It happens every summer without fail. One appears in my garden from the place where I buried compost. If more show up, they are removed. It takes just one you see.
Butternut on the move.Butternut hanging around in the garden.
That one butternut vine winds its way around the garden, over and under the fences. It will not be contained.
Its gorgeous leaves hide its treasures. First they are a lovely green. Then they ripen to a color I call babydoll beige.
This year’s haul from one butternut.
That is when they are ready to be removed. We harvest all the butternut squash and haul away the massive vine, about the time of the equinox.
We store our stash in a cool, dry place. These are the winter’s vitamins and sunshine soups. All from one butternut.
FLOWER is still trapped on the deck and using a walker.
Not just any blue, bluebird blue. I have refurbished two things that belonged to my daddy. One is a metal file box. I have cleaned it and sprayed it with the perfect blue paint. This will be my writing box. I can carry my supplies where ever I wish to write.
Label ripped to remove the key.
The other object is my daddy’s sun hat. I soaked it and it still was yellowish around the band. So I dyed it…blue.
Bop’s hat.
We will leave this refurbished blue hat in the mountains for whomever forgets to pack a hat.
Bop had skin cancer on top of his head.
The cancer was removed and skin from his thigh was grafted over the spot.
Then the surgeon sewed something that looked like a chalkboard eraser or an ice cream sandwich onto the top of his head. We called him Eraser Head until it was removed.
Eraser head in his blue chair.
When the bandage came off, he had wispy thigh hair on top of his head. This made my sister and me squeal when we combed his hair.
Daddy showing some thigh.
My daddy is still helping us out. He would be pleased that these possessions of his are still useful.
Our Kiki. Still cute at 92.
Daddy loved blue and he loved Kiki too, no matter what color she wore
We planned one excursion every other day. We did not want to get worn out. On the off days we swam in the pool or sat in the cabana to chat and plan. It helped to stay balanced between adventures.
Rawhide rocking chair
One trip was to ride a catamaran to an island to snorkel the reefs. We enjoyed meeting our fellow passengers.
Another was to hire a skiff to see wetland and marsh wildlife including crocodiles. Our guide was very careful and respectful of the creatures we were stalking.
Young crocodile
Our tours of two rainforests also included a trip to some hot springs in the evening.
Our guide, Andrey Salazar, drove so we could relax and enjoy the sights. The locals have a secret route to avoid tourist traffic. That was a wild ride!
We did not shop for souveniers much so we stopped here on the way to the air port. It is a wonderful shop with gorgeous artwork.
We were sad to leave this wonderful place. It was a dream.
Seeing different animals in their natural habitat was the thrill of a lifetime for me.
Toucan
There were also domesticated dogs and cattle wandering through the streets. Driving was a bit like an obstacle course due to animals and motorcycles zipping between traffic.
Dogs were loose everywhere and would wander through restaurants without begging or bothering anyone. This pup came in while we were eating during a rain storm. He politely curled up near our table and took a nap.
It was nothing special to the residents to have giant lizards and monkeys in the trees above.
Bees are tiny dots in the sky.
Our apartment had a collassal nest of millions of tiny bees that had been up there for years.
We enjoyed watching lizards climb up there to catch some snacks.
Butterflies fluttered through the skies between many flowering trees.
Ants marched along carrying flowers.
Ant in a flower parade by the pool.
I spent a lot of time with my eyes wide open in amazement at the many differences in the flora and fauna. It was like visiting another planet in some ways.
We rented a lens for the trip so we could capture images from a greater distance. It was totally worth it but heavy to carry.
We passed the camera back and forth as we saw wildlife everywhere. I even spotted monkeys from our porch. I heard a crash in the trees and the compound’s dogs went crazy. One of the dogs looked just like one we had years ago.
Destiny reincarnated.This squirrel and green lizard were in the tree above our table at an outdoor restaurant.
Things were different, but also the same. I LOVED the colorful chaos of Costa Rica.
