Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Atenas, Costa Rica |
Polydamas Swallowtail Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Polydamas Swallowtail, Atenas, Costa Rica
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Polydamas Swallowtail Butterfly, Atenas, Costa Rica |
My garden is so much fun! And beautiful! When I run out of new things to photograph in it I guess I’ll start traveling more. 🙂 And by the way, I’ve been photographing butterflies here since 2009. Check out some of the others in my Butterflies of Costa Rica photo gallery. And if you enjoy other interesting insects, I have a Insects of Costa Rica gallery also. And you wondered, “What in the world do you do every day way down there in Costa Rica? 🙂
And my new butterfly book arrived today at Aerocasillas from Amazon.com.
“Butterflies are self propelled flowers.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
“Red sky at night, Sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.” Last nigh’t sky from west end of my balcony through the trees. |
Last night’s sky from the driveway above my roof a few minutes later. |
Well, sure enough, it did not rain yesterday and has not so far today and it is after 4:00! I have to go water the new plants! I was enjoying the rainy season shower every afternoon! But regardless, I’ll keep my new trees and flowers alive with hose water! 🙂 And then look at this beautiful image:
And looking northwest toward Central Atenas a gorgeous pink & blue! I love seeing what God creates! |
A few lingering flowers still on one of the four Yellow Bells trees in my yard. |
In this quintessential Tico town, everyone is friendly and strangers greet you on the sidewalk if you are a walker like me and I always want to greet them. One of the interesting things I learned early on here is that younger people like to shorten phrases as they talk fast and a lot.
The common greetings are of course:
Buenos Dias – up until noon
Buenas Tardes – afternoon until dark
Buenas Noches – after dark
But now the most common greeting is just “Buenos” and some make the afternoon and evening distinction by saying “Buenas” (the feminine adjective for the feminine words tarde & noche, “a” instead of “o”.) But of course most older people still use the full phrases above, though not all.
Always trying to act younger, I’m now in the habit of saying “Buenos” to most people I meet. Of course if I know them or come into a class or other specific relationship with someone, it is then all the “How are you?” greetings and small talk for a bit. Almost as much as West Africa, though not quite.
Buenas noches from Pura Vida Atenas, Costa Rica! -Charlie
Sunset Over Atenas from my balcony |
Seen from driveway |
Seen from house door |
Looking from garden back to driveway and Don & Linda’s house |
The back sidewalk with red palm at end |
Pot plant in Living Room |
One pot on patio/balcony |
The other patio pot to help screen neighbors It will get much larger |
Sorry, I took most of these photos before sweeping and mopping the tile walkways because I was in a hurry to go shopping in Alajuela. And note that the vines are planted at top of walls but will take a few months to trail down, maybe looking good in August. Still to come next Saturday:
This is fun! And the landlord is paying for some of the above additions as I improve his property. I plan to stay here a long time! 🙂 I love the house and yard, my neighbors, and a great landlord who also a good neighbor! (And reads my blog some!) Pura Vida! This is more what I envisioned in Costa Rica than the apartments, though there were some good things about them and I enjoyed my time there as a good place to start.
Plumbago and Tutti Frutti in front, then tall green palmy plant goes in living room, more garden plants in back, palm around corner and the butterflies have already come! |
Below is a list of what Cristian says he is planting tomorrow. Click the linked name to see photos of what it looks like and the ones delivered today are in these photos here, though not all delivered yet. This will be a hummingbird and butterfly garden. Lots of photo ops!
Tutti Frutti (a variety of Lantana) – a row of mixed colors of flowers along the sidewalk (in photo at right, on the left side, shorter – yellow, pink, orange, red)
Maraca (Shampoo Ginger) – a really cool tropical flower (rare and it may take a while for him to find one but he will even if he has to take it from his uncle’s yard he says). He is really working hard to please me and have a perfect garden for butterflies and hummingbirds.
Red Palm at end of sidewalk in back not shown in above photo. It will block the street from my garden and anchor it. |
One variety of Red Ginger. I may get another. |
One variety of Heliconia and I will get at least one other variety he says. |
Palmetto, the only plant here now. Don’t think it was watered during dry season. I’ll take better care of it. |
You can probably tell that I’m very excited about getting my dream tropical garden this quickly, just a week after moving in. Of course tomorrow I will be showing you the completed masterpiece, I think I will call it my “Humming Garden” or in Spanish “Jardín del Tarareo ” You can walk through and either hum a tune or watch for butterflies and hummingbirds! 🙂 Pura Vida!
Museo Histórico Cultural Juan Santamaría, Alajuela, Costa Rica Kevin’s kind of museum! And a country without an army finds all forts to be historical! This is across from the central plaza. |
Alajuela Plaza Cathedral |
Church of the Agony, Alajuela |
We stop in La Garita at a plant nursery called a Vivero in Costa Rica |
Kevin enjoyed shooting flowers there |
We also tried to find a sugar cane mill we had passed earlier in the week, but failed to get on the right country road. So missed that photo op!
Michael King & Berdelle Campbell at Breakfast this morning Vista Atenas B&B, Atenas Costa Rica |
A flight cancellation and great delay got them into Costa Rica after dark and cancelled our original plans of lunch on their arrival day. So Michael King (Monell’s Restaurant) and Burdelle Campbell (My former Germantown neighbor) came back from their stay in Uvita (With Craig & Marcia Jervis of Mad Platter Restaurant) a day before their flights to stop and visit with me. And they got to see their only Costa Rica monkey right here on the Hacienda La Jacaranda property, our new Mantled Howler Monkeys. We had lunch at El Balcon del Cafe and I showed Berdelle around Atenas & my apartment while Michael worked. We then had dinner at La Trocha del Boyero. Because I could not give two of them much room or privacy in my apartment, I arranged rooms for them at Vista Atenas B&B.
They stayed at Vista Atenas B&B with this nice view of Atenas Valley |
Berdelle Campbell in Central Park Atenas |
A bouquet of flowers Berdelle brought me from Craig & Marsha’s yard in Uvita, just a few typical Costa Rica flowers sitting on my breakfast bar! 🙂 |
Pink trumpet tree or Roble de sabana My apartment complex entrance is 100 meters to the left |
Walking back from town today I suddenly realized I was walking across the street from the tree I posted yesterday as shot from my balcony. It is located just after I duck my head to walk under this bougainvillea over the sidewalk (photo below). I’ll try to create an album of neighborhood flowers soon. There are many!
Bougainvillea Arch over Atenas Sidewalk |
Roble de sabana or Pink trumpet tree |
The Pink Trumpet Tree (in English) or Roble de sabana (in Spanish) and the scientific or Latin name of Tabebuia rosea is a popular flowering three for this elevation of the Central Valley hills of 698 meters or 2300 feet. This is a shot from my balcony of two of these trees in a neighbor’s yard. You can see a lot living on a hill! 🙂 I love the views from my hill and balcony! Remember a couple of weeks ago the orange flowering Poro Tree I shared? Those orange flowers are fading now as different blossoms appear elsewhere. After a whole year I should have a good flowering tree collection – Photos, smiles, and memories!
“You must not know too much or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and watercraft; a certain free-margin, and even vagueness – ignorance, credulity – helps your enjoyment of these things.”