MY DAY IN THE JUNGLE

It was a beautiful breezy day and I knew it was the perfect time to dive into our backyard in Costa Rica.  Which happens to be hundreds of acres of untouched tropical jungle.  You always take a risk going in but I have grown to be obsessed with insects.  Where else is a better place to look than the jungle?  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day...

(Please click the images to see them larger.)

These are the tiniest of frogs you have ever seen.   

This is the largest mosquito I have ever seen!  I definitely kept my eye on him as I made my way past.   

Not that far in there is a river where we pump our water from.  The pump is contained my a concrete structure that has a door and three slim windows.  

That is where I found Paul's bats.  Paul watches these bats every night eat our bugs flying around our lights and always wondered how far their journey was.  They didn't like me in their home one bit.  When I first entered there were five or six.  They fluttered about my head and then vanished out the window.

This guy is the only one that stayed to check me out the whole time.   

Next to the water pump structure were a few extra cinder blocks where I found this HUGE guy.  He took my breath away.  

Then all of a sudden this whipper snapper of a spider came running across his back.  

I think they were friends because neither of them acted surprised to see the other.  

When you're so close to something and looking through a camera, it's sometimes hard to be aware of your surroundings.  This crab started pinching at my boots while I was busy taking pictures of the spiders.  He totally scared me and was completely random to see him in the jungle.  

Look at the size of these grasshoppers.  They were even smaller than the frogs.  ...don't forget to click the pictures to see them larger. 

Dragonflies buzzed around but never got too close.  

Can you see the My Little Pony mystical glimmer in the tail of this bug? 

Oh and of course I saw grasshoppers.  

This is the same as I posted on my Instagram (sarahkingb).  He's the size of my hand and can fly!

 As the sun began to lower, I climbed my way back to the top to shower and tell Paul about his bats close-by home.  

Love, Sarah

Happy the Grasshopper

My top three readers of this blog are my parents and Paul.  All three of them have asked me numerous times where my "Happy" post is.  You see on our mangrove tour (click here for post) last trip to Costa Rica I fell in love with this little grasshopper.  Paul named him happy and I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  They were shocked that I didn't include him on my mangrove tour post, but I reassured them he was getting a post all on his own.  So here it is, let me introduce you to Happy.

 You may think, oh cute, a colorful grasshopper.  But I'm seriously obsessed.  His markings, color, textures, mouth, eyes, wings all bedazzle me.    

He even poo-pooed on me and I didn't care.

I was planning my adoption of him ...until he scarfed down my flower.  He munched down on that thing like an all you can eat buffet.  

I just knew Paul's prized possession plants would not appreciate it.  That's when I realized I should leave him at Sierpe we're he could freely eat his heart out without judgement.   

I said my goodbye's and...

left him behind to cruise the mangroves until he found his next resting spot.

I'll always remember you Happy.

Love, Sarah

LAST DAY OF SUMMER

In the spirit of the last day of summer - here are a few pictures of my favorite Costa Rican jungle flowers.

Jose always creates these wonderful flower pieces to greet us home.  We always joke that he could come to America and get a job with Dr. Delphinium no problem.    

They really add color and life to the house.

...and you can't beat that they're free.  He sure does know how to create beauty, huh?

Love, Sarah

SIERPE MANGROVE TOUR

On one of the attempts to take my parents on a relaxing sightseeing experience we took them on a Mangrove Tour in Sierpe, Costa Rica.  The amount of animals we saw were amazing.  It was quite difficult to get a good shot on a moving boat, but here are some of my favorites...
(Don't forget you can click the picture to scroll through them larger)

  

  

Love, Sarah