All About the Goats....

You may remember that we had considered volunteering at The Monkey Farm.  I had some second thoughts about that and we never did.  However, our neighbors, Francine an Greg volunteer there quite often and that has worked out well for them.  Yesterday, Vicki, the Farm owner, e-mailed Francine, telling her that the goat had delivered twins, but she didn't think things were going well.  Knowing that we had raised goats for many years she wondered if Bill & I would stop in and take a look.

Of course we would.  Last night didn't work out, so early this morning we gave Francine a call...  and around 7:30 the four of us headed off to the Farm.

This was the first time Mama Goat had been bred and she wasn't sure she liked being a Mom.  Not only that, but she is a first time mom with a set of twins to care for.  Often goats will throw only 1 kid the first year, and twins in the years after...  sometimes triplets.  Anyway, from what we could tell when we arrived there today, Vicki and her crew were doing quite well..  and with a little persuasion so are Buttercup and the twins.

The little buck had been doing poorly, and today, the remains of his scours (diarrhea) needed cleaned off him so he wouldn't get sores.  The volunteers had made sure that the kids got Buttercup's colostrum as their first feeding, and even though Buttercup wasn't cooperating, they milked her so she wouldn't get mastitis... and then fed the kids the milk from a bottle.  Vicki said the crew fed them every 2-3 hours throughout the night.

Keeping Buttercup's udder from getting too uncomfortable will be important in her allowing the kids to nurse.  I expected that someone would have to hold Buttercup to keep her still and keep her from kicking the kid away, and was surprised that she allowed me to hold her horns with one hand and put the little guy up to her teat with the other....  he knew instinctively what to do...  grabbed a hold and seemed to get some milk before Buttercup got too restless.

Francine....  holding the little doe

The volunteers are calling this one "Dora", because she's quite active and wanders around exploring everything.  You know...  Dora the Explorer

That's me...  holding the twins...

They've survived the first 24 hours...  the most critical time

They bear watching ...  that they're eating, that the diarrhea slacks off, and that they're mobile.  Buttercup's udder needs to be checked for signs of mastitis....  too hot, lopsided etc.....  

Vicki says the vets here in Costa Rica don't do well with goats ...  she'd asked about proper feeding etc.  Goats really don't eat any and everything.  They do like a lot of different things, and your favorite flower bed or young tree would be their first choice.  Vicki did worm Buttercup a couple of months ago, and that's good.

Vicki has access to the thrown out foods from 2 local groceries and a local bakery.  She feeds it to her pigs and chickens...  and I think Buttercup will be getting a treat as well...  maybe some veggies or fruit.  Just not too much.

When we left she was taking a nap...  and the twins were resting alongside her.  We hope the crisis is over and all is well.

That's All For Today!

In Hot Water?

I don't think I've mentioned that we haven't had hot water for almost 2 weeks, have I?  I know darned well that I haven't because even thinking about it sets me off...  and who really wants to go on a rant in their last couple of weeks at a place?  

Of course we called our landlord...  and e-mailed him.  I won't go into all the excuses he made, but one of them was that he was in the hospital.  Kind of reminds me of those excuses like the dog ate the term paper...  you know.

Anyway, yesterday, Rudolpho, the guy who does whatever maintenance our landlord deems necessary, came by...  told us that Robert didn't have the money to fix the water heater...  as well as not having the money to pay him (Rudolpho)...  

To shorten this story up a bit...  we invited Rudolpho in... we'd already had dinner, but had plenty of leftovers (pizza)...  and... Rudolpho always likes a cup of coffee....  so he hung out a while with us and showed us pictures of his kids and his grandmother (who is 100 years old) and other family photos.

Rudolpho has a pretty good use of English, but the language barrier is still there.  The really neat thing about him is that he has the patience to listen to my butchered Spanish... and gently correct it.  

Rudolpho stayed the night in the condo next door....  the one that houses the hot water heater AND the modem for our internet.  Today, he and his brother fixed the hot water heater so it produces hot water again.  Not sure how...  don't know where they got the parts....  didn't see them when they left.

But, this afternoon, for the first time in nearly 2 weeks I got a HOT shower!  Not that I haven't had a shower every day, but using only the water as it is.  Okay...  before you think icy cold shower, keep in mind that the vessel that holds our water is up on the roof...  and the sunshine beats down on it...  so......  by late afternoon each day, the water is ...well, maybe luke warm at the most.  Not nearly warm enough for me.... but...  you takes what you gets.....

Just because I want to...

I'll show you another shot I got of the White-lored Gnatcatcher today....

While not especially good, this one does show the black head and the pattern over his eye.

