Liana and big bugs

Monteverde bathroom mosaic

I'm done with half of our bathroom and quite pleased with it. I learned a lot in the process so the second half should be easier and I have a few friends that want to help.

From the beach last week

Playa flamingo and Conchal

Liana singing at school

School sing. And us at the holiday band parade last night.

At Playa Conchal with Menna

Kinder field trip to Finca life

Trying on her performance outfit with her smiling teacher Marian

Coffee house performances at the Friend's school

Liana's first tap performance. Solo!
Tony on keys.
Menna on keys.
Tony on guitar.
Tony and Menna singing.
And I did a yoga dance with some lovely ladies (no, Tony didn't take any photos of that.)

Our tarantula visitor

Flooding and animals

Last week we had a drainage issue with the land behind our house. We avoided a flood, luckily.
We have seen several animals lately that I haven't gotten good photos of, so some have been taken from the web.
We did have a tarantula trying to get in our house this morning and we got a video of that.

Benito says the baby sloth isn't growing much. It keeps having diarrhea.

New moth

Here is a moth I've never seen before. Every couple days I see a new insect of some sort.

Liana with the bananas.

Wildlife sightings

Weeks can go by without seeing much of anything too unusual and then there is a twenty-four hour period full of wonder.

Last night on the way to burger night at the local Lodge (.3 miles from our house) we walked with flashlights looking for wildlife. Liana wanted to see an owl, which we almost never see. I was on the lookout for a sloth, which we have only seen a couple times in the last year. We saw nothing but some bats.

Then, on the walk home Liana said, "I want to see an owl." Three seconds later, an owl replied, "woo-hooooo." There were two owls calling to each other. I joined in and actually called the owl out of the forest. It flew over our heads and settled into the forest across the street.

We continued on our walk on our little dirt road home and I was shining my flashlight into the trees. There we spied a sloth climbing up a tree to settle back in the canopy. Quite a successful night hike.

This morning a pizote (coati) was sniffing around our yard hoping to come in for some of our pile of bananas. Then I took a walk and saw leaf cutter ants, blue morpho butterflies, hawks, cows, an agouti (large rodent), and white faced monkeys eating guayabas. Luckily they knocked some down for me to bring home for Liana and Tony.

Also, our chickens laid three eggs and Tony cut down two racimas of bananas while I was gone.

Unfortunately I have no photos of any of it. Only words.

Rebecca

Not in monteverde

Pumpkin farm, apple fritters, Indian food, pho, and Thai. And, grandma, Melinda and Jaal. It is coooold here for us, although quite nice weather.

Enjoying the beach and seeing a turtle laying eggs.

Tonight we went to Camaronal reserve and saw Oliver Ridley turtles being born and laying eggs. It was impressive. They lay over 80 eggs in a hole and then cover it up and return to the sea. Thirteen years later these turtles will return to the same beach to lay their own eggs. We also saw some babies that were dug up by a raccoon and eaten before they were quite done developing, and other babies just coming out of the sand.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YV1ZG2nQSqs
For a video of the reserve

Address for books

Hello!
I forgot to add the address to send the books. It should show up in the wish list, but in case not, here it is:

Rebecca Goertzel
5121 S Mead St.
Seattle, WA 98118

Liana and I are going back next week to visit Jaal and friends and family in Seattle. My mom and dad will be flying out as well. Tony is staying put as he will fly to Seattle in December for a ten year band anniversary show.

This week we are at Samara beach, with Amy and Virgilio. Yesterday Liana floated down an estuary on a boogie board, scared crabs into their holes, swam in the waves, dug in the sand, played in a beach river and practiced real swimming in the pool.

Rebecca

Enjoying our blog? Send some books to the school

Hello Friends and Family, 

If you have been enjoying our blog, you too can participate in our experience by buying some books for the school. 

Liana and I will be in Seattle and we can bring books back with us. I made an Amazon wishlist with requests. It is below. 

In order to get the books in time for me to bring them back this time, they would have to be ordered very soon. 

They need at least five copies of each book, so it would be more helpful to buy five of the same book than five different books. 

Or, you could buy 20 of one book, a whole class set. 

My Gift List for Cloud Forest School book wishlist

Link:

http://smile.amazon.com/registry/giftlist/28EEALNNUHT8K

Thank you in advance if you can help out.

Rebecca

Kinder area with coffee plant in background

Liana's first report card

She loves school, is obviously intelligent, and is usually pleasant and happy but is prone to excessive hugging and touching in circle time, and sticks things in her mouth like markers and scissors.