High

This is the highest on a tree I've seen a Vermilion Flycatcher.

I went to visit grandma and on her garden, tall trees and palm trees make it difficult for the Vermilion to catch some food. They usually perch on small bushes or trees, waiting for the moment to fly and catch a fine meal.

This bird was much higher than any other of its kind I've ever seen. The tree is around 10 meters tall, and this fellow was on top of it. It dived for flies and bugs and didn't seem to get any. I'm not sure if it managed to get some, I didn't have my binoculars with me to see.

After a while, it just stopped diving to the ground. It stood there, on top of the tree, its bright feathers shinning in the sun. It was a beautiful thing to watch, even from the distance I was. It looked so proud and beautiful!

I'm also going to stop diving for things I won't get anyway, I'll start focusing on the future and the wonders to come.

Many changes ahead, that I will share with you in the near future :)

Birds and flowers

You already know that last Sunday I went to 'La Laguna', where the smart ducks and geese can 'read' signs ;)


Over there we saw this 'Garcita blanca' (White Egret / Egretta thula) walking around, looking for a snack.


This seems to be a juvenile, because the legs were still yellow (going black in the front)


It was nice to just stay there and watch. It is amazing how much beauty you can find when you decide to look with 'nature eyes'.


A Vermilion Flycatcher followed us for a few blocks, our camera is so simple and zoom-less that in over a dozen pictures this is the best :(

Pyrocephalus rubinus (Vermilion Flycatcher)

After the lagoon we went to visit Grandma and her flowers.



And I got my VERY FIRST picture of a hummingbird flying!!! Sorry for the quality, click to enlarge.

Amazilia amazilia (Amazilia Hummingbird)

It was a sunny happy Sunday.

At grandma's garden

Yesterday I spent the evening at grandma's house. It was a sunny and hot day (34.5°C), great to enjoy some cold drinks and a bbq.


My grandma used to be a very strong, smart, independant woman. She joined volunteer groups and did charity work, spent a lot of time in her once very large garden working in her trees and flowers, did patchwork and handcrafts for the whole family and friends, listened to tons of cds, went to the movies and read a few books a week. She was always a laugh because of her witty remarks and the amazing stories from her childhood. She enjoyed travelling, driving around and creating new delicious dishes.


That's how I remember grandma. Yesterday it was so sad and heart breaking to see her so upset and lonely. She lost her sight and most of her hearing, and although she's finding ways to keep on doing some of her handcrafts and cooking, she has lost her independance and confidence.

Her old house was sold and she lives in a house built in what was left of her once beautiful garden. Her memory is going away and her laughter is not as strong and constant as before. Her eyes look sad and the sparks are gone.

I walked around the garden and found just a few flowers and trees, nothing like the huge paradise I used to play at when I was a kid, pretending to be in the jungle or in an Indiana Jones adventure, hanging from the trees and running away from huge spiders and bees.
Even with all the changes I found a few lonely birds (they must visit her for a reason) and a tortoise that turned out to be of one of my cousins.


It was eating rat poison when I found it, alone behind some bushes. Got some papaya from grandma's house to feed it, I'm sure it was hungry and thirsty because it ate as if it was the most delicious thing on earth, super fast and to the last bit of it.


I'll try to go visit my grandma more often, I like it when I'm able to make her laugh and she recovers some of her 'wittyness'. I'll make sure to bring some papaya with me for that other lonely fellow, wondering around the garden.