Category: Nature

My profession is to always find God in nature.

– Henry David Thoreau

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South Caribe Trip Gallery & Hurricane Julia

There are so many more photos from my trip back to Banana Azul in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica that I intended to share on the blog, but other things are happening now, thus I refer you to the just-finished Trip Gallery for my 2022 Banana Azul Week, click that link or this image of the first page of the gallery for many more photos from nature . . .

Entrance Page to my 2022 Banana Azul South Caribe Trip Gallery

¡Pura Vida!

And About Hurricane Julia . . .

Yesterday (Saturday) Tropical Storm Julia strengthened into a Category 2 Hurricane over the Caribbean Sea and headed toward Nicaragua where it is expected they will receive extensive damage through today (Sunday) from coast to coast as Julia goes across Nicaragua and El Salvador and parts of southern Honduras to finally dissipate in the Pacific Ocean tomorrow. Nicaragua is on the northern border of Costa Rica but we are not expected to receive much of the wind damage, just a lot of extra rain which could mean some flooding and here that also means mud slides and rock slides in the mountain areas. Otherwise we will not be affected drastically by Hurricane Julia. It was just a mild rain last night (Saturday) as I wrote this. But hurricanes have been known to change course.

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That “Flying Leaf” is a Moth!

I thought I saw a new kind of butterfly through the kitchen window and ran out with my camera and it was just another Banded Peacock which I’ve had scads of recently. But then I saw a brownish dead leaf fly into some of the plants in my garden (flapping its wings). I had to run get my cellphone to get close enough to it. I was hoping it would be one of the Leafwing Butterflies but now I’m pretty sure it is one of the thousands of moths that look like dead leaves and I haven’t found an ID yet. Here’s the three shots I got before he flew away, all with cellphone . . .

I believe it is probably a small moth, many of which imitate leaves. Leafwing butterflies are shaped differently.
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Disappearing Wildlife

Even in green Costa Rica we are seeing the results of habitat destruction, climate change and thus the decreases in wildlife.

Clay-colored Thrush or Yigüirro in CR Spanish, the national bird here.

This year has exhibited fewer birds in my gardens and neighborhood than any other in my 8 years here. Some blame it on the much heavier rain this year (climate change). I don’t know for sure, but yesterday I searched my garden diligently and found only three birds within camera distance and even one of those, just barely! We must act or lose the necessary wildlife in our world!

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Playing with New Camera & Lens

I have been using a cheap Canon Rebel and Tamron 150-600 lens (lowest price lens this long) literally every day for 4 or 5 years and they were simply worn out with dust inside the lens (not cleanable) and parts of the camera not working including auto-focus. So day before yesterday my driver took me to San Jose and to the only authorized Canon dealer in Costa Rica where I duplicated my equipment with a newer version of each.

Then yesterday, along with other needed chores, I tried out the new combination camera/lens in my garden. Here’s one shot followed by a gallery of 8. And yes! I’m very pleased with my upgrade to newer versions of the same two instruments. 🙂 They’re easy to use and good enough quality for this old-man hobbyist without spending a fortune. 🙂 Here’s samples from my first 200 shots on the new equipment . . .

A fading Banded Peacock made a pleasing image to me.
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Caribe Flowers

I’m mesmerized by flowers everywhere I go in Costa Rica and the Caribe is no exception, though the hotels on the east coast aren’t as ambitious with their gardens as some other places I’ve visited that work hard to have a large variety of sometimes rare and even exotic (non-native) flowers. All of these are native to the best of my knowledge and at least half were growing “wild” along the beach or beach road. And I’ve decided this time to not try and identify them, since maybe half I can’t without research! 🙂 One photo for the email announcement and then a gallery of 14 flowers . . .

Beach Spider Lily (Hymenocallis littoralis), Hotel Banana Azul, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Limón, Costa Rica
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Sneaked People Photos

Its legal here to photograph people in public, but for some reason I never want them to know I’m photographing them and actually seldom do – BUT on a public beach it is just too inviting. My “People Shots” are now a gallery within my developing trip gallery (above link) with 3 sub-galleries, each linked from the title of its sample photo below . . .

Sunrise People Shots Gallery

Young love at a beach sunrise — Sample shot from gallery.

Day Beach People Shots Gallery

Games on the beach — Sample shot from the gallery.

Beach Road People Shots Gallery

Family walk down Beach Road — Sample shot from gallery.

Maybe in a few more days I’ll have the whole trip gallery finished. A lot of photos made this time! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

“To escape and sit quietly on the beach – that’s my idea of paradise.”

 – Emilia Wickstead
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The Allure of a Beach

With (1) the lesser popularity of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica from the Pacific side for both tourists and residents. (2) Lesser development on this side of the country (not a single chain hotel). (3) My chosen hotel being away from the other hotels and more popular white-sand beaches further south, and (4) therefore we who stay at Banana Azul Hotel often have the beach all to ourselves! And that’s nice for the tranquility and for the photos! 🙂

I no longer swim or surfboard in the ocean for many reasons, but I love to walk on beaches and also here I walk on a beach road with glimpses of the ocean through the trees. Plus my favorite beach photos here are my sunrise images which I shared daily each morning last week, so you’ve seen those. But here are a few others shot this year that I basically liked.

Tomorrow I will share a few “People Shots” that I sneaked of people on this beach and the beach road. “People watching” can be fun! 🙂 Here’s one beach shot for the email and 6 more to follow online below . . .

Looking North from Banana Azul. “Mi Playa Tranquila” – “My Quiet Beach”
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The Two Basilisks

In the Caribe where I was last week, there two kinds of Basilisks, both called “Miniature Dinosaurs” and “Jesus Christ Lizards” (because they both “walk on water”). The most popular is the Plumed or Emerald Basilisk (Wikipedia link) and the Common, Striped or Brown Basilisk (Wikipedia link). Here are a couple of photos of each from last week, then be sure to see my galleries for each below that! And I prefer the names of Emerald and Brown! 🙂

Plumed, Green or Emerald Basilisk

Emerald Basilisk
Emerald Basilisk

Common, Striped or Brown Basilisk

Brown Basilisk Adult
Brown Basilisk Juvenile

My Gallery titled: Emerald Basilisk

My Gallery titled: Common, Brown or Striped Basilisk

¡Pura Vida!

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“Charlie Doggett Trees”

I donated to the Corcovado Foundation recently to plant trees in an area of the Osa Peninsula where earlier farmers or loggers had removed trees. I was surprised the other day to receive an email with photos of “my” trees including some of the little metal tags they attached to each with my name. 🙂 I was not expecting that! But thankful that my money was really used to plant real trees and I even got to see them! 🙂

I encourage you to help plant trees wherever you live or in other places in need of trees like by clicking the Corcovado link above. Planting trees is one of the best ways to fight Climate Change and prevent the future destruction of a planet God told us to care for! And you too could help Costa Rica continue to replace trees lost in earlier years as we become ONE OF if not THE greenest countries in the world! 26% of our land is now in protected reserves and national parks and growing! Plus we are now at 99+% renewable electricity in Costa Rica.

One of several “Charlie Doggett Trees” 🙂
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Fun Insects

I got photos of more that just butterflies and birds in the CR Caribe! Check out these 8 weird and colorful insects from along the same beach road at Hotel Banana Azul where I photographed birds and butterflies.

No privacy in the rainforest! 🙂
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