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I think! 🙂 It has the wrong markings for a juvenile Spiny-tailed Iguana which I see a lot in my garden and with my books and an online search I was not able to nail down a species right now, but I think he is in the large Anole family. I posted the pix on iNaturalist, so hoping someone there will identify this active little lizard on my Cecropia Tree. Here 3 shots from 3 different angles . . .
The Common Spurwing, Antigonus erosus (my gallery link) is like several species with the top and bottom sides of the wings being totally different which you can see in this set of just 3 photos . . .
This Clay-colored Thrush, Turdus grayi (my gallery link) is the National Bird of Costa Rica and widely believed since pre-Columbian days to be the bird who sings in the rains in April & May. One neighbor says they are already singing in his yard, though I haven’t heard them in mine yet. Yesterday morning it was the White-winged Dove out-singing all of the other birds in my garden. 🙂 And I have no idea what that means! 🙂
And interestingly, at night I’ve had both the Common Pauraque and the Tropical Screech Owl singing me to sleep! (Merlin sound ID) 🙂 But no photos of either in my trees at night. The linked photo of a Pauraque was at Maquenque Ecolodge where I’ve seen more species than any other place, and it was a daytime shot! 🙂 Here’s four shots of the Yigüirro in my garden the other day . . .
I’m beginning to see some of the old “regulars” back in my garden when the wind is not too strong, but overall, butterflies are still scarce and I don’t expect a lot before May. But I’ve had at least two of these Polydamas Swallowtail, Battus polydamas (my gallery link). Here’s 3 shots of one individual in my garden recently . . .
The high winds this time of year seem to keep away both birds and butterflies from my efforts to photograph, except for one bird! And in my neighborhood he seems to never stop soaring, The Turkey Vulture! Cathartes aura (linked to my gallery). I don’t get to regularly see an Eagle or Hawk soaring, but this vulture I can see almost every day as he makes riding the wind drafts look easy and motivates me to want to soar! 🙂
“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” ~Helen Keller
And may you soar today in whatever you do! Windy or not! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Nature photography is a good hobby, but it was never a money-maker, not in Tennessee when I tried for a few years there (I always spent more on it than I ever made!) – nor the brief time I tried here. But the joy of creating has never been lost. And though I don’t sell greeting cards anymore, some are still at Hotel Colinas del Sol as a contribution to a sometimes struggling local business there. Go help them out! 🙂
But anyway, a photo of a new butterfly the other day had me going back and looking at that solid green background more than once, wanting to make a greeting card with it. And the butterfly with his red antennae seems to be laser focused on something. So here it is! Created just for you dear blog reader! And who knows, I may do it again! 🙂 It’s fun!
“Adopt the pace of nature.
Her secret is patience.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
¡Pura Vida!
This Dark Calephelis, Calephelis velutina (linked to my gallery) seems to be fairly rare, with this being my third sighting and not very many have been submitted to iNaturalist CR or butterfliesandmoths.org. This one was in my garden while the last one was in the neighborhood on Calle Nueva. And my first sighting was in Cartago Province at Guayabo National Monument. Here’s two different views of this Metalmark Family butterfly species from Monday in my garden . . .
¡Pura Vida!
My life has been cram-packed with “remarkable moments” and experiences, both good and bad. One of the many reasons for moving to Costa Rica was to slow down with nature and sort of let my final years of life just “fade away.” A quote in a blog that I read said . . .
“Busyness and fear constrict us in youth; fresh air and nature free us in old age.” ~Anne Lamott
And so I yearn for days with nothing planned or no where I have to go. A leisurely breakfast and coffee with the online newspaper is a perfect morning, followed by a walk in the garden. Even with all the wind right now, meaning few or no birds or butterflies, there are always plants and flowers or buds like I shared yesterday or a gaze at the surrounding hills, a cow across the street, or another amazing palm frond contrasting with the evergreens as it just fades away. And so today I rejoice in the unremarkable! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
And these 6 little buds on the end of one stem of my Desert Rose plant will make 6 beautiful flowers, all clustered together. This plant just keeps blooming, year around. It looks like it probably needs a bigger pot, but I’m afraid to mess with it! 🙂
See my garden gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
The public health system in Costa Rica is one of the best in the world, but as in other good systems there are occasionally delays for many reasons with an overload of patients and one always has the option to go to a private doctor at your own expense. Once Covid was over, when I had to use a private oncologist for my surgery and radiation treatment because our hospitals here were packed with Covid patients, I then moved all my medical treatment to the public system in 2022 and have been happy with everything done “for free” (really for a monthly Social Security fee you must pay whether used or not.) There are no co-pays, no insurance forms and everything is included, even my medications that I pick up monthly at my local “CAJA Costarricense Seguro Social Farmacia.” I’m pleased with the public health system here, even if sometimes slow.
My latest cancer surgery was in November with my Public Provincial Dermatologist removing a cancer from my nose. Excellent surgery with absolutely no scar! But, that dermatologist in Hospital San Rafael de Alajuela gave me my next appointment to be in April 2026 and I had other non-cancer issues I really wanted to take care of earlier. So, I decided to exercise my freedom of going to a private doctor and my Public ENT Oncologist at Hospital Mexico de San Jose, who is monitoring any possible spread of my big cancer, agreed that the other issues would be better if handled earlier and he recommended Dr. Arturo Soto in the private Tabush Dermatologia Center in Escazu (feature photo of building). Here is my report with 3 before & after face photos . . .
Continue reading “Using Both Health Systems in Costa Rica”