I'm starting to think about plans for when we return to the States...  Al, of the Bayfield Bunch has me wanting to make a trip to Trader Joes.  And that's just the beginning of my list!  

But...  for now...

That's All For Today!

Another New Bird

But...  another bad photo...

White-lored Gnatcatcher

We'd been seeing this little guy (4") flit around high in the trees just outside our condo.  It's kind of funny how a person draws on their memories to identify a critter.  Bill immediately thought ... "blue-gray gnatcatcher".  Color's not quite right, but mannerisms are similar.  Then we have to remember where we're at...  so we haul out our trusty field guide...

While we have several bird books of Costa Rica, Mexico and Central America, this is the only one we brought with us.

Found that the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher isn't in Costa Rica...  but, the White-lored and the Tropical Gnatcatchers are both here.  A close look at the drawing in the field guide shows that the White-lored has an entirely black head...  while the Tropical has a white area above its eye.  Then, of course, since plumage changes in some birds during breeding season, that has to be checked out as well.

It's always fun to see a "new" bird.  Often, long before we arrive at our new destination, we'll have pored over the field guides just to try to become familiar with what we might see.  Even with our travels across the USA, we have to remember that many birds we see in Maine will never be seen in the Utah desert.  

Of course there's always the exceptions....  one year about a dozen American Avocets flew into the little lake down the road from where I lived in SE Ohio.  They caused a HUGE sensation among birders...  seems some storm blew them off course and there they were.

But...  back to the White-lored Gnatcatcher...  I hope I get another chance to get a decent photo of it.  You can bet I'll be out there trying.

That's All For Today!

Nada

Nothing different here...  didn't walk to town...  took only one picture during the day...

The Magpie jays came along for whatever we had to offer...  the wind picked up his long tail feathers...

And so..  for a "nothing" day....

That's the End

That's All For Today!

Domingo Doings....

If you've been following along with our Costa Rica adventure, you already know we live a pretty quiet life up here on the hill.  Last night we were not out on the town...  painting it red... or any other color.  We were home and I was thinking I'd probably knit or read after dinner.

But...  our neighbors Francine and Greg stopped by to drop off something they couldn't use (we've found that we all try to find homes for anything from a stray bottle of vino that we don't like to a hat we can't wear.... I'm still trying to find a home for the hat)...  Anyway, they happened by on their way into town....  just as I was finishing fixing dinner.

Now anyone who knows me, knows how much I love to cook...  and how much I love having guests for dinner.  They agreed to stay for dinner and even my lowly spaghetti dinner tasted really good when shared with friends.  I didn't even fix a salad... but that loaf of French Bread, the first loaf of bread I've even bought in months, made it a good meal.  Truth is, no matter what we had,  having such good folks at the dinner table sure was nice.

This morning Bill & I headed to town...  me to 10:00 mass...  Bill to the local Farmacia.  (my sandals are falling apart... I need some band-aids)  Costa Rica doesn't observe daylight saving time this year (does this mean they do some years?), so while my computer and other electronic devices automatically jumped ahead 1 hour, nothing changed for us.  I just had to reset the time.  Kinda reminds me of the time we were in Mexico during the time change...  we set our clocks ahead...  and for 1 entire week we "lived" on the wrong time... not realizing that Mexico didn't go on DST.  You know...  it didn't make a bit of difference.

We got up to more smoke laying over the valley...

I kind of like this photo because it shows more of how the elevation our condo is in comparison to the surrounding buildings.  We're the only folks living in the 9 unit condo (and, YES, there is a reason for that!), so I can hang clothes out on the line if I want to.  Heck, I could probably sit outside in my underwear - but that's probably when we'd get the church people or someone come visiting.

This next photo is for my friend Carolyn.  Carolyn is an excellent birder and when I was sorting out the various swallows that come around, she suggested that maybe we had some Barn Swallows...

There were 4 on the power line, but by the time I went inside for my camera, only this one remained.

So, Carolyn...  yes, we do have Barn Swallows....  and honest, they are much prettier than shows here.

Another bird that hangs around..

Hoffmann's Woodpecker

Not the best picture, but at least his yellow-orange nape is visible.

Another really bad photo of something that's hanging around...

When we were walking home from town, the Howler Monkeys that were napping in a really tall tree we passed started howling when a very loud motorcycle rode past.  This guy must have had a terrific Saturday night because all the noise didn't phase him a bit.  I was using my little Canon Powershot - which does NOT have a view finder - so I'm surprised I got a shot of him at all.

