So, I thought this bug was very attractive when it showed up on my door screen the other day.
It’s about the 3″ across. A moth? Reminds me of a pair of oak tree helicopters.
I was so surprised to find the next day that it had changed into these beautiful velvety colors.
And by the third day, I can only surmise that it’s a very short life cycle.
Summer is over here in Costa Rica – usually December through April – and it’s cooled off. Back in November, we saw for the first time an abundance of inexpensive table fans for sale and we all bought them. Expecting a summer hotter and drier than usual, which proved to be true, we out one in every room. Now the season has ended and those cheap fans are dotting the garbage piles in town to be picked up by the trucks Wed. morning and carried off to the land fill. Our own are still working fine but this climate is tough on equipment: humidity and salt air. It begs two questions, “Is cheaper better?” and “Do we have a choice anymore?”
In Costa Rica, Spring precedes Winter. We might be seeing right now the first signs of the coming rainy season. Rising humidity – we’ve 4 cloudy starless nights in a row – and precipitation – Tina says it rained the other day in Santo Domingo, just 4 klicks away but I didn’t feel a drop – have encouraged the trees to bloom.
The Sandal is usually the first and easily recognizable with its clumps of small salmon colored blossoms, possibly my favorite.
The Roble Sabana – Pink Trumpet tree – comes in white and pink with trumpet flowers on a dark striated bark. I always thought these were two different trees until I took a closer look.
But a third one, quite rare, had me baffled – bright fuschia. Maybe you’ve seen it on the way to Nicoya, west side of the road. I can’t find it in any of Steve’s books.
Closer examination solved the mystery, I think.
It’s actually a Verenero – Bougainvillea vine – wrapped around an Indio Desnudo – Naked Indian tree. Huh?!
The other surprise is that all of these trees, that usually come into flower in succession over the Spring weeks, are all blooming at once this year. Even the bright yellow Cortez Amarrillo – Yellow Cortez – and the flaming red Malinche – Poinciana – have open flowers right now. What does that portend for our coming Invierno – Winter?
This gallery contains 9 photos.
Summer is here in Samara/Carrillo with the return of the shore birds. As we started our morning beach walk at the estuary, we were greeted by six birds fishing together. Then further down the beach a Hawk. At the harbor, a Brown Pelican and a gull shared a rocky overlook. None of these are …
Hoffman’s woodpecker
The Bolseros (Orioles) were late today, beaten by the Hoffman’s Woodpecker.
Social Flycatcher
Each morning a parade of birds stops by our bamboo to survey the neighborhood and make a plan for the day.
Before heading out on a bicycle ride, it’s important to always do a brief safety check.
Costa Rica is in the middle of a drought, like just about everyone else on the Pacific Coast, but there is still some good news in the natural world.
The Olive Ridley turtles appear to be getting stronger. On our morning walk on Carrillo Beach this morning, just 4 km from Casa Mango and Casa Papaya, we encountered a hatch.
Our owls are back, hanging out in the bamboo near the house. Last year there were three but maybe the juvenile grew up.
We think these are Pacific Screech owls. Any confirmation?
Damn that auto flash!
We spotted these turtle tracks on Carrillo Beach yesterday morning.
The wide spacing between the fins suggests a very large nesting female,
probably a rare and endangered Leatherback Turtle rather than our more common Olive Ridley. Comments?
At Playa Carrillo this morning, we came across small turtle tracks, the evidence of hatchlings scrambling towards the surf.
It looks like at least 25 of them foiled the poachers, the dogs, and the vultures to reach the sea.
Sandy-Shorts 