chirping is why it is the National Bird with tradition saying they are calling in the May rains or the “green season” as it is called by many here. Hopefully this earlier singing means the rains will come earlier! Listen to a recording of song 🙂 And soon the wind stops blowing which is almost constantly now. I AM READY FOR GREEN SEASON! 🙂
In one sense it is a little like “Spring” in the north, but maybe a backwards spring as we move from hot-dry-windy to daily rains, cooler temps, greenness & more flowers. It is a tropical paradise that most tourists miss because they want to avoid rain. 🙂 But most of us who live here prefer it to the “dry season.”
“Don’t let the rainy season deter your visions of outdoor adventures! This is Costa Rica’s most beautiful time of the year, when every landscape explodes in vibrant colors, with blooming flowers and blossoming fruit trees, not to mention cooler temperatures.” ~costarica.com
¡Pura Vida!