It’s obvious to me that I am definitely NOT in New Jersey anymore, or as Dorothy said to Toto, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”  We just got out of dipping in the hotel pool and I am sitting in the covered outdoor patio area of our hotel to take advantage of the Wi-Fi connection that doesn’t quite work in our room. A tropical breeze blows past me and I am sipping a cool glass of white wine. The temperature is around 87 degrees F but with the humidity, the “real feel” is 96 degrees F. Steamy. Tropical. Hot. Definitely not New Jersey.

The above photo was taken from our room balcony overlooking the town square and the beautiful church. Each morning since we arrived I have watched one particular older woman set up her food stand from start to finish. The process fills me with joy. I did take video of the whole thing this morning, from her waiting for the horse cart to arrive with all her things on it, to setting up for business. It’s part of daily life here. I will have more photos later, but for now you will have to be satisfied with my words and only a few photos.

Until you visit another culture other than your own comfortable one, you really can’t begin to understand. You sit smug in your own little bubble thinking that everyone does and reacts the same way. Until you are removed from that into a totally different culture which makes you look at the world in a completely different way.

Since we’ve arrived we’ve taken a horse drawn cart through the city, stood on the edge of an active volcano, taking in the steam and gases rising out of it, and later after it was dark, peering into its depths to see the glowing lava and hearing the magma exploding which sounded a lot like thunder, walked through a cave made from lava with lots of little fruit bats, and hiked around a “dormant” volcano’s rim in a cloud forest, seeing howler monkeys on the way back down.

I promise more photos to come but it might not happen until we return. It just depends on the weather and if we are confined to our room while we are in Panama since the weather outlook for weather without rain is not looking good at this point.

I must say that although Nicaragua is poor, the people here have a wonderful sense of national pride. It is evident in everyone we speak to. They are quick to tell you how great their roads are and how hard they are working on being self-sufficient in energy. They even harness the gas from an active volcano to provide power. They are proud people, as they should be for what they have accomplished.

So tomorrow we head to Panama and leave Nicaragua. More to come!

New Green. Nothing really comes close color-wise in my opinion Crayola should have it as one of their colors.

I call these tree caterpillars. I don’t know what kind of trees they are, possibly elms, but they are messy when they drop and they look exactly like caterpillars.

When the forsythia party is over there is nothing left but yellow confetti.

The other day the blue jays decided to come en masse to the feeding area. I think at one time I counted around 14. See how many you can find in this photo and don’t forget to look in the bushes and the tree. They are beautiful birds!

We had a few “firsts” this weekend. The first time the yard was mowed and the first hummingbird to arrive! I think this little guy is early since it’s been so cold so far this year. Yet, there he sat on the clothesline announcing his arrival and waiting patiently for his feeder to be hung out. Do you think the same birds return year after year? How else would he know where the feeder should be?

Before the yard mowing I managed to snap the wild violets growing in one area of the front yard. I love violets and I love that they grow in my yard!

And with the yard mowing came a delightful find! Morels!!!! And growing in a spot we never thought to look for them, right alongside the edging to the back yard. Remember my “Morel of the Story” post a few years back? If not, I think you should take the time to follow the link and read it! We haven’t seen morels since that year so we were really excited.

While Rick was mowing the front yard I heard the mowing stop and went to see what the problem was. Rick was off the tractor and walking toward me with more morels! These were growing right in the grass in the front yard!

We froze some them and a few went into our risotto. Delicious!

I know they look ugly but they are as yummy as they are ugly!

For the next few days my mind will be whirling with all I have to do to get ready to leave on Thursday for our trip to Nicaragua and Panama! I am not ready!!!

Last week we finally did something we’ve wanted to do since moving into our house. Replace the tired PVC white picket fencing that didn’t “go” with the house with an upscale aluminum fence. Here is a look at the old fence.

Okay, granted it wasn’t that bad, but it needed power washing frequently because it turned green from the lovely mold that grows in a wetter climate such as ours. It was also kind of falling apart. What really made us decide was the the back gate that you can see in the top photo just simply fell off its hinges (breaking said hinges) about a month ago. Some of the rails had pulled completely out of the sockets due to ground swell. It was not a pretty sight.

And here is the new fence. It just disappears! And each gate can be locked with a key for added security!

We like the new openess of it a lot and think it really dresses up the house and gives it the fence it deserved to begin with. We will sacrifice a little privacy for the pool area but not much.

