Tag: rain

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Watching it Rain

“I’m too busy to sit in the rocking chair and watch it rain!” Is what I used to say.
But I just did it! And have several times recently. So far it has been a good rainy season. And I’m slowing down!

Like Jewels!
Rain drips off a cecropia leaf.
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Rainy Season Starting!

I’m so happy that for three days straight we have had some rain! It is usually May before the first rain, so this is good if it will just continue and increase in quantity! Going 5+ months without rain makes you appreciate it more! 
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Rainy Day in the Mountains

After a Tico breakfast at Casita del Cafe outside Atenas with a beautiful vista we drove up into the mountains with hopes of seeing Poas Volcano and the waterfalls of La Paz. Well, as we drove higher the rain increased and at the gate of Poas National Park we were told we could enter for $15 but we would not be able to see the volcano. So we turned around and headed for La Paz Waterfall Gardens where it was raining has hard but we could see most of the sights. Ponchos and a lot of dampness accompanied our tour of the gardens. But we did see quite a bit! And chose not to eat in the expensive La Paz tourist restaurants, instead driving to La Garita for lunch at Arroz Mango. Then home for sitting in sunny Atenas on my terrace until a little Mexican dinner at Donde Bocha Antojeria. An adventurous day!

I will try to label the animals the waterfall later. I guess it was as good of a way to spend an active day in the rain as we could find. I don’t expect any more rain until possibly a little at Tortuguero. It is the dry season, but the high cloud forests and the lowland tropical coastal rainforests can have some rain year around. Not a drop in Atenas!   🙂   Follow Reagan’s Blog for his view of the visit here!
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San Ramon, Costa Rica

This is the second post for today, Saturday, about the town separate from the healthcare tour.

San Ramon is higher in the mountains than Atenas, meaning
it gets much colder and rains more. It rained this morning & in 50’s.

San Ramon’s beautiful Catholic Church facing the Central Park,
like every town in Costa Rica.

They also have a boyero or oxcart driver monument like Atenas.
I like our Atenas metal one better. This one is on church grounds.
Like every town’s Central Park, you will find children playing, old people talking,
teens texting, talking or smooching, and a generally happy, tranquil place.
There is a band-shell for musical programs.

San Ramon is quite a bit larger than Atenas with more businesses and traffic, something in-between Atenas and Alajuela. I do not like it as well as Atenas because of the weather (colder and wetter) and the more crowded conditions. They do have a University campus which is a plus and a couple of museums we don’t have, but I think I will stick with my more walkable small town. Both are very “Costa Rica” in nature with wonderfully friendly people. They have a few hundred expats living there where we have over a thousand in and around Atenas.

The other post today about healthcare tour has more photos of San Ramon and yesterday’s short post has photo of tour group in front of Mural on La Posada Hotel where I stayed.

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Black Witch Moth (Late for Halloween!)

Black Witch Moth, Atenas, Costa Rica
Outside of my bathroom window screen & photographed with flash at night

I know! It is not black! Though some can be black, gray, brown or other colors, this fits the description and matches photo in Butterflies, Moths, and Other Invertebrates of Costa Rica by Carol L. Henderson. I’ve seen one other of these earlier. They appear from Florida to Brazil and in every part of Costa Rica.

I am not seeing many new creatures this month but enjoying a good rain every afternoon or evening like I had been expecting since May! Hope the rain continues into Dry Season/Summer, which often begins in November or December. We need rain greatly! It has been a drought winter in Costa Rica this year with our summer beginning in December it will mean no rain for 6 months, our dry season. I’m expecting to water my garden a lot.

Yeah, this is “just a moth,” but click image to enlarge, then look at that intricate pattern, those fake eyes near top to scare away birds, and the subtle colors. It reminds me of a favorite Scripture verse:

Take a good look at God’s wonders—
    they’ll take your breath away.
Psalm 66:5 THE MESSAGE
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Babbling Brook to Roaring River!

The afternoon rain yesterday turned the beautiful little mountain stream into a roaring river breeching its banks where we stopped for both meals on our Visa Run to Nicaragua border. Before & After Photos:

A little mountain stream at breakfast!

And overflowing at lunch time in a heavy rain!

