“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica
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| Many times, the simplest acts of nature astounds us. |
While we lived in the bush in South Africa, we did a series of stories on “Small Things,” adding additional stories with new photos as time passed. This topic could be relevant anywhere globally but seems to be of most interest to us when wildlife and vegetation are abundant.
Check out our first story from December 2013 about “Small Things…A world of small wildlife and vegetation for some fantastic photos of small things we discovered while living in Marloth Park game reserve.
In less than four months, when we return to South Africa, instead of our current feature, “Sightings from the Veranda…” we’ll create a new feature, entitled “Small Things…” since Africa is abundant in fascinating small creatures and miracles of nature.
It would be a moot point to include “Sightings from the Veranda…” when many of the photos we’ll post while in South Africa will be taken directly from the veranda when we aren’t out on safari or visiting other countries for additional exotic exploration.
Here in Costa Rica, from our high vantage point, the likelihood of small things has been limited. Instead, we’ve focused on those sightings we gleaned while spending the majority of our days outside on the veranda or near or in the pool on sunny days.
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| There are many varieties of the Flycatcher. This little bird flew into the glass wall, was knocked unconscious, standing in this position for some time as it tried to recover. |
Yesterday was such a day. Earlier in the day, we walked through the town of Atenas, stopping for photos and a bit of shopping along the way, with images we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.
When we returned to the villa, we quickly put away the groceries. With the sun miraculously still shining at 1:30 pm and with both of us hot from walking in the hot sun, we decided to get directly into the pool, sidestepping any time in the chaise lounges.
The pool water was warmer than ever. There had been three or four partial days of sunshine, leaving the water almost too warm since the pool is already heated.
One might think it not necessary to heat a pool here during this time of year. But, it gets very cool at night and during the many hours of rain and clouds occurring most afternoons. After a loss of power due to the recent storms, we could hardly stand to stay in the water for more than a few minutes when it was so cold.
Yesterday, when we entered the pool feeling the ultra-warm water surrounding us, we figured we’d stay for some time, swimming, talking, and laughing over the trivialities of our day. No more than 10 minutes after we entered the pool, we heard a ‘thump” against the glass wall in the living room.
A tiny green bird had hit the glass and was knocked unconscious onto the tile floor next to the pool only a few feet from us. As we moved closer, watching intently, it started to move into an upright position after a few minutes.
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| Their eyes opened and closed periodically while attempting to recover. |
Tom jumped out of the pool, grabbing the beach towel to grab the camera from the kitchen counter. Drying my hands on his towel while still in the collection, I positioned the camera to take a few photos and, moments later, a video.
What if this precious little bird fully came back to life and flew away, and we’d have it all on video? This may not sound like much of an event to most people. But to us, with our passion for even the tiniest of creatures, our hearts were pounding, hoping for its recovery and the opportunity to film the entire event.
Thus, was born the most extended video we’ve ever taken, 16 minutes and 42 seconds. We don’t expect our readers to watch the entire video. There are moments when nothing is happening. However, other moments that those who love nature and particularly birds will find sweet and heartwarming. Feel free to scroll through the video for some favorite scenes.
Last night, we played the video with the HDMI cord plugged into the TV, watching every moment with sheer delight. Bear with us, dear readers. It’s these types of “small things” that make our lives of world travel all the more meaningful.
Photo from one year ago today, October 17, 2016:
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| In Bali, we worried this package was lost. Finally, it appeared after many weeks when shipped three-day international priority. This is a common occurrence for international shipping. For more details, please click here. |