Newly Hatched Banded Peacock Butterfly

Earlier I featured a mature Banded Peacock with most shots of top of wings. This is a younger, maybe newly hatched, with more yellowish wing bands and more brown background color than the more mature one. In my garden of course!  🙂

 

Immature Banded Peacock butterfly
In my Roca Verde Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

Immature Banded Peacock butterfly
In my Roca Verde Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica


“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”
 ~Hans Christian Andersen

And don’t forget that I have a Costa Rica Butterflies PHOTO GALLERY.

New Anole & Rain!

Giant Banded Anole, new in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica
And I think he is different from the Green Tree Anole I posted earlier.
Maybe not. But I think larger and the stripes different.
I first saw this one on the tree stump I was preparing for my ceramic bird art.
I was waiting for the wood filler to dry so I could paint it & mount the bird.
It is now mounted as shown in yesterday’s post.
Rainy Season is back with rain every afternoon and today’s is especially good, started at 1:00 and still raining at 6:00!
The garden loves it!  🙂


I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I’m happy again.
~Arthur Freed
More lizards in my Costa Rica Reptiles PHOTO GALLERY

“Open Bird” Garden Art by Anthony Jeroski

“Open Bird” Garden Art by Anthony Jeroski, Garden of Charlie Doggett, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica, front door view.
Anthony just emailed another suggested name of “Holy Bird” for the holes in it, but holy has many other meanings for me.

Vertical View of Garden Art from front door.
Arrival View or First Impression from the Driveway
In some ways I like this view best – more subtle.

The fired clay sculpture was made of Costa Rican clay by my former next door neighbor Anthony and was fired at the University of Costa Rica the week before he left for his new art experiences in Spain. I wanted it to be like one of the flowers growing out of my garden. At first I looked for driftwood to mount it on but couldn’t find what I had in mind. Then I found this tree stump just tall enough to bring it up with the taller flowers. I think it is just right! Here it is on the stump before installed in the garden:

Once installed in the garden, it sort of looks like the bird is growing up out of the ground.
I got the stump at a rustic furniture shop, Muebles Rusticos
They mostly make rustic furniture out of items like this, including
the table I got there for my terrazzo between the two rocking chairs (next photo)
A place to sit drinks when sitting in the rocking chairs! Costa Rica loves it woods!
Most furniture and house ceilings are wood. And the rustics like this table are popular.
The car is last weekend’s rent car in my driveway in front of the garden.
I am so blessed to have found this house and to live so well for so much less than the retirement center in Nashville! Someone said they heard a rumor that I was moving back. What!? Do you think I’m crazy? I’m having more fun, living better, healthier and cheaper here than anywhere else in my life. Costa Rica is my home now! And I hope this same house for a long time! 

Little Yellow Sulphur

Little Yellow Sulphur is one of many yellow ones all around now.
Note that this is different than the other two yellow butterflies I’ve shown.
On my Plumbago flower, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun.
And find your shoulder to light on.
To bring you luck, happiness and riches.
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
An Irish Blessing

And I have a PHOTO GALLERY of Costa Rica Butterflies that you might enjoy. Peace & Love!

Common Rain Frog

Common Rain Frog (probably), though similar to Wet Forest Toad and
Rain Forest Toad. There are more frogs/toads here than anywhere, ID is difficult!
This one from my garden is waiting at my front door! About 3-5 inches, 10 cm. +/-
Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica
Click to enlarge photo.  A third the size of Giant Toad shown earlier.
Why are frogs so happy?
They eat whatever bugs them!
Ribbit, Ribbit

See also my “just beginning” Costa Rica Amphibians PHOTO GALLERY

Maraca Plant Added to Garden

Zerumbet
Zerumbet Ginger, Maraca Plant in Costa Rica, and in other places
Shampoo Ginger or Pine Cone Ginger (links are to Google photos of flowers)
It is the tall plant, two spears now with the
little yellow flower on ground at base.
They grow 7 to 8 feet tall and can have
a large cluster of flowers at base.
Click photo links under top image.

I’m really excited about this addition to my garden which I requested in the beginning, but they are very difficult to find. They surprised me the other day! In a year or two it will be developed more with multiple shoots and multiple flowers. The flower starts small and yellow like this one and by October will be more like a pine cone and will have turned red or sometimes orange. This may be the neatest addition to my garden yet! A Heliconia plant was in that location and they moved it to my front yard for more color there! It is fun to live in a garden! Plus I start traveling next week.

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion

White-stripped Longtail

Postscript: Back in 2015 I knew almost nothing about butterflies and incorrectly named this a “White-striped” (not stripped!) 🙂 But today I know that it is a Teleus Longtail. 🙂 But you can see the others in my White-striped Longtail Gallery.

Teleus Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica
Teleus Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica

And actually, I still have trouble identifying the many longtails, but know a lot more now than that firs year here in Costa Rica!  🙂  20 April 2025.

What’s a butterfly garden without butterflies?~Roy Rogers          🙂

See my Costa Rica Butterflies Photo Gallery.  Or the Teleus Longtail Gallery. 

¡Pura Vida!

Banded Peacock Butterfly

Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica
Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica
Banded Peacock Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica

“and when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful.” ― Ruskin Bond, Scenes from a Writer’s Life

See my Costa Rica Butterflies Photo Gallery.

 

House Wren?

Well, actually it is a Rufous-naped Wren who happened to come inside my house!

Rufous-naped Wren, Atenas, Costa Rica
(On the back of the couch in my living room! Looking out the screen window.)
Rufous-naped Wren, Atenas, Costa Rica
Making himself at home on a drink coaster. This is what happens with doors left open.

Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.

~Psalm 104:12 ESV 

Rufous-naped Wren, Atenas, Costa Rica
Singing outside my window in the Strangler Fig Tree

See also my Costa Rica Birds Photo Gallery.