Have I Found My Special Purpose?

In Naknek we might say "Oh, I think they got a job keeping the Ravens away from the dumpster out behind the grocery store." or some similar remark to tease or joke about a person. And now it has come true. Except it is me out trying to protect my bird feeder from the Brown Jays - which I have come to believe are Costa Rica's version of the Magpie. And I do feel bad about chasing them off. But if I let the Brown Jays eat all the fruit the pretty birds will never come. And not to say the Brown Jays aren't pretty, but I want some color out there! I see turquoise, orange, neon green, yellow, all the colors of the rainbow flying around in the yard, just not at the feeder. I have taken it on as a personal project to get them to stop by.

This photo shows only one Brown Jay. We've had up to 7 there at one time. They are quite raucous as they announce their presence to the neighborhood. Notice the dead branch it is sitting on? Attaching that branch to the feeder was another of our attempts to make the feeder more attractive by giving the birds something to perch on. The Brown Jays seem to like it.

So after exhausting my common sense coming up with ideas to attract the pretty birds (that didn't take long) I resorted to internet research. And I found out there is a new wildlife protection measure and BigJohn could be in big trouble for this bird feeder. And also for feeding monkeys I bet.

And I found this great blog about birding in Costa Rica. It had this picture. I liked that idea. I could do that! Maybe the birds would like it better if the food wasn't on that flat board. And see that cool bird? I have those in the fig tree in front of our house all the time! It's an Emerald Toucanet. I bet I can attract them to the feeder!

 Grabbed a kitchen knife and headed out to sharpen up the ends of some of those branches. And then cut pieces of fruit to attach. My banana bunch is gone but I had bought one piece of big yellow fruit (not sure if it was a banana or a plaintain) at Whole Foods earlier that day. We're leaving for a few days so didn't want to stock up on groceries. And here is the result.

 

Can you see the little bits of yellow attached to the ends of the sticks? And guess what? It worked!!!! In less than an hour something showed up that was NOT a Brown Jay!

 I love the Capuchin Monkeys but I have to admit that was a little disappointing. There were only two of them but the food didn't last long. They must have been part of the troop that went through the yard before because they went to the feeder first thing to check it out. Those two left and then more showed up. And I was out of bananas. It was kind of like running out of candy on Halloween night and not having anything for the trick-or-treaters. So back to scrounge through the kitchen. Found out monkeys don't like tomatoes. But apples work.

 

 

They also like avocado on toast. That might sound like I'm in the house making little sandwiches for monkeys but I wasn't. I just happened to be having lunch when they came by. These guys are so cute it is hard to remember NOT to smile at them and show your teeth. And guess what else? They can bark just like Hector! Hector was napping so missed most of the monkey visit but towards the end he woke up and was standing in the house doorway when a monkey nearby saw him and gave off a few barks. At first I thought it was Hector barking, but it was the monkey!

The Capuchins can also make some terribly loud screeching sounds when they get into a squabble. That happened during their last visit here. BigJohn was in the house, probably Facebooking, and I was out watching monkeys when the screeching started. Right after that happened I went into the house and BigJohn commented "What was going on out there? I thought the monkeys were attacking you!" Oh really? Because you didn't even get up out of your chair...

And those birds you hear in the background are the Brown Jays of course!

Please Do Not Pet the Armadillos

Thanks Bob B for the tip on armadillos carrying leprosy. I'm adding that to my list of things to worry about. Upon further research I discovered that they can also transmit tapeworm, salmonella, and rabies. I'm pretty sure Hector touched that armadillo last night. But this information was coming from a guy that wants to rid your house of armadillos so I'm hoping it's not that bad. But I think it is.

And take a look at this Tale of Terror - When Armadillos Attack. And to think that BigJohn and I went out looking for them last night. What were we thinking?!?

Did you know they have a 4 foot vertical leap? If you're a short person, that is face level! I plan on keeping my distance.

Barefoot Contessa Makes My Day!

Those bananas didn't last nearly as long as I thought they would. The troop of monkeys played a large part in that. And I didn't realize that they would all come ripe at the same time! Went looking for a good recipe to cook up a few of them. Getting smart on the google searches as my cooking ingredients are so limited here. Thought using the phrase "old-fashioned" might bring up recipes with fewer contents. Bingo!

This picture was taken B.M. (Before the Monkeys)

I'm working without an electric mixer here so no way are those banana bits going to get blended in. And the sugars and butter didn't get all that creamy either.

