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Yesterday morning as I started to walk to town it was raining, thus I took a taxi. So I had to walk back from town since that is my only exercise here! With only a tiny sprinkle occasionally, I enjoyed these wet “3 little things” along the way and here are my shots of one day’s “eye candy” in little Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
May is the beginning of “Rainy Season” in the Central Valley of Costa Rica including Atenas and this year there has been more rain and clouds than I remember having my previous four Mays and most agree, while the real “oldtimers” say this is just the old normal for the first month of rainy season. So . . . whatever! Things are fresh and green all over Costa Rica right now and it is my favorite time of year and though locals call it “Winter,” most also prefer this time of year too. And less gringos too! 🙂 Just a shower every afternoon and some early mornings or at night which I like for sleeping! 🙂
The top photo is a panorama of 4 shots with my 600mm telephoto lens and below is the less-focused snap of Atenas Central on my cell phone, both from my terrace at breakfast this morning.
AccuWeather Forecast for Atenas – centigrade temps of course! 🙂
Weather Channel 10-day Forecast for Atenas – both fairly accurate
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
¡Pura Vida!
My January week at Maquenque Lodge was special in many way, especially because I lived in a treehouse for a week – well I recently realized that I almost live in a treehouse in Atenas, on the side of a hill with trees and treetops surrounding me! It is beautiful with their myriad of birds singing, movement by the breezes, and my “galleries” for photographing birds! They are the most valuable thing about my little rental cottage:
For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.
~Martin Luther
¡Pura Vida!
My breakfast treat on my terrace this morning was this pair of Crimson-fronted Parakeets passing through on their way up the hill – most usually fly over rather than stop. They first started pecking into the trunk of my big palm but the Clay-colored Thrushes with a nest in that tree chased them away to my neighbor’s big palm where I made these photos. Here’s just 5 of many shots made:
I still get more excited by the more colorful birds like these.
“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”
~Wassily Kandinsky
You might also enjoy the other birds in my BIRDS Photo Gallery
¡Pura vida!
Sundown is a nice, quiet time at my house in Atenas, Costa Rica. Winding down for a good night’s sleep and a great tomorrow!
To watch a sunset is to connect with the Divine.
Gina De Gorna
¡Pura Vida!
It continues to slowly progress even if not fast enough for impatient Americans! 🙂 The center circle (reddish steel) will be the actual stage and the big black circle is the covered part including audience covered seating. They have stopped work again this week so the city can have its annual Climate Fair and Oxcart Parade. They are using all of the space including a temporary round stage in the center. I’m not feeling great this week and opted to miss the festivities, so I will have no photos of the temporary use. Here’s also a photo of the safety signs for the workers on the site. Interesting. 🙂
I had a “bad cold” or actually allergies due to the wind still blowing dust. Got that licked with some good medicine and good advice (close windows when wind blows) from my doctor’s young intern whom I really liked. Then I got up the wrong way from sitting and “popped” my lower back and now dealing with lower back pain. Saw my physical therapist who recommends stretching exercises of course! 🙂 So I kind of dropped the blog for a week or so with lower energy than usual. Next trip is 2 weeks away. Resting now! 🙂
I’m also working on my “Pre-Costa Rica Travel” photo galleries and just completed the gallery for my 2012 Tour of the Grand Canyon and Nearby Canyons. A good photo trip!
¡Pura Vida!
“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
― Jo Walton
I haven’t been sharing as many of my terrace sunsets lately, which of course are different every night. The featured one above is from over my roof, which I often like better than from terrace below. Both last night. And I imagine that many of you saw the same beautiful sunset in your own world! 🙂 A beauty we all can behold!
And see my photo gallery titled Vistas, Beaches, Sunrises & Sunsets for more beautiful sunsets than these!
SOCCER: 2019 Gold Cup field finalized; Costa Rica will host two matches
-o-
And while Soccer is on your mind, did you know that
The planet loses 40 soccer fields worth of forests every minute (Read it!)
Rich industrialists are literally destroying the world while we ignore climate change and the destruction of trees, our source of oxygen, wildlife and beauty. And did you read that a Deadly frog fungus has wiped out 90 species and threatens hundreds more. How much time do you think we have left before the human species is wiped out?
¡Pura Vida!
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science— Albert Einstein
I felt the wind move across my face and arm, knowing nature’s way of showing its power and sensitivity would soon end – then a Yigüirro (Clay-colored Thrush) sang its beautiful song that Costa Rica custom says calls in April and May rains that will replace the wind and dryness of our summer. I look forward to the “Green Season” and the freshness my explorations will bring – experiencing the mysterious in Costa Rica.
¡Pura Vida!
Experience more of the mysterious in my gallery: Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA
The city has a Facebook Page presenting the remodeling with architect drawings of what they expect it to look like – The New Central Park Atenas. Click on one of their pictures to enlarge it and begin a manual slideshow of the new park.
¡Pura Vida!
How lovely yellow is! It stands for the sun.
¡Pura Vida!
See also my gallery: FLORA & FOREST