¡ Good Morning, Buenos Dias!

Tags

daily post smile, happy, smile

An artfully-served cup of Ecuadorian Coffee!

“Good Morning,” I’d say, as I plunked down mugs of hot coffee in front of my regulars as soon as they came in the door. I knew the exceptions that wanted decaf or tea, instead. I knew who might order a little breakfast, after a couple cups of coffee. I knew who needed to get to work quickly, and who would sit for an hour or more. They were friends, sort of, though we only met over morning coffee, and mine was a position of servitude. They felt like family, all of us still groggy from sleep, making conversation in the early morning hours. – (Cindy Ricksgers)

Cindy Ricksgers’ ‘Good Morning’ post reminds us how two simple words have the power to brighten another’s day. The rest of Cindy’s ‘Good Morning’ post is HERE.

“Some days I wake up grumpy; other mornings I let him sleep.”  (From a cocktail napkin)

When I lived in Costa Rica, the howler monkeys often slept in the canopy over the roof of my studio/casita.   Some mornings they awakened quietly, and other mornings they began with pre-dawn guttural sounds that slowly increased into grumpy roars.  On those ‘grumpy’ mornings I would go outside, gape up at them and smile as I replied in my heart-felt “Good Morning!  BuenOs dias – Umph-umph-umph-umph!”   

My attempts to mock their passive ‘we’re happy and content’ sounds seemed to pacify them.  After five or so minutes of quiet time in their presence, I began my day and they began theirs! Like any living being, they just wanted to be acknowledged!

“…Smiling is infectious, You catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today I started smiling too. I passed around the corner And someone saw my grin. When he smiled I realised I’d passed it on to him. I thought about that smile Then I realised its worth…  ”   Enjoy Pommepal’s artful pairing of images to that poem!   – Living in Paradise

My friend Francisca smiles when I walk into her tienda and state, “Good Morning -BuenOs dias!” and she repeats, “Gud morning!”   It’s a ritual that gives us all a refreshing chuckle, especially when she is the one that laughs the most. Ah! The power of a smile!

She’s an archaeologist; he specializes in roasting cafe over a fire. The secret ingredient in their coffee is happiness!

Friends Stephen and Xiomara sample that lovingly-roasted coffee!

An impromptu moment in Cayambe Ecuador…

It’s always great to see a familiar face in a crowd of strangers, especially when he gives such a genuine smile!

Birthday Traditions

(Can you imagine how different our world would be if all scowls were replaced by lighthearted smiles? Would it feel strange if we embraced each day with a heart as happy as his?)

Participants in this week’s WordPress theme helped wrap smiles around the world.

…..

My friends remain in a holding pattern while taking shifts at the hospital.  Even though the patient’s condition is still listed as critical, the doctors say that he is very strong and has an amazing will to live.  The family is finding moments to smile, and at times they laugh.  They send heart-felt thanks to many of you who are sending strong energy and prayers in their direction.  Thanks, also, for your comments, which I’ve passed along while stating the many countries you represent.

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A Blurrrr of Smoke and Roses!

Tags

Castillo Fireworks, Cayambe Ecuador, Daily Prompt Blur, Hacienda Guachala, Weddings in Ecuador

Worthy of a place in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, this ‘Castillo” provided a unique show of fireworks!

(Cayambe Ecuador) – This week’s Daily Prompt nudges us to “find beauty in a blur.”  There were many photos from Saturday night’s wedding reception that were a bit blurred, and I suspect that some of these might give you a smile!

Because I’m HAPPY!

Tags

daily post playlist of the week, happy, jama ecuador, playlists for ecuador

(Ecuador – Jan. 31, 2015)  Today’s Daily Prompt arrived as I traveled the 7-plus hours between Jama and Guayaquil.  Michelle suggested,  “Tell us how your week went by putting together a playlist of five songs that represent it.”

