It is of course mostly for local people in or near Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica, but if someone anywhere in the world is willing to pay the shipping cost for anything (like some of the art or the stamp collection) then I will get it shipped to you once paid. If you have any questions, use the CONTACT menu item at the top of this page.
This is all happening very fast for me! It has to end no later than November 20 and probably sooner as I have to get rid of everything one way or another.
¡Pura Vida!
And THANK YOU! Blog Readers!
My blog/website host just reported to me that I had 11,000 views or visits in the month of October 2026! That just makes me want to do a better job, but be patient with me while I make this big move in November, then I’ll settle down to an even better nature blog! 🙂
On a short morning walk by the cow pasture this morning I managed to capture this image of a Groove-billed Ani (my gallery link) that is moderately common in this part of Costa Rica. See some of my other images in the above-linked gallery. And you can read about them and see their range map on eBird.
¡Pura Vida!
Online Moving Sale (for those in Atenas)
I’m just starting it and before even the first gallery was up I sold most of my potted plants to a neighbor, but there are so many more things that I must sell before moving, so keep checking it for new additions over the next couple of weeks. It is in the form of a Gallery titled Moving Sale! (linked) And everything is priced way below the value. Everything must go!
During the last week of November (23-29) I begin my next big adventure in life and what for many is their last. On whichever day that week the apartment is ready, I move to the Verdeza Senior Living Apartments in Escazu, a suburb of San Jose, Costa Rica. I start with the independent living but will be there if and when assisted living or nursing care is required. And one of the most attractive things to me is that the dining room is a real restaurant with multiple-options menus, changing weekly, plus morning and afternoon snacks provided! 🙂 Also, there will be much more social interaction than I have been getting in my little Atenas hideaway! It is a change that I believe I am ready for and probably need. A lot of things have been happening to lead to this change and I decided not to try and explain.
One of multiple “living rooms” at Verdeza.
I will not be immersed in as much nature as I have been in Atenas, nor will I be able to afford as many trips to nature lodges and national parks, but I will be just a 10 minute walk from the Rutas Naturbanas Greenway at Avenida Escazuand similar distances from at least two city parks, so not completely without nature! 🙂 Plus I will be just a 10 minute walk in one direction to a very large Walmart and in the other direction just a 10 minute walk to Office Depot that I often need and it is next to the large Multi-Plaza Shopping Mall with a big screen theater, all near the Rutas Naturbanas greenway! 🙂 It is reminding me of my 10 years in a rowhouse in downtown Nashville across the street from the Bicentennial Capital Mall State Park. 🙂
Most areas of the Naturbanas will not be this busy, but it is popular and that is good! 🙂
I will keep you up to date with information on my move, though during that last week of November I may not have much time for blog posts. 🙂 We will see. It is kind of like that last month in Nashville, trying to get rid of my accumulated “junk” or stuff for a move into a much smaller apartment this time and a thousand other details to manage. Not an easy challenge, but doable! 🙂
One of the entrances to Verdeza Senior Living Apartments.
¡Pura Vida!
And a link to an instagram video about the Rutas Naturbanas en español of course:
The AIs threw out possibilities but no match. My research shows the closest genus to be Nyctibora, with no exact species match found there. It is one genus of the many cockroaches and you can see a list of it’s possible species on Wikipedia. I photographed this one on the grasses of the cow pasture across the street.
Possibly a Nyctibora Genus insect, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.First shot of possibly a Nyctibora Genus insect (cockroach), Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
One of, if not the most frequently seen butterflies this year for me (a down year for butterflies). See my collection of them in the gallery: Banded Peacock (linked). It is another of those butterflies found only in Central America and the lower edges of Mexico.
What seems like everyone’s favorite butterfly, the Monarch (my gallery link), will probably be in my garden as long as I have these Milkweed Flowers, the favorite of the butterfly which also eats other nectar, but it is the only plant leaves that Monarch Caterpillars will eat! This one might even have come from one of those caterpillars that ate all the leaves off of one of my Milkweeds back in August! 🙂
Monarch on a Milkweed Flower, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
A fairly common and conspicuous sparrow found from Costa Rica to Mexico. See more of my photos of this little guy in the gallery: Stripe-headed Sparrow (linked).
Stripe-headed Sparrow, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa RicaStripe-headed Sparrow, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
The Western and Eastern Wood-Pewees look alike to me and though iNat’s AI ranked this one as Eastern, eBird’s Merlin said Western and I yield to eBird on birds! 🙂 I saw this one on the fence of the neighborhood cow pasture and you can see others that I have labeled Western Wood-Pewee in that linked gallery.
Not your every day bird! And I’ve seen more here in Atenas than anywhere. This one in my garden a week or so ago. See my other (better) photos in gallery: Barred Antshrike. And read more about them on eBird. It is found only in Central & South America.
The first seen in my garden since December 2025, plus I saw one earlier the same day on my morning walk up the hill, but it was in bad light and thus no good photos. See my earlier photos at Lesson’s Motmot from different Costa Rica locations. This is another purely Central American bird with the usual overlaps into Southern Mexico.