I held up the group over and over because of spotting a crazy plant.
Many that I saw were giant, wild versions of our houseplants.
Color was everywhere. I really need to spend more time there studying the wildlife.
The thrill of my life occurred when we toured a private rainforest with two biologists. Mr. Flower arranged this adventure on the third year anniversary of my daddy’s death.
During the tour I spied the famous blue morpho butterfly. It was bluebird blue. I felt like my daddy was sending me a sign. I had to stop and weep.
It was hard to choose what to look at. Everything was different and interesting.
We will return when we are able. In a craxy way, it felt like home.
We were shameless in our photographing food at restaurants. Part of our motivation was remembering where we liked the food, so we could return there later. We methodically took photos of the restaurant front, the menus and our plates of food. Later we could show pictures of our favorites so our hosts could remind us of the names.
This was the trip of a lifetime for the four of us together. Our host family, the Lankas, guided us as to where was best to eat and tour. They hired our tour guide, Andre, to drive our rental car for several adventures. I will share all that later.
Every meal was delicious but not inexpensive. It was worth eating well so none of us was ever sick. Everything was fresh. Enjoy the food! ( You may want to grab a snack first.)
We bought breakfast and snacks from the store or the fruit vendors across the street.I got a kick out of the cut-your-own meat.SpicesOur absolute favorite restaurant on the beach.Favorite Lunch spot.Best ItalianGreat but DO NOT eat on the beach here. Street vendors bother you constantly.
Great food many televisions and loud. Eat on the porch.
Use app for money conversion. I will know more Spanish when I go back.
We plan to go back to the Lanktuary. It was perfect for us and we loved our host family.
We usually ignore the ceilings in America. Maybe we are stiff necked and too busy looking down on each other. You better look up while in Italy. The Sistine Chapel isn’t the only ceiling worth inspection. The ceilings were complex and covered with gorgeous art and gilded moulding. My neck hurt from all the looking up. Many times I had to swerve over to a wall and hold on to get a proper look at a painting on the ceiling. I am so glad I took so many photos. I can study each and zoom in to see details not visible by glancing up.
Are you dizzy yet? The domes were marvelous.
I am happy to have these photos to study. The details of each of these ceilings is so delightful.
Centuries of artistic talent have been preserved for the future, to inspire the folks that follow. I am grateful to have had this opportunity with my family.
Everything in Italy seemed extraordinary. The furniture was ornate and beautiful. Here are just a few examples of the furnishings that caught my eye during our travels. Some were just functional.
I loved this tabletop.
This is how we dried laundry in our apartment in Florence. The washer was a very small washer/dryer combo.
The building had an elevator added to the outside. The stairways were ancient wonders.
Our apartment had windows on one side of the hall so it was bright.Stairs were everywhere. I had just finished up weeks in a boot, so I was thankful that I could walk and climb.The roof-top garden.
The entrance during renovations. Sorry its blurry.(stairs again)
We could have spent a month in Florence. It was a busy place, but felt friendly and safe.
My bunion and I climbed many stairs on the 2015 trip. I credit my success to Dr. Molan and the heavy boot I wore for weeks beforehand for my strength and endurance.
A distinguished gentleman in a corduroy suit.
It seems a bit strange that stairs and roofs would deserve a post, but you must remember these buildings are older than America itself. Stairs were everywhere. They varied greatly on both rise and run an rarely had railing on both sides. Elevators were not in every building.
Shallow steps like these allowed for carts to go up and down.The ends of these bricks were worn off by years of traffic.To look down one must go up!I loved studying scerns like this with a zoom lens.The structure and compositions added interest.We were very high up in a bell tower for this photo. The clock struck hour while we were inside. Wowza!Downward view from our apartment.
Upward view. There was a tiny elevator.
We were thankful to ride up and down with our luggage. Most of the time we used the stairs because the lift was small and slow.
Not being able to use stairs would be a game-changer in many old cities. The playing field is not leveled abroad.
floweralley 