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The first shot was earliest, about 4:45 am and increasingly later until 3rd at about 5 am. It changes rapidly over the fifteen minutes or so of rising. I also gradually zoomed in on the sky in each progressive shot.
See a free preview of my book: Sunrise Banana Azul with all 2-page spread photos on “lay flat” photo paper.
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
I got similar shots yesterday and this morning with the sun completely hidden behind clouds, but as always, it is still beautiful and no two sunrises are alike! 🙂 Here’s 4 shots from this morning while having my early coffee on the beach! 🙂
On one of my walks to town the other day these high school aged kids did not see me snap a photo of them with my phone. They were evidently doing a service project, possibly through the school, painting this public picnic table at the City Sports Park next to the covered Basketball Court. Hopefully they are painting all of the several at this park which are always full at lunch time with a very popular empanada shop across the street in one direction and fried chicken (el pollo frito) a block the other direction. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Another “First Time Seen” butterfly for me, so I’m doing a second post today! 🙂 One of the “Hairstreak” butterflies, the Dusky-blue Groundstreak, Calycopis isobeon (link to butterflies & moths.org), is all over Costa Rica and another fingernail-sized butterfly! 🙂
I’m posting more butterflies than birds now partly because I haven’t had many birds in my garden and this is the time of year for more butterflies in Atenas is one reason. Another is that my interest in butterflies is going up and I have just become the “Costa Rica Coordinator” for the website butterfliesandmoths.org and since they haven’t had a CR Coordinator for 7 or more years here, I inherited a backlog of 450 submissions which will take months to go through, identify and approve while I’m anxious to submit my own 150 species photographed here. 🙂 I seem to always have plenty to keep me busy! 🙂 Enjoy this cool and different tiny butterfly and go outside and look for some where you live!
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| http://www.greentiquehotels.com/ |
NEXT WEEK:
Then Monday morning I plan to take off for Corcovado National Park (largest rainforest preserve in Central America) & Drake Bay for 6 days of nature adventure & photography. I will have three trips into the park and one to an island out in this bay of the Pacific. I’m ready!
And I’m staying in what looks like a really nice lodge, Aguila de Osa Rainforest Lodge with all meals included and all trips/guides pre-scheduled. This is going to be one of my better trips! 🙂 Boat & hiking in the rainforest, explore a little tropical island, snorkle in the Pacific, and hopefully photograph a lot of birds! 🙂 I fly down.
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| http://www.aguiladeosa.com/ |
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| Panama Flycatcher Tarcoles River, Costa Rica |
For the birder readers, this is my first sighting of one of these here and in Costa Rica they are found only along the Pacific Coast. They are also seen in most of Panama. They look most like the Nutting’s Flycatcher which has more of a rufous tail and in Costa Rica is found only in the Northwest corner or Guanacaste Province and also in most of Nicaragua.
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| Blue Boat Tarcoles River, Costa Rica |
Anytime I’m near water I look for what might be considered a “picturesque boat.” This one only barely qualifies, but really stood out against the brown water and bank with green trees.
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| Large Heliconia growing wild along the river banks, same as in my garden. Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica |
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| Small Heliconia also growing wild in forest and here in the lodge garden, similar to my garden! |
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| Cashew Nut is usually a surprise to people when first seen growing! One nut per flower! |
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| Hooker’s Lips or Hot Lips is another surprising plant. |
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| I can’t find the name of this blue berried plant in the rainforest. |
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| Achiote (bixa orellana) is used for food coloring red and sometimes lips |
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| Robert holds an open pod of the above Achiote flower showing the seeds It is those red seeds that have the red coloring for food or lips. A couple of children let him put red dots on their skin to show how it works. |
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| Papaya tree with a very popular fruit This is same one with the Collared Aracari Toucans I photographed Tortuguero Village, Costa Rica |
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| Torch Ginger flower |
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| Neat vine I just had to photograph! 🙂 |
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| Sunset from my Terrace. Yes, similar to an earlier post, but newer and the one I have ordered a 48X12 canvas print of. It will likely hang in my office/guest room. I’m running out of space to hang photos. 🙂 |
Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.
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| Colegio Liceo had the largest group of marching flags led by a Drum Majorette. |
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| When they stopped they had a very intricate presentation of weaving the lines in and out of each other to create a sea of red, white and blue – Colegio Liceo. |
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| As usual I watched the parade from Gelly’s across from Parque Central. Here Colegio Liceo is starting their presentation seen in second photo. |
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| Escuela Central Elementary School did great for younger kids! And they had the coolest caps! Boys and girls marched in separate lines. That’s elementary school for you! 🙂 |
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| Colegio San Rafael was led by a drum major. |
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| Though not as large as Liceo, San Rafael had impressive group & show! |
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| Patriotism and color on 15 de septiembre is just as big as US 4th of July! Just no mucho fireworks in Atenas. Another shot of Colegio San Rafael. (There’s a big fireworks show in San Jose. But I like my little farm town!) |
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| Unlabeled School (or I missed the sign) leave our area by the church. |