Awakenings on the River

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Cocoi heron, dawn, daylight, Egrets, Frigate birds, herons in ecuador, wordpress daily challenge out my backdoor, wordpress writing challenge great expectations

The Daily Post tossed out a challenge with four options this week; I selected this one: “Take a draft post that you didn’t published because it didn’t turn out as you expected. Change the story, revise it, and publish.”

I found two posts in drafts; one recent post from April 3rd  stalled because of slow internet and low battery:

“…In today’s WP post, Kristin nudges us to, ‘Look out your back window or door — describe what you see, as if you were trying to convey the scene to someone from another country or planet.’

Most sources say that this song was written for Fogerty’s 3-year old son and was inspired a Dr. Seuss book.  I’m quite pleased to introduce you to this cast of characters out my own backdoor!

 

Reaching back to a post from January 2013, I can finally release these birds from their cyber cages.  May they soar from my back door round the world and lighten your day!

Timeout for Art: Solar Calendar

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Here comes the sun, Marking the Sun, Timeout for Art Solar Calendar

April 23, 2013 Solar Calendar’s first month!

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking,
Racing around to come up behind you again.
— Pink Floyd (Time)

Marking the sun’s shadow during Ecuador’s rainy season depends on the mood of the clouds!  It also requires a bit of discipline to watch for that sunset hour and the presence or absence of light and shadow. 2013 is represented with hit and miss notations across the balcony wall, and the new year is marked with pencil.

This past week I’ve cherished the sunlight a bit more than usual, because the circle of houses near the farm has been without power for four days!  One squeezes the most out of the daylight hours when candle power illuminates the evening! (I’m taking a timeout at Hostal Ciragan in town!)

When I noted the end-of-day sunlight earlier this week, I marked the solar calendar and noted that the shadow matched (thank goodness!) last year’s mark!

Timeout for Art: The Gift of Uninterrupted Solitude

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an artist's focus, benefits of solitude, Frigate birds, the zone for artists

“The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. Be alone – that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.” Nikola Tesla
Although I live five kilometers from town and share the riverbank with my neighbors the birds, an interesting queue of people find their way to my door/gate. As they step into the studio for the first time and touch the tromp l’oeil floor then gaze at the river from the second-floor balcony, I’m humbled with the reality that my life is unique.

The beauty of the river provides a rich environment and incubation chamber for inspiration. One’s pulse naturally slows while watching the frigates spiral to the skies then swoop for touch and go’s on the water while petite wrens and swallows perch on branches near the house. During those times, silence is the best conversation.

Cocoi Heron

For five or six hours each day, the river is not so quiet. Slightly upriver and downriver are oxen-sized pumps that supply the shrimp ponds with fresh water. During those times I often pair painting sessions with a music playlist; meticulous details require subtle piano, and ‘mas alegre’ music nudges me into a faster painting tempo!
Late at night while most of my neighboring world is asleep, the magical world of blissful silence casts its spell over my work environment. Sunset usually signals the end of (very little) traffic on the gravel road, and the pumps cease as the river lowers with the tides. Ahhhh, aside from nature’s whisperings, all is serene and quiet. Music during those times is an intrusion.

El Nino Phenomenon

Back flashing through the eyes of an 8-year old, Silvana- in her unique voice – shares what it’s like to wonder if one should be living in an ark during the last ‘super el nino’ that affected ecuador…
After reading this post, please enjoy the previous one where her humor burns through once more as she experiences the difference between the middle of the world and the ‘middle’ of the usa.. brrrrr, you made us laugh, silvana – what a gift! . http://tinasca.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/from-the-middle-of-the-world-to-5216-km-to-the-north/

internet is too slow to open the inbox, much less wrote a post, so timeout for art will arrive tomorrow, weather permitting!

z

monoaullador.

A few days ago there was a storm (rain, thunder , lightning ) that prevented me to go out to the fields for working as usual,  I stayed for a moment looking out the window mesmerized while Jackie asked me : Are you nervous? I said -No- but the true is that yes, I was nervous , I must confess!!! YES the heavy rains make me feel a little nervous, when I see it I go back years (1997-1998) when I was 8 years old I experienced one of the worst seasons on the Ecuadorian Coast  (El Niño). Lisa asked in her last post to share our experience about “ El Nino Phenomenon“.  I decided to share mine.

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El Nino Phenomenon – Yes or No?

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ecuador el nino phenomenon, el nino, el nino phenomenon, kelvin wave 2014

(Written two days ago, and then – poof – no internet until now!)

