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| Yigüirro (clay-colored thrush) The national bird of Costa Rica is one of many landing in my fast-growing guarumo (cecropia) – hoping it will soon be a toucan! |
I Love My Trees!
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| Strangler Fig Tree by the road in front yard. |
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| Palm Tree behind my Guarumo Tree in side yard which is my front yard, balcony |
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| Guarumo Tree leaf, up close. This is a type of cecropia tree. Leaves are the favorite food of sloths, and the seeds of Keel-billed Toucans! Mine has to get a lot larger for animals though! |
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| Yellow Bell Tree is the name I choose from many it is called. My front yard will be beautiful with 4 of them come February-March! |
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| Ylang-Ylang Tree, is known for its wonderful smell or aroma! Mine is new, but hope for the aroma before a year is up! A source of perfumes! |
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| Unknown Tree (for now) I see out my kitchen window. |
Want to improve your health? Go Live Near Trees says an article in The Washington Post.
A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.
~Hermann Hesse, Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte
Guarumo Cecropia Tree in Symbiotic Relationship with Ants
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| Guarumo Cecropia tree in my front yard |
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| Guarumo leaves are some of the most interesting in the tropics. |
When my personal gardener told me the Guarumo tree would attract Toucans with the seeds, I told him I wanted one! And I have it! It grows naturally only in Central America and is one of several kinds of Cecropia trees. I panicked this week when I saw a stream of tiny ants crawling up and down the trunk of the tree and called Cristian for help! He stopped by after another job today and explained that this ant is the friend of this tree. They help each other in a symbiotic relationship, providing food and housing for the ants who in turn protect the tree from leaf-eating predators. It was also used by Amerindians for medicinal purposes and is now used by pharmaceutical companies.
All of the cecropia trees are the favorite food of sloths, so you most often see photos of sloths in large cecropia trees, but not usually the Guarumo though. Mine will have to be a lot larger to hold either a toucan or sloth! Right now it is just a special kind of symbiotic ants! It not only looks cool, but is a great lesson in working together with smaller, sometimes hated creatures!
A sustainable world means working together to create prosperity for all.
~Jacqueline Novogratz
And by the way, I just this moment realized that today is my 6 month anniversary in Costa Rica! I moved here December 24, 2014. I’m glad I came! Maybe I will eventually figure out a symbiotic relationship with Costa Rica. 🙂
House Tour – Outside Today
Here’s a few views of the outside of my house and some of the new plants I got today. Tomorrow I will show the inside rooms.
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| My favorite room in the house is actually outside, my balcony, deck, patio. This tile floor is throughout the house and outside walkways around three sides. Nice! Plus the wooden ceiling is throughout the house. |
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| 105 Calle Roca Verde, one of the few houses in Atenas with a house number! I’m the house on right behind trees, Don & Linda to left with carport and our landlord lives on top of the hill behind us. I guard the gate, ha, ha! There is also a gate to get inside the development with a real guard 24/7. |
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| View of my house from street. The three little decorative palms in front were added today to replace the three that died from lack of water in dry season. I plan to make watering plants a major dry season activity! You can barely see the Red Palm planted at end of balcony & a tall, skinny Guarumo Tree in front of balcony. |
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| You have already seen my new entry garden, but we planted ground cover today that should spread fast. |
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| Three Fishtail Palms and a Banana Plant (on right) were planted today as a screen in front of my bedroom window (right) and guest room (left) for privacy on this street side. They will fill in and spread in a month or two. And maybe I’ll be eating the bananas by Christmas! 🙂 |
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| The driveway and entry side. The entry hall is to left by garden, but I mainly use the balcony at right as my main entrance. This may be the least interesting side of house, but my new entry garden is going to change that! Pot plants on this wall would block the tile walkway, except maybe at that corner on patio. I’m making it my home and so for love it inside and out! It is just right for me. |
Tomorrow I’ll show you around inside the house as it is now decorated. My art may arrive this week, but I will probably add only a few pieces around a well decorated house! Buenas Noches!
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| Tonight’s sunset colored the clouds in the north. Beautiful! Each evening a new surprise! How did I ever live without a balcony? This is my cathedral! |