I’m hoping this will be my last “Visa Run,” the 14 hour trip to Nicaragua border to get visas renewed. That means I’m hoping my residency paperwork is completed before January when my 90 days will be up on yesterday’s visa. Yesterday’s trip was uneventful except for the heavy rain and bumper to bumper traffic on the way back.
And oh yeah! Ol’ stupid here left his umbrella somewhere on the border! But I’ve been here nine months and it is the first time to totally loose one (just left locally where I could go back and retrieve). And not as bad as having my cameras stolen Wednesday! By the way, I checked the duty free shop on border for cameras and all they had were a few little pocket cameras, so next will be a dreaded trip to San Jose to a camera store before comparing with online prices (+ shipping & import taxes). It will be expensive, whatever I do! Above photos by my cell phone which is my only camera right now! 
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RAIN in the Garden!

Has the “Rainy Season” really started now? Afternoon rain for 2 days in a row! 🙂

Rain dripping off a Guarumo leaf.

Wet Palmetto leaf in my garden.

Wet Heliconia leaves in my garden. Camera doesn’t show rain, just wet!
My miniature rainforest in the rain; habitat of birds, butterflies, frogs, & lizards.
But you can’t see the rain in the photo.  🙂   Believe me. It is raining!
Babies!
My pride and joy, rare Maraca Plant (Shampoo Ginger), has 4 new sprouts!
Snapped this as rain stopped and I finished post. See ground cover filling in?
My garden is one of the best things about this house and done from scratch!
With a rare plant to boot! It came from being nice to the gardeners.  🙂

“Open up, heavens, and rain.
    Clouds, pour out buckets of my goodness!
Loosen up, earth, and bloom salvation;
    sprout right living.
    I, God, generate all this.”
Isaiah 45:8
The Message


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Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird

Back to my garden . . .

Fork-tailed Emerald Hummingbird
In my garden, Roca Verde house, Atenas, Costa Rica

This is my second time to photograph this species in my garden. Both times the light is not good for a clear and colorful photo. He/she is an iridescent green all over except for the dark, forked tail. The first time was no better.  What I need is sunlight shining directly on the bird!  🙂

SPANISH LANGUAGE UPDATE
My progress has been so very slow. ¡Aprendo poco a poco español! (I learn Spanish little by little.) Is what I say to some people. So I have joined a second class that meets only once a week at the little evangelical church I have attended some, Iglesia Biblical. It provides a text book and workbook for homework and it is too early to see if it will help me learn faster, though every effort is of some value! What I need most is to just talk more in Spanish, ignoring the embarrassment of doing it wrong. That is what David Castillo at Su Espacio is trying to get me to do. We are down to just two in his class right now, so it is almost like tutoring. I also try to do one little activity each day on duolingo.com which is a great free language learning site! And I just ordered another CD-based course. So I’m trying! ¡Pero es difícil! (But it is difficult!) Or slow! David suggested I do this blog in Spanish, but that would leave too many of you out, so I won’t. Maybe a separate blog in Spanish?
DROUGHT
This has been one of the driest “Rainy Seasons” on record for the Central Valley and I have to water my garden and new trees every other day. Everyone says the rain should really come in September and October. We’ll see! It is cloudy and thundering right now, but that often means little or nothing!

The only exception to the drought has been the Caribbean side of the country and a few places in the north. It rained every day we were at Yorkin. The northwest or Guanacaste  area is always the driest part of the country and it is even drier this year. It is really hard on farmers!

 Time flies, but not backwards, like a hummingbird can.
(-:


Good night from Atenas, Costa Rica! The little bit of rain passed fast and gave us fog. Pura Vida!
View from my balcony of course!


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New Anole & Rain!

Giant Banded Anole, new in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica
And I think he is different from the Green Tree Anole I posted earlier.
Maybe not. But I think larger and the stripes different.
I first saw this one on the tree stump I was preparing for my ceramic bird art.
I was waiting for the wood filler to dry so I could paint it & mount the bird.
It is now mounted as shown in yesterday’s post.
Rainy Season is back with rain every afternoon and today’s is especially good, started at 1:00 and still raining at 6:00!
The garden loves it!  🙂


I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I’m happy again.
~Arthur Freed
More lizards in my Costa Rica Reptiles PHOTO GALLERY