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That now makes 18 national symbols for Costa Rica! Read about why this one and what the other national symbols are in this Tico Times Article. And be sure to check out my collection of Blue Morpho photos in my Blue Morpho Gallery! Including this one below.
And you might also be interested in this article in Tico Times this week: Costa Rica Increases Forest Protection by Over 16 million Hectares
¡Pura Vida!
Three different bees that I have not tried to identify yet from my time at Guayabo Lodge, near Turrialba, Costa Rica through yesterday.
And for those who have written about my health, I went to Clinica Linea Vital for a checkup yesterday and an added visit to Santa Sophia Clinic for x-rays. Plus I got two shots and Rx’s for inflammation, swelling and something else she noted that will relieve my pains. So I do try to take care of myself, even if clumsy in my old age! 🙂
ON THE LODGE’S FARM . . .
AND . . .
Continue reading “Bees at Irazú & Guayabo Lodge”
Yep! I just went 6 days without blogging which is not my usual habit which is to write posts 3 or 4 days ahead then break from the routine while posts keep coming out. No health problems or catastrophes, “just tired of blogging.” But with another trip coming tomorrow, I’m in the mood and here’s a few nature photos made during this “down time.”
I’m still not getting many butterflies in my garden yet other than the fast-moving Yellows that never seem to land for a photo. But here’s two bees in my garden this morning:
I recently discovered Community Carbon Trees Costa Rica which employs rural poor people to plant trees on non-productive farm land where there used to be a forest and many such barren spots are coming back as forest. Check out the above website available in both English and Español to see the great work they are doing and how you can both come here and volunteer or donate money to plant and maintain trees for renewed forests!
You may not be aware that all the photos in my gallery (on SmugMug) are available for purchase as prints, wall art, and on other objects through SmugMug services (they do a great job!) PLUS my Bookstore on Blurb has my photo books available for sale. Because both sites use sub-contractors to print, they may seem a little pricy and thus I have kept my “profit” or “mark-up” down to just $1 on each item. Now I’ve decided to donate 100% of that to Community Carbon Trees (see link above) to plant trees on bare land that used to be forest. So now you know that if you buy a photo or photo book you are helping to plant trees and save our planet! Thank you! And if you don’t need a photo, why not go to their website and donate something to help plant trees? 🙂
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
― Nelson Henderson
¡Pura Vida!
And of course I have a CR Trees Gallery! 🙂
Some tourism ads and photos/videos from visitors to Costa Rica make you think you will see Monkeys and Sloths everywhere you go, which is not true. Except for the aggressive White-faced Capuchin Monkey, all other monkeys are quite shy and elusive, but if you try, you can find them and photograph them all over the country, especially in the rainforests. Sloths are even more shy and difficult to see and photograph. But if you check my CR Mammals Gallery you will see the many photos I have of both monkeys and sloths or photos a total of 28 different mammals here! But the one wild mammal I see the most often and in the largest number is the White-faced Coatimundi or generally just “Coati” or the local Spanish name of “Pizote.”
Though in the Raccoon family, they are quite different and we do have raccoons here also! 🙂 See the “Treehugger” website’s 11 Interesting Coatimundi Facts. They live from Mexico south to the northern fringes of South America, so mostly a Central American animal. You frequently see them in large groups or families sniffing around the ground for grubs and beetles (feature photo at top), which is their favorite food, though they are omnivorous and do eat fruits, frogs, lizards, and other small creatures and plants. Read more on Wikipedia.
The shots below are some I made on my recent trip to Manquenque Lodge . . .
Though I have mostly recovered from my cancer radiation treatments, I can tell from the quality of photos from this trip compared to the two other trips to Maquenque that I have not fully recovered in energy or creativity, but maybe these five shots will provide at least a glimpse of being in the rainforest here in Costa Rica.
The “greenness” of Costa Rica is just one of the many things I love about it and this green privacy wall is one example of how green the houses are around here. Photographed on one of my walks down “Country Lane.”
¡Pura Vida!
I was contacted by one of the board members and assured that they did not approve the destruction of that beautiful big tree. It was the landowner’s decision and right to cut it down. You can see my updated or revised statement on the original post Chainsaw Massacre Across the Street or I am copying the revised statement here plus I edited a couple of other lines in the post:
I apologize that I blamed the Homeowner’s Association and the employees for allowing or doing this destruction of a beautiful big tree. A board member contacted me to say they were distraught also about the loss of this great tree and that the landowner is the one who decided to cut it down and he/she owns it and has the right to do so. So shame on whoever that is! Note that it was an employee that said it was cut down because of the water shortage here. I don’t know if that is why the owner cut it. Maybe I was right the first time saying they would probably build a rent house there.
Our board of directors work hard to make this a better place to live! Thank you!
I’m still sad! 🙁
Last February I wrote a blog post titled “Tree by the Pasture” featuring one of my favorite trees, plus it is (was) across the street from my house in a vacant lot beside the houses on the edge of the cow pasture. Well I was quite troubled the other day when I heard a chain saw continuing most of the day Monday and continuing on Tuesday and went over to see what was happening, fearing they would take down that beautiful tree to build another ugly house, which is what they seem to be doing.
Well, below are my photos of the following 2 days of their chainsaw massacre. Will they leave the ugly stub or eventually level it?
Continue reading “Chainsaw Massacre Across the Street”