Click on photos to enlarge and read captions.

Click on photos to enlarge and read captions.
Rick and Christine have been painting over every door in the Puesta del Sol. Here is a detail from one of my favorites: Flowers and Iguanas. The central flower is probably about 8″ across.
Here is the entire door and window surround:
and a photo of the artist:
For Cee’s FOTD
Viewed from my friend’s clliffside house, his rangy tree stands far above the rest.
Our birding trip through the lagoons near La Manzanilla yielded more laughs than birds. For Rachel and Gloria, who had never made the trip before, the hour and a half long trip down the mangrove swamps yielded more surprises than I had counted on. Click on the below photos to read the story as well as the photos:
jdb photos, 2018. To enlarge all photos, click on any one.
The prompt today is above.
I said I wouldn’t, but I did. More sunsets. Plus a capture of a pleasant blog setup after the dinner guests have gone. Nice to have some quiet time out on the deck with Annie. She didn’t cotton to it unless she was on my lap. Her first time out of the house since we got here. It was housecleaning/ sheet and towel washing day, so the porch was completely covered with washing in front. I thought it was good planning to have a dinner party because the housecleaner would have just been here, but forgot that linens would be hung out to dry. Oh well. Gave us privacy.
Click on photos to enlarge.
When the pelicans stayed away for the past few weeks, the frigate birds were out in full force. Usually, it seems to me that these birds soar high above, swooping down only to steal other birds’ prizes, but two days ago, when the pelicans and fish came back as well, they appeared by the dozens, swooping down on the beach to claim bait left on the beach after the fishermen cleared their nets. It was an amazing display. Here are some of the hundreds of photos that I took of them that capture their numbers and antics to a small degree. Please click on the first photo and then the right arrows to proceed through the enlarged photos and to read the captions that tell the story of their visit to civilization:
Circling Closer:
The Magnificent Frigate Bird
They polonaise up higher,
far above the rest.
Not once dipping to the land.
Do they ever nest?
I never see them fishing,
foraging or chewing.
As though their wings are made for art
but are not made for doing.
A gentle crease within their wings
looks folded and unfolded,
but keeps its shape no matter what,
as though it has been molded.
This rhyme is not so fragile
nor so graceful as these birds.
I guess such elegance as theirs
cannot be caught in words.
(I wrote this poem a few years ago and published it in a series of poems about La Manzanilla. It seemed appropriate to publish it again with these photos.)