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| Star Fruit rotting along the sidewalk as I walk to town. This expensive fruit in the states is not popular here & often not harvested. But Mangoes have piled up and rotted even more, and they are loved here. |
La Bohéme Opera Sunday Night
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| Teatro Nacional Stage seen from Balcony They asked us to not take photos during the performance. Note the screen for subtitles. Opera was in Italian and subtitles in Spanish! (What did you expect in a Spanish-language country?) I understood maybe 30%. Thanks to Amazon Kindle I had read it in English before the performance AND watched it on YouTube with English Subtitles, so I was ready! 🙂 |
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| Our Atenas Group in the Balcony of Teatro Nacional |
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| Atenas Expat Retirees on Bus to San Jose |
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| Opera Program Book And oh yeah, it was a fabulous performance! Perfect in every way! The arts are very important here and done well in every medium. And I’m interested in something other than just birds! 🙂 |
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| Outside Teatro Nacional (Photo made earlier than today’s visit.) |
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| Inside Lobby of Teatro Nacional (Earlier shot. It was packed full tonight!) There is a great little restaurant off the lobby but packed tonight, so Anthony and I ate burgers at McDonald’s across the street. Shameful! |
We went to a 5:00 PM performance and our bus was back in Atenas by 8:30 PM. Nice!
Cows Munching on Neighbor’s Hibiscus
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| Cow Eating Hibiscus Shrubs 1 of 3 cows in a neighbor’s yard from the cow pasture near me. They get out frequently! Someone comes and rounds them up. 🙂 |
Just another day in the neighborhood! And most of us are glad that this is the most exciting thing to happen in Roca Verde! Another neighborhood, possibly richer, does not have a community gate and guard like us. They have had a couple of break-ins recently. We have had none! I feel very safe.
Simple Beauty
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| Heliconia Bud The hint is almost as beautiful as the exotic tropical flower that will follow in my garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica. Shot from my little garden bench by the door. |
Sweeping Out Yesterdays Volcano Dust
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| When my morning sweep includes gray dust, I know it erupted! Yesterday! It is 104 km away or about 65 miles. Wind blows the ash across the valley. No big deal! A broom does wonders! (Or vacuum for some.) |
See the eruption story and video at:
http://www.ticotimes.net/2016/07/25/costa-ricas-turrialba-volcano-erupts-sends-ash-3-km-high
THE GOOD NEWS: Erupting Volcanoes may help slow global warming. Interesting!
And to keep learning: Why are there volcanoes? Why do they erupt?
Heliconius Butterfly or Moth?
As you know, some butterflies live only a few days or weeks. And some of those decide to come into my house before they die! I sweep out dead insects every morning! I’ve had more than one of this particular species inside and one I found dead today (1st two photos). I am pretty sure it is in the Heliconia family but can’t place it in one of the known 29 subspecies. It seems to be like a Postman but they are usually red rather than orange with the black and white and different body. It is also similar to the Heliconius Linnaeus and the Heliconius Ismenius, but not exactly! So I’m calling it an Unidentified Heliconius Butterfly or Moth.
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| Moth or Butterfly? Moths have furry bodies like this guy but butterflies usually have brighter colors and club antennae like this. But there are exceptions to all rules and I need an expert to help identify this one! |
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| Back or bottom side of this butterfly/moth. Bottom is almost always totally different than the top side. |
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| They come in my always open doors, then try to get out a closed window screen. Not too smart. |
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| My moving flower arrangements inside. 🙂 |
See My Butterfly Photo Gallery now on SmugMug.
And if you like bugs, see also the Other Insects Photo Gallery all on my new site called
“Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA” where eventually I will have all my Costa Rica photos.
My Garden Art a Tourist Attraction?
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| My Garden Art is visited by other residents in Atenas and Anthony, who lives next door, likes to show off his work to friends/clients. |
Another Unidentified Butterfly/Moth
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| Unknown In My Home Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica Doesn’t quite match photos of crackers, black witch, duskywing or moths. |
BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS IN COSTA RICA:
There are about 1,251 species of butterflies and at least 8,000 species of moths. Butterflies and moths are common year round but are more present during the rainy season. Ten percent of known butterfly species worldwide reside in Costa Rica.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_Costa_Rica
And be sure to see my NEW Butterfly Photo Gallery on SmugMug with 46 species as of today.
Watching it Rain
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| “I’m too busy to sit in the rocking chair and watch it rain!” Is what I used to say. But I just did it! And have several times recently. So far it has been a good rainy season. And I’m slowing down! |
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| Like Jewels! Rain drips off a cecropia leaf. |
Rain Song – Poem by Langston Hughes
Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
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| And After the Rain! |
Maraca Plant Blooming
My “Maraca” plant as it is called in Costa Rica or “Shampoo Ginger” in Asia and the states in English has greatly grown with many multiple plants and now a first bloom for this year. Both photos are from the hill above my garden because the bloom is difficult to see from the walkway. I expect more blooms soon. This one was hidden by my ground-cover and spreading ferns until the gardeners cleaned them out (mixed feelings about that!). Zingiber Spectablis
In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes was at one time pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material was mixed with water and drunk. External: In traditional medicine, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle and mixed with a ripe Noni fruit to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area. For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed. Perhaps the most common use of the plant is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed .
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| Maraca Plant zoomed in at 300 mm |
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| Maraca Plant zoomed out at 75 mm |
The following description is from:
https://livingfarmacy.wordpress.com/herb-identification/the-gingers/
Maracas
Shampoo Ginger, Zingiber zerumbet
Pharacology: carminative, digestive aid
In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes was at one time pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material was mixed with water and drunk. External: In traditional medicine, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle and mixed with a ripe Noni fruit to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area. For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed. Perhaps the most common use of the plant is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed .And a better photo on Project Noah at http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/77046013