
“Did you see that flash of yellow? What’s there? “
Mindo, Ecuador – The little Burrito Laptop displayed a stubborn temperament yesterday and refused to respond to any keyboard prompt. Photos were waiting to be uploaded, and stories were waiting to be shared, and I could open pages via touch screen, but nothing else worked! A cybercafe helped me connect to the world and send a fast email to say, “I’m fine – all’s well aside from lots of rain here in the cloud forest.” I am learning to dodge the roadblocks the computer places in my way and can do basic typing. Pardon the generic presentation of this and future posts!
Drive with me past Rio Cinto and examine the range of the moods!

Rio Cinto always offers a different mood and another facet of beauty. This is the normal mood!

Rio Cinto after 3 inches of rain…

Rio Cinto showed a rare bad temperament this past week! Twelve hours later, it was back to normal…

Ker-Splash

After the bad mood; hey, there is a new Playamart shopping center on Rio Cinto!
My drive to town was a bit longer than norm this week; I stopped and photographed Rio Cinto’s rare bad mood, and then braked for a great photo session with two toucans that foraged near the road.

Just a reminder – without those life-giving rains, the beauty of nature would not be its best!
With the laptop’s stubborn mood, and the art exposition growing closer day by day (May 2016) I will be spending more time offline/on the property for the next month.
I might not be painting the artifacts in the museum, but there is an ever-changing supply of flora and fauna to study there on the property.

Yes, Virginia, there are dandelions in the cloud forest!

There is so much order in this spider’s brilliant design!

This one could be a lot of fun to capture with pencil or paint.

This bromeliad fell (via dead limb) on the public road and now thives in the “Plant Rescue Garden.”

“What is that lovely fragrance?” Aha! Perhaps it was this timid little orchid blooming in the background1

Only pretty for one day, this petite orchid smiles for those lucky enough to view its fleeting beauty.

This ginger is oh so delicate!
Have a good weekend, everyone! Lisa/Z
Z, I love the insect picture of a grasshopper(?). It looks so inquisitive. Maybe it is looking at you with camera in hand. The others are nicely done, as well. Keith
Love your flowers and the river – and maybe the grasshopper has a flying carpet of his own? Stay safe.
Have a great weekend, Lisa! 🙂 Rio Cinto is full of beauties! 🙂 xx
Thought we wouldn’t hear from you for another week – gorgeous photos – glad the river went back down so quickly! Safe travels Amiga!
Wonderful photos, Lisa, thank you!
Haha. The Playamart shopping center. I can’t wait to see what you do with those!
Lovely! Good to hear your voice again!
Some great photos! Love the toucans – what fun to be able to see them, and there praying mantis is a beaut too.
Alison
Interesting. Great pictures. Hugs.
You are surrounded by so much beauty Lisa, but also the wild side is showing after the rain. Now to see what you will create from your new “shopping centre”
hey i have been watching the news and hope all is ok.. i also looked at your posts… ..
am at dinner with friends so am going to close.. thank you so much amiga!
Brilliant as usual, Lisa. Always look forward to hearing your voice!
i hav eloaded your posts and read them offline and love them.. my biggest problem is not being able to send the ‘immediate feedback’ replies that are more fresh when written from impromptu moments.
so glad you’re back to writing and sharing.. hope to catch up w/comments there soon.
love
z
Really love your love of nature’s beauty. The roaring river is a definitely a reminder that we need rain to sustain God’s beautiful earth. We must all do our part to take great care of it. Lovely photos, Lisa 🙂
thankyou and yes, we definitey need to play our part and take care of our mother earth…
keyboard still being stubborn, though i am in town with friends for dinner.
thanks as always!
lisa
It’s a gray, gloomy, rainy day here, too — except we’re a little colder than you. Maybe thirty degrees colder!The photos are a lovely bit of color and light, especially that peach-colored orchid. The bright and bold colors always are appealing, but there’s room for a little delicacy, too.
We’ve been hearing about the new mosquito-borne virus, called Zika. Here’s a link for you. It’s not shown up in Ecuador or Costa Rica, from what I can tell, but it’s good for you to know about it anyway, if you haven’t already heard of it. There’s only been one case in the US, as far as I know, and that was brought in by a traveler.
Enjoy your time with your art, and that beautiful world you inhabit. I can’t wait to see what emerges from the new Playamart!
hi amiga
yes, zika arrived via two people recently and hopefully it was isolated (they had been in columbia) so warnings are in the news.. i am glad to be in the higher elevations where the mosquito (and those viruses) are rare…
i loved your post about the birds/silence, etc and it is so much about what gives me peace… i loved the neruda poem too, ah, wouldn’t that be nice if the entire world was quiet at the same time?
still raining, but yesterday was wonderful and lovely… the good thing about the rains here is that one can get drenched and not be freezing!
Glad you are out of reach of the pesky mosquitoes. We have even had a few Zika cases (travellers) arrive in New Zealand, as Zika is now present in certain parts of the Pacific.
it’s quite scary.. i am staying away from the coast until the dangers have passed.. it’s starting to ‘replicate’ fast, just like chikungunya started a year ago. thanks for the update on zika..
Lovely drive to town!
thank you emilie… it is still raining, but yesterday we had a beautiful day… but even with rain, it is lovely here!
Fabulous pictures as usual, love the mantis.
Loved your dive to town and the all the beauty you captured for the rest of us to enjoy. Where is the art exposition being held? I’ll be popping you an email today, no rush, hugs
hey again.. the expo will be at the museo in bahia, so it will not be too far from your briar patch!
i will send you gonzalo’s email… z
Love that Mantid!
I like the way you described the river as being in a bad mood. That’s a novel description.
ha, it was in another bad mood last sunday night… i suspect it will be in a bipolar state for the next few months.. thanks so much – hope to catch up soon! z
The toucans are magnificent!!
thanks my lovely friend! hope all is going well for you this weekend! z
Oh the loveliness, Lisa!
I have missed my visits with you. I just don’t visit anyone much of late. No time! I am in awe of your spider’s web photo. I have a very difficult time catching those!