Happy Hallloween!
Photo above from my archives: Me posing as Deaken’s mom-cat during Halloween in the early 1980’s when I worked at the Animal Protection Institute in Sacramento, California
SPIDER ALERT!
SCROLL DOWN PAST THE NEXT PICTURE IF YOU’RE AT ALL SQUEAMISH ABOUT SPIDERS
The golden orb spiders multiplied by two times in just two days. T’is the season!
Luckily, they’re only on ONE web in the entire neighborhood that I can see, and I walked 7000 steps again this morning. They’re apparently very picky about where they set up their housekeeping webs. This one is very near the corral where the cattle are kept. Probably the cow manure attracts flies, which attracts golden orb spiders. (Just a guess. I really have no idea, other than this half-baked one.)
The largest ones appear to be about five inches long including their legs, but I didn’t get close enough to measure them with a ruler, you may be sure! LOL! ( I’m all for them, as long as I don’t get wrapped up IN them! )
This photo was zoomed in on my Android smartphone to about a factor of 5. That’s why it’s a little blurry, which is probably fine with most people! I wasn’t expecting to capture spider smiles here!
MOMENTARY UMBRELLA
(PARASOL/PARAGUAS/SOMBRIA)
WEATHER this morning
(Para=For, Sol=Sun; Par=For Aguas=Water)
SOMBRIA=Shadow
Spanish makes so much sense!!!
But umbrella makes sense in its original Italian/Latin meaning, too, I just discovered:
MACHETE
During today’s walk, I spotted an unattended machete alongside Calle Esteban Salas, so I took a picture of it so you can get some idea of its size. I couldn’t think of a way to get a selfie with it without unearthing it, and it isn’t mine, so I didn’t want to touch it, but if I had gotten one, it would have shown that it was about mid-thigh high to me, perhaps a little longer. It’s definitely a big tool. I wonder what they weigh.
AI to the RESCUE!
Costa Rica machetes
- An 18-inch machete might weigh around 1.3 pounds (0.59 kg).
- A 22-inch machete typically weighs between 1.2 to 1.3 pounds (0.54 to 0.59 kg).
- A 24-inch machete often weighs around 1.4 pounds (0.62 kg or 1 lb 6 oz).
It looks like it has seen better days!
Rusty but trusty!
I think it’s the 24″ model
Every day it seems I run across something new to share, even though I walk the same route every day. But it’s never really the same from day to day. The bird sightings change. The foliage changes or becomes more vibrant. It’s always something!
This is the place where the gentleman was harvesting coffee beans
the other day…
Pictures DO NOT do justice to these 3-D, real life sites!
So much astonishing beauty and wildlife around here. I saw two Oropendola de Moctezuma birds eating bananas or plantains in the tree next to my casita. Here’s the link to the video I took of one of them. It was harvesting the fruit for its mate or chick which was the same size: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19xP7qRsdc/
Here is more about them, including the amazing hanging nests that they build for their chicks. Fascinating!