When we get back from our Central America trip we will continue the Before and After by replacing our tired guest bath with its Pepto-Bismol (which I like to call Pepto-Abysmal) colored tub and surround, sinks and toilet and if you saw it you would understand. Trust me. Soon you will see for yourselves. I am so excited but my sister says she will miss its pinkness. Not me. No way.

And just for grins I am including a photo taken today (all others were taken last week) so you can see the progress our trees are making! That too is very exciting!

To be continued in a few weeks ...

Spring is taking its sweet time this year. Everything is lagging behind thanks to our cooler than normal rainy weather. The trees are just afraid to leaf out! Some progress is being made however.

The daffodils were pretty as usual but are fading a bit now.

The forsythia is really lovely this year. You may remember that last year we had our large front hedge of forsythia taken out. I miss it, but Rick says he doesn’t. Now we just have three pretty bushes scattered throughout the yards.

I cut some branches and brought them inside to light up my day. Sam likes them too!

I wish the lilac would hurry up and bloom! It’s looked like this for two weeks now. If it waits until we are gone on our trip late next week I’ll be really disappointed! This shot was taken with the forsythia bush behind.

The periwinkle is blooming nicely in the front yard.

A row of hostas have broken ground and are growing daily.

We’ve had plenty of birds visiting the feeder. Normally we don’t have purple finches but right now we have several pairs. I think they are prettier than the house finch. You can tell the difference by their coloring which is more a rosy pink than the red of the house finch, the streaking and their slightly different body shape and size.

Lots of these cute little chipping sparrows too. Doesn’t he look like he’s wearing a toupee on his head?

Of course we have lots of bright yellow gold finches. I love these little birds!

The white-throated sparrows don’t come to the feeder but they do come to the front where I spread seed on the ground for the squirrels and chippies. They have a distinctive yellow streak by their eye, and a lovely easy to identify song.

At times there are so many different bird songs riding on the air that it’s hard to hear yourself think! I am not complaining though! I love them all.

And here is Alex just because I think he’s so darned cute. He was laying on the front porch while Rick washed Mia yesterday and found this tiny little stick that he’s holding between his paws.

More rain expected today but at least this week we’re supposed to have temperatures in the 70’s. That just might lure the trees into really popping those leaves!

Bird Addendum added late afternoon: My first rose-breasted grosbeak arrived this morning! I hope to get a better photo of him if he sticks around long enough. They usually just pass through. I think it looks like it has a bleeding heart on its chest. Beautiful birds, but then again, grosbeaks are one of my all-time favorite bird families.

And a house finch for comparison to Mr. Purple Finch.

It’s that time of year again when the cherry trees are in blossom in Branch Brook Park in Newark. Last year the trees were early and we were late to the party. This year I think we planned it at peak bloom time but the weather was not very nice. We went on Friday which was predicted to be mostly sunny, but it turned out to be mostly cloudy with a chilly wind. We knew that Saturday it was supposed to rain heavily (we ended up with 3.71 inches here at our house!) and be windy so we were worried that the trees would lose their blossoms after that. So, Friday it was!

We headed off in Mia, but with the top up in hopes that the day would turn warmer and sunnier.

The trees were absolutely beautiful. Everywhere you looked people gathered underneath them to bask in their glory, rapt looks of wonder on their faces turned upwards to the blossoms.

 

My photos would have been better with a nice blue sky as a backdrop to the blossoms but that was just not to be, so I had to make the best of the situation and just enjoy the day for what it was. (Even if my fingers were turning blue!) I hope you enjoy them. One thing is for certain: cherry trees come in all colors and all shapes and sizes.

 

 

 

 

 

A bird’s nest on the lower branch of a tree. What a lovely place for a home!

On one of the old bridges.

Some trees just seemed to have an inner glow about them.

 

A closer look at some blossoms.

 

The different shapes of the branches and how the tree has grown over the years is a source of fascination for me.

This particular tree was huge. And beautiful. I had to take it’s image from several different perspectives. From the front:

Underneath:

After passing it by:

I think you’ll agree it was worthy of all three shots. And, did you notice the woman in the distance with her easel in the “in front” shot?

I had to take a closer shot of her paints. So tidy! (Of course I asked her permission before photographing her painting.)

The Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart as seen four different ways! I couldn’t decide which photo to use. Which one is your favorite view of the church including the cherry trees?

 

 

 

Just as we were leaving the park at around 3:00 p.m. the sun finally peeked through the clouds. Of course. We even got to put the top down on Mia on the drive home. Maybe next year we can hit peak blooming season and perfect weather all rolled into one!