 Supposed to be in a 9x9 pan but I'm back to the old frying pan. Is it going to fit? Should probably have left out that extra banana.

 Sour cream packaging in Costa Rica is a little different than the carton I'm used to.

 A burning smell from the kitchen alerts me to the fact that the frying pan is overflowing.

But it still looks good. Until I try and get it out of the pan. Upon reflection -  I should have left it in the pan! It's not like I was going to put frosting on it!

 Hey! Just turn it back right side up on the plate and nobody can even tell! And this cake is great. I am saving the recipe. Really good served warm and even better after it's been in the frig a day.

 Francisco quit watching birds and come eat your cake!

And here's the recipe and also the book I should buy. Lucky me! It's on sale!

Old-Fashioned Banana Cake

Our First Night Hike

Dinner at Tramonti's tonight! Our first trip there and we thought it would be a nice walk there and back in the dark with our flashlights. After running into the two armadillos last night, we were eager to get out and see what else we could scare up. (At least I was. BigJohn seems to have developed an aversion to huge green spiders in his hair.)

It looks to be a fancy place (cloth napkins and silverware that doesn't look like it came from the school cafeteria)with good service. Surprised that the prices were reasonable. BigJohn wanted to try the pizza even though I've warned him he's not going to be happy with pizza outside of Naknek. We got the house special.

I thought it was a little burned on the edges but the owner is from Italy and that might be the way they make it there. You know. Authentic? Or could be it's hard to adjust the temperature in those wood-burning brick ovens. We'll have to try them again and see if it's burned the next time.

  

Yeah! They're cooking the pizza in that brick oven and also cooking with fire. Good to know for when the power goes out again! The place was almost empty but a tour bus was pulling up spewing out tourists as we left. Good timing for us!

Decided to cut our night hike short as the wind was picking up and it had started to rain. So we headed home. Along the way we found brown jays sleeping along our lane. Spotted a fantastic tree that I'd never even noticed before in the daylight. Oh wait. Where are we? Wrong turn down the lane! No wonder I'd never noticed that tree before! I'm not saying we got lost or anything like that. Just missed a turn.

Found LOTS of spider action going on with some terrific web making.

 And yes, they are really as big as they look. Giant webs too. So since we didn't find much to share on the night tour, decided to throw in this bad footage of the baby sloth with its mother that I shot at Hannah and Francisco's place today. In my defense, the wind was blowing hard making it difficult to hold the camera still. Plus I had to crane my neck back really far to look high in the tree. And that dead branch the mother sloth is thinking of grabbing on to? She went for it right after I quit filming and yes it did break right off and she almost fell out of the tree. And I missed the whole thing. Just because my neck was getting sore. I feel like such a loser. I'll try harder next time. What you're looking at is the sloth's back and the baby is clinging to her stomach.

Hector on the Attack!

Have been missing the Naknek hot tub so decided to visit the pool and hot tubs at Hotel Fonda Vela tonight. Ran into some birders from CA with big lenses who had just arrived and were excited to have already spotted a Quetzal. The hotel is just a short walking distance from the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, a favorite hangout for the bird.

This hotel is a pretty cool place. "Throughout the hotel, you'll see paintings by co-owner Paul Smith, who also handcrafts violins and cellos and is a musician himself." Well I wouldn't know about that because I only check out the hot tub area but it sounds nice. But I have noticed that the grounds are beautiful on the walk from the car to the pool. And there are lots of murals. And outdoor sculptures. I might have mentioned this before, but back then I didn't know that the statue I'm sitting next to is of the same guy who was playing the violin in the accordian/violin duet at the Friend's Christmas Program I attended! There is even a blurry picture of the two musicians in a previous blog! Check out the link in the first part of this paragraph to see lots of samples of Paul's work.

 And this is our group getting ready to compete at foozball. BigJohn and I need to practice!

 I noticed artwork in a style that looked familiar in the pool dressing area. BigJohn and I met Sarah Dowell at the Friends' Christmas Potluck and plan on visiting her gallery soon.

 And now the part you've all been waiting for. Hector on the attack! He's finally found an animal he thinks he can take and here it is in the picture below. Really. I took that picture. See the gray off to the right side that looks like it might be a dirty spot on your screen? Yes. That's it.

