Just living is not enough . . .

“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”

~Hans Christian Andersen
Bougainvillea, Atenas, Costa Rica

From a walk in my garden with a cellphone! 🙂

I’m reading a book of all of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories now and liked this statement of his! Bougainvillea is not necessarily my favorite flower but they are at their peak of blooming right now and do add a lot of bright spots in our environment here! Everywhere! These are mine in a big pot outside on my terrace by the driveway between my Desert Rose and a potted Bamboo Palm. This is living! 🙂

Potted Bougainvillea, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

See also My Gallery: Flora & Forest of CR

Bye to My Garden for a Few Days

The Yellow Bells have started blooming and maybe the Triquitraque will be when I return with two little blooms already. My stone indigenous guard will watch over all while I’m gone! 🙂 It is always a pleasure to return to my own garden, a different pleasure than the adventure of travel. I love both!

Yellow Bells blooming now.
Continue reading “Bye to My Garden for a Few Days”

Strangler Fig

I daily encounter the huge Strangler Fig Tree by my house and almost daily the one on the road in front of my house by the cow pasture. The Wikipedia article gives the broader information about the many different tropical ficus trees with the common name of “Strangler Fig.” I am not able to identify which ficus tree it is in my yard and down the road by the cow pasture. They both seem to be typical of others I’ve seen on my travels across the country, but I will not try to guess the species and online searches only confuses me inf my ID effort! 🙂

The feature photo at top is the horizontal view of the one in my yard as seen from the corner of my terrace and below is a vertical shot from my terrace and another from within my yard closer. Though you cannot see it in these photos, it, like all this species, strangled a smaller tree that now has just one limb living. It will likely also overtake another little tree between it and the street.

Strangler Fig from My Terrace
Continue reading “Strangler Fig”

My “Hill Walk” Vista

Well, just one of many vistas from the hill above my house, but one of my favorite, the hilltop farm of the local farmers’ university here in Atenas, usually covered in cows. 🙂

Hilltop Farm next door to Roca Verde Residential Community.

And that’s the last photo to share from my “Walk up the Hill!” 🙂 Just 4 more days before I go to a Pacific Coast resort south of here for Christmas where I will do daily “same day” reports on that part of my paradise! 🙂 Happy Holidays!

¡Pura Vida!

Wild Poinsettia Tree?

Or maybe just a big cousin? 🙂 I passed this tree walking home from town this morning and it certainly made me think of poinsettias, though you can see that the bloom is a little different from the typical Christmas flower – though similar! 🙂 Online blooms like these were labeled “Wild Poinsettia.” Either way, they are categorized as shrubs or small trees.

Wild Poinsettia Tree?
Wild Poinsettia Tree? (With a Yellow Bell Tree behind it!)

Merry Christmas!

My Flora & Forest Gallery.

My 2021 Christmas Photos Gallery

¡Pura Vida!

Anthurium

“Anthurium, (genus Anthurium), genus of about 825 species of herbaceous plants in the arum family (Araceae) native to tropical America. Several species are popular foliage plants, and a few species are widely grown for the florist trade for their showy long-lasting floral structures.”

~https://www.britannica.com/plant/Anthurium
Anthurium
Bright red
Tropical
Charmer

Read about the

Symbolism and Meaning of the Anthurium.

¡Pura Vida!

Check out my Flora & Forest Gallery.