Category: Atenas

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Slowing Down

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

– Mohandas K. Gandhi

So what does an old man “Retired in Costa Rica” do with his time? Especially since cancer and the dreaded cancer treatment forced a slowdown? In short, I have slowed down! And those who know me well may find that hard to believe. 🙂 It is easier said than done for the hyper-active little boy who is sort of who I am. So this blog post will be My “Essay on Slowing Down” or more accurately on “what it is like for me to slow down.” I have now learned to “Enjoy the Moments” here in Costa Rica and hopefully I can share the joy of living slow in Costa Rica! 🙂

My Terrace Where I “Enjoy the Moments” Daily
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“TRANQUILO” – My Favorite Spanish Word!

Tranquilo – calm, quiet, peaceful, relaxed, laid-back, unfazed – are some of the English words the online Spanish Dictionary (spanishdict.com) lists as equivalents.

Above: Tranquilo Sunrise at Macaw Lodge, Carara NP
Feature photo at top: Tranquilo Sunset on Calle Barroeta, Atenas

At first I wrote a lengthy essay on my need for “tranquilo” and how it has changed me, then decided it was “too much.” 🙂 So I’ll just let the photos speak for . . .

A “TRANQUILO” life of “Retired in Costa Rica.”

¡Pura Vida!

Blog, Website, Gallery, Bookstore

Or Just the Photos

🙂

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Broad-banded Swallowtail

Broad-banded Swallowtail, Papilio astyalu, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

This is a new species for me. Many swallowtails are similar but the distinction of this one is the large cell spot on each upper wing, backside. Similar ones are Giant, Thomas, and Ornythion Swallowtails. In fact, the first one I photographed was at Monteverde that I had labeled as a Thomas Swallowtail. But I was wrong. It is now in my Broad-banded gallery, based on those two cel spots again.

You can read about the Broad-banded Swallowtail or Papilio astyalus on Wikipedia or see more photos I’ve made in my new Broad-banded Swallowtail Gallery. I base my ID on photos in the book A Swift Guide to Butterflies of Mexico and Central America and particularly the two big cell spots on the upper wings. Butterflies continue to amaze me! And below are 5 new shots of this new one for me . . .

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Mid-day Walk “Leaf Collection”

Tuesday I had a morning doctor’s appointment in San Jose, getting back a little before noon and took a walk on my nearby “Country Lane” extension of 8th Ave. As I entered the road I asked myself, “What can I photograph today?” Almost immediately my eyes fell on a leaf! And so I tried to see how many different leaves I could make photos of with my cellphone. Here are 13 that were accessible and I purposely did not include fern fronds since I did a post on them last week, nor palm fronds because most are too high to reach with my cellphone! 🙂

Here’s one for the email and then you go to the full post for the gallery of 13 leaves!

A leaf growing alongside a country road.
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The Beautiful in Life

I always receive much inspiration from every walk up the hill behind my house . . .

Parroquia San Rafael Arcángel Church, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica seen from hill behind my house.

The Beautiful in Life

The beautiful in life…
Some talk of it in poetry,
Some grow it from the soil,
Some build it in a steeple,
Some show it through their toil.
Some breathe it into music,
Some mold it into art,
Some shape it into bread loaves…
Some hold it in their hearts.

~Bernard Meltzer

¡Pura Vida!

See my photo gallery of the main Catholic Church in Atenas.

And/or the WEBSITE of Parroquia San Rafael Arcángel

Note that I’m not a Roman Catholic but this church is the only one in Atenas that inspires me to seek God – whether photographing from a distance like above or up close from Central Park or going inside their beautiful sanctuary to just sit quietly and pray. I’m inspired by the architecture, the ambience, the tranquility, the beauty, their music and even the church bells ringing! I thank God for this Catholic Church!

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Cows Upon A Hill

To describe part of my walk last Saturday morning early, I found this nice poem:

Cows Upon A Hill

There is nothing I like better
In the sunrise of the day
To see cows on the hill
It’s the perfect time to pray

~Marilyn Lott

The Costa Rica University Systems has a special agricultural university campus on the edge of Atenas and these cows I frequently see and like to photograph are a part of that student farm on the next hill over from mine. 🙂 Students study here from all over Central American as the best of Latin American agricultural schools! And they learn a whole lot more than just our local coffee farming! 🙂 And next door to where I live!

Cows Upon A Hill, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See all four Photos . . .

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Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Not a new bird for me but the first seen in a long time and not in my yard. Saturday morning I walked up the steep hill above my house where usually near the top there are a lot of birds. Not! I don’t know if it is the time of year, the weather or something else – but I’m just not seeing as many birds this year as in the past, either in my yard or other places like this walk. But I was glad to capture this Elaenia, even if against an overcast white sky! 🙂

Read about the Yellow-bellied Elaenia on eBird, or see my other photos in my personal Yellow-bellied Elaenia Gallery and/or peruse all my CR Birds Gallery.

Here’s my featured shot, then read on for two more different shots . . .

Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Unidentified Moth or Skipper

I have the largest book I can find on butterflies and moths in Costa Rica and yet I continue to find and photograph live specimens not in my books nor can I find on the many websites – a little frustrating for someone who likes to label everything! 🙂 But anyway, here’s my newest unidentified butterfly/moth found in my garden in Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica:

On the outside wall of my house by the garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Because I expect to be able to identify all my butterfly/moth photos, I’m frustrated:

“Expectation is the mother of all frustration. “

~Antonio Banderas

🙂

¡Pura Vida!

All my CR Butterfly/Moth Galleries

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Banded Skipper?

This is a “general ID” with the book having a full page of different banded skippers, but none show the orange on tail like mine and none with 6 or 7 spots on outer wings like mine, but otherwise matching several of the “Banded Skippers.” See my other photos of this same butterfly in my Banded Skipper Gallery, all from my garden. None of the online sites I studied help me. There are so many species of butterflies in Costa Rica that it could even be one not officially identified or labeled yet. 🙂

Banded Skipper? – Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Banded Skipper? – Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See my Banded Skipper Gallery for more shots of this butterfly.

Or see all of my CR Butterflies Galleries.

¡Pura Vida!

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Fern on the Rocks?

Along my “Country Lane” extension of Avenida 8 road they at one point cut through rock to make the road and just a week or so ago it looked like this:

On yesterday’s walk I noticed that much of that rock was now covered in a new fern to me that the best I can tell from an internet search is the Delta Maidenhair Fern – Adiantum Raddianum (Wikipedia link). Please correct me if you know better. It was the closest match on the web and I don’t have a fern book! 🙂 Here’s what much of the rock looks like now, followed by a small gallery of more images. Very beautiful plant to me!

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