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Lake Maria, continued

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:39:00 -0500

As summer dries everything out, Lake Maria is showing its bottom side (smile). For those readers joining us more recently, the so-called "lake" is a low-land area that turned into a swamp about a year ago. The main road going to Bosque Santa Lúcia

Sunbaked

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:22:00 -0500

Well, here we are in September again. This one isn't any different than any other, in terms of weather. We're well into our summer (verão), which is the dry season for this part of the Amazon. It seldom rains, so it's very necessary to water plan

Lilies

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:50:00 -0500

Iris germanica (lower image) is blooming again. This is the flower that some people call an orchid, which it isn't of course. Strange enough, a yellow variety (top image) bloomed too and from the same vase. It's the first time that I've seen this

Old leaf

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:45:00 -0500

I wonder what happened to these leaves? They're so covered with fungi, they're more fungus than a leaves. Notice that there are other leaves around them, all fresh, slick and green.

Muiratinga, continued

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:01:00 -0500

Hang on folks! Don't click on that "inappropriate material" button provided by your blogger company. This isn't jungle porn. It's only part of tropical biodiversity in the world of trees. As explained in the previous post, the muiratinga trees lo

Muiratinga

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:06:00 -0500

No, those aren't walking sticks leaning up against the two muiratinga trees ( Maquira sp.). They are actually branches from the tree that have fallen in a very unique way. Much like many plants, the branches break off from the trunk of the tree tak

Flower brightens trail

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:41:00 -0500

Red brightened a trail covered with decaying leaves. A lone flower without any signs from where it came.

Frog on bench

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:54:00 -0500

I sat down next to this frog. It didn't turn into a princess, but we had a great conversation.

Butterfly on the wing

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:10:00 -0500

Our colorful friend didn't want to let me get in close to take a picture, so I caught him on the wing. I took the picture thinking that nothing would come of it, but give it a try. Luck was with me. Click on the image for a better view.

Birth of butterfly

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:56:00 -0500

Sometimes we don't need to go very far to see beautiful events. This butterfly is leaving its pupal stage of life to fly off like a bird. It all happened right next to the porch door at the reception center!

Bamboo shoot

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:41:00 -0500

A young bamboo shoot making its way to the forest stage.

Mari-mari fruit

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:39:00 -0500

This past Sunday we went to Mararu to say hello to our old friends, Didi and Luzia Macedo. Dona Luzia (she just turned 80) had taken off to Belém to visit her daughter and do some medical exams, but we found Didi and his son at home. We've been vi

Quassia amara

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:42:00 -0500

Flowers from a small tree called quina (Quassia amara). Quina means quinine, but this isn't the true quinine from the Andes. Nevertheless, it's very bitter and I bet it would make some great quinine water (smile).

Seedpods

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:25:00 -0500

I found this single seedpod on a walking trail last week. It must have just fallen because it was fresh and colorful. I've seen the dried up version of these seedpods used as Christmas decorations at the BeloAlter Hotel in Alter do Chão. I asked

Social flycatchers

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:08:00 -0500

Social flycatchers love to setup their households in the Pau Brasil trees next to the Bosque reception center. I can't tell you how many families have been raised in this environment. In the upper image, one of the parents entering the nest with fo

Peperomia, continued

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:52:00 -0500

Another peperomia plant climbing up the side of tree. You've heard of "tree huggers"? These vines are the epitome of the tree huggers. Most of them look like they've been painted on the tree.

Peperomia

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:34:00 -0500

A peperomia vine has reached the top of this rotting stump. It was probably surprised to find that it couldn't go any higher!

Breadfruit

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:46:00 -0500

At last I have a breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) tree that shows signs of surviving. It's interesting that Brazilians don't especially care for this fruit, as do the people in Peru and that part of Tropical South America. The best examples of this

Black ants

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:20:00 -0500

The fight is over. We can assume that the one behind won the round. The referee disappeared in the course of the fight.

Black ants

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:05:00 -0500

Two large block-headed (my nomenclature) ants checking one another out, while a very small ant looks on. My caption for this one would be "On the count of three, start the fight." The referee is the miniature ant, of course. The imaginary ring is