Category: Garden

Both my gardens and ones I visit

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Poinsettia Growing!

You may remember that I posted a photo of this poinsettia in my garden before Christmas last month (Dec. 18) with only 3 large red petals. Well, those tiny ones near the center kept growing, and I believe they will even more!

It was my indoor potted poinsettia for Christmas ’21 that I planted in the garden last January and someone told me that those potted ones would never bloom again when put in a garden. Well, maybe some don’t, but this one did!  🙂  And it just keeps blooming with a smaller flower coming in beneath this larger bloom, that I’ve been told are actually leaves that turn red. Just another fun experience with flowers and a garden!  🙂   One of those “little things” in nature that a retired old man finds joy in – while “Retired in Costa Rica!”  🙂

Garden Poinsettia, Atenas, Costa Rica

And I’m not finished sharing photos from my Christmas trip to Arenal Volcano National Park, but I may continue to throw in an occasional “local” blog post to keep Atenas in the news!  🙂

¡Pura Vida!

For more flowers, check out my Flora & Forest GALLERIES! And stay tuned for more butterflies+ from Arenal!

 

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Hummers & Honeycreepers

My last 4 species of birds from Arenal Observatory are in 5 photos because the Red-legged Honeycreeper male & female are so different, with only their legs matching!  🙂

Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird

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4 “Smaller” Birds at Arenal

With 4 birds in today’s post and 4 more tomorrow I will have shared all that I got useable photos of on the Christmas trip. And no, I got no “lifers” or first-time seen birds on this trip, but that is expected when you have photos of more than 359 species of birds in Costa Rica!  It’s getting harder to find a new species!  🙂

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica

Continue reading “4 “Smaller” Birds at Arenal”

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Toucan’s Sunset Visit Today

Yes, I’m still working on all my photos from Arenal, but with so few Toucans in my Guarumo Tree this year, I had to share this afternoon’s rapid stop by two Keel-billed Toucans to snack on some Cecropia Flowers before flying off to wherever they spend the night!  🙂

Keel-billed Toucan, Atenas, Costa Rica
Keel-billed Toucan, Atenas, Costa Rica
Keel-billed Toucan, Atenas, Costa Rica
Keel-billed Toucan, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

And you might enjoy my Keel-billed Toucan GALLERY.

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My 2022 in Photos

From the top of a volcano to the mangroves at the ocean’s edge and even in the tiny garden behind my casita, I’ve daily photographed nature for 8 years here and called that photography “Nature as Art!” and shared it in this blog.  🙂 

I like this Collins Online Dictionary definition:

Nature is all the animals, plants, and other things in the world that are not made by people, and all the events and processes that are not caused by people. 

Thus in nature I worship God and find my peace & inspiration from Him, the creator of it all!

Each year I find it difficult to select only 12 photos from the year and I first tried to come up with 12 “categories” of nature to make sure I selected a variety, but that became as cumbersome as trying to have a “photo-a-month.” So I decided to just stick with “12 favorites,” even if more than 12 are favorites! 🙂

So, however labeled, here’s 12 photos I made in 2022!

Happy New Year and Pura vida! 🙂

This 1st of 12 is looking out at the Pacific Ocean from Playa Cativo Lodge, Golfo Dulce, Piedras Blancas NP and the 12th photo below is a shot  looking out over the Atlantic Ocean at sunrise from Hotel Banana Azul. Coast to coast nature photos!   🙂

To the nearly 500 email subscribers: I hope you read on for the other 11 favorite photos . . .

Continue reading “My 2022 in Photos”

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Masked Tree Frog

The brown on either side of the eye appears to go through the eye and is thus “the mask.” Like many frog species, he comes in different colors making ID less obvious as you can see in my Masked Tree Frog GALLERY or read about the Smilisca phaeota on Wikipedia.  We found him in the fountain pool outside the Reception Lobby of Arenal Observatory Lodge.

Smilisca phaeota, Masked Tree Frog, Arenal Observatory, Costa Rica

 

 

 

¡Pura Vida!

And . . .

Historic Biodiversity Agreement in Montreal!  Tico Times article

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Rainy Morning Determination

This little Rufous-tailed Hummingbird was determined to continue eating nectar from the nearby Porterweed Flowers when he rested for a moment on this Red Ginger Flower. As I’m posting at about 11 am the rain has finally stopped and the sun coming out, so my post-poned morning hiked will be about now! 🙂 – P.S. – Right after posting this I start to go out and the rain starts again – Awww . . . shucks! More rain photography!

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Volcan Arenal National Park, Costa Rica.

Yes – the photo was made in the rain!

See more in my Rufous-tailed Hummingbird GALLERY.

¡Pura Vida!

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Kahili Ginger Lily

I asked my gardener to plant some different species of Heliconia in my Heliconia flower bed that then had only three species of the dozens available here. Four weeks ago he planted 4 different plants, not indicating what any of them were. This first one was the most different-looking for a Heliconia (which I just learned it’s not!) but I was still pleased to see that it is the first of the four new plants to bloom! I’m writing this ahead on Sunday with 3 photos, each a day apart (Fri-Sat-Sun), and if it changes as much as I expect by Tuesday (the 5th day) I will add another photo of a much fuller bloom for this post scheduled for Wednesday morning the 21st. 🙂

After searching heliconia species online and not finding this, I tried other searches and finally discovered that it is “Hedychium gardnerianum, the Kahili ginger, Yellow ginger lily, Kahila garland-lily, wild ginger or ginger lily.“ It is in the ginger family of flowers (Zingiberaceae), native to India, which makes it fine for our tropical climate here, and I’m already pleased with this new flower, even if not a heliconia! 🙂

For the emailed post announcement, I have only “Day 1” photo, the green plant with a green bud here (last Friday). You will have to click the “Read More” link to see the progressive versions of this beautiful flower! 🙂

DAY 1: The dark green, spiky plant – different from Heliconias! The green bud is at top center.
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Park Renovation Update: Playground

The park staff has finished everything for the playground quadrant except installing the new playground equipment which someone who knows says will be here in January. 🙂 Here’s the area of the playground with swings and monkey bars (or whatever) to go on that gravel area seen from two directions in these two photos.

There will be parent seating on three sides of this area.
Playground area on left. Canopies were for vendors during the Christmas Parade.

¡Pura Vida!

My gallery of ongoing park renovations arranged chronologically with most recent on top. Slow but sure! 🙂

REPORT ON THE RECENT ART SHOW: I sold more than a thousand dollars worth of photos when all was tabulated, much better than I expected! And I was even more pleased with how many local readers of my blog I have, with many showing up at the art show, and buying something and asking for my autograph in one of my photo books! It is nice to have your work appreciated, even when it is a hobby in retirement! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

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Garden Poinsettias

I was told that I could plant my potted Poinsettia from last year but it would not bloom in my garden because the ones they sell at Christmas are specially treated to bloom just that one Christmas and for gardens there is another species or variety. Well . . . they were half-way correct. Mine has three red petals (which are really leaves that turn red) and is nice in my garden, but not really the same as the big multi-red-leaves version I got before Christmas last year. And on my walks through town I also cellphone-snapped a photo of someone else’s Poinsettia which is obviously a different variety and probably one of the garden species that do bloom in the gardens. It is below this photo of the one in my garden . . .

The potted Poinsettia I planted in my garden last Christmas, partially blooming this year.
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