Happy Mother's day to all you moms out there. Here's a shot of Yaneth - Celebrating Mother's Day weekend by hiking to the waterfalls with Armando and El Tigre Kids. I took this shot after they all got back - not a hair out of place.
Armando was supposed to guide Luis Poveda and some University students down to the old forest, but stuff always happens… So, instead, Armando guided all the kids down to the waterfalls. Yaneth went too – it was her first time trekking to the magical place – what a way to spend Mother’s Day weekend! I couldn’t go because my clavicle still isn’t strong enough; you have to rock climb down there, so you need strength and agility. Armando has learned over the years how to guide people safely – and kids are naturally agile!
Karla took all the waterfall pictures this year; she’s a natural artist. It’s such fun looking at pictures of something as beautiful as the waterfalls – a place I know very well and love – seen from a different perspective, through the lens of someone else, in this case, Karla. Great pictures, Karla! You captured the day from beginning to end; I really felt that I was with you all! I’ve selected a few of the 165 pictures taken yesterday and posted them here, just for the memories…
Take a look at this furry fellow! Magnificent, isn’t he? Actually, it could be a female – they are normally larger and friskier than male arachnids. But one thing’s for sure: this is the biggest tarantula I’ve ever seen! Not that I see them often... They generally burrow below ground or hide in trees during the day and emerge at night to hunt. But this particular spider came up on our terrace the other night, probably to escape the rain. However, he almost didn’t survive the following morning. One minute he’s slumbering peacefully along with Fea, inside her cat-nap box, and next thing you know - here comes housekeeping! Marcia took one look at it and chased it out of Fea’s box, brandishing a can of Baygon (we use Baygon only sparingly - for emergencies only - defined by the observer). The spider scuttled off fast, climbed up the wall and around the house, Marcia right after him with the spray. But he got away and Marcia returned to her tasks - out of sight, out of mind.
Later, when I returned from my walk, Marcia told me about this huge spider she’d chased off and, of course, I just had to find it and see for myself!
So, after a bit of searching, Marcia discovered him hiding under the gas tanks. He was still alive, but he was moving somewhat languidly, definitely no longer up to speed. Most insects would have been killed instantly with just a whiff of Baygon, but this was a big tarantula. Armando looked at it gravely and announced that some of these species are venomous! Apparently, tarantula bites hurt more than the venom, but their urine is caustic! Still, we all agreed that this was a magnificent specimen. We left him alone until the next day, when we found him still alive. Yaneth, who has a way with spiders, just picked him right up, placed him in the sink and rinsed him off for a few photos. He still appeared languid, however. Would he survive? There was only one way to find out. Yaneth put him back in the garden on the ground and after a few hours, he began to move away. The next day he was gone – back to the forest. I suspect that we won’t see this furry fellow again, no matter how cozy he found Fea’s cat-nap box.
Fea is known for keeping strange bedfellows! Here’s a shot of her, our 23 year old Persian feline. We rescued her years ago in Pennsylvania and brought her with us to Costa Rica. We figure she’s on her eighth life at this point – stung, bitten, poisoned, fallen, and nearly died over and over again, but she survived it all. Now the old girl totters around the grounds like the Queen Kitty – all the other household animals, and humans, regard her with reverence. There is something special about the old girl. Needless to say, Fea is groomed and pampered daily, but she much prefers going right back outside where the world is so much more interesting than inside the house. It’s quite normal to find her napping in the midst of insects, all giving way, leaving her in peace. Nothing bothers her anymore. But she is the exception. Forest life is not easy on animals, especially during the rainy season.
Take a look at our new pup, Zinc, shown here romping with Danny. Zinc the Pup replaces our beloved Zaguate, Zinc the First, lost to the forest a few months back. Like the late Samantha and then Spotty, Zinc had a fatal hunting instinct, though he survived a lot longer than we expected. The forest took his sister Maggie some years before. And finally the forest took Zinc. Luckily, the other dogs are more territorial, having a stronger instinct to please and stay near the house. Thus, they survive; only suffering from the normal ailments that every other dog owner deals with. Sol got a sore that wouldn’t heal, so we took her to the vet, who removed a tumor, and she is now on the mend. All the other animals are currently doing well. However, with this relentless rainy season, we are constantly battling parasites and biting insects – rotating repellents and other remedies. The chickens really help! They scavenge for grubs all through the stable area, and follow Lola la vaca and her calves all over the place. And then, when the animals head out to pasture, other birds take over as insect-eating escorts.
Here’s a shot of Luis Poveda collecting native, forest grapes (Vitis tilifolia) ripened on the vine. There is a very short window of opportunity to collect them before the birds get them. He filled two bags and took them to the University to conduct an analysis of their nutrient value. Poveda is attempting to quantify the nutrient and medicinal properties of plants, in order to use the information to convince Costa Ricans to rediscover the value of the flora growing where they live. Why purchase imported spinach, when you can grow and eat the wonderfully tasty, nutritious, and native, Chicasquil or Zorrillo?
Here’s a shot of Chicasquil (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) - an easy to grow shrub that does well in the smallest of gardens. Everybody should grow one or two! There is so much to eat in the forest – you just need to know what and how. We even collected a bunch of Eugenia cartagensis berries and produced a very nice liqueur! GRAK suddenly became interested in botany at that point…
Another time, Poveda showed up with a post-grad chemistry student, William Zamora, from the University of Costa Rica, and they collected Zanthroxylum monophyllum for analysis at the lab. William is also interested in Croton draco (Targua) sap, renowned for treating gastritis, amongst other ailments. We plan to collect the sap during the waxing moon (local tradition) and take it to him at the U. I’m keen to check out how they set up large-scale distillation equipment. We’ve got hundreds of citronella and lemon plants growing at El Tigre, which require distillation to collect their essential oils – key ingredients for concocting insect repellents.
Here’s a shot of Targua in bloom, with a curious transparent butterfly; just one of many butterfly species taking part in the pollinating frenzy of a blooming Targua! This is high season for butterfly watching – it’s just a magical scene all through the gardens. The flowering Targua attracts a huge number of pollinators – it is literally covered with fluttering colorful butterflies and insects. The tree seems to come alive with moving, buzzing life.
Take a look at the fruiting Sipuruna guianensis. If you rub the fruit, it smells just like a lemony citrus! But it’s not in the citrus family – it’s a Monimiaceae. We have many Sipuruna trees fruiting right now in the forest understory. I sure wish I could figure out how to extract the fragrance…
Here’s a shot of Armando planting Dalbergia retusa (Cocobolo) in charral near the house. Rain, rain, rain – everyday it’s the same. No canicula for Costa Rica this year. Gerald is just miserable with the dreary weather and biting insects; they are just terrible this year, the worst ever! On the bright side, we have a longer planting season. Armando collected a bunch of Cocobolo seeds last season and germinated them in the green house. We planned to keep them for another season but the roots quickly filled up the bag – time to put them in the ground. We would normally never plant so late in the season, but it’s been so wet this year. The trick with trees in the legume family is to hide them from the foraging horses. Armando found spots within the charral as, in our experience, hardwoods do best planted in charrals with companion plants, rather than all alone out in pasture. Don’t remove pioneers, like Cecropia or Tuete, to make room for ‘high value’ trees. Every tree has value! The Cecropia, during its short life, will protect and enable slower growing trees to survive! Tuete (Vernonia triflosculosa) - an effective coagulant - is a very useful companion plant because it attracts and tolerates insect attacks, allowing tender seedlings to prosper. There are so many more examples of companion plants – always think biodiversity…
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