Anyway...  this is our last full week here...  we stopped in town at one of the "tour adventure" booths (there are MANY along the main street), so we figure we'll do something different before we leave.  It will probably involve either water or dust...  we'll see.

That's All For Today!

Another Saturday...

There is no doubt that we are winding down here...  the hotter it gets the more my energy level bottoms out.  We walk to town earlier each day.  Today we took a taxi home.... at 8:30 in the morning!  Unheard of...  but the heat just saps a person.  

About those bird photos yesterday...  I took the photos of all the birds except the Keel-billed Toucan in the wild... their natural habitat.  The macaws were at the Carara National Park...  we saw several throughout the day we spent there...  along with several other very colorful birds....  manakins, trogons etc.  The Resplendent Quetzal we saw near Cartago where we spent a few days birding.  The Fiery-billed Aracari was right outside the house where we were living in Cuidad Colon.  In fact, we saw many, many species of birds while sitting on our porch.  The Toucan was at a botanical gardens....  and while we saw others in the wild, this one would perch on your arm and get its picture taken.

Of course I'd prefer getting all my wildlife in its natural habitat, but I'll settle for a bird feeder or even a game camera if the critter is there.

We did walk to town this morning...

 The tide is still coming in strong...  I don't know the tide time table, but seems we've been hitting it at its highest lately.  I love to hear the waves come in on a rush... and then back to the sea.

 These 2 large sail boats (catamaran-type) were out in the bay.  Do you see the hose just to the right of the center?  These boats take on water from various places along the beach.  That dingy right at the beach hauled the hose out to the boat, and will bring it back to shore when the water tanks are filled.

 I'm standing on the Rickety Bridge...  

I have no idea what this guy expects to catch as this is just a little creek that seems to hold lots of minnows.

Lots and lots of minnows...

All about the length of my index finger.

But there's someone around who'd love to catch a few minnows...

 Yep!  It's the Green Heron...

Usually the herons are wading around along the water's edge...  but I guess this guy wanted to get a "bird's eye view" of what was down there.

We headed on to the grocery store...  saw this along the way...

 A big semi-truck was unloading lawn decorations...  

Setting up shop right alongside the road.  I have no idea if people need a permit to do this...  but I kind of doubt it.  I hope they did a booming business, but I have to wonder how many folks would buy these huge pieces as so many people here are here for a very short time..  in a rental.  

We didn't need much...  mostly just go in town for the walk.  But I did buy these today...

The bag on the left is Plantain chips...  the one on the right is Yucca chips.  

It's funny that I like plantains but don't care at all for bananas...  they don't taste the same to me.  As for the yucca chips, if I hadn't seen the bag, I'd guess I was eating potato chips.

I think we have only 11 more days here, so if there's anything I haven't tried, I've got to get honkin'....

That's All For Today!

Why the Clay-colored Robin?

When on our walk to town, Bill & I occasionally come across this Clay-colored Robin.  If you weren't tuned into the birding world you might not even notice it.  It's drab...  it just escapes being a "LBJ" (Little Brown Jobby...  the bane of all birders) because it's not small....  and perhaps because it hops around right in front of you.

We got to wondering why such a "Plain-Jane" would be awarded the honor of being the National Bird of Costa Rica.  Below are some excerpts I got off the internet....

"The clay-colored thrush (Turdus grayi), known locally as the yigüirro, was also once known as the clay-colored robin, but scientists later changed its family from robin to thrush. The species is one of Costa Rica’s most common birds and it is found throughout almost every region. The clay-colored thrush was designated Costa Rica’s national bird in January 1977. 

Clay-colored thrushes measure approximately nine inches tall, and both sexes exhibit yellow-brown plumage and a lightly striped neck, cream-colored stomach, and yellow-green bill. As do other robins and thrushes, these small birds hop instead of walk; upon landing, they often flick their tails back and forth. 

So, why not one of these flashy birds?

 Fiery-billed Aracari

 Keel-billed Toucan

 Scarlet Macaw

Resplendent Quetzal

I took the above photos of these very colorful birds when we lived in Costa Rica in 2012.

But it is the Clay-colored Robin (or Thrush) that gets the honors.

"The clay-colored thrush was chosen as the national bird for several reasons. Due to its wide range and tendency to live close to humans, it is well known and therefore mentioned in many of Costa Rica’s folk songs, short stories and novels. The males are also cherished for their exquisite song; during mating season, they serenade potential mates with an unmistakable tune. In Costa Rica, their mating season (usually April-June) coincides with the beginning of the green season, and therefore farmers have always taken the yigüirro’s song as the first sign  of coming rains."

So now, you too know the answer to my question...

The End

That's All For Today!