A Rainbow of Tanagers
Bay-headed Tanager
Possibly my favorite bird seen at Arenal Observatory Lodge with the only other place seen so far being at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge at Piedras Blancas National Park near Golfito. The rich colors make this bird very attractive though he/she tends to stay behind the limbs and leaves of trees with berries, thus difficult to photograph! 🙂
Three more shots below including one eating a berry, plus you can see my other shots of this bird in my Bay-headed Tanager GALLERY! I love my growing collection of Costa Rica birds! 🙂
My 2022 in Photos
From the top of a volcano to the mangroves at the ocean’s edge and even in the tiny garden behind my casita, I’ve daily photographed nature for 8 years here and called that photography “Nature as Art!” and shared it in this blog. 🙂
I like this Collins Online Dictionary definition:
Nature is all the animals, plants, and other things in the world that are not made by people, and all the events and processes that are not caused by people.
Thus in nature I worship God and find my peace & inspiration from Him, the creator of it all!
Each year I find it difficult to select only 12 photos from the year and I first tried to come up with 12 “categories” of nature to make sure I selected a variety, but that became as cumbersome as trying to have a “photo-a-month.” So I decided to just stick with “12 favorites,” even if more than 12 are favorites! 🙂
So, however labeled, here’s 12 photos I made in 2022!
Happy New Year and Pura vida! 🙂
To the nearly 500 email subscribers: I hope you read on for the other 11 favorite photos . . .
Christmas Day Very Busy!
As I celebrated living in Costa Rica for 8 years, I had a very special Christmas Eve Dinner and this morning went to the Butterfly Conservancy in El Castillo on the lake, then hiked one of the trails here at Arenal Observatory and after another great dinner of baby back ribs, I’m going on a private Night Hike, just me and the guide! It was their suggestion since with the regular night hike of a group of 10 they knew I would find it difficult to make photos. Most of “my” lodges here really take care of this old man! 🙂 Photos from the night hike will come tomorrow.
And I haven’t had time to process photos of butterflies or anything else today, so here’s photos of the great sunny weather we had today and my first view this week of the volcano! The lake shot was at about sunset time, though the sun is not seen there this time of year, it’s still more pleasant with clear skies! 🙂 Much more to share tomorrow!
¡Pura Vida!
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana. . .
. . . 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:
- Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (the one in this blog post)
- Green Iguana
- Or see all of my LIZARDS Galleries
Park Renovation Update: Playground
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!
What will I Have at the Art Show?
Wall Art
I’m bringing 21 photos printed on metal with a special mounting piece to give your wall art a contemporary 3-D look or a nice little shadow. In many sizes and subjects!
Plus three other product categories . . .
Continue reading “What will I Have at the Art Show?”Liking the Lichens
Photographed under the same Higueron Tree as yesterday’s mushrooms, only a few days later and the mushrooms were gone! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
See also my Just Fungi GALLERY!
🙂
New Perspective Each Morning
Yep! I seem to see my garden a little differently each morning and never tire of walking through it. Here’s my snaps of flowers as seen 2 or 3 mornings ago – I know that they are often the same flowers but I am seeing them differently each time. 🙂 Pura vida!
A sample for the email announcement and then a slide show . . .
Continue reading “New Perspective Each Morning”Chachalaca
They are ever-present and often noisy but still an interesting bird.