September 9, 2011

We did the tourist thing last week.  Went to some place with a nature center that is actually pretty close to our apartment.  Sometimes we “forget” we are still newbies to the area and don’t actually look for things that are typically Panamanian.  So you see a few pictures from there. One is cactus actually growing on trees. Really??? Who would have thought???  It was totally strange. There was a “petting zoo” sort of. You could pet starfish in a big open pond.  No pictures, sorry.  I am totally ceased to be amazed by some all of the nature around me.  How it is so different from what I am used to.  Then feeling a real need for a beach, we hopped over to a restaurant for lunch that was 15 minutes away. Now, you wouldn’t actually swim in those waters but they were pretty to look at.

One picture is of the parakeets in a palm tree very close to our place. I have seen it several times when the parakeets are swarming the tree. Apparently, it happens right after a big rain.  I thought parakeets were only in Walmart stores?  Didn’t realize they really were out wild in nature!!  It is such an amazing sight to see. I have gone to the tree several times with my camera, BUT I seem to spook them when I approach. When it is dry, they are never there.  I really have no clue where they might be during the dry periods or just why they are there after a rain?? But, I actually borrowed this picture from one of my friends on Facebook.  He had the opportunity to capture it through the tinted window of his car and the parakeets apparently didn’t notice him.

I attached some pictures of my “babies” in my computer lab.  They are 3 year olds. Actually, a couple of them are two (soon to turn 3).  They are the darn cutest things on earth in their little uniforms.  They talk to me in Spanish (like I might understand them).

More flower pictures. Really, we are totally amazed by the flowers around here. I am not that kind of person (as you all know), someone who actually looks at flowers??  But, they totally amaze me.  You get so used to flowers that you have seen for 60 years.  Then you see more of God’s creations and it totally amazes you.   Why flowers are created in such a way can only be part of His great plan.