charliedoggett.net
Both my gardens and ones I visit
When I watch an animal gazing like this I cannot help but wonder, “At what does he gaze?” Us humans tend to think he is looking for food, and maybe he is – but could he not also be gazing at some beauty unseen by me? A Rufous-naped Wren in my Guarumo Tree during my breakfast.
Gazing on beautiful things acts on my soul.
Not at a seafood restaurant but in my garden! It’s English name is “Golden Shrimp Plant” and it is a beautiful heavy-bloomer year-around, at least here where we have year-around Spring! The last additions to my garden included one of these plants and I love it. Read about it on Wikipedia or since it is used in gardens in the states during warm weather, read more on this Master Gardener website.
“Hidden in the glorious wildness like unmined gold.”
―
More flower photos in my Flora & Forest Gallery.
World Day for Cultural Diversity
Thursday May 21, 2020
¡Pura Vida!
He’s revisiting my garden and thus I’m posting some new photos of a favorite bee here. See my Bees Gallery for some better photos made earlier or posted on earlier blog posts linked below. And if interested in reading about this Central American bee, there’s a good history on Wikipedia. (People in Florida are trying to introduce them there.)
¡Pura Vida!
He was showing an interest in one of my dried up flowers in the garden the other day and I have not found a name for him yet – just another interesting creation of God!
“Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit — the cosmos?”
― A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf
¡Pura Vida!
See my “Other Insects” Gallery for more fun bugs.
This is one of several birds I saw at breakfast this morning including a Lineated Woodpecker, Blue-gray Tanager, Clay-colored Thrush, White-winged Dove and some unidentified flyers. But this is the only one I got a photo of and my second time to see this species here. One of my guide books says they come as breeding visitors Feb to Oct. It is a sparrow-sized bird very much like the Red-eyed Vireo which is less common here.
I saw the other one March 28 on Calle Nueva with not as good a photo, but you can see it in my Yellow-Green Vireo gallery. Or read about them on eBird with a map showing where they are found. Happy birding!
“Not humans, but birds often witness the most beautiful mornings in this world!”
―
¡Pura Vida!
P.S.
And oh yes, if I haven’t said yet, “Rainy Season” or “winter” (my favorite time of year) is well under way here with rain or showers every afternoon. I love it! Cooler, fresher air and so much greener! My garden loves it too! 🙂
I was impressed by this little article in The Washington Post today:
The garden has lessons for us in this quarantine, if we are willing to stop and listen
Photo above in my garden today.
My Gallery Flora & Forest
¡Pura Vida!
The day for all of us to count birds where we are to help science better determine the stability of our fragile planet. Today, 9 May 2020 is GLOBAL BIG DAY of counting birds.
Find out how at:
https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-9-may-2020
¡Pura Vida!
And after you have counted bird, check out my collection of BIRDS photographed from around the world!
And here’s an interesting NPR article shared by Larry, especially for those who are noticing their birds more – read or listen to at:
Do Those Birds Sound Louder To You? An Ornithologist Says You’re Just Hearing Things
My gardeners made a special trip over today with three new plants to freshen up three pots, two outside and one inside. I may show them later, but after completing the job they gifted me with a bunch of bananas (probably from one of the yards they service) and I had just bought some yesterday! So – extra bananas!
I keep them in the frig because earlier I had bats eating my bananas in a fruit bowl on the counter, so they will keep – but I still need to eat them more frequently this week. Thus I had a banana split after my spaghetti dinner tonight! Small dips of different kinds of ice cream: Fig, Rum-Raisin, and Chocolate Mint with chocolate syrup and two cherries on top! Betcha you never had that combination! Pretty good! 🙂
Yeah, in Central American Banana Republics we eat a lot of those! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Read The Washington Post stories that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize Especially the one explaining climate change!
Thanks to my friend Larry for catching this fine AP News Article: Bird-watching soars amid COVID-19 as Americans head outdoors Read the article linked to see what people all over the U.S. are doing more of now, then head over to eBird or just use your phone to download the free app Merlin to identify birds and start your “bird collection” online or in a photo gallery. My world-wide (10 countries) ebird count is over 530 now! 🙂 Thank you Larry for this great way to relieve one’s boredom from quarantine! And feel free to peruse my BIRDS photo collection that include 76+ species I photographed in the States before moving to Costa Rica.
Now, this quote from the article:
“The birds don’t know that there’s a pandemic. They’re migrating, building nests and laying eggs, just like they always have,” ~Michael Kopack Jr.
¡Pura Vida!
One week from today, May 9, is GLOBAL BIG DAY for bird counting all around the globe. Click that link to see how you can participate from your home while in quarantine. It is easy to get a free eBird account then record the number and species of birds you see or it can be done through the Audubon Society.
If you have trouble identifying birds in your yard and don’t have a field guide to help (or even with it) download the free phone app called Merlin that will help you identify your bird. It is fun and free and can be done from anywhere in the world, even from inside your house looking out a window. Try participating in GLOBAL BIG DAY of bird counting wherever you are next Saturday, May 9. Get ready now.
And to help motivate you, check out my collection of BIRDS photographed from around the world in my “older” adult years! 🙂
¡Pura Vida!