charliedoggett.net
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| Little Yellow Sulphur is one of many yellow ones all around now. Note that this is different than the other two yellow butterflies I’ve shown. On my Plumbago flower, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
And I have a PHOTO GALLERY of Costa Rica Butterflies that you might enjoy. Peace & Love!
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| It is rainy season (though less rain this year) and that means high humidity, even in your house. So I discover this interesting product at PriceSmart. DampRid |
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| I hang it in my closet and it absorbs the moisture from my clothing and the surrounding air. The crystals in the upper bag collect water and put it in the lower silver bag until full or crystals used. |
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| By holding up to light you can see the water in lower bag and some of the crystals that are dissolving down there. A bag lasts about a month so far. |
Because my windows stay open at all times and there are often breezes, the air in the rooms does not seem to be as humid and I haven’t felt the need for a dehumidifier yet. September and October are when the heavy rains come and it may be different then, though being on a hill with good cross-venting air flow, it will probably be fine.
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| Dobsonfly at La Casa CATUCA, The Atenas Chamber of Commerce (sort of) in a historic old house that includes arts, crafts, Tico food, and tourist assistance. My picture framer has a shop in here and the Tico food is great! I recommend it! You never know where a cool bug will show up! So have cell phone camera ready! |
Read about the Dobsonfly on Wikipedia.
And for more of my insect photos, see Costa Rica Insects PHOTO GALLERY
or the separate Costa Rica Butterflies PHOTO GALLERY, a much larger collection.
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| Common Rain Frog (probably), though similar to Wet Forest Toad and Rain Forest Toad. There are more frogs/toads here than anywhere, ID is difficult! This one from my garden is waiting at my front door! About 3-5 inches, 10 cm. +/- Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica Click to enlarge photo. A third the size of Giant Toad shown earlier. |
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| “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” ~Henry David Thoreau |
logarithm of time perception over the years. Hopefully this link to the Washington Post article will work if not a subscriber. Don’t miss the cool video clip in the article! And yes, time seems to be flying by for me here in Costa Rica! Been here 7 months today and I never look back! Loving life here! And the Tico people!
I’m also learning to live in the moment more (like we did as little kids) and enjoying the simple things of life like a tropical rain or a butterfly flitting over my balcony. While still anticipating new adventures, like the three day trip next week to the Carara National Park to hopefully photograph Scarlet Macaws, yet knowing there will be a serendipity of some kind, with or without a macaw! Pura vida!
Pura vida. Pronounced POO-rah VEE-dah, in English means, “Pure Life”. However, these two words have much more meaning throughout the Costa Rican culture.
But where did Costa Ricans take this phrase from? According to a study of the expression, a film called Pura vida came to Costa Rica from Mexico in 1956, directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares. In the movie, “Pura vida” is the expression of eternal optimism used by a comic character, played by the actor Antonio Espino, who unfortunately can’t seem to do anything right. While a small population used it then, the phrase “Pura vida” was used nationwide by 1970.
Associated with many different English interpretations like “pure life”, “take it easy”, “enjoy life”, “all good”, “purity in life”, “hello”, “goodbye”, “this is life!” and many many more. The point is that foreigners truly don’t have a true grasp of the meaning of “pura vida” as they are not Costa Ricans themselves.
Pura vida! Means that no matter what your current situation is, life for someone else can always be less fortunate than your own. So you need to consider that maybe…just maybe, your situation isn’t all that bad and that no matter how little or how much you have in life, we are all here together and life is short…so start living it “pura vida style”.
Beginning to understand now, the true meaning of the uniquely Costa Rican term, “Pura Vida”? We feel that the more “foreigners” who truly grasp the concept, the better the world would be. Imagine if countries like the USA or Canada or in Europe started to live life like the Costa Ricans and adopted the pura vida lifestyle? Because honestly folks…no matter how much of a mess your life may seem, there is always someone else who’s life would make yours look like a vacation in paradise.
Pura vida description copied from: http://www.bestcostaricantours.com/about/puravida.html
I am not necessarily recommending this travel agent and have not personally experienced them yet, but like I their description of Pura Vida better than others I found! 🙂 I do plan to try them for one of my future adventures because I like their approach to nature tours.
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| Iglesia La Soledad, Alajuela |
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| A Simple Elegance |
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| And a young church for Costa Rica! Many are dated to the 1500’s! |
When I took Anthony for his going away lunch at his favorite restaurant in San Jose (Tin Jo), we saw this nearby church and made a brief visit. In Latin cities there is a church in almost every barrio or neighborhood. This is one of those. A simple beauty that I like and part of my “Costa Rica Churches” photo collection that is bound to begin soon! 🙂
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| Zerumbet Zerumbet Ginger, Maraca Plant in Costa Rica, and in other places Shampoo Ginger or Pine Cone Ginger (links are to Google photos of flowers) |
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| It is the tall plant, two spears now with the little yellow flower on ground at base. They grow 7 to 8 feet tall and can have a large cluster of flowers at base. Click photo links under top image. |
I’m really excited about this addition to my garden which I requested in the beginning, but they are very difficult to find. They surprised me the other day! In a year or two it will be developed more with multiple shoots and multiple flowers. The flower starts small and yellow like this one and by October will be more like a pine cone and will have turned red or sometimes orange. This may be the neatest addition to my garden yet! A Heliconia plant was in that location and they moved it to my front yard for more color there! It is fun to live in a garden! Plus I start traveling next week.
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| White-striped Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| White-striped Longtail, Atenas, Costa Rica |
He’s in the family of “Brown Longtails” which has several without the white stripes.
What’s a butterfly garden without butterflies?~Roy Rogers 🙂
See my Costa Rica Butterflies Photo Gallery.
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| Both children and adults were excited about my nativity collection. All sold! |
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| It was a wonderful community party for families, here watching one of the Music School performers. With my photos & paintings all around them! |
Some of my art collection was sold in Nashville, but I shipped a lot here and after going through it for the pieces I could use in my house, everything else went in the Silent Auction, a first time experience for many here. The hundreds of people who came were nearly all Tico, wonderful local folks. Only 3 or 4 expat or gringo households showed up. Everything was purchased and some at bargain prices! It does my heart good to know how much of my art/photos are in Tico homes here in Atenas! And the Atenas Marching Band (free Music School) and Su Espacio have benefited pretty well from the sales. But, as David said, the best thing about it was how much fun people had being here and being together and discovering new things cheaply. He is thinking of beginning a monthly flea market as a similar social experience and opportunity for struggling people to bring in a few dollars. It is all about community at Su Espacio!
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| The Music School Choir sang along with lots of individual music acts, almost like a recital among my photos & art. |
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| The Music School Mom’s sold yummy Tico Food to help with fund-raising. Mi tamal y el café era muy delicioso! |
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| David (my Spanish teacher) and his wife Corinna were the cashiers. They operate Su Espacio Community Center. He is a Tico from Atenas and she is Italian! They have two beautiful children! |
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| And of course it was the Tico adults who bought the art, in spite of my other photos showing mostly kids! |
And now Atenas has been introduced to “Silent Auctions!” Before this weekend, an “auction” meant some men were selling their cows at the bull ring. And our cultures continue to blend! 🙂
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
― Barack Obama
“No one has ever become poor by giving.”
― Anne Frank, Diary of Anne Frank
You can thumb through it electronically for free! My very first book in Spanish! 🙂 Be sure to click the “Full Screen” button bottom right.