Monthly Archives: January 2015

And then there were five……….

 

Herding cats

Herding cats

Dogs that is 🙂  On Saturday our veterinarian brought over two puppies that she had nursed for over two months.  They had been left on her doorstep in a box and were terribly ill.  When she found them one of them had no fur at all except for a little patch about the size of a quarter on the top of her head.  I had talked to the vet off and on about perhaps adopting one of them but she really hated to separate them and was hoping that someone would take them together.  Tom and I talked it over and decided to have a weekend ‘play date’ with them to see how it went with the other three dogs.  Of course we knew the minute we decided to have them visit that the play date would be permanent.

Thelma

Thelma

Louise

Louise

We named them Thelma and Louise

At first they did not want to come out of the crate and so they had to be almost dumped out.  However, once out, they began running and playing and chasing Kaya and Sofi for hours!!!  Sofi was not too accommodating and has kept her distance while Kaya has played with them a lot.  But mostly they just play together.

Sleeping

Sleeping

They also sleep together – normally one on top of the other.

We have a large fenced lot so once they are a little bigger they will be able to just roam around all day.  Now we watch them closely so that they don’t get out the fence or under the gate.  Not that they seem interested in that – they like to hang mostly around us and the other dogs.

There are many, many people here with five dogs.  You start with a couple but there are always more needing homes.  People are becoming more knowledgeable about spaying and neutering but it is still not a widely accepted practice.  And there are way too many people who come here thinking they will stay who adopt a couple of dogs and then decide that they don’t want to live here permanently.  Those dogs are often just abandoned and become street dogs.  Sometimes they are adopted and sometimes they are not.  It is really just the luck of the draw.

So we are now adjusting to the increased number in our household as well as all those things that need to be ‘puppy proofed’.  That’s okay – it keeps us young 🙂  Pura Vida for sure!!!

On Tom's lap

On Tom’s lap

With Kaya on the deck

With Kaya on the deck

Do I really want to go down these stairs?

Do I really want to go down these stairs?

In the garden with Kaya

In the garden with Kaya

Hanging with Sofi

Hanging with Sofi

With Wiley the BIG boy!

With Wiley the BIG boy!

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Welcoming Old Friends and a New Year!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

The holidays have come and gone but it is not at all quiet here in Puerto Viejo.  This has been the busiest I have seen this little town and the restaurant and hotel owners happily are in agreement.  It has been CRAZY!!

Crazy traffic

Crazy traffic

The beaches have been packed

People everywhere

People everywhere

and the streets in town are barely passable by bicycle or foot even though there has been a lot of rain.  But I am not complaining.  The energy is great and it is fun to talk to some of the people who are experiencing Puerto Viejo for the first time.  Like my friend Dan and his two daughters Kim and Kristina.

Playing with the monkeys

Playing with the monkeys

I worked with Dan at the University of Idaho and he emailed me a couple of months ago saying that he and the girls were going to come to Costa Rica for a week in late December/early January and asked for some suggestions.  I told him of the places we had visited throughout the country and in the end he decided to come here.  He rented the main floor of a house way down the Playa Negra beach and spent time going out and seeing the sights.  For being here only a week they packed a lot in.  They hiked to a beautiful waterfall; learned how chocolate was made from the pods of cacao trees; toured Manzanillo National Park and saw tons of flora, foliage and animals; visited the Jaguar Rescue Center; and managed to get in a few yummy meals as well as a bit of shopping.

Anteater

Anteater at the Jaguar Center

Shopping

Shopping

On Saturday before they left the sun was out and it was gorgeous and they were able to hang out on the beach all day before we headed to Stashu’s Con Fusion for a great meal.

Fun as Stashus

Fun as Stashus

 

 

 

 

 

Tom and I had a wonderful Christmas day – several friends came over for a late afternoon potluck and we all caught up on each other’s lives.  It was very different from other Christmases we have had here and I really enjoyed staying home and just relaxing.  New Years Eve we also stayed in.  The fireworks were just too much for the dogs,  They were petrified so we decided that a night in was best.  And it turned out to be a great decision because there was a torrential downpour later in the evening.  We just got cozy and listened to the rain, thankful that we were not outside.

Basilik

Basilik

 

Naughty Sofi

Naughty Sofi

Sofi gave us a scare last week. She almost killed one of the Basilik lizards that lives in one of the giant trees in our yard.  We had seen the lizard earlier sitting on a bush enjoying the sun. While I was working in my office I heard a bunch of commotion outside my door and went out to check it out.  There was Sofi with the poor lizard in her mouth.  I yelled and she dropped it and it climbed up on one of the screen doors.

Basilik after Sofi tried to eat it

Basilik after Sofi tried to eat it

Up close

Up close

Tom picked it up and we checked it and didn’t find any damage so he put it back in the tree and it scurried up to safety.  We are constantly on watch to try to make sure that the dogs don’t harm the jungle animals but that was definitely a close call.

So that is all the excitement in my life for the last few weeks.  We are going to enjoy the sun for a while today and then kick back and watch the NFL football wild card matches.  Life goes on here in my little corner of the world – Pura Vida!!

A few photos:

Wiley - he is getting old but loves to hang on the deck

Wiley – he is getting old but still loves to hang on the deck

Cool bug

Cool bug at the Rescue Center

Huge waves on Playa Negra

Huge waves on Playa Negra

Woodpecker

Woodpecker

 

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