Nature Watch

Todays post contains mostly pictures from either the yard or trips have I had recently. The pictures focus on bugs, birds and nature in general. Enjoy!

This Yellow Jacket has been buzzing around the bamboo that we now have laying around the yard. I don’t care if he wants to come over to visit, but he better not try to move in.

The Bumblebees love the butterfly garden we created in the front. The bees visit daily to sip on the lovely nectar.

During my visit to my friend’s house in San Diego, I was able to snap some photos of a humingbird. They were dark and blurry but I was able to salvage some to the point where you can make out the bird. This makes me happy because I keep missing the ones that come by my bottlebrush tree.

Honeybees and their other bee friends love the bottlebrush tree in the backyard. They feast on this tree from sun up to sun down every day. When we moved in, I wanted to pull the tree out because I wasn’t a huge fan of them. Now it gets to stay!!!
Finally a butterfly pic from the butterfly garden. This is a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly.

A dragonfly we witnessed while visited the LaBrea tar pits in Los Angelos at the end of July.

A beach bird and some beach crabs my friend pointed out to me while on a nature walk in San Diego at the beginning of August.

LaBrea Tar Pits

During our visit to the LaBrea Tar pits in LA last July, I was able to see some gardening techniques they had on display.
They set up a step like structure where excess water could flow down to lower planters. They have vegetables and herbs planted in here.

Melons were grown on a trellis that also served as a shaded walkway.

Some large bamboo stalks.

A day at the Eiffel Tower

A beautiful day in Paris August 2010.

Columbia River Gorge

Photos from my travels to the Columbia River Gorge with my husband (then boyfriend) and friend Rene.

Sao Paulo

We are in town for my friend’s wedding. Great couple of days so far in Sao Paulo. We had no problems on our flight here. Although many of our companions had issues due to the brazilian airline Varig going out of business. When we arrived at the hotel we were to call our friend Fe’s mom. When we called the phone we would keep getting some standard Portuguese message and then ended up “obrigado” and hung up. After many tries, we just decided to eat dinner around the block from the hotel. We ordered a recommended dish off the menu. It was a greasy chicken with cheese on the top. Not a memorable meal so far…
The day before the wedding a group of us americanos decided to take a van tour around Sao Paulo. It was set up by Fe’s relatives. The guide requested was an English speaking guide. A few minutes into the tour we realize that the guide barely knew any english and our brazilian portugese was very poor. He referred to things as the “big church” and called the market “big mac”. It actually became quite funny with the group. He kept trying to speak spanish to me and kept telling my friend Kevin that he spoke good portugese.

Futbol on everywhere

That evening we attended the bridal shower for Fe. It was at a family members condo (if I remember correctly). The condos were nice and highly secure (I guess they have to be in Sao Paulo). We were buzzed into a secure holding area and after the doors shut firmly behind us, we were let into the grounds of the condos. Note: At the time there was high crime in Sao Paulo – Fe, Fe’s mother, and cousin were robbed of their cell phones and purses at a traffic light prior to our arrival – thus explaining why were were unable to contact them.
The shower was co-ed and attended by all of the family and friends (grandparents and kids alike). After attending the shower we attended a bar together.

Secure gate

The next day the wedding did not begin until 8 or 9 in the evening so Carlos and I did some wandering around alone. At some point in the trip we ended up at a typewriter museum??? Our attempts to speak Portuguese were useless. No one could understand a word we said. Even pointing to pictures on a menu wouldn’t work because there were always more questions to be answered after we pointed.

The ceremony was in a beautiful church. The pictures I took did not do it justice.

Following the ceremony was an all night reception with a samba band and dancers. It was loads of fun. Unfortunately we booked and early morning flight to Rio so we only stayed until 4 am.

Note some of the wedding pics provided were actually taken by Kevin’s friend Chris, another guest at the wedding.

Villa Cimbrone & Ravello

Today we visited the town of Ravello. Ravello is not too far above the town of Amalfi but due to the curvy roads required to get there, it is about a 30 minute trek. We walk along narrow streets like we had seen before in Capri. Although the streets here are more narrow and have much more character than Capri which is highly commercial and crowded with tourist shops. I took pleasure in walking the streets that contained many villas and hidden restaurants. Gardens are every where. Vines with ivy and flowers line many pathways. During our bus ride there, I viewed many lemon trees, many of which used to make Italy’s famous Limoncello drink. We were able to sample this drink today from a store that produced it. Limoncello is at the same time bitter and sweet. We are told that it is made from the seeds of lemons and then fermented.
A woman sitting next to us at lunch recommended that we visit the Villa Cimbrone. The villa is surrounded by many gardens. A trail through a wooded area in front gives a spectacular view of the water. At the end of the path was a statue of a man with a little boy on his shoulders. We soon reached another courtyard – a beautiful rose garden. We pass two more gardens, one with two statues and another with a fountain one end and another with a huge covered patio. The greatest of all was a rainbow of flowers that appear along the path back to the house.
After the villa, we take the bus back to Amalfi to catch the ferry to Salerno. From Salerno, we catch the overnight train to La Spezia (6 hour ride!). Could spend at least 5 more days here.