Category: Plants

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The Unique Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees

I just can’t quit talking about all the neat things you can see and photograph at Arenal Observatory Lodge! And another one are trees, all of their trees, but maybe the most unique are their Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees that were a part of their early development reforestation program which you can read about in an article on their website: The Rainbow Trees of Arenal, Costa Rica by Shannon Farley, my friend and fellow Atenas resident!  🙂  You will be amazed as you read the article and probably want to visit this favorite lodge of mine too! Where I could spend months hiking their 7+ miles of well-maintained hiking trails and never be bored!  🙂

Well, just 2 photos this time, then I encourage you to read my longer post of 2 years ago on all the trees of Arenal that I love!

And read my blog post on Arenal Trees I wrote two years ago titled:   Enamored by Trees!

¡Pura Vida!

Arenal Observatory Lodge WEBSITE

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Conservancy Butterflies

The Butterfly Conservancy in the village of Castillo on Lake Arenal near Arenal Observatory Lodge is very good with multiple greenhouses for the different butterfly habitats plus outside natural butterflies with all being native to Costa Rica. And for the history-lovers, this is the little town that was once called Nuevo Arenal after the lake was flooded to make electricity and covered the original town of Arenal.  🙂

I only got useable photos of 14 species with 15 photos here because the White-spotted Prepona is so different with folded wings and open wings. 🙂 And I will just start with him as the first two photos followed by 13 more:

Archaeoprepona amphimachus (above)

Continue reading “Conservancy Butterflies”

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Arenal Butterflies 2

Today I’ll just share 5 butterflies that I have only one view of and then even though I have another dozen or so from the lodge, they are not identified yet and and I’m behind on that ID work! So tomorrow I will start on the identified butterflies from the Costa Rica Butterfly Conservancy in Castillo on Lake Arenal, not far from the lodge and where a lot of lodge employees live.

¡Pura Vida!

And my Photo Galleries for these five species . . .

Arenal Observatory Lodge Website

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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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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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Danta Waterfall

As a waterfall lover, I don’t miss any waterfall that a lodge or park has and this “main” falls at Arenal Observatory Lodge is one of the nicer ones, and it’s my third time to visit it! There are other “seasonal” waterfalls here for when the rain is heavy, but the longer trails to them are more dangerous when wet for this old man who falls easily, so I haven’t tried any of them.  🙂

The people who were at the falls the same time as me were all Europeans from England, Holland, Germany and maybe one more country. We also have other countries represented at the lodge this week including Canada, Japan and China and though I haven’t met anyone from the states yet, there are most likely some here. The ones playing in the waterfall plunge pool are Europeans – 4 shots including this first scenic one for the email notice . . .

Danta Waterfall, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica.

 

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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