Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Tags

cabin fever, full moon flower drop, magic carpet ride, many colors of flowers, NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award

Imagine flowers falling from the sky!

Orange flowers, yellow flowers, red flowers, blue

Pink flowers, white flowers – picked just for you!

What fun it’s been zipping around the country on the magic carpet while gathering materials for the FULL MOON FLOWER DROP! There’s room for everyone, and we’re set to soar on Thursday, January 16, 2014!

The flight engineer discovered a few minor technical difficulties and tweaked a few threads that got crossed in the carpet.  We’re coordinated to soar out of here

Things Leibster

Tags

David Tripp Art, Defeat Despair, Hugh Curtler, Leibster Award, Painting and Writing, Pastels by Mary, Ruth Bailey Art, XRay Art

There’s a good thing/bad thing about being a serious artist who also blogs;  it’s that of being a serious blogger who also paints!  Juggling the two is often difficult for me, as when I am painting, I don’t want to stop until I reach a true finishing point, and when I am blogging, I don’t want to stop until that ‘publish’ button has been selected, or until I schedule it to publish later!  A queue of awards patiently awaits my attention, and now that the first phase of the floor project is finished,  I’ll start with the one that was waiting in the pending approval file!

New Beginnings

Tags

Let's Be Wild New Beginnings, Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, Playa San Miguel Costa Rica, Pretoma, Wild Weekly Photo Challenge - New Beginnings

An Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Egg;  What are its chances of survival?

Happy New Year, everyone!  I am so honored that one of my images won Let’s Be Wild’s ‘Exploration’ category.   See the image HERE.  This week’s photo challenge (ending today!) is “New Beginnings.”   Let’s go once again to Playa San Miguel, Costa Rica and watch the olive ridley sea turtles’ new beginnings.

While the female turtle is in her egg-laying trance, the biologists record data then transfer the eggs to a nursery.

The eggs are buried the same depth as the turtle’s original nest.

In 40 to 60 days, the magical awakening begins, and the hatchlings quickly find their way to the surface and follow the call of the ocean.

Bananas, Bananas and More Bananas!

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banana flower recipe, banana nut bread, Bananas, Chifles, Cooking with bananas, cooking with plantains, Costa Rica Cuisine, Ecuador cuisine, Galivantas Recipes, hummingbird cake, Laylitas Recipes, Panama Cuisine, patacone recipe, Super Sweet Blogger Award

Papelito’s Corner Plantains – Jama, Ecuador. After four years, he recently informed me that his real name is Walter!

I try to keep bananas on hand to use in place of sugar when blending a natural drink.   My present favorite drink contains papaya, red hibiscus blossoms, fresh mint, maracuya (passion fruit) and the optional banana.  Since red and green make brown, the mint makes the concoction a bit ugly – but hey! – dim the lights and enjoy the flavor while your body drinks in nutrients! I often forget to strain the drinks before serving my friends, and they stare at me with this, “You really don’t expect me to drink this….. do you?” kind of look!

Bahia Ecuador Bananas

Bahia Banana Lady

Have you ever wondered what bananas look like when you find them in the wild?  Enjoy a trek with Kris and Joel in Panama’s northern region and see some bananas that don’t quite look like the ones you buy at the supermarket!Read it HERE:  Let’s Go Hunt For Bananas!

John and Mary McDonald in San Clemente, Ecuador showered me with an ‘all you can eat’ bananafest (as well as an amazing Sunday feast!)  Read how they happened upon a surplus of bananas HERE: Yes, We Have Bananas!

I Brake For Horses

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Cabalgata, Chincoteague, Mustang Horses, One Lovely Blog Award, San Vicente Ecuador, save the mustangs, Tope

Cabalgata in San Vicente Ecuador

Every so often, my sensitive side catches me off guard, and something triggers a release of tears that makes me ponder, “Am I nuts to let this affect me?”  Recently horses seem to be a recurring theme in my life.  An equestrian since early childhood, I ‘brake’ for a well-bred horse with dinner-plate jaw, arched neck and intelligent eyes.

Cowboys & Cowgirls, Giddye-Up On Down That Road!

A few weeks ago, I encountered a detour in nearby San Vicente (Ecuador), where a ‘tope’ event blocked traffic along the outgoing lanes of traffic.   Not frustrated by the detour, I bailed out of the bus and began taking photos!

Beautiful Bloggers

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Beautiful blogger award, Campanulladellaanna, History of the Ancient World, The Forester Artist

Flowers! Flowers For Everyone Who Reads This Blog!

The queue of awards tripped me a little; doing the math, I have ten awards to pass along times seven to fifteen people for each one equals a LOT of names and posts to select and hyperlink.   For starters I’ll address the Beautiful Blogger Award,   which was given to me by three talented and prolific bloggers.

History of the Ancient World: http://historyoftheancientworld.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/beautiful-blogger-award/

The Forester Artist: http://theforesterartist.com/2012/10/20/the-beautiful-blogger-award/

Campanulladellaanna:   http://campanulladellaanna.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/blogging-award-nominations-you-can-get-it/

I am to thank the person who nominated this blog, post the image on this blog, share 7 things about myself, and nominate 15 other bloggers.

Thanks, all three of you, for your kind and generous gestures of your respect for this creative-outlet of a blog!  Now for seven tidbits of information that you might find interesting:

My Cup Runneth Over – AGAIN!

Tags

Beautiful blogger award, Blog of the Year 2012 Award, One Lovely Blog Award, Playamart, Super Sweet Blogger Award, Very Inspiring Blog Award, Zeebra Designs & Destinations

Thanks! I’m overwhelmed and honored!

How can one complain about an inbox full of testimonials?!  I am honored and a bit overwhelmed at the positive feedback and awards that arrive from all over the world!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone, for your positive support! The following comments  escorted these awards to this post.