“After I’d drawn the grasses, I started seeing them. Whereas if you’d just photographed them, you wouldn’t be looking as intently as you do when you are drawing, so it wouldn’t affect you that much.” ― Martin Gayford, A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney
Poza Honda/Manabi/Ecuador — Lluvia! Rain! The statement, You’d better watch what you wish for, comes to mind when I share that almost daily – or nightly – the rains continue to fall! Yesterday the nearby stream built enough confidence to roar – a comforting sound to one who lives slightly uphill from it! A between-rains inspection revealed several fast-growing trees that had sloughed downhill, and a small part of the gravel road showed new erosion. My camera chip and computer are not on speaking terms, so your imagination is required for the above scene! (Could the most-recent update have caused this new conflict?)
Birds are happy, trees and flowers are happy – and the aroma of the orange blossoms reminded me of a springtime aroma from Mississippi. What – could – that- be? I wondered, and then grinned. “Mock Orange.” Of course that’s why it has that name!
Between rains, I usually take my art bag and spend time near the Common Tody Flycatchers’ nest. Let’s go down to the water and see what’s happening!

Shhhh – artista at work!