Early morning

Change of plan. We decided that it made more sense for Rey to travel to San Jose alone today, and for me to go alone next week for my hospital appointment. That way, Nilo doesn't have to go at all! He and I can spend the week at home, quietly doing, while Rey gets on with work in the herbarium, without the need to be thinking about how bored we're getting in the meantime.

So, this morning I was up at 3:30 am to say goodbye to him. I couldn't see the moon to begin with, but then realised she was on the otherside of the house, peering at me through the forest.



















Looks like batik!

It's definately worth getting up very early here. For one thing it's the only cool part of the day. Beautiful and peaceful...



















This morning's first light at Los Charcos de Osa.

... apart from the birds. The Scarlet Macaws started up at 4:30am this morning, squawking their heads of, as is their want, and accompanied by a group of green parakeets. Bloody noisy lot! Waking up at Los Charcos is abit like waking up in a zoo. Not that I'm complaining. Although, there is the occassional morning when one feels one could happily strangle the laughing falcons, with their raucous cries of "Guaco" (pronounced Gwa-ko), for which they are locally named. Other than this, there is generally much twittering, cheeping, trilling, and beeping, and many other bizarre noises that only Dr. Zeus could name, and making Los Charcos an ornithologist's paradise!

And then, we all know that the early... spider... catches the... umm... butterfly?















A dainty breakfast, well under wraps. The weekend begins!

2010: Inspiration #1- Fungii

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with fungii. All of the strange forms which these amazing living beings take on. To me they epitomize the organic. I am also fascinated by the process of decomposition, and, in the past, that has been a reoccurring theme in my (painted) art.

Yesterday , I stepped into our small forest reserve. The trail dotted with sunspots in the noon sun.



















This is what I found...















A rotting trunk on the edge of the main path covered in pale white/russet/rose pink fungii...















makes me think of shells clinging to some ancient wreckage... I love the pattern that they make.. a sort of spiralling...















Ruffled and scalloped plataeus or thunder clouds... like the traditional Javanese Megamendung fabric motifs, some lovely examples of which you can see here and here by a great company called EXOT who specialize in exotic treasures.















... like dis-orientated petals. And I have decided to make fungii one of my main subjects to explore in 2010. In cloth and on paper.