Nothing brings a country like Costa Rica together better
than it's SOCCER TEAM!!
This is what you hear after the destruction of Tropical Storm Nate, "No hay luz y agua". Thursday, in the middle of the night, many were awakened with gusting winds and rushing waters from the swelling rivers. Torrential rains ensued. For many of the good folks of Costa Rica, the passing of Tropical Storm Nate has been tragic and life altering. I am reluctantly posting photos of the misfortune from our Channel 7 News here because it has not been televised on any of the major news stations outside of Central America.
You really don't know resilience until you've known a Tico, it is part of the "Pura Vida" life.
With every interview I watched, it ended with the weathered and distraught sufferer repeating,
"Gracias A Dios" with a smile.
♥Blessings♥
Maybe we should start getting nervous a little. If you look back in May, which I didn't report not one earthquake, we had loads of activity.
About yesterday's rumblings, this is what the institute has to say about the two earthquakes yesterday:
"According to USGS event 06:45 pm was M = 6. 2 and P = 9 7 km event 09:15 pm was M = 6. 4 and P = 5 9 km according to EMSC event 06:45 pm was M = 5. 9 and P = 10 km event 09: 15 pm was m = 5. 8 and P = 2 km these differences remind us that the location and magnitude of an earthquake are not easy much less when earthquakes occur offshore, away from stations that can register (that usually will be those that are on the Mainland).
Assuming that both events are relatively close each other as evidenced by seismological centres, how to explain that the accelerations of the first were greater than the second?
A common thing in both centers is that they report the first event as deeper than the second. In Costa Rica the accelerations of the first were much larger than the second. If the first earthquake was stronger, that makes little sense.
However, if the second event was stronger, as suggested by the USGS, but more shallow as evidenced by the two seismic centers, then the reason for the differences in acceleration as marked between the earthquake from 06: 45 pm and 09: 15 pm should be mainly the depth.
Indeed, if the second earthquake was stronger, but more shallow, most of their energy is due release very near the epicentral area, therefore, its influence at great distances to which would be our country, would have been necessarily less and would be reflected in lower values of acceleration.
The importance of the depth in the area of impact of an earthquake can be understood better with this analogy which had already explained above: http://www.lis.ucr.ac.cr/index.php?id=30 (Translated by Bing)"
To clarify why it is felt different in various locations, I ripped off this illustration from the University of Costa Rica's website.....
guess there'd be no posts at all! Yes, we had another one, well actually, we had TWO! One at midnight and we were the center of that one and another 3.4 mag. early in the morning around 4ish. Didn't even disturb me or my dogs. I so much prefer a bunch a little ones instead of THE BIG ONE.
Go here - http://www.lis.ucr.ac.cr/index.php?id=492 and check it out.
Otherwise, blue skies, nice waves, and the sun is shining EVERY DAY!
We need RAIN! Not a drop here in over two months.
If you live in this area, please set out water for the animals. Bananas are cheap, I them out this time of year for the birds and iguanas. They love me.
If you'd like to see the earthquake activity we have had this month so far, go to this site: http://www.lis.ucr.ac.cr/index.php?id=Inicio
"I feel the BIG ONE coming" - Sanford says to Elizabeth as he holds his heart and looks upward (Sanford & Sons)... that's what comes to mind with all these little ones.
Guess I've gotten use to it... some say it was a 6.1. Happened 4:00 a.m. this morning.
EARTHQUAKE INFO HERE
Didn't even phase my dogs...., they use to bark!! I slept through it.
Now that I have discovered how to sign back onto my blog... maybe I'll be back blogging again. Maybe it will take another earthquake.
On a sad note, Goodbye to Whitney Houston, she died day before yesterday, the day before the Grammy Awards. I heard the news yesterday morning but I didn't let it sink in until her song was sang on the Grammy's - I Will Always Love You. The tears began to flow. I always thought she'd have a grand come back. R.I.P. now. I will always love you.
Link to earthquake in Costa Rica yesterday....
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb0006ib9.php
Earthquakes were something I had NEVER experienced before ~ coming from S. W. Florida. The ground literally shifting under your feet, it is an alarming and disorienting feeling. The first earthquake I experienced was "cool". After I saw all the damage in the neighboring town of Parrita, I now RUN and it has long lost it's "coolness". They call it Terremoto (or temblor)!
Past post here from 2006.
Yesterday, when the earth moved, I was inside a three-story building. My first instinct was to run for outside the door to clear sky. I was happy to see I did this without hesitation or thinking, I just bolted. Some people barely missed a beat and hardly noticed. They're natives.
Post Script for long time followers and newbees: Remember when I had music on here, before 'they' blocked it because I am "international", well, IF I had my music list still in operation, Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire would be playing. That's exactly where we live here, check out Wikipedia link - Ring of Fire.
Yeppers, we all know terremotos come with the territory living here in paradise!
I've always wondered what was so exciting about digging up turtle eggs,,, well I found out today. I saw a HUGE turtle on the beach today laying her eggs. I was drawn to the spot because of all the vultures circling overhead. Of course, I didn't have my camera so I went home, got it, called a friend to help and grabbed a few buckets and gloves.
I have to admit, I did not want to interfere with Mother Nature but I have lived here A-WHILE and I have seen the ping pong sized turtle eggs floating in the river, I've seen dogs digging them up and children throwing them at each other, stay here long enough, you see lots. The old culture was to eat the eggs. I knew I had to step up and do something,,, anything.
Not my turtle pic but this is exactly what the scene looked like and this is a Olive Ridley Turtle.
When I returned, the turtle had gone and so had the vultures. Only four tourist were standing around at the sight and my friend was walking up the beach to help collect the eggs.
We started to dig and it took a bit but we found the spot where she had laid them and it wasn't very deep. Armed with gloves, we carefully placed them on sand beds in the buckets and took them directly to the turtle farm on the south end of Hermosa.
In our excitement, no one thought to count how many. We rescued 72 turtle eggs. They will be well protected here and when they hatch, they will be carefully released to walk to the ocean and begin their own journey back one day to lay their own eggs.
Hopefully in Guanacaste where there are supposedly thousands now laying their eggs. I was told that this turtle missed her mark and ended up on the wrong beach. If you do your research (and I have not), you will find there is so much to this. Like the turtles MUST walk on their own to the shore to be carried away by the tide. It is a slow and drawn out process with them being washed back in many times but this is important to strengthen their new legs for their journey. Every year, they return to the same beach to lay their eggs.......JUST FASCINATING!!!!
It's surprising more tourist don't go out and visit this magical place. It's really something to see!!
Remember me? Remember Mia and Armel, well it's been a long road to hold for Miss Mia these last few months. That's partly why I fell out of blogging. I was busy with taking care of Mia for awhile there and taking care of walking my own dogs, too. Mia got real use to seeing my dogs everyday when they were in training with Armel. When we stopped the lessons, Mia continued to come to my house, on her own. I was always happy to see her, of course, which just encouraged her to "escape to here" more often. As luck will do, it ran out and I was home the day the cargo truck hit Mia. Armel was at his house and me at mine when we both heard the bam, bam, bam, bam. Mia bounced under the truck and was tossed to the side for dead. We rushed her to Dr. Wendy in Jaco, both thinking she was taking her last breath on the way. It was severe. Mia did not go into shock and survived due to Dr. Wendy's accurate emergