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The first shot was earliest, about 4:45 am and increasingly later until 3rd at about 5 am. It changes rapidly over the fifteen minutes or so of rising. I also gradually zoomed in on the sky in each progressive shot.
See a free preview of my book: Sunrise Banana Azul with all 2-page spread photos on “lay flat” photo paper.
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
¡Pura Vida!
As I travel today and get settled in my treehouse room at Maquenque Eco-Lodge, I’ll do a post from my garden featuring the contrast of a yellow flower called “Golden Shrimp” with all the other flowers that are red or orange. I love the flowers in my garden! Enjoy your Valentine Flowers . . .
These yellow flowers contrast with all the reds and oranges in my garden . . .
Continue reading “Flowers for Your Valentine’s Day”
It’s blooming now! Just not as much of it as some past years. Maybe it is because I haven’t been fertilizing? Or enough water? But anyway it is still a beautiful flower for January & February as a vine on top of my back wall. Here’s 3 shots I made on New Year Day! And here’s a shot of it when it was thicker in another year.
Back home from the latest trip and not all is without color! 🙂
My Triquitraque or Flame Vine is possibly at its peak of blooming now and will soon begin to become a green vine again, most commonly blooming here in just January & February, and possibly the brightest or most color of all my flowers . . .
¡Pura Vida!
For more flowers, my Flora & Forest Gallery.
🙂
Triquitraque or Mexican Flame Vine was the name of my article last April when my vine was at its best. This year it seems to be peaking a lot earlier or hopefully it will be for longer! As stated then, “Triquitraque” is the Costa Rica name of this profusely blooming and glowing vine while most Americans call it “Mexican Flame Vine” and now I read online line that in Florida they are actually calling it “Florida Flame Vine.” 🙂
As planned when I planted it around three years ago, it is mostly covering the stark concrete wall behind my tropical garden giving a blaze of color when traveling up or down the hill. My landlord likes it along his driveway! The butterflies & hummingbirds do too! Here’s a couple of views from above and one from the kitchen window through its glare and reflection of my hands and the kitchen sink. When not traveling, I enjoy my gardens! ¡Pura Vida!
Orange is the happiest color.
Click image to enlarge:
This sun-loving, evergreen vine is also known as the flame flower or the golden shower. It’s native to Brazil and Paraguay, where it flourishes in rocky scrub habitats and forests that are seasonally dry. It grows quickly, spreading with tendrils; a single stem can be 80 feet (24 meters) long! Its genus name Pyrostegia comes from Greek words for “fire” (pyr-) and “cover” (steg-), and when it flowers in fall and early winter, it is engulfed in spectacular, flame-colored blooms that attract hummingbirds. ~San Diego Zoo
University of Florida Article on growing Flame Vine
San Diego Zoo Article on Flame Vine
Basically everyone who responded to my request for comments are simply very kind and flexible people; meaning I did not get any strong opinions one way or the other and you readers are divided on your interests, so I am probably going to continue mostly the way I have been blogging, with no more pressure to have a daily post, feeling free to skip days every once-in-awhile, maybe several in a row.
I will not legalistically stick to my original theme of “Retirement in Costa Rica” though that is who I am, thus all related! Even the above flowers! 🙂 And I will always strive for better quality writing and photography! I live a “Pura Vida” life here and will continue to report on it, sometimes daily, sometimes every few days or weekly. Since it was flowers today, I’ll do a serious article tomorrow and then back into my usual groove! 🙂 And by the way, if you ever wondered, those 3 “Related” earlier posts at the bottom of each post are not my choices but something the WordPress blogging computer chooses based on subjects and key words. Interesting!f And usually very well related!
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| Can you see it? In the fork of the guarumo tree on the distant hill. Red-orange. It is a spot of color I see every time I walk out on my terrace and it brings a smile. It is an African Tulip Tree I’m glad a neighbor planted! Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| It is a tree like this one by our front gate in Roca Verde, African Tulip Tree, native of Africa and brought here as an ornamental tree for yards that adds new color to the many natural colors here. Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| And a little closer. |
See my photo gallery: Flora & Forest
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| http://www.greentiquehotels.com/ |
NEXT WEEK:
Then Monday morning I plan to take off for Corcovado National Park (largest rainforest preserve in Central America) & Drake Bay for 6 days of nature adventure & photography. I will have three trips into the park and one to an island out in this bay of the Pacific. I’m ready!
And I’m staying in what looks like a really nice lodge, Aguila de Osa Rainforest Lodge with all meals included and all trips/guides pre-scheduled. This is going to be one of my better trips! 🙂 Boat & hiking in the rainforest, explore a little tropical island, snorkle in the Pacific, and hopefully photograph a lot of birds! 🙂 I fly down.
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| http://www.aguiladeosa.com/ |
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| Close-up of an open bloom, Flamevine or TriquiTraque in Costa Rica In my garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica My favorite shot so far. |
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| At first the blooms are “capsules” or little tubes before opening up. My TriquiTraque in Atenas, Costa Rica |
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| TriquiTraque looks best when massed on a wall like I have in my garden. Atenas, Costa Rica |
There is not much online about this flower in the way of information. As “Flamevine” the best I could find was at the University of Florida website. When I Google triquitraque it is my blog that comes up in addition to a lot of photos by different people. So I can’t tell you much about them. I did find this page article in a botanical gardens book which is kind of scientific. And I think I have already noted that in Spanish dictionaries triquitraque means “clattering noise” or a “string of firecrackers.”
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| The brilliant orange flowers of Triquitraque or Flame Vine is a great contrast to the blue Plumbago flowers. I saturated the color so they’re not really this red, but are a deeper orange than next untouched photos. |
If I remember correctly they will bloom 2 to maybe 3 months, February-April. I had hoped for year around blooms like some of my other plants, but this gives me something special for this time of year. And this year they cover more of my stark concrete wall, which is what I wanted! 🙂 ¡Me gusta!
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| A neighbors up the hill has yellow & orange flowers blooming together. Click for larger image. |