After punishing the Solomon Islands,  a now-category 5 ITA assaults the Western Pacific and bears down on Australia.  To my friends in Australia, I will be thinking of all of you and your country.  It seems when Mother Nature is swirling bad storms, she often kicks with a strong earthquake as well.  The moon is almost full, so everyone, beware!

(* I see that it downgraded to a category 3 but have not read any reports yet…

* – notices  also show that Nicaragua shook Central America, and there’s a tsunami watch from the Solomon Islands quake.  Goodness, Mother Nature, you’ve been busy, so please sit back and rest for a long while!)

View of Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador

When I ask people (in Manabi Ecuador) about El Nino of 1997/8, they often add, yes, and a really bad earthquake hit Bahia de Caraquez.

For the past month, I have kept one weather eye on the “Kelvin Wave” – a pocket of warm (hot?) water that’s perculating west of Ecuador. The weather gurus are comparing this year’s charts with the ones from 1997 and ’98 when El Nino focused his wrath on Ecuador and Peru.

Timeout for Art: Careful Study

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Acrylic Painting, Painting Murals, Punta Ballena El Matal Ecuador, Timeout for Art: Careful Study

Detail: Magnificent Frigates – Acrylic

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein

This week finds me working on a nine-foot wide painting to be used as a mural on a restaurant wall.  The owner showed me several photos of picturesque palm-lined beaches with tropical water in the background.  I suggested that we dress up the view of the local landscape which is equally as beautiful as the images he provided.  (A week later I questioned my decision, as the seascape required accuracy — or risk every “local” pointing out the mistakes!)

Barbara, My Hummingbird Friend

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Advice for leaving an abusive relationship, barb seibel, Barb Seibel Forgiveness, how to forgive

Hmmmm, do we recognize someone in this picture?! Barb poses in Guayaquil’s Malecon Gardens.

Barbara Seibel and I have been friends for about fourteen years.  Our paths crossed when I moved to Guanacaste Costa Rica, and we were instant friends.  Over the years I’ve marveled at her perpetual energy, and her ability to stay positive, and her gift of juggling many tasks at the same time while sometimes carrying on several conversations at once – and keeping up with all.  I’m a one-task-at-a-time kind of person, so I admire those traits that she juggles so well.

Barb at Punta Prieta, just up the coast from the town of Jama (Ecuador)

Small and petite, she zips from task to task while smiling and chatting, though she requires lots of little meals to maintain that energy.  It’s easy to understand why I often call her Hummingbird!  We painted this design last year when she was helping with the bodega floor (magic carpet) and she sent the photo of it hanging in her home in Panama.

A Hummingbird for a Hummingbird! – You might be seeing that little bird flitting here and there in the near future on WordPress!

My hummingbird friend has a serious side, and many of us know of the times when her life wasn’t sunshine and flowers and hummingbirds.  Someone once said to me, ‘I try to stay out of other people’s shadows, and I hope that they stay out of mine.”     I try to do the same by not finding fault with others or sharing stories that are painful or open old wounds that have (hopefully) healed.

Barbara has chosen to go OUT with one of the most painful chapters of her life, and she speaks to women’s groups about that event.  She has recently uploaded this story to a new website, and I am pleased to share that address with all of you.

Buckle your seat belt; the story ain’t purdy.

You can find it here: BarbSeibel.com

Her main site doesn’t have a comment section, so she and I reactivated a site she started a year ago when she was helping paint the Magic Carpet floor!

After listening to her story, drop her a line and welcome her to WordPress HERE:  forgiveness4healing.

Off she goes! Parapente Barb in Cruzita Ecuador!

Thanks, also for supporting Arash’s petition that addresses the apathy/lack of compassion from insurance providers. I just checked the stats, and it’s down to 9 more signatures needed to reach the goal! Grrrrrrrracias! You’re the best, WordPress world! Z

“51 Needed” – Arash Recovery

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arash recovery, Help for spinal cord injuries, Spinal Cord Injuries

Don’s first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean – Playa San Miguel, Costa Rica

At times when Life presents a hurdle or three in my path, instead of allowing a wave of self-pity was over me, I remind myself to be grateful that I am not facing that challenge from the vantage point of a wheelchair.    I am instantly upgraded to a more-positive attitude, and I spend the next few minutes counting my many many blessings.    I remember too well the day that my nephew’s world spun out of control, and that story can be found HERE.

Another hero to many is Arash Bayatmakou, whose determination to walk again is shared through his blog Arash Recovery.  This week he asked for help with a petition by stating:

“Too many paralyzed survivors of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) are abandoned by their insurance companies, not provided with their most basic needs (such as a wheelchair), and told to adapt to their physical limitations despite the possibility for improvement.

