I found this pair on the shores of a river leading into Lake Nicaragua. Golden Mantles are named for the long golden hairs on their backs and shoulders. They are the largest Central American monkey and are critical seed dispersers and germinators.
I stood very still,
and shot them for quite awhile.
They both eventually became curious,
and walked down the tree branches directly towards me!
They hooted gently, causing me to back up!
I wasn’t sure at first if it was safe for them to get this close.
My cowardice seemed to disappoint them, and they went back up the tree, and about their business, ignoring me.
Cheers to you from Nicaragua’s friendly Golden Mantles~
Green Winged Macaws have green feathers on their wings and red feathers on their faces. They are red, green and blue, and live in South America.
Scarlet Macaws are red, yellow and and blue, with white faces.
Scarlets live in South and Central America and Mexico.
I was amazed to come upon this friendly scarlet in Costa Rica.
I couldn’t figure out why he was performing for me, until his mate turned up, and I realized they were feeding their chick in a nest in the hollow of this tree.
I have never seen nesting wild macaws so this was quite a thrill!
Macaw populations are scattered in the wild and rare to find.
Their numbers have been decimated by habitat destruction and the pet parrot trade.
There are hundreds of wall sized open air painted murals all over Valparaiso.
Click to enlarge this photo to see how the artist recycled plastic soda bottles to create living window planters for her imaginary town and writes about the need to creatively recycle plastics .
The talent and creativity of these artists blows me away.
In this hostel, I zoomed in on the art around the doorway in the photos below, so you can see the detail.
What strikes me is how talented these artists are,
and how many of them will remain unrecognized.
It is often luck that makes one famous, and another unknown.
In a fairer world, all these artists would be recognized for the true talent they have.
Valparaiso is full of gifted artists, but it also has so many poor people, and the largest slums in Chile.
The unfair fact this illustrates is that talent and poverty often reside together.
Please note: I am traveling by sea now and have limited access to internet. I will check in when possible but please excuse my inability to be responsive online.
Cheers to you from the talented artists of Valparaiso~
Wow! The everywhere art in Valparaiso Chile exceeds it’s reputation for being arguably the best street art in the world.
There is so much amazing talent to share with you, but let’s start here, this is the front door of the ‘Café of the Artist,’ painted by a male Chilean art student depicting everyday scenes from the town of Valparaiso.
The waiter explained to me that the art in this restaurant was painted by two art students, one a French female whose mind boggling talent you are looking at now. (Please click to enlarge).
Since internet is slow, I can’t look these artists up, but I will when I can.
Maybe you can find out for me?
All I know is pure talent when I see it.
The first two paintings of the café sign and the entry door were done by the Chilean student, and are depictions of Valparaiso, as is the one above.
Here is another mural focusing on culture and heritage.
I didn’t take photos of the food which is a shame because I was too distracted by the art, but the food was ethereal. If you come to Valparaiso, eat here and bring your camera.
Cheers from Valparaiso, the city of living art and excellent food~
Stellar Jays live in the pine forests in Southern California’s mountains.
Oregon Dark Eyed Juncos are local birds and are related to sparrows.
Burrowing Owls are “a species of special concern,” in Southern California, where much of their natural habitat has been destroyed by development. Petitions are being submitted to the state to change their status to endangered.
This handsome jay was hanging out on a picnic table, waiting for a handout.
So, of course, I gave him one!
Juncos are quite tiny, and rather shy, so they are hard for me to photograph. This guy was unusually cooperative!
Burrowing owls nest underground to hide from raptors and raise their young. People and organizations all over California are setting up underground Burrowing Owl boxes to help shelter and protect these adorable owls. It is a rare thrill to see them out of the boxes curious about the human who is photographing them! These guys were being sheltered by The Big Bear Zoo & Rehabilitation Center.
The Holler is getting hammered by storm after storm. This is the view looking north from our back patio, taken on Valentines Day as The Holler was being hit with the most massive rain storm. You can see raindrops on the lens. My iphone sent me 6 flash-flood warnings in 24 hours.
Here is the lower pasture being chewed up by the little creek which turned into a rapid-filled, raging river. The pasture gate is the white structure in the back left of the photo. It partially collapsed in the onslaught.
The river flows. It flows to the sea. Wherever that river goes, that’s where I want to be. Flow river flow, past the shaded tree. Go river, go, to the sea.
(Lyrics: The Byrds)
We hiked along the creek in the pouring rain on Valentines Day. You can see my son by the oxbow, to give you perspective on how big the creek is. It was thirty feet wide at some sections and was carrying logs and trees along like matchsticks!
Our rain gauge kept over-filling at 6 inches, and more storms are on the horizon.
Southern California is getting more snow than Boston, and the Sierras have the biggest snowpack in the country.
This is The Holler looking east this morning. It is still snowing in the mountains, which are obscured by clouds, but there is sunshine here today, with more rain forecasted.
And this is the view to the west. Our multi-year drought is finally over!! Cheers to you from the very wet, and very happy, Holler~
