The green mountains of Atenas, Costa Rica seen from my terrace.
You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows downstream and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men.
~Li Bai, 8th Century Chinese Poet
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That is sort of my response to the U.S. election and what has been going on there for many years now. And as I finish my life retired in Costa Rica, I will continue, as long as able, to photograph and write about birds, butterflies and flowers! 🙂
The photo is of the green hills of Atenas, Costa Rica as seen from my terrace at breakfast.
The White House, I photographed on my 2013 visit to Washington, D.C. (year before CR move)
If ever a patriotic American should take a strong stand in an election, it is this year and with this presidential election, thus my once every 4 years political blog post.
It is beyond my understanding how this election could possibly be close, because I still believe that the majority of Americans are honest, patriotic, defend the constitution and what has been the strongest democracy in the world. Yet here we are! How could it be a close election?
The differences in the two candidates are like daylight and dark! I invite my Republican friends to follow the many other Republicans and denounce the convicted criminal, liar, rapist, racist, fascist, mean old rich man and vote, at least this once, for the democratic candidates, Harris-Walz!
I no longer identify with my lifelong church and work, Southern Baptists, or any of the related Evangelicals for what I consider “unChristian” support of Donald Trump and his Republican minions. But friends, I know that many of you want to follow Christ, so I ask you to simply ask yourself that old “WWJD” question from our youth – What Would Jesus Do? There is no doubt in my mind! Thus I vote Harris!
In 2013 when I visited D.C. I also wrote this poem for my July 4 birthday with photos from a 2005 Everglades National Park visit. 🙂
God bless you and God bless the United States of America!
for the Democrats Abroad Fundraiser & Voter Help . . .
Keel-billed Toucan photo by Charlie Doggett, 16×20 printed on metal. Pura Vida Butterflies, 2nd Edition by Charlie Doggett – Photos of 250 species of butterflies with index of common names in English and scientific names in Latin.
Both of these have a minimum bid well below the retail price, but of course the fundraisers hope you will bid much higher! 🙂 The silent auction is from 1-4 tomorrow, 30 September 2024, at Huaraches Atenas Mexican Restaurant, with auction winners announced promptly at 4 pm. If you are a U.S. citizen and don’t know how to vote from abroad, people will help you. And if you have prepared your overseas ballot for mailing but don’t trust the post office, then people can take your mail-ready ballot and deliver it to the U.S. Embassy for their mail pouch to the states. And while you are there, bid on some of the many wonderful things in the auction including one of my wall art photos and one of my photo books! 🙂
Underdog Day (December 15): If you watched this past year’s World Cup, you know the power of an underdog story. Unknowns Morocco and Croatia gained millions of fans as they upset top-ranked soccer teams. But underdogs are everywhere. The shy classmate running for student government. The teammate who is usually on the bench. Cheer for them today. Your support may be what helps them achieve their goals. And feel better about themselves. I know. As one of the shy, unknown kids in my 1958 H.S. graduating class of a thousand other kids, I received a citizenship award that the local newspaper called “The Typical Jane and Joe Award,” with a photo of me and an equally shy and unknown girl. It made us both feel better about ourselves! 🙂 Try to make someone you know feel better about themselves today!
A sunflower photo to show my support of Ukraine during this attack by Russia.
FYI, I made this photo in 2012 in the Historic Buena Vista Neighborhood of North Nashville, not far from where I lived at the time. Yes, I have sunflower photos from Kansas, but I preferred this one! 🙂 Praying for the success of Ukraine in stopping Putin!
Sunflower, Buena Vista Neighborhood, Nashville, Tennessee USA in 2012
I was contacted by one of the board members and assured that they did not approve the destruction of that beautiful big tree. It was the landowner’s decision and right to cut it down. You can see my updated or revised statement on the original post Chainsaw Massacre Across the Street or I am copying the revised statement here plus I edited a couple of other lines in the post:
I apologize that I blamed the Homeowner’s Association and the employees for allowing or doing this destruction of a beautiful big tree. A board member contacted me to say they were distraught also about the loss of this great tree and that the landowner is the one who decided to cut it down and he/she owns it and has the right to do so. So shame on whoever that is! Note that it was an employee that said it was cut down because of the water shortage here. I don’t know if that is why the owner cut it. Maybe I was right the first time saying they would probably build a rent house there.
The large Higuerón Tree or Strangler Fig someone cut down to a stub.
Our board of directors work hard to make this a better place to live! Thank you!
I’m still sad! 🙁
Last Week – what’s left of the large Strangler Fig.
Last February I wrote a blog post titled “Tree by the Pasture” featuring one of my favorite trees, plus it is (was) across the street from my house in a vacant lot beside the houses on the edge of the cow pasture. Well I was quite troubled the other day when I heard a chain saw continuing most of the day Monday and continuing on Tuesday and went over to see what was happening, fearing they would take down that beautiful tree to build another ugly house, which is what they seem to be doing.
A Dark Green Umbrella by PastureCloser-up to big tree Then. I’ve since learned that it is a Higueron Tree. Or a Giant Banyan Tree.The two photos in the last February Post of my favorite tree.
Well, below are my photos of the following 2 days of their chainsaw massacre. Will they leave the ugly stub or eventually level it?
. . . lovers of stories, books and libraries – the 3 main characters in this multi-layered story of totally different people from the 1450’s all the way through 2020 and to the future in 2164, all impacted by this fictitious lost and found story by a very early Greek writer who called his story “Cloud Cuckoo Land” (in Classical Greek of course!). It touches on so many life issues and about our own future on earth that I won’t try to list them all. You move between the stories of totally different people (ages 12 to 86) affected by Cloud Cuckoo Land (the Greek novel) in Constantinople (1450’s), Bulgaria (1450’s), Idaho (1940’s to 2020), Korea (1950’s), and outer space (2164) so that like his “All the Light” book (just 2 overlapping stories) you can get confused at first (if not more so). Eventually the many complicated pieces of the puzzle start coming together and you too begin to get what all these others are getting from Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is more multi-layered than Anthony Doerr’s previous classic All the Light We Cannot See (Goodreads Reviews), but just as impactful (if not more so) and will certainly become another classic! I highly recommend both books! 🙂
Read some otherGoodreads Reviews of this NY Times best seller, Cloud Cuckoo Land. Now I will simplify my reading escapes with another Agatha Christie mystery! 🙂 Rest my simple mind which is still spinning from this read. 🙂
This book is my current read as the #1 on the New York Times best seller list by Pulitzer Prize winning author Anthony Doerr who wrote the best WWII novel I’ve read yet, All the Light We Cannot See that at first I found hard to read with two different parallel stories during WWII of a 12 year old girl in France and a 12 year old boy in Germany and of course their lives eventually cross. A powerful story! Worthy of all the awards! And now . . .
I got it 2 days ago, on December 1. This is to prove that I have been fully vaccinated against Covid and tentatively starting January 8 will be required to enter all businesses and other public places just like the mask and handwashing. Vaccination Required in Costa Rica! They will have scanners at the entrance to scan the QR Code on my phone (or on a paper). Until then it is optional for businesses that want to be open at 100% capacity. Soon Costa Rica will be totally Covid-free! Everyone vaccinated! 🙂 Then all restaurants can use all their tables! 🙂
Biden tried in the States but the stupid Republicans stopped him and the vaccination requirement. Sure glad I live in Costa Rica now and not the States! We are very safe here and tourists are returning (if fully vaccinated) 🙂 and we are one of, if not the safest & healthiest country in the Americas! Pura Vida! The Red X and line through number is in case someone tries to copy my code! 🙂 Though an ID Card can be asked for which would make a copy not work anyway! 🙂 But I’m trying to be safe!