Yeah. We couldn't figure it out either. As in "What the hell is that?" A rabbit? It looked gray. Have I mentioned that we were walking the trail home in the dark with only a small flashlight to light the path? A possum! Cool! I've never seen a possum before. But no, that's not it. And Hector get back here! He ran off through the forest after whatever it was! What if it had sharp claws?!? Or teeth!?! So here comes Hector trotting back when BigJohn notices another one of whatever it is still standing there next to the trail! And now Hector is chasing this one! But it goes across the trail instead of off into the forest and we finally get a good look at it.

We didn't even know they had armadillos in Costa Rica! And that they moved slow enough for Hector to keep up with them. The second one stopped and acted like it was burying its head in the grass so I had lots of time to get out my camera and take the above picture. Have I mentioned that I was holding Hector in my arms at the time? Well it was more like I was restraining Hector at the time. And that I couldn't remember how to turn my flash back on?

Now I'm wondering if that is what makes all the noise at night when we are walking the path home. A couple of times we have startled something that takes off through the trees just about causing both John and I to suffer a cardiac arrest. So now I'm researching armadillos and will try my best to get a better picture of Hector with one.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve day started out with no power. It had been off since late the night before. Windstorms had blown down a tree that took down a power pole. Hannah and Francisco had seen the flashes of blue light and wondered if an alien spacecraft was landing in their yard. So while I went to yoga at Rio Shanti, BigJohn headed up the road to La Colina to have a look. The tree had just missed taking out the La Colina Lodge sign which was a bit of good luck.

 Do you remember in an earlier post I'd talked about our first breakfast in Monteverde where I thought I'd smelled smoke and Hannah told me they cook over a wood fire at Casem's? Which is handy when the power is out as they are still cooking meals there! So that's where BigJohn and Francisco ended up having their morning coffee.

 

We decided to watch the sunset at Hotel Belmar as we heard they had this great new bartender.

Isn't she just the cutest!  They also have a fantastic deck for sunset viewing.

 This is the view of their hot tub and a small swimming pond further down the hill.

 Then it was down the road towards Santa Elena for pizza at Dikary's Restaurant. That link goes to their Trip Advisor reviews. I thought the pizza was good but BigJohn was disappointed. As he will be for the rest of his life if he continues to compare every pizza to the ones George makes at D&D Restaurant in Naknek, AK. I'm afraid George has ruined pizza for BigJohn.

 

I do love our bamboo Christmas tree but it appears I may be suffering from CTD (Christmas Tree Deprivation) as I continue to take pictures of every tree I see. It's just sad.

 Francisco and Hannah's friend used to have a bar next to this restaurant called Tres Monos (Three Monkeys) that just closed down a couple weeks ago. I bet that was a rockin' place! Monkeys! This friend is going to be the photographer at their wedding in March.

 While BigJohn and Francisco waited for the pizza, I checked out the gift shop downstairs.

 Oh, and did I mention there was a little fire dancing going on? If you build a fire BigJohn will dance around it.

Picture of the lovely waitress was ruined by this overhead light. Next time!

 Back to the gift shop. This is Diego from Bolivia. I was looking for a prize for my blog commenter raffle and this appeared to be a good place.

 This is the kind of items they are selling. And I did find a prize for Brandie who won the blog raffle. Good news for the rest of you is that I am having another raffle when the blog count reaches 5000. Which could be very soon!

(I bet Brandie is wondering if her prize is in one of the photos.)

 

 And then it was off to La Colina Lodge because we heard they were having some music there. Here's the owner, Nanci, who greeted us at the door. I've mentioned her in earlier posts. She's pretty cool. Remember she runs with her posse of four dogs?

This was the first time I'd been in the lodge dining room. I love their furniture! All of it was hand-painted years ago by Nancy and her kids. Every chair and table is different. It is awesome!!

But you know what the coolest thing about Nanci is? Take a look at this picture that I copied without permission from her Facebook page. (Hope that doesn't upset her if she ever finds out. It probably won't. But that's the chance you take when you post a photo on FB.)  And Yes! She is friends with Iron Man! Can you believe it!

Fun times at La Colina visiting with friends and making new friends. Music was great. It was the same family that performed at the Friend's Christmas program. I remembered them well because they sang that song about the Welsh tradition of dressing up a dead wren and taking it door to door. That kind of stuck in my mind. They were joined by a sax player. Awesome! And a great way to end 2012!