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| Yellow Warbler juvenile I think Gray on head/neck is similar to Prairie Warbler, but not my choice In my Nance Tree, Home Garden, Atenas Costa Rica |
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| Yellow Warbler In my Nance Tree, Home Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica |
I continue to be happy with the large variety of birds right here in my own gardens! I will keep traveling to more exotic places for even more birds, but it is fun to have these at breakfast!
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| Even if the book is on my Kindle Fire! My favorite place to read: on terrace at table or in rocking chair. |
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| Roble de Sabana Tree across cow pasture from my house, seen from street. Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Roble de Sabana Zooming in through my trees Atenas, Costa Rica |
It is still dry season and trees that lose their leaves immediately burst out in flowers. This week it is the Roble de Sabana, which is a type of oak tree they say, but nothing like a north american oak!
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| Unknown Insect Inside my house, Atenas, Costa Rica |
There are thousands of species of insects in Costa Rica and I came back from Bijagua with bites from half of them! 🙂 But this one waiting on me at home was a new one for me. I swept him out. Don’t know if this is one the geckos like. But the geckos go outside some during the day, so they still may get him!
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| Whack! Whack! and Drop the Machete! All before I can turn on my cellphone & photograph it! 2 limbs of my Guarumo Tree were banging against roof in the wind. My yard, Atenas, Costa Rica |
Photo gallery of My Home Gardens
And for anyone planning to drive a car here in the near future, Ruta 27 will get a little faster next week and the La Patina Bridge repairs & widening is to be finished by April 30 according to this article in Tico Times. And it will speed up the buses to San Jose also!
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| Red Passionflower On a vine covering a neighbor’s wall, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica Note the three stages here, bud, open flower, and spent flower. |
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| Passionflower Monteverde, Costa Rica This one is like the ones I used to photograph in Tennessee. |
See photos of some of the many varieties of Passionflowers in Costa Rica
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| Corteza Tree or Tabebuia ochracea On the hill just opposite by house Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Seen from my Living Room Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| And seen from a walk today over the hill. The big yellow tree on right is same as other photos. Look carefully to see 3 other yellow trees & a light lavender one. My house is left of center, the small orange roof below or to right of the big orange roof with solar panel (landlord’s). Cellphone shot, Atenas, Costa Rica |
This Corteza Tree is not to be confused with what I call “Yellow Bell Tree” or some call Yellow Trumpet Tree that bloomed earlier here and which I have in my yard. Earlier this dry season on the same hill above was a beautiful orange blooming tree, called the Oro Tree and I shared a photo on my blog when at the apartments, follow the link. But can’t find one made on this hill.
In the last month and currently are also some pink blossom trees called Roble de sabana or Pink Trumpet Tree which I also showed a photo of when at the apartments. There will also be a few lavender trees and some with white blooms too.
Why do so many trees bloom in the dry season? They defoliate or lose their leaves and the new growth starts with blooms that turn to leaves that will soon be nourished by the coming rainy season which is also called the green season here! I’m ready for rain! It usually starts in May.
See also my photo gallery Walking in Atenas for more trees and flowers around town.
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| I am not sure, but maybe the Archangel San Rafael, Patron Saint of Atenas & maybe they added the fish, a pitcher of oil, and the two geese. Need research! |
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| He looks out over the Atenas Central Market Courtyard. An enclosed circle of indoor shops or vendors surrounds the courtyard. Straight ahead behind the big tree and two rows of vendors is the bus station. The last row of vendors are all places to eat on bar stools. Most called sodas where you can eat a meal for $2. |
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| Mural on Central Market Wall |
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| Mural on Central Market Wall |
See my photo gallery of Public Art & Graffiti in Atenas
Or the general gallery on Atenas, or Walking in Atenas (flowers),
Or the People & Fiestas of Atenas
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| Construction has begun in a large vacant lot behind one high school. And they cut down at least 8 large trees! Sob, sob! Sign enlsrged below. Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| Basically a Membership Health Club focused on Triathlon Athletes It appears to be mainly a large swimming pool and track for running and bicycles. Atenas, Costa Rica |
CULTURAL RAMBLING:
We are slowly becoming more than a sleepy little farm town, good or bad. At least there are no typical U.S. fast food places yet! Welllll . . . Atenas does have a POPS Ice Cream Parlor which is owned by Pops Costa Rica, but it is something like a franchise from General Mills USA and modeled after the Pops Ice Cream Parlors in Virginia, but locally owned like the franchised McDonald’s in the bigger cities (and tourist towns) of Costa Rica.
My observation is that Fried Chicken and Ice Cream are possibly the two top comfort foods in Costa Rica and it interested me to see that all the stand-alone McDonald’s in San Jose and Alajuela have two separate windows and lines for nothing but their soft-serve ice cream! And there is nearly always two ice cream lines waiting from around 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning when they quit serving much breakfast. Ice Cream Rules! Although there are a lot of KFC’s in the cities, they have more competition than McDonald’s with many Latin American Fried Chicken (el pollo frito) franchises. There are major fried chicken chains from Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. So the Colonel has to work harder here! 🙂 And yes, the traditionally thin Costa Rican (Tico/Tica) is beginning to get heavier, though not as fat as North Americans. And the popularity of hamburgers (hamburguesas) is growing with several local Tico restaurants having them! And they are good! And pizza is following!
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| Inca Dove on Nest She sat on this for about 3 days in terribly fierce winds, palm fronds like sails! |
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| Empty Nest this Morning Was the wind too much? Did something happen to her? I never saw a mate and wondered where Daddy bird was! |
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| Eggs Rolled down Palm Frond & Cracked I’m so sorry to miss the birth of two Inca Doves & Sorry for the Mom! I have no way to save them and doubt they could be. |
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| Poor Choice of Nest Tree The nest is in this small palm surrounded by red/yellow crotons below my deck. Nest in lower of two fronds on the left, tiny gray spot halfway up. |
Check out our Weather and note that right now the wind is at 42 mph with gusts to 61 mph. The poor bird never had a chance! January-February is the usual windy time, but last year was never with as strong a wind as we’ve had this year. and it is still blowing strong into March, but hopefully dying down soon! Then a couple of months of windless, hot, dry days before the rain starts, May-Oct.
POSTSCRIPT: Before dark I checked the palm again and both eggs were gone, maybe by wind or maybe by an animal.
PS again: Today I finished my Income Tax with only one call to the TurboTax help desk! 🙂 The problem was not with the form but getting past their security into my file online. It seems that I had two accounts with them with two different user names and passwords and I was mixing them up. Crazy! But done now!