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Thel Rounded Metalmark or Calephelis perditalis is one of several Metalmark butterflies still around my yard late in the season. Like the Satyrs, they stay close to the ground and seem to prefer grass over flowers, thus the wind blowing is not as much of a bother to them. This one is quite colorful and with intricate design work on sides, thus I include a top view, bottom view and a folded-wings or side view.
Before Christmas I get down to just a few butterflies and because of the Jan-Mar winds will not see many again until April or May just before the winter here or “rainy season” during which I see the most. The number one most seen during this off season in my yard is the Carolina Satyr which is a small butterfly about the size of the upper half of my thumb or less. The folded wings view has the distinctive Satyr markings with particular ones for the Carolina. But the open wings view is just plain brown.
My Carolina Satyr Photo Gallery.
¡Pura Vida!
If I look more to the right from my terrace at a North to a little Northeast I see more distant mountains toward Arenal and the closer Poas Volcano which I think may be under those clouds on the mid-right. I haven’t been to Poas in a long time, which now requires a reservation, and you must go early morning to avoid the cloud cover. When clear, it is the best volcano in Costa Rica to visit because only there can you look down into the bubbling cauldron and of course smell the sulphur. They recommend no more than 15 minutes at the rim for health reasons in breathing sulphur.
¡Pura Vida!
The Cerulean Dancer, Argia anceps, is a Central American Damselfly found on both coasts and in the interior. This is a male, darker blue, while the female is a lighter blue. Photographed on the tile sidewalk in my garden here in the Central Valley town of Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
See more photos in Damsel & Dragonflies CR GALLERY.
¡Pura Vida!
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!” 🙂
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!
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! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
And you might enjoy my Keel-billed Toucan GALLERY.
. . . over the neighborhood, looking for lunch.
Not a popular bird, but I think they are beautiful soaring on the wind currents overhead! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
My Turkey Vulture GALLERY
And possibly I will have a post tonight from Arenal Observatory Lodge, the first night of my Christmas week adventure in the forest below a volcano.
I asked my gardener to plant some different species of Heliconia in my Heliconia flower bed that then had only three species of the dozens available here. Four weeks ago he planted 4 different plants, not indicating what any of them were. This first one was the most different-looking for a Heliconia (which I just learned it’s not!) but I was still pleased to see that it is the first of the four new plants to bloom! I’m writing this ahead on Sunday with 3 photos, each a day apart (Fri-Sat-Sun), and if it changes as much as I expect by Tuesday (the 5th day) I will add another photo of a much fuller bloom for this post scheduled for Wednesday morning the 21st. 🙂
After searching heliconia species online and not finding this, I tried other searches and finally discovered that it is “Hedychium gardnerianum, the Kahili ginger, Yellow ginger lily, Kahila garland-lily, wild ginger or ginger lily.“ It is in the ginger family of flowers (Zingiberaceae), native to India, which makes it fine for our tropical climate here, and I’m already pleased with this new flower, even if not a heliconia! 🙂
For the emailed post announcement, I have only “Day 1” photo, the green plant with a green bud here (last Friday). You will have to click the “Read More” link to see the progressive versions of this beautiful flower! 🙂
. . . in my Higueron or Strangler Fig Tree (Big Ficus). The tree just lost its leaves again which makes it a little easier to see birds or other wildlife like this, though with so many tight limbs it is like “he is behind bars!” 🙂 And this tree has few open spaces where I could have gotten a clear view of his whole body, plus he continued higher up where I could not see him at all. This variety of iguana is the only kind I’ve seen in my yard or anywhere else in Atenas, while many of the lodges I visit also have the Green Iguana which is more colorful but with the same behavior high in trees and sometimes on the ground. See my separate photo galleries:
The park staff has finished everything for the playground quadrant except installing the new playground equipment which someone who knows says will be here in January. 🙂 Here’s the area of the playground with swings and monkey bars (or whatever) to go on that gravel area seen from two directions in these two photos.
¡Pura Vida!
My gallery of ongoing park renovations arranged chronologically with most recent on top. Slow but sure! 🙂
REPORT ON THE RECENT ART SHOW: I sold more than a thousand dollars worth of photos when all was tabulated, much better than I expected! And I was even more pleased with how many local readers of my blog I have, with many showing up at the art show, and buying something and asking for my autograph in one of my photo books! It is nice to have your work appreciated, even when it is a hobby in retirement! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!