Ha!  The week delivered disappointments as well as grand moments, but I managed to keep my sense of humor.   On Monday/Lunas, I painted  until noon, put away my paints and brushes, changed and waited for a driver to take me an hour up the coast to Pedernales.  Rolando and I had talked on Saturday, and I told him about the floor project and the most important item needed was a non-yellowing varnish for floors.   I said that I would be painting all day on Sunday and again on Monday morning and would be ready to go by “…1 or 2 o’clock…”    He didn’t show up!   Welcome to Ecuador!  (Perhaps I absently said, “Martes/Tuesday” instead of “Lunas?”)

I shrugged; it wasn’t important, and I switched back to painting while watching the birds come home to roost.  On Martes, I waited again, and at 2, decided to walk to town (5K) and glare at Rolando with the ‘truck taxi’ and watch his mouth drop when he remembered that he’d forgotten!

Maybe he feared he’d have to help carry heavy items from Playamart!

I enjoy the walks to town, and I inspect the birds along the road, in the al-garrobo (mesquite family) trees and in the shrimp ponds.  This week I spotted the Peruvian Meadowlark, a species that’s been absent for months.  About twenty minutes into my trek, a friend drove along at high speed, braked, backed up and gave me a ride to to town!   As he resumed top speed on the gravel road, I didn’t tell him of my two-day wait for the driver!  Instead I smiled after we all but broke the sound barrier and said, “Muchicimas Gracias!”

(Image from 2013) Some people think that third-word countries are dangerous; thankfully there are sweet angels who enhance the quality of my days! Thanks, Doc Castro!)

Instead of seeing Rolando, I spotted one of his brothers (they have a fleet of pickup truck-taxis.)  He chuckled when I told him the story;  we discussed the fare to Pedernales, my list of things to do there, judged the time, and he said if we left immediately we could be back before dark.  I hopped in the co-pilot seat and said, “VAMOS!”

Squinting at the laptop, I worked on photos for National Geographic’s “Your Shot,” while peering out the window and occasionally snapping photos.

Harvest in progress of a balsa tree farm near Camarones Ecuador.

We returned just before dark, and he helped carry the items from the road to Casa Loca.  I slept well and started Wednesday in painting mode.

My friends harvested a shrimp pond near the house, but I was very focused on adding details to the floor.  I emerged from my painting fog around dark, looked out and noted that the pond was drained, and the trucks and workers were gone!  Only the birds remained as they foraged the muddy bottom for shrimp.

I painted on Thursday morning as well; my high-energy painting sessions often correlate with strong rain, so I was not surprised when the sound of rain pelted the roof.  The rains strengthened, and I noted one slow drip-drip-drip from the tin roof;  I moved the potted ceibo tree beneath the drip and continued painting for another hour.  That lovely one-plus inch of rain saturated the ground, but it also extinguished the electricity in this 7-house circuit!

The skies cleared slightly, and I painted until almost dark and photographed the details for Timeout for Art.   With an opportunity to try out my new green mud boots, I retrieved my rain coat (just in case of more rain!) and walked to town in the late afternoon.    

Ecuador’s Colourful Andes

Tags

Chocho Beans, Lupines, Otavalo Aniimal Market, Otavalo Ecuador, Otavalo Saturday Market, What to do in Otavalo

Stained glass artwork scrapes the skies over Otavalo Ecuador.

The Aya Uma mask is an important icon for the June Solstice Festival.

There are subtle colors and explosions of colors in the Otavalo Ecuador area;  one can sample the quiet hues of the landscape or take a giant immersion in the Saturday market in town.  There are colors to suit all moods and personalities!

Let’s start with a leisurely walk in the mountains that overlook Otavalo.

The Mystery of Eyes

Tags

art by Lisa Brunetti, ecuador precolumbian artifacts, eye of horus, photo challenge dialogue, ways to protect a house, WordPress Photo Challenge Windows, Wordpress Weekly Photo Challenge

The third eye icon, often associated with the pineal gland and the sixth chakra, dates back to early Egyptian times.  Long ago, the amulets represented protection, power and good health, and the designs were sometimes painted on ships for protection at sea.

Prompted by a desire to find creative ways to deter the neighborhood thief, I mischievously painted an all-seeing eye on the gate to Casa Loca.   (An amulet from the treasures of King Tut served as the model.)

From New Zealand, Gallivanta shared an article that supports the theory that the All-Watching Eye helps to prevent theft. ( Bike thefts slashed by 50% at University after scientists install a picture of a pair of EYES above the cycle racks) ` I am hopeful that the giant eye on the gate will have the same effect on the shrimp farm.

While the monochromatic art transformed the gate, a second, more-serious design evolved in the studio.

When one focuses on a particular subject, more images seem to pop up in unexpected places.  While showing students my museum/archaeology sketchbook, I viewed this old sketch (below) with wonder. I never realized how this tiny detail resembles the Egyptian-Eye Icon:

From Quito’s Casa de la Cultura – Detail from Golden Mask –

From Quito’s Casa de la Cultura

Compare the pencil sketch to the eye of the coconut head (below) which was painted about ten years ago.

Morning…the Most Memorable Season of the Day…

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being awake at dawn, daily post dawn, daylight photos, moon set, Playa San Miguel, Sunrise

Sunrise over the shrimp ponds…

“Morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour…”   and for a minute some part of us “… awakens which slumbers the rest of the day and night…” – Thoreau

I left my house around 4 in the morning to walk to this spot to capture the awakening day… and an ample amount of photo moments awaited…

Matt at WordPress tossed a morsel of a prompt, and since I had just reviewed the images marked, ‘Dawn,” I quickly opened a “New Post” page.

Sometimes I work on artistic projects all night and am brought to a stopping point by the sounds of the awakening birds.  Viewing dawn on the river reminds me of how timeless this last bend of the river can be.

The anticipation of dawn beneath full-moon skies

The moon sets over the river.

My most memorable dawn moments happen when I awaken around 4 and venture outside to witness the visual beauty to the start of the day.  My senses are usually heightened, and with a strong attachment to the surrounding landscape, I try to capture that beauty.

Join me on a cyber walk on one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful beaches, Playa San Miguel. We’ll start with photos from the awakening day photo from above:

Not-Quite Summer?

Tags

aguaji el matal, beach loss, ecuador climate, El Matal Ecuador, summer on the equator, summertime, vanishing beaches

Peeling Shrimp -“I LOVE my job!’ –  La Division, Manabi, Ecuador

Summer – “The warmest season of the year, following spring and preceding autumn.” (Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary” 1984)

Krista at WordPress prompted us to share images of ‘Summer Lovin”, and she mentioned southern vs northern hemispheres.  I snickered and thought, ‘- Summer? What about those lucky ones who straddle the equator?!  We don’t really have a summer on this part of Ecuador’s coast!”

After enduring Central America’s oppressive Pacific heat for eight years, I remain enchanted by Ecuador’s more-forgiving climate.   Just south of the equator on the Pacific coast, the days and nights politely share 12-hour shifts; January escorts us into the rainy season (invierno), and the June solstice weans us into a dry-but-slightly-cooler verano, their version of summer.   The low temperatures might bottom out at 70, and the highs rarely hit 90, although the sun can bite very fast!  (This past week has been cool, and many people wore long sleeves in the daytime and jackets at night!) When the ocean breezes stop for a rest, and the temperatures rise,  the nearby ocean offers instant relief!

My perch on the river is nestled between two rapidly-vanishing beaches;  La Division is northeast from the river’s mouth, and Playa El Matal is southwest. The ocean stayed on its best behavior during mid July’s full moon spring/king tides, although another critical high tide will soon arrive in August.

La Division Ecuador – Nelly took a rare break from her restaurant for Mother’s Day 2013.

La Boca – Rio Jama

 

Once upon a time when the beach was much wider: “The Boca” with El Matal and Punta Ballena in the background. (Image from 2011)

Playa El Matal – “Where’s the beach?” – A concerned visitor assesses the vanishing beach.

Great illustrations of ‘summer’ can be found at Playa El Matal. As the ocean crowds the fishermen’s boats onto the road, the locals remain unruffled and adapt without any displays of frustration.  Let’s go on a beach-inspection walk and search for a sour face!

Timeout for Art: So Many Colors!

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colorful paintings, fun songs about children, painting in watercolor, the Daily prompt, Timeout for Art

Oops, the sun turned into a flower, and the flower turned into — what?— fireworks? Who cares? It was fun to paint!

“If you could paint your current mood onto a canvas, what would that painting look like? What would it depict?” Ben Huberman –  WordPress – The Daily Prompt

A Salute to the Red, White & Blue!

Tags

fourth of july colors, red, red white and blue, white blue

RED

Red Hibiscus and Quinoa “Quinouli”

“Red Capes” in progress; Watercolor by Lisa Brunetti

Red Coffee Cherries!

WHITE

White scorpion’s tail – Ecuador

White for Peace – Jama Ecuador

WHITE EGRET – “Have a great day, wherever you are!”

BLUE

BLUE MORNING GLORIES

Blue Swirl!

BLUE FOOTED BOOBY!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Red, White and Blue!

Check out Steve Schwartzman’s Portraits of Wildflowers post for another dose of patriotic colors! (For anone interested in technical details and trivia about the Spanish language, see his Spanish-English Word Connections.)

Sandia anyone?

Happy Fourth of July!

Z

In Between Showers – A Mosaic Challenge

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mosaics for pools, Painted mosaics, WordPress Photo Chllenge Between

This week’s WordPress Challenge is ‘Between.”

My mind immediately dashed on many thought tangents as I pondered ideas that represent ‘Between.”     The above art project (in progress) keeps getting stalled due to rain showers, so climb aboard and step into a mosaic-filled world!

An Unexpected Visitor?

Tags

crystal palace quito, ghosts in photos, wordpress photo challenge extra extra, [rde

Sarah admires the view while coordinating a medical appointment for a friend.

Hi Amigos!

I’m back with another post for the WordPress Photo Challenge which states: “This week, share a photo that has a little something extra: an unexpected visitor, or a tranquil landscape with a splash of color…or find a photo with an added element that makes it an image only you could capture.”

 

(Quito Ecuador)  – Returning home after fast trip to Ecuador’s Sierra, I spent many hours wading through an eclectic range of photos which covered visits to pueblitos, museums and even a lending library of books written in English!

Come see the soccer images!

The photos from the Crystal Palace included the flaming nasturtiums and geraniums as well as delicate pink hues of taxo – a new species for my eyes.  Inside the glass enclosure was an impressive collection of soccer images from Brazil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_passionfruit

Stepping back outside, I took photos of the sweeping view of the city, but the camera caught something extra that I overlooked.

Surprise Visitors from the Wild

Tags

baby birds, frog images, sick birds, spotted skunk, wordpress photo challenge extra extra

What’s poking out of the pre-Columbian pottery?

(Ecuador) – Living totally immersed in nature, I am often treated to unexpected visitors from the wild!   This week’s photo challenge is ‘Extra Extra,‘ and Michelle states, “This week, share a photo that has a little something extra: an unexpected visitor, or a tranquil landscape with a splash of color. A lone carrot in a sea of peas. Draw us in with a humorous detail, or find a photo with an added element that makes it an image only you could capture.” 

I remembered this surprise moment from earlier this year.

Come a little closer?

Peering from its hiding place, Mr. Frog startled me one sunny morning!

Although frogs and geckos ‘creep out’ many of my female friends,  they make me smile and are often used as models for some of my studies!  Here are a few more unexpected guests that arrived with no warning:

Timeout for Art: A Magical Room

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art studios, creative artistic spaces, Lisa Brunetti, painted concrete floors, transforming an ugly room into a happy one, ways to remodel an old room, wordpress challenge ROOM

“I step into my studio and nothing will be the same ever again.” (Franco Paisio)

This week’s WordPress Challenge is ‘Room,’ and these photos show how a farm bodega transformed into a unique studio space.  Enjoy the pictorial!  Z

August 2008; the fixer-upper challenge begins!

Let’s peer inside the bodega!

Twist: Items that Caught My Attention

Tags

el nino ecuador, hate between cultures, things that surprise us, Wordpress photo challenge twist, world issues, yusani

Do you remember these posts?

Krista asks on the WordPress Photo Challenge, “This week, share a photo of something that says “twist” to you. It might be that perfect ice cream cone, a yummy bit of liquorice, or something unexpected that surprised, shocked, or startled you.”

My sister Kate once stated, “Lisa, you never cease to shock me.”    She was totally surprised by a package that a “complete stranger” hand delivered to their pharmacy in Monticello Arkansas – straight from Costa Rica, where I lived at that time!  It was fun to send her a care package that was hand delivered by a just-met person from her town!

Payback usually rolls around, and Life continues to sprinkle unexpected tokens into my life; some of them  have been good, and a few recent ones have been a bit shocking.

One of Luchy’s well-designed posts and his lovely assistant!

Many of you remember the story about the post-painting competition and watched the infectious enthusiasm spread through the community. Those original ‘first’ posts, replaced by taller posts,  now gather dust in the electric company’s old-light post purgatory.   (After stewing and incubating, I have a plan!)

Cloud Forest Work of Art

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rain forest scene, wordpress photo challenge work of art

WordPress’s Photo Challenge for the week is “Work of Art,“ and I thought of this cloud-forest scene.

Between rains

Between rains and mudslides and power outages, my friends and I enjoyed this end-of-day light just south of the equator near Mindo Ecuador.

Today finds me back on the Pacific coast, and the rains seemed to have tagged along!  After an overnight at Hostal Ciragan, I’ll  be home on the river later this morning.

See you on Thursday!

Z

Awakenings on the River

Tags

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!

Guaranda Bound via Misty Chimborazo

Tags

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

Tags

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!

Who Has The Right-of-Way?

Tags

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?

Where Time Slows to an Easy Pace

Tags

jama ecuador, low blood pressure, low pulse, quiet streets, staying healthy, wordpress weekly photo challenge street life

Jama Ecuador (Manabi Province)
Only one street back from the center of town, Hostal Ciragan provides a quiet respite – unless there’s an all-night fiesta nearby!

Mid-morning on Saturday, I walked down the quiet street near Ciragan and pondered my good fortune to have my health, happiness, and many talents to keep me happy; I also felt lucky to have a large support system of people who care about me. I noted wild tobacco in bloom near the sidewalk, and then I noted always-smiling Ramon painting the sign to the hostal!

End-of-Day Reflections

Tags

canoe in water, strange sunsets, sunset reflections, weekly photo challenge reflections, weird sunsets

Manabi Province – Ecuador
As if to announce a change in our ‘rainy season’ drought, this sunset cast an eerie glow across the entire landscape.  Still muddy from early February rains, the river seemed to bounce the colors back into the sky.  That night the heavens soaked the parched earth with an inch of rainfall.  We received another inch of rain the following night.

A similar color returned to the end-of-day skies three days later.  My friends were draining the shrimp pond, and the surreal colors played well against the lone canoe.  

A Bouquet of Pink

Tags

pink flamingo yard art, pink flowers, Where's my backpack travel theme pink

Almost twenty years ago, a friend sneaked this flamingo into my gardens in Natchez, Mississippi. Kathy’s calling card moves with me, and it still triggers a smile. Presently it watches over a young ceibo tree that was rescued from the blade of an excavator.

The pink flamingo proudly watches over this assortment of flowers in honor of Ailsa’s travel theme, PINK!

This Week’s Window Views!

Tags

hand-painted floors, Views from a window, Views of the River from a window, WordPress Photo Challenge Windows

My my my!  Views from my windows this week reveal society in the front and side views!   Because the large boulders are unstable, I sometimes fear for the safety of the fishermen.  Last week a sense of foreboding washed over me when I saw three young boys fishing from the rocks.  I insisted that they leave, and that night, the rocks fell from that very spot!  The next day slightly-older fishermen were there, and one refused to leave.  Sigh.

Rocks that fell the night before…

Views from my windows also revealed a large orange surprise that might offer another explanation for power outages!  This orange surprise will be working here for a few weeks.

The orange tree-gobbling monster also has a tag-along work crew:

“Helllllp! It’s COLD in Here!”

Tags

carnival water balloons, dhl service ecuador to the usa, diablo huma, Inti Raymi mask, new year's eve traditions in ecuador, what can go wrong with shipping, wordpress weekly writing challenge

DHL’s international search for Diablo Huma confirmed that he reached Miami; shocked at the absence of end-of-year muencos, he inspired his cabin mates en route to New Orleans to help make miniature effigies.

Handing them out on New Year’s Eve on Bourbon Street, he quickly took cover at the stroke of midnight when the fireworks inside the burning effigies began to explode!

Diablo Huma evaded the massive manhunt by hiding in the darkest corner of the DHL warehouse!    A week later, he peered from behind the long-forgotten orange and black crates of Halloween candy,

Hello Beautiful World! Chrysalis Awakenings

Tags

Butterflies, chrysalis, cycles of life, metamorphosis, southern nostalgia, WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge beginning

Hello World! Chrysallis

In contrast to the previous post, Hello Cruel World, this one features the carefree awakenings of butterflies.   The above emerging butterfly is one of many showcased at the Mindo (Ecuador) Butterfly Gardens, where one steps into a magical world of colorful butterflies and equally-colorful flowers.

Witnessing the chrysalis of butterflies awakens a childlike wonder, and I recall a private showing several years ago on the deck of my home!  Even though the drab-colored caterpillars stripped the foliage of the passion fruit vines, they later rewarded me with with an unforgettable beginning to my morning!

Hello Cruel World – Hatchling Begins Battle to Reach Maturity

Tags

copyright lisa brunetti, Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, turtle emerging from shell, wordpress photo challenge - beginning

WordPress Photo Challenge theme this week is Beginning, and many images jumped into my mind.  Short and sweet, here is one of a very tender moment in Costa Rica:

Several days after its litter mates scuttled to the ocean, this little survivor emerged from its shell after the exhumation of the nest. We watched this olive ridley hatchling awaken and instinctively head to the ocean. Hopefully it’s now thriving and telling its story of rescue! Perhaps it’s saying, “Not all humans are ignoring our plight!”

This little turtle will slowly reach maturity in a dozen or so years, when it will return to its beach of origin to play its role in breeding and keeping its species from becoming extinct.  Thanks, all of you who helped the Eastern Hawksbill Turtles win the competition’s grand prize! Ingrid and Alex were thrilled that the turtles’ cheering section kept them in the lead!

For more information about the nesting, hatching, conservation and dangers facing the olive ridley sea turtles, see this post:  OLIVE RIDLEY SEA TURTLE.

Happy New Year!  Z

Mingling with the Birds

Tags

Ailsa's Where's my backpack birds, approaching the magic hour, Love of Birds, Love of Nature, Studying birds, Walter Anderson, Wordpress Weekly photo challenge Joy

A hummingbird would compliment the heliconia/ginger/angels trumpet painting!

(detail) Watercolor – Pelican study

“The heart is the thing that matters, the mingling of the heart with the heart of the wild bird:to become one with the thing I see.”  Walter Anderson

Pelican Harmony

In late June, when I mentioned Walter Anderson, (Timeout: Happy in Nature) many of you had never heard of him or his brilliant and diverse body of work.   Anyone familiar with his paintings and story would probably say that the birds were his favorite subject.   (Anderson/Ocean Springs Mississippi 1903 -1965) 

from APPROACHING THE MAGIC HOUR by Agnes Grinstead Anderson

At times the birds on the river have such a profound effect on me, that I often compare my experience to Walter Anderson’s joy for the birds.  Once while using a friend’s kayak, I paddled up river and eased into a rookery tucked within hearing distance of my house.

Oh, to be a Bird!

Tags

ailsa where's my ackpack birds, ecuadorian birds of the coast, hummingbrds

Alisa’s theme this week is Birds!  I smiled when I read her post,  and I knew there were a few worthy shots from the thousands of images on my computer! Before pushing off from Point C to return to B and finally home to A, I present to you a collection of bird images from the middle of the world!

One Poinsettia from the Garden!

Tags

Poinsettia photo, Wordpress Photo Challenge One

Pulling up the rear for this week’s theme of ONE, here’s a holiday poinsettia from my friends’ garden near Mindo Ecuador!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Z

Contemplation – Frogs and Turtles!

Tags

Daily Challenge Contemplation, Daily Post Boldly, Sea Turtle Conservation

Chess Mates

The Daily Prompt rolled through, and while tapping into a fast internet signal, I am pleased to share this post that illustrates contemplation.

Raul, of Hostal Cruzita, takes time out to mentor a future chess master!

I remain impressed that many Ecuadorians practice the art of contemplation through the game of chess, and they take time to mentor the younger generation.

The children of Playa San Miguel Costa Rica often contemplate the mysteries of their marine ecosystem.  I will always treasure the memories of the day an olive ridley sea turtle came ashore in the daytime to lay her eggs.

Hopefully these children will grow up and help fight for nature’s rights.

* Thanks to those who are actively helping (via easy pain-free voting!) the turtles catch up with the frogs; the frogs and turtles are swimming, crawling and leaping towards a $20,000 prize!  Some out-of-the USA people hit a stumbling block with the zip code requirement.  One found a way around the problem by using her sister’s USA zip code.   “Save the Frogs” remains in first place, but let’s help those endangered turtles come from behind and win in the final stretch!

http://www.sungevity.org/gives-back  

(Please vote for the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative )

Thanks for spreading the word!  Z

TOTALLY Unexpected!

Tags

Sea Turtles in Ecuador, Wordpress Weekly Challenge Unexpected

Marking the sun’s placement on the wall

So this morning before going downstairs to resume work on the compass, I took my paints to the balcony to splash more colors of the sunset on the wall.  Never in my five years (on this river) have I seen this giant of the sea swimming in front of the house, but there it was – bobbing as if to ask, “What took you so long to see me?!”

Unexpected

Tags

Dangerous tides, Playa San Miguel, strong waves, surprises, Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected, wordpress

This one almost got me!

Playa San Miguel Costa Rica —  Every so often Mother Ocean flexes her muscles and reminds us of how small we really are!  These high tides barreled up the beach, through the palms and scattered this group of wave watchers!

Layers of Palm Thatch!

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a palm thatch roof, how to build a palm thatch roof, Weekly photo challenge Layers

From a cybercafe, I am tapping into the archives for images that show the evolution of a palm-thatched structure.     This particular “ramada” adds much-needed shade from the equatorial sun, and it also provides shelter from the rain and mud during the rainy season.

Happy Good-Morning Smiles!

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good morning, happy smiles, Smiles, WordPress Photo Challenge

This young lad greeted me with, “Good Morning!”

This week’s Photo Challenge is Good Morning, and with a broad smile I present these early-morning smiles that recently brightened my day.  I hope that they brighten yours as well!

Which Way is North?

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acrylic paintings, copyright lisa brunetti, Hand-painted concrete floors, Lisa Brunetti art, Wordpress photo challenge Focus, z designs, Zeebra Designs

This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Focus; “…For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus.”

Each week I photograph the progress on the compass design (painted on concrete floor) from several vantage points, so with pleasure I present the almost-finished design from many-different angles.

Because this is a floor, I keep asking myself, “Lisa!  Are those little bitty details really important?”