Category: Nature

My profession is to always find God in nature.

– Henry David Thoreau

Posted on

Nat Geo names Costa Rica as Happy Place

Read about it in the online National Geographic article:
These are the World’s Happiest Places

NOTE: It may require you to log into your Nat Geo account to read the whole article.

or for an overview of how they measured happiness and 9 ways to be happy, see these videos

My garden is one of my “Happy Places” here.  🙂
As is my total Photo Gallery!  What makes you happy? 

Other organizations & universities have listed “happiest countries” similarly and always Costa Rica is in the top 3! It is nice living where people are happy and not complaining all the time like in states. It adds to me being healthy as does the universal healthcare here! “What? Me Worry?” 

¡Pura Vida!

Posted on

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Waiting for his turn at the feeder in my garden
 on a cloudy, rainy day in
 Atenas, Costa Rica 
A family of these Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds have taken over my two feeders, meaning I watch them literally every morning at breakfast, nice, but . . .  also meaning I do not see other varieties of hummingbirds like I used to. I do still get a wide variety of other kinds of birds in the trees.

See my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery.


Sports News:  

  1. Costa Rica qualified for the International Futbol Event in Russia by tying Honduras last night. 
  2. Costa Rica will have 522 persons running in the Chicago Marathon, 3rd largest group from Latin America after Mexico & Brazil and more than some European countries! 
Posted on

Rose-throated Becard

Rose-throated Becard female
In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

Rose-throated Becard female
In my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

This is my first sighting of this particular bird, a breakfast treat off my terrace. Not super photos because of shooting between leaves, but fun! And I thank Yeral Jiménez Porras for identifying it by the technical name of Hembra de Pachyramphus aglaiae. “Hembra” is Spanish for “female” in the birding world. The common Spanish name is: El anambé degollado  He identified it for me in just minutes after I posted these photos on the CR Facebook group Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica.

See all my Costa Rica Birds photo gallery.

Posted on

In the Garden This Morning

Some mornings start out cloudy, but usually not all day.
Atenas, Costa Rica

EXTRA TIDBITS ABOUT COSTA RICA

Teatro Nacional Celebrates 120 Years by Planning Renovation
And I personally will celebrate it by attending a special presentation of “Swan Lake” by the 72 person ballet of Havana, Cuba on October 15.

Read this interesting article on “The Origin of Name Costa Rica AND phrase Pura Vida.”

Posted on

Good Morning World

Squirrel Cuckoo
My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica

Two mornings in a row for breakfast and he gave me a better pose this morning. Plus in only one shot did all 5 tail feathers show like this, so I’m particularly pleased with this one! It happened just as the fog lifted on a beautiful morning in Atenas!

And on my walk downtown today I got a shot of the church I’m pleased with, but I’m holding it for another day. It is so enjoyable to just walk through this tranquil little town every day! And I often stop in a little shop for a cup of coffee and a rollito de canela (cinnamon roll). This is living!
Breaking News:
Atenas is one of the safest cantons (counties) in Costa Rica according to statistics!  
How encouraging to someone who lives here!  (right click to change article to English)
Posted on

White Angled Sulphur Butterfly

White Angled Sulphur Butterfly 
In My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica

 

White Angled Sulphur Butterfly 
 In My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica

This was difficult to identify. I photographed one in 2015 and was a little unsure then, but with my new Mexico butterfly book I am certain now and confirmed it on the internet. Different!  🙂

See my Butterflies Photo Gallery.

Posted on

Un día tranquilo en el pueblo.

Un día tranquilo en el pueblo.  —  A quiet day in the village. 
 Atenas, Costa Rica
 as seen from my hilltop walk this morning. 

Several of my Photo Galleries include images of Atenas: 


Walking in Atenas  (mostly flowers & trees)
Vistas  (1st 3 sub galleries are of Atenas)
Atenas, Costa Rica (General, of buildings & people)

Costa Rica Birds  &  Other Wildlife  include many photos made in Atenas! 
Now that’s more info than you wanted, but hopefully it shows how complete my total Costa Rica Photo Gallery is as you drill down into different levels of galleries. It is true as named: 

And in many ways my main website now as a retiree in Costa Rica. Check it out! It is what I like doing more than anything now, making interesting photos of different aspects of Costa Rica. 
Posted on

Nesting Material

Rufous-naped Wren
Resting in a Cecropia (Guarumo) Tree
With nesting material from a Nance Tree
For the nest being built in my tallest palm tree.
Atenas, Costa Rica

And more birds in photo gallery:  Costa Rica Birds (238 Species)  

This particular wren is one of the most visible around my house and the most common one to fly inside my house as two did yesterday until I waved a towel for their exit.

¡Pura Vida!