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| A new sign just appeared alongside the road I walk to Roca Verde, Calle 8 |
The rough Google translation to English:
The trees are our friends, always await us in the same place.
ADECA
My profession is to always find God in nature.
– Henry David Thoreau
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| A new sign just appeared alongside the road I walk to Roca Verde, Calle 8 |
The rough Google translation to English:
The trees are our friends, always await us in the same place.
ADECA
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| A Hooded Mantis appeared in the dark at my last dinner at Rancho Naturalista No good photos possible |
But what was more entertaining was the group from Denmark on their first night at the lodge. They scrambled all over the dining terrace trying to get photos of this little guy! IN THE DARK! It was funny and of course none of my photos are good, but here’s the experience anyway!
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| They tried so hard they kept scaring the little bug around the terrace. Hope some of them got good photos! |
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| For about two minutes dinner was controlled by a Hooded Mantis |
“Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between the North and South American continents, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represents nearly 4% of the total species estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one of the 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects.” ~WIKIPEDIA
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| Photo of one of the many Anthurium flowers growing at Rancho Naturalista, one of my fave get-a-ways now! I was so excited about all the new birds there that I failed to say much about the flowers which were beautiful! |
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| Up close they are a very bright yellow trumpet-shaped flower |
The Yellow Bells are blooming earlier than I expected or remember from last year and do hope they are still around when Reagan arrives in February. They started with a few blooms on the high tips of limbs that get the most sun and are now spreading all over. They do attract hummingbirds!
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| From my lunch table today at about 1:30 facing NW. |
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| From the street today at 2:00 PM (bad time for photo) |
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| An even worse image at 2:00 PM but you can see that my terrace is surrounded! |
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| Bouquets on the terrace! |
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| And color below my horizon views! |
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| Plus they are already coloring the ground as blossoms drop! |
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| A tree in my neighbor’s yard. |
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.~Luther Burbank
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| Green Thorntail Hummingbird Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
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| Yellow-bellied Elaenia Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
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| Black-cheeked Woodpecker Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica 3rd species of woodpeckers at this one place. Lots of bugs to eat! 🙂 |
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| Brown Jay Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
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| Yellow-crowned Euphonia Female or Yellow Warbler Female Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
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| Gray-headed Chachalaca Better shot than one posted the first day. |
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| Green Thorntail Hummingbird Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica Different day, different bird and look than top of this post |
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| Black-headed Saltator Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
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| Black-headed Saltator Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica A totally different look than the photo before this, but same bird! |
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| Social Flycatcher Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
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| Bumble Bee (I think – no ID source) Rancho Naturalista, Tuis, Costa Rica |
If interested, I reviewed both Rancho Naturalista and CATIE on TripAdvisor with a few of the photos, though they are “pending” as I write this, possibly for screening of some kind.
I heard the sweet voice of a robin, High up in the maple tree, Joyously, singing his happy song To his feathered mate, in glee!…
If we could be like this tiny bird, Just living from day to day, Holding no bitterness in our hearts For those we meet on our way…
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, “Heaven on Earth” (1940s)
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| Just 7 of about 300 photos today. Above is Green-breasted Mango Hummingbird. |
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| Chestnut-sided Warbler (My favorite shot of the day) |
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| Crested Oropendola Note head is different from Montezuma Oropendola My first time to photograph this one! |
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| Red-throated Ant-tanager with a moth it just caught. |
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| Mottled Owl |
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| Olive-backed Euphonia |
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| Crowned Wood-nymph Hummingbird |
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| Crowned Woodnymph Hummingbird My guide here says it looks so different from the other one above because of the different light. Other one in deep forest. |
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| Montezuma Oropendola from the breakfast terrace |
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| Lineated Woodpecker in front of lodge |
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| White-necked Jacobin Hummingbird male at breakfast terrace |
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| Gray-headed Chachalaca joining us for breakfast |
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| Keel-billed Toucan seen from breakfast terrace |
All of this and much, much more at Rancho Naturalista near Turrialba, Costa Rica.
4:30 AM – Up for shower, breakfast and walk to the bus station
6:15 AM – Bus to San Jose
7:45 AM – I exit bus at northeast corner of Parque Sabana, 4 blocks from lawyer
Appointment is at 8:30 AM, so second breakfast at Soda Tapia (famous!)
8:30 AM – Meet attorney Jose Pablo Carter at his office 150 meters east of Soda Tapia
9:00 AM – We arrive in his car at Police Station with maybe 15 people ahead of us
We complete paper work and then I do the musical chair thing like at bank
This was just one long row of chairs. As a person is served we all move up
the chair line until I was next to be served. About a 25 minute wait.
Maybe 15 minutes of a guy two-finger typing all my info in a computer
He glues the three photos made back in February to 3 different forms
Then gives me all my paperwork and sends me to the fingerprint girl
I learned later she was new. She did 3 fingers then new form, start over
because she did one of my fingers twice 🙂
Then she gave me two of the photo/thumb print cards to take to my attorney
He gave one back to her and explained to her where it went (Wow!) Learner!
10:30 AM – We drive away from police station and he says no one knows how much longer
I will have to wait, maybe 2 months. But we have made some progress!
10:45 AM – He is taking me to a taxi stand to go to bus station because he has a meeting.
Then he sees a taxi, flags him down and I move to the taxi headed for the
Parada de Autobus de TUASA – there are about a dozen bus stations depending
on where you are going. I go to Coca Cola Station for Atenas bus but I need
to go to Alajuela to pick up a package at Aerocasillas. So I go to the
Parada de TUASA for the next bus to Alajuela. 5 minute wait!
By noon I’m in Alajuela with my package ordered from Amazon of a Hypoallergenic & Bedbug proof mattress cover and pillow covers which I have not found here. Then a quick quesadilla and I have only a 5 minute wait for bus to Atenas (Lucky? God’s will?). Near the bus station in Atenas is my primary hardware store where I find they have only 1 soaker hose left, so I get it and try Coope Hardware and they have none (I need 2). I call a taxi and tell him what I want and he takes me to a third hardware store (ferreteria) and they have one left. Great! I just bought all (both) the soaker hoses available in Atenas! 🙂
I go home and install them in two gardens and water the gardens. My front yard and trees had a sprinkler system installed yesterday by my gardeners at a really good price, about what I paid for the two soaker hoses! Now my yard, trees and gardens are ready for the dry season without me spending two hours every two days holding a hose to them. Bear in mind that it may not rain again here until May!
When finished, it was 5:30 and I suddenly remembered I had a 5:00 Spanish class! Oh well! I am exhausted and will catch up next week. 🙂
Today is Friday and I got more cash for Angel Tree expenses (trying 3 ATMs before one worked!), paid one Angel Tree bill, got groceries, and I’m staying at home the rest of today! Susan picks me up at 6:50 tomorrow morning for Angel Tree party preparation. She and I are in charge of moving 300 wrapped gifts from Su Espacio to the church salon. Other volunteers will help. Then a fast-moving party and I’m on bus back to Alajuela for a rent car. I like to get a car the day before needed to get used to the car and make sure everything works! 🙂 I’m excited about experiencing another new birding place starting Sunday! Rancho Naturalista. My happy feet are busy feet! 🙂 And when the bone spur in my heel hurts, I take an anti-inflammatory Rx the doctor prescribed and do great! The heel cushion in a real shoe helps also! 🙂 Wear my sandals only around the house now.
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| Dry season begins and these trees in my yard begin to bloom and if like last year will continue through March or April. |
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| I zoom in for the flowers because . . . |
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| They are on the opposite side of trees from my terrace where the afternoon sun shines, but maybe later they will bloom on this side too! Summer has begun! |
“Where flowers bloom so does hope.”– Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom
Busy days ahead!
Tonight I go to Su Espacio’s “Arts Festival” which is more of a dance recital. I’m the photographer.
Tomorrow, Thursday, I go to San Jose early to be fingerprinted for my residency application, which is no guarantee that I will get it soon, but at least it is in the process!
Friday I may have to help shop for any angel tree kids we have not received gifts for.
Saturday is the Angel Tree party in the morning and I get a rent car in the afternoon for my Sunday to Wednesday birding near Volcan Turrialba.
Then just a couple of more Spanish lessons for this year before I get a break from conjugations and verbs! I’m considering a trip to Nicaragua over Christmas but if I don’t do that, I will make the border visa run on December 30.
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| Magnificent Hummingbird Female Though it could be a Female Ruby-throated – Female harder to identify Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Magnificent Hummingbird Female Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
This is right off my Terrace, which is what I’m calling my balcony now. I love this flower, which my gardener surprised me with, and the hummingbirds love it too!
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| I do selective pruning to keep my garden art bird visible. It is so full now that a major pruning will be needed by Dec. or Jan. |
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| Coming in from the driveway. |
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| Front yard from my terrace. |
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| Terrace view of the Guarumo (Cecropia) Tree which has really grown! |
My yard is truly a constant “simple pleasure” that I enjoy all the time I’m at home. Living in the country or in a forest, next to a national park was always a temptation to be in true wildness all the time, but it would require a 4WD vehicle in most cases, be further from healthcare when needed, and shopping which I could handle the easiest, and further from people, especially those who speak English which I also would like in some ways when my Spanish is better, BUT . . . I think this is the best of both worlds and I am in a small country town. I just need this particular simple pleasure of a garden yard to have nature around me. And a very comfortable house! 🙂