I’m sitting on the back patio in my anti-gravity chair watching the day go by. The weather here in San Isidro de Grecia Costa Rica is about 75 degrees F., the wind is blowing a little bit off and on, and large birds — I think they’re eagles and buzzards (alternately) — are flying around.

 

There are enormous billowy white clouds covering almost half of the sky; the unclouded parts are bright blue. The sun is out, bright and lovely. I’m on a shaded patio, so am only getting reflected light, which is good, because I showered after walking this morning and haven’t reapplied any sunscreen or insect spray yet.  I’m au naturel, as they say, sitting in my underwear and a t-shirt.

 

I’ve seen a new kitty out near the far garden, mostly white but with some black. As soon as I fetched my binoculars so I could take a closer look, it scooted out of here.

 

Closer In

 

Closer in, there are several species of smaller birds — robin-sized and under — that are taking advantage of the water I poured into the birdbath earlier today. The bouganvilla plants are flowering in several different colors. It’s quiet and serene here, with just the occasional sound of a plane engine on the far horizon, or a bird.

 

Meanwhile, Inside…

 

In the kitchen, I’m crockpotting another batch of chicken soup. It has been cooking for several hours already and the scent is wafting out the back door. It smells delicious!  Hope it tastes as good as it smells.

 

I also have more brown rice cooking, because I ladle the soup on that when I eat. I have a wee bit of cooked rice left from yesterday’s batch, but not enough for all the soup I’ll be eating in the next couple days.

 

Back Outside 

 

Charli is out here sitting with me. She’s on the sisal rug. She loves it out here, as do I.

 

Thwarted Plans

 

I was going to attend the potluck at Rainbow Refuge this morning and afternoon but the people I was going to ride with couldn’t go, so I’ll be bringing the food home that I bought for the shindig and eating it here whenever the mood strikes.  It’s all “fun food,” nothing terribly good for me, so I will be eating it sporadically.

 

After my walk this morning, I got two pastries at the panaderia, too, plus some chocolate cake, so I will have waaaayyy too much questionable food to get through in the next week or more. Not a huge fan of junk food anymore: I should have bought healthier fare for the shindig!  Lesson learned!

 

GRRR!

 

Out here on the patio, I have to use the laptop interface instead of my mouse, so it’s very frustrating, but I’m managing without swearing, which is a good thing!

 

I’d take some pictures but my smartphone camera isn’t adequate to catch the images well, and I get frustrated, so I won’t. This is Serenity Sunday: I don’t want to get frustrated with my inability to get good shots of the birds that are bathing not 20 feet away from me…

 

I’ve seen several lizards here on the patio and in the foliage, but haven’t been able to get any images yet.  I only see them as they skitter away — and they skitter fast!

 

Frequently down by the garden I see chackalacas on the ground foragng near the fruit plants.  A few days ago coming back from my walk I spotted a mother bird, perhaps a chackalaca, with three young’uns trailing behind her. Wasn’t able to get my camera out of my pocket in time to capture them for you.

 

I guess that’s all the news that’s fit to print for this time. Vegging can be boring to read about, but it sure is lovely to experience!