Bob el Jardinero

Hey, what're y'all getting ready to do out here?

Well, as you know, the guy who owns the house is building some more here on our l'il cul-de-sac...

...over by the banananana trees,

and we've got this spot that we (okay, Jen did, 'cause I was on my visa run) bricked in for a raised bed last year.

So we're gonna get somea that dirt they've dug up,

put it in a wheelbarrow,

and dump it in the bed...

until it's all nice...

and filled up ready for planting!

You did WHAT??

But... it's all different and stuff.

I'm not sure about this, guys...

seriously, I don't know if I like it.

Hey, what's this???

Wow!! This litter box is HUGE!!!

No, Jamba, we got some plants and veggie seeds to plant in there.

I better inspek it, then, give it the sniff test...

...and see what's under here, and...

...look at it from all angles.

Yeah, I think this spacing is all right, Fuzzy Hooman.

And these will make excellent snacks.

And then they were watered...

and watered some more.

Teh End

Once More Into the Breech Granada

Again with the trip outta the country to satisfy my legal status, and this time I managed to remember to take a few pictures:

At the border (on the Nicaragua side), waiting for the immigration process to finish...

They're redoing the immigration station on the Nica side....

Most of the houses in the old part of Granada have blank outer walls, with only a large door opening on to the street.  Not so this house, which has been under renovation all the times I've been in town.  I think it's done.

Part of the second floor of the house, open to the breezes (and views)

The rest of the front of the house.  Not modest, at all, eh?

The "new" pedestrian mall just to the east (that's the lake side) of the Parque Centro, just behind the yellow cathedral.

another view of the mall.  I had dinner in the restaurant in the right foreground (where the menu lectern is).  They had a whole page of tipico (typical) Nicaraguan plates, and the food was quite good.

Looking back on the ped mall, as the day ended....

Looking toward Parque Centro (cathedral on the left) and the west, as the sky darkened

The courtyard of Hotel El Club, where I always stay.

The rest of the courtyard.

Part of the wind farm just north of the Costa Rica - Nicaragua border.  On the other side of the highway (and the other side of the bus, hence no picture) is the rest of the farm... and Lake Nicaragua with the Ometepe voclano in the middle  (here's a picture I didn't take, showing that view)

Waiting in line on the Costa Rica side of the border....

Waiting for customs to search the bus (and all the luggage... except mine for some [*cough* Gringo *cough*] reason)...

Finally, back in Costa Rica for another 90 days, the sun setting over Guanacaste.

Эти образы невероятно! (Eti Obrazy Neveroyatno!)

Well, that's what Google Translate says the Russian is for "These Images Are Incredible!" and I must agree.

Stealing the blockquote, as I have the post, from Lockwood DeWitt:

...Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) undertook a photographic survey of the Russian Empire with the support of Tsar Nicholas II. He used a specialized camera to capture three black and white images in fairly quick succession, using red, green and blue filters, allowing them to later be recombined and projected with filtered lanterns to show near true color images.

Go to Boston.com's Big Picture to see the whole incredible full-size gallery of images.

Not As Pretty As Some, But...

Quick and dirty, holding the camera out the kitchen window...

Today In Unnecessary Signage

Jen took this picture yesterday (after I referred to a similar sign sited elsewhere near the summit) up on Irazú -- which, by the way, I erred in my conversion from meters to feet; it's actually 11,260ft above sea level.

Now, this is a volcano that is still active... the last eruption began in 1963 (which was a very good year) and lasted until 1965, so I ask you, is it really necessary to have a DANGER sign posted?

Yes, I know the sign refers to the crater itself, but... it's a freakin' volcano, which, by their very nature, are not safe places.

I've Been Here A Semi-month

It's hard to believe that I've only been here in Costa Rica for two weeks (dos semanas). But that's all it's been (well, and six hours). I aready feel like I live here, ya know?

So, when Jen got home from work this afternoon we went to do some shopping (cause I need new clothes and stuff and I don't know where anything is -- I've only been here two weeks, after all. :) ).

Our tasks for the afternoon took us to Barva, which, I've read somewhere, is the oldest village in the area, and I managed to get this shot of the old church on the main square as we drove by:


And then later we went to the local superstore to look for some things that we didn't find, but did that stop us? Oh, no it didn't! We bought other stuff. This store, by the way is not WalMart. It's Hyper More, see:


(and I don't care that it's owned by WallyWorld (well, I do, but....) -- it doesn't say WalMart, so it isn't one.)

*YAWN*

Another beautiful tropical sunset...


The view out my kitchen window. As you can see in the lower photo, the actual sunset is obscured by vegetation (and wall, as the camera is sticking its li'l head out the window on these shots). But, what I can see out the window doesn't suck.

Doesn't suck at all.

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I am completely not already jaded by the beauty here -- and don't really expect ever to be so. After all, I did spend the first 45+ years of my life in the mountains of North Carolina, which is not an ugly place at all.

Coolest Photo of the ... Well, I'm Not Sure of the Timeframe Yet, But It's Pretty Dang Cool!

The Earth/Moon system as seen by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, currently in orbit around Mars.

(h/t Jeff Fecke at Shakesville)

Sunset

On Mars. How cool is that?



(photo from Discovery News)

For Dusty

Because, no, I'm not mad at you. :)

Scenes of Teh Lair Woods, Teh Mountainz, NC.

Rhododendron! Covered with new growth.

Woods.

More woods.

Blackberry in full bloom.

Yeah, it's gonna be a good year for blackberries.

And don't worry, Dusty, I'll keep posting more pics.