Tag: Henry David Thoreau

Posted on

Red-lored Parrot

Red-lored Parrot, Tortuguero, Costa Rica

It looks like it will be next week before I get all my shots from Tortuguero processed, so here is one more! He is the only parrot we saw and I am pleased with this shot. But there are still several more shots of birds to share! (And 3 species of monkeys, several lizards, and one snake.) And I assume you know that all of these were shot in the wild! Tortuguero is a terrific place for nature lovers!


“We need the tonic of wildness… We can never have enough of nature.” 

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Posted on

My Biggest Job Nearly Finished – TO SIMPLIFY!

Because of the better sunlight, I photograph most of the album pages
outside on my terrace, one page at a time, soooo slow it seems.
So far it is 7,880 photos taking up 10 GB of space on my computer!
And it is all scrapbook pages from before my birth to 2008, soon to 2014.
It is an incredible personal and family history, but I cannot keep them all!
And 30 boxes of albums is too much for someone to deal with when I die.
I do not have children or anyone who could deal with that many books.

Here is my office/guest room today with just 5 more books to photograph.
Compare this with the photos below a few months ago.
And the new couch makes into a full-size bed for guests.
The old one below was a too-short single bed for little Ticos.
All these boxes have been emptied and contents destroyed
as have all the ones in the next photo by the door of this same room.
All of these are also gone now!
The space is free, the house open and
uncluttered! True joy in removing stuff!

The high quality binders used have been donated to schools, libraries and others. And then I have some genealogy stuff and a stamp collection to deal with and I am truly finished! And remember I got rid of a lot more stuff in Nashville including all my furniture! Plus a lot of art earlier here. I have made real progress! Anytime I want to change rent house, it will be a simple move!

I’m applying the lessons learned in many books read: The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo  (I read a review copy summary), Celebrating Time Alone by Lionel Fisher, Simplify by Joshua Becker, Freedom of Simplicity by Richard J. Foster, Always We Begin Again, The Benedictine Way of Living by John McQuiston II, Living the Simple Life, by Elaine St. James, Seeking Paradise by Thomas Merton, Walden by Henry David Thoreau and in many ways the Bible. Eliminating “stuff” is so freeing! Now I’m almost ready to die, but think I have a lot of real living to do first! 🙂

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
~Henry David Thoreau 

Charlie Doggett
Retired in Costa Rica (My “Woods”)
Pura Vida! 

Posted on

Passion flower & Advantages of Walking

Passion Flower, common name in English
Granadilla del monte, common name in Spanish
Passiflora vitifolia (official Latin name)

I’m passing these a lot in my walks around town now. The flower is the reddest of any we have here I think, or at least it seems so to me. It grows on a vine that climbs walls, but only blooms near the ground for some reason. Just one of the little perks of not having a car or bike, I see pretty things on and near the ground!  🙂

“Thoreau is careful to point out that the walking he extols has nothing to do with transportational utility or physical exercise — rather it is a spiritual endeavor undertaken for its own sake.”~Maria Popova

Posted on

Life is Short and Life is Long, But Not in That Order! PURA VIDA!

Why time really does seem to go faster when you get older is an interesting article about the

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately.
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”
~Henry David Thoreau 

logarithm of time perception over the years. Hopefully this link to the Washington Post article will work if not a subscriber. Don’t miss the cool video clip in the article! And yes, time seems to be flying by for me here in Costa Rica! Been here 7 months today and I never look back! Loving life here! And the Tico people!

I’m also learning to live in the moment more (like we did as little kids) and enjoying the simple things of life like a tropical rain or a butterfly flitting over my balcony. While still anticipating new adventures, like the three day trip next week to the Carara National Park to hopefully photograph Scarlet Macaws, yet knowing there will be a serendipity of some kind, with or without a macaw! Pura vida!

Pura vida. Pronounced POO-rah VEE-dah, in English means, “Pure Life”. However, these two words have much more meaning throughout the Costa Rican culture.

But where did Costa Ricans take this phrase from? According to a study of the expression, a film called Pura vida came to Costa Rica from Mexico in 1956, directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares. In the movie, “Pura vida” is the expression of eternal optimism used by a comic character, played by the actor Antonio Espino, who unfortunately can’t seem to do anything right. While a small population used it then, the phrase “Pura vida” was used nationwide by 1970.

Associated with many different English interpretations like “pure life”, “take it easy”, “enjoy life”, “all good”, “purity in life”, “hello”, “goodbye”, “this is life!” and many many more. The point is that foreigners truly don’t have a true grasp of the meaning of “pura vida” as they are not Costa Ricans themselves.

Pura vida! Means that no matter what your current situation is, life for someone else can always be less fortunate than your own. So you need to consider that maybe…just maybe, your situation isn’t all that bad and that no matter how little or how much you have in life, we are all here together and life is short…so start living it “pura vida style”.

Beginning to understand now, the true meaning of the uniquely Costa Rican term, “Pura Vida”? We feel that the more “foreigners” who truly grasp the concept, the better the world would be. Imagine if countries like the USA or Canada or in Europe started to live life like the Costa Ricans and adopted the pura vida lifestyle? Because honestly folks…no matter how much of a mess your life may seem, there is always someone else who’s life would make yours look like a vacation in paradise.

Pura vida description copied from:  http://www.bestcostaricantours.com/about/puravida.html

I am not necessarily recommending this travel agent and have not personally experienced them yet, but like I their description of Pura Vida better than others I found!   🙂   I do plan to try them for one of my future adventures because I like their approach to nature tours.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. 
We have only today. Let us begin.” 
― Mother Teresa

Posted on

Pink Trumpet Tree

Roble de sabana or Pink trumpet tree

The Pink Trumpet Tree (in English) or Roble de sabana (in Spanish) and the scientific or Latin name of Tabebuia rosea is a popular flowering three for this elevation of the Central Valley hills of 698 meters or 2300 feet. This is a shot from my balcony of two of these trees in a neighbor’s yard. You can see a lot living on a hill!   🙂   I love the views from my hill and balcony! Remember a couple of weeks ago the orange flowering Poro Tree I shared? Those orange flowers are fading now as different blossoms appear elsewhere. After a whole year I should have a good flowering tree collection – Photos, smiles, and memories!

“You must not know too much or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and watercraft; a certain free-margin, and even vagueness – ignorance, credulity – helps your enjoyment of these things.”

― Henry David Thoreau