Live Spider Action!!

Following up on my previous blog, I made this video yesterday of one of our golden orb spiders weaving its web.

Mammals and Araneoidea Spiders

After five years of living in Costa Rica, I still get excited seeing the exotic flora and fauna of this country.

We are presently fortunate to have five separate webs around our house, made by the golden silk orb-weaver spider. The webs are simply amazing - large and strong with a golden sheen. The spiders are amazing also:

 

I think this one is missing a leg.

 

Here you can see the golden web.

For more information on this amazing creature, check out my friend Claudia's blog article on the golden orb. Claudia is a protozoologist and knows whereof she speaks - Claudia's blog article

Now for the mammals - we have agoutis running through our yard at regular intervals. They exist on fruits and nuts so our orange and mango trees are an attraction for them. This pair were close to our back door but started running when I came out with a camera.

 

Not sure what it is carrying - old dried up mango?

They both are carrying something ... 

For more information on the agouti, click here. Now, see how interesting it is living in the tropics?

Independence Day 2016 - Costa Rica

On September 15, 1821, the authorities in Guatemala declared independence for all of Central America from Spain. Here in Costa Rica, September 15 is a national holiday.

The farole parade is held on the evening of September 14 - homemade lanterns symbolizing the original freedom torch. On September 15th, there are parades all around the country, with marching school bands. Further information can be found in this article by the Costa Rican News.

Here are some photos I took of some Independence Day celebrations in our Atenas park, on Wednesday, September 14.

 

  

 

 

Vista Atenas, Costa Rica

Here is a link for information about the development we live in - Vista Atenas, Atenas, Costa Rica.

Thank you, Pure Life Development, for putting this information together.

One Week in Atenas

Our art show last weekend went very well with my painting "Tranquilo" going to its new home at a cattle ranch not far from us. We'll be meeting sometime this week to discuss the show, what we want to do in the future, when to hold the next show and so on.

Our septic tank was overdue for a cleaning and that was an interesting process to observe. Now we know where the septic tank is located.

Yesterday, our gardener Byron was here and he finished up just as a storm moved in. The rain was quite intense with lots of lightning and thunder so he stayed until it eased off and he could get back up the mountain to his home. I hope he managed to hitch a ride because he was carrying a heavy, professional style weed wacker, a can of gasoline, and a backpack with his protective clothing in it (face mask, leather apron, harness for the weed wacker). In Costa Rica, a lawn mower would not work on the mountain sides.

As we were sitting outside, the power went off -  probably due to a circuit breaker being hit by lightning as we heard a "pop". We also felt a small earthquake. Our cat had zoomed off somewhere once Byron started working. Cat (that's what we call him) eventually came home once the storm passed but he was quite wet. Not much of a problem in a tropical climate as the rain is warm.

Since we were having a cold Asian noodle salad for dinner, the lack of electricity wasn't much of a problem and it came back on after a few hours.

One of my orchids is flowering - the scent is incredible and the flowers are weirdly wonderful.