This has to change.”

His closing paragraph states, “To learn more about my story (just one of the 12,000 annual cases of SCI in the US), check out: www.arashrecovery.com“

He’s only 51 signatures short!  Let’s play ball!   Please sign the petition HERE and help bring this need into the spotlight.

Thanks!  Z

Guaranda Bound via Misty Chimborazo

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Chimborazo, Guaranda, travel theme misty

(Near Volcano Chimborazo and Guaranda Ecuador)

My friends Hank and Marie trusted my recommendations and veered off the beaten path to view the lovely snow-capped Volcano Chimborazo.  Beyond “Chimbo” was the quiet Andean city of Guaranda, our destination for the next few days.

Time slows while white-knuckle driving through dangerous cloud-shrouded mountain switchbacks.  I had traveled that road ten years earlier, and at times I wondered if I had pointed us in the wrong direction!  

Little Wing, Butterflies and Zebras

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bright yellow green caterpillars in ecuador, caterpillars in ecuador, jimi hendrix butterflies and zebras little wing, transformation, Wordpress photo challenge THRESHOLD

“…I know I saw it somewhere around here… There! There you are!… “

Manabi Province/Ecuador –

Yesterday while pulling tender rank growth in the shady recesses of the gardens, I noted an abnormal splash of electric color near ground level.  Pausing for a closer look, this Zeebra allowed a psychedelic caterpillar to alter the next ten or so minutes of my day!

Timeout for Art: Staying Young at Heart!

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jama coaque sellos, Lisa Brunetti art, Painting Pillows, Timeout for Art: Young at Heart

“It takes a very long time to become young.”
― Pablo Picasso

This Timeout for Art project was simple and easy! The design, inspired by a pre-Columbian artifact, was painted on a pillow to bridge the painting on the wall (below) with the fabrics on the sofa and chair.

Dodging Bullets

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chile earthquake april 1 2014, dodging bullets, wildlife's strange behavior before earthquakes

April 1, 2014 – Did the sun know of the upcoming earthquake?

At sunset yesterday, I noted that the tidal waters seemed a bit different – I could not articulate why, but there was something strange or surreal about the way the water was moving;  the birds used different flight patterns as well, and many more egrets and herons roosted in the mangroves; the pelicans were absent.  (That happened last year a few days before bad weather approached.)

After sunset, I came inside and followed a random ‘tweet……. tweet……………….. tweet…………….’ to its source and welcomed a frightened nomad for a B&B night at Casa Loca!  Last year I flunked Baby Bird Rescue, so this year I tried a different menu.

Look who came for dinner! (I fed it aloe vera water and mashed aloe vera pulp!

She Moves On

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Being Left Behind, Monoalludor, Moving On, silvana goes to the usa

Silvana enjoys a last sunset at the riverhouse.

Today one of Jama’s bright young shining stars soars out of Ecuadorian airspace and lands in a most unpredictable spot for the next nine or so months of her life! If you started guessing right now, my money says that you won’t guess her destination!

Timeout for Art: Living a Life

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hand-painted floors, Timeout for Art - Living a LIfe, what to do with ugly office space

I am interested in art as a means of living a life; not as a means of making a living. (Robert Henri)
Reaching far back into childhood memories, I fondly recall a fishing moment with my sister Helen. Eight years older than I, she was the master fisherwoman, and I was the novice.  In order to secure the john boat against the outgoing current of an oxbow lake, she leaped from the bow of the boat to the muddy bank where the oxbow lake joined the Mighty Mississippi River. Instantly, her feet and lower legs vanished into the icky muddy bank.

She didn’t chuckle. She laughed. An uninhibited belly laugh emerged from her soul as she attempted to pull her feet from the muck!

Would you care to guess what this moment was about?  (I helped him un-stick the electrical tape!)

I often find myself knee deep in surprise moments here in Ecuador, and following Helen’s example, I try to embrace those experiences. Trading the quiet backdrop of the river for a forlorn third-floor fixer-upper in the middle of town, I’ve been busy living a life while making a living this past week!

Who Has The Right-of-Way?

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El Matal Ecuador, pacific coastal erosion, wordpress photo challenge street view

Wait! Where’s the road?!

Manabi Province, Ecuador

This past weekend I visited the fishing village of  El Matal and found ample material for this week’s Photo Challenge of ‘STREET LIFE.’   On Saturday, the high tide washed across areas of the front street, where fishing boats trumped automobiles for use of the road!

First-aid options for the vanishing beach are tied up in red tape.  Concerned locals watch as each wave brings the next spring tide a bit closer.    How much longer will there be room for boats and autos?