A Simple Pleasure: Desert Rose Bloom

Just one bloom on a potted desert rose plant is a joy and mine has been loaded with blooms this year during rainy season and maybe because I moved it to the side of house for morning sun – my gardener’s suggestion! Later I will show a photo of the whole plant with multiple blooms, but somehow the only photo of the total plant is in my January 12, 2018 Post about this particular flower, though it was not as loaded in flowers as it has been recently.

“A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.” 
― Walt Whitman

For my gallery of Costa Rica Flowers+ see:   FLORA & FOREST 

Pink-spotted Cattleheart Butterfly

Pink-spotted Cattleheart Butterfly

This is a rarer find today! This butterfly only exists from Mexico south as far as Costa Rica and is more common in Mexico and Guatemala. Read about the pink-spotted cattleheart, Parides photinus on Wikipedia or Google for other sites and articles.

Clay-colored Thrush or Yiqüirro

 

The National Bird of Costa Rica is known for singing in the rainy season in April and May, thus his honored position in Costa Rica, yet a simple bird. Seen here in my back garden, hiding behind a limb he thinks.

Change the world by being yourself. – Amy Poehler

Giant White Butterfly

Another Giant White Butterfly – the only species slowing down enough to photograph in my garden right now and I’m not going beyond my garden these days with a sore shoulder. This is a repeat butterfly within a week, but a different view.  🙂  The chachalacas and rufous-naped wrens are active but I’m tired of photographing them. So a repeat butterfly today!

My shoulder is doing fine, the incision healing well and I start with a physical therapist Saturday. Pain only bothers me at night and the pills help with that.

Plain Longtail Buttefly

The Plain Longtail Butterfly or Urbanus simplicius proves that all butterflies are not colorful. In fact, I had one of the many different longtails in my bathroom one night and thought at first that it was a bat! Yes, he is fury!  But you have to admit that he is very interesting and beautiful in his own simple way, photographed here in my garden. I have a photo of a White-striped Longtail in my butterfly gallery and there are other varieties.

See also my Photo Gallery Butterflies and Moths with more than 80 species photographed here in Costa Rica.

I also have a little 7X7 inch photo book titled My First 50 Butterflies in Costa Rica.  You can preview all pages electronically for free at this link. Best viewed full screen for bigger photos.

¡Pura Vida!

Report on My Surgery Last Night

My right arm is still numb, so limited left-hand typing. Hospital and docs/staff were super! I see doc tomorrow and schedule physical therapy. No problems, still numb. No pain.

Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly

The Gulf Fritillary Butterfly is found in the states touching the Gulf of Mexico, especially Florida and South Texas, all the way south through Central America and the northern edges of South America. They love to feed on my Lantana (Porterweed) plants shown in these photos in my garden and also love the Passionflower when available (I have none), thus its secondary name of Passion Butterfly.

The above average rain this year has helped my flowers which seems to bring more butterflies and maybe more varieties. June and July are the peak months for butterflies here, meaning they may decrease in number soon. I include two photos to show the difference in the bright orange top of wings and the underside with silver/white spots. Beautiful!

Gulf Fritillary or Passion Butterfly

 

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.    ~Richard Bach

See also my Photo Gallery Butterflies and Moths with more than 70 species photographed here in Costa Rica.

I also have a little 7X7 inch photo book titled My First 50 Butterflies in Costa Rica.  You can preview all pages electronically for free at this link. Best viewed full screen for bigger photos.

Report on Tonight’s Surgery will come in tomorrow’s post, Tuesday.

¡Pura Vida!

Giant White Butterfly

This name or label is the closest match found in online searches with the scientific name of  Ganyra josephina, found from South Texas all the way through Central America to northern South America. It is similar to the Felder’s White found in the book A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America with scientific name Ganyra phaloe (which name I almost gave it). Another web page had a similar butterfly labeled Godart’s White, almost identical to Felder’s, both having a little brown edge around the upper wings which mine does not have. Mine more closely matches the “Giant White” photos and descriptions online but is not in Swift’s book.

Butterflies are so difficult to identify, especially in Costa Rica where we seem to have millions of different ones! This was photographed in my garden in Atenas, Costa Rica.

See also my Photo Gallery Butterflies and Moths with more than 70 species photographed here in Costa Rica.

I also have a little 7X7 inch photo book titled My First 50 Butterflies in Costa Rica.  You can preview all pages electronically for free at this link. Best viewed full screen for bigger photos.

¡Pura Vida!