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| This Grasshopper, like the Leaf-cutter Ants finds my garden to be a cafeteria or at least a dinner plate! |
See my “Other Insects” Photo Gallery
Dina Yellow Butterfly +
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| Dina Yellow butterfly My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica On my “Once de Abril” flower |
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| Dina Yellow butterfly My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica On my “Once de Abril” flower |
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| Unknown Insect, similar to a Green Orchid Bee except for red tail Caught accidentally while photographing the above Dina Yellow My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Here’s a Dina Yellow seen in my garden last year:
http://costaricadecisionprocess.blogspot.com/2015/05/leuce-yellow-butterfly.html
I know, I’m starting to repeat butterflies and even some birds, but hopefully the next few days will be fresh photos as I travel again. John Rasbury is here from TN and just bought a house here in Atenas to rent out as part of his income when he comes back later to retire somewhere in Costa Rica. The next four days we will be in Guanacaste (northwest corner of Costa Rica) where he will look at possible other rent houses in Tamarindo and Flamingo Beach. I’m tagging along and then we will be tourists and do a birding float trip in Palo Verde National Park on a river. Hoping for some new birds in a part of the country I have not been yet.
Polydamus Swallowtail
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| Polydamas Swallowtail On my “Quince de Abril” Flower My garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
My Butterfly/Moth Photo Gallery with 50 species!
Simple Beauty
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| Heliconia Bud The hint is almost as beautiful as the exotic tropical flower that will follow in my garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica. Shot from my little garden bench by the door. |
My Garden Art a Tourist Attraction?
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| My Garden Art is visited by other residents in Atenas and Anthony, who lives next door, likes to show off his work to friends/clients. |
Another Unidentified Butterfly/Moth
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| Unknown In My Home Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica Doesn’t quite match photos of crackers, black witch, duskywing or moths. |
BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS IN COSTA RICA:
There are about 1,251 species of butterflies and at least 8,000 species of moths. Butterflies and moths are common year round but are more present during the rainy season. Ten percent of known butterfly species worldwide reside in Costa Rica.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Costa_Rica
And be sure to see my NEW Butterfly Photo Gallery on SmugMug with 46 species as of today.
Maraca Plant Blooming
My “Maraca” plant as it is called in Costa Rica or “Shampoo Ginger” in Asia and the states in English has greatly grown with many multiple plants and now a first bloom for this year. Both photos are from the hill above my garden because the bloom is difficult to see from the walkway. I expect more blooms soon. This one was hidden by my ground-cover and spreading ferns until the gardeners cleaned them out (mixed feelings about that!). Zingiber Spectablis
In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes was at one time pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material was mixed with water and drunk. External: In traditional medicine, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle and mixed with a ripe Noni fruit to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area. For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed. Perhaps the most common use of the plant is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed .
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| Maraca Plant zoomed in at 300 mm |
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| Maraca Plant zoomed out at 75 mm |
The following description is from:
https://livingfarmacy.wordpress.com/herb-identification/the-gingers/
Maracas
Shampoo Ginger, Zingiber zerumbet
Pharacology: carminative, digestive aid
In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes was at one time pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material was mixed with water and drunk. External: In traditional medicine, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle and mixed with a ripe Noni fruit to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area. For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed. Perhaps the most common use of the plant is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed .And a better photo on Project Noah at http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/77046013
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo My Garden in Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Yellow-billed Cuckoo My Garden in Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
This is another “first” bird for me which I saw today in a Yellow Bell Tree by my terrace. I had to share it first! Tomorrow I will explain why I went a week without a post. Then some more catch up!
Julia, Polydamus & Sulphur
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| Julia Butterfly My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Polydamus Swallowtail My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Statira Sulphur My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Wednesday with The Lehning’s!
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| The Lehning’s and Charlie at El Restaurante La Carreta, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Finally I get a photo of Tim & Joan Lehning with children Hank, Maggie and David plus me included thanks to our friendly waiter at La Carreta. Tonight, Wednesday Dinner in town at one of my favorite restaurants.
This morning they did not have breakfast at their hotel (long story) and so I met them at El Balcon del Cafe in town for breakfast at another favorite cafe. Then we walked for about two hours through town seeing what life is like in a small coffee farming town including Joan finding a couple of items she needed at my pharmacy, Don Juan Farmacia. We walked by shops, through the central farmer’s market, bus station, by two schools two parks, through a Catholic Church and on to my house. There my friend Michael had lunch just about ready where we feasted on catered Tico Mexican food: Aztec Soup, Quesadillas, cheese sticks, chicken sticks, nachos, chips and salsas, and assorted drinks. It was fun and I think they like my house and my new cook! And gardens!
Just for their arrival today, my neighbor and artist friend Anthony Jeroski finished the bird nest for my garden that lovingly holds the glass egg created by another artist friend in Nashville, Kevin Hunter. It goes well with the bird sculpture at the opposite end of the same garden. Is my garden developing a theme?After the kids got a little swim in before the afternoon rain, they rested and met me at La Carreta for dinner and the group photo. Then we walked a block over for ice cream at POPS. A fun and tasty Wednesday with the Lehning’s! It was a joy to have them stop by after their Machu Pichu and Costa Rica surfing trips! Tomorrow morning their taxi picks them up at 4 for the trip to airport and return to Nashville. Thanks for the visit guys! It was great fun having you! Another good memory in Costa Rica!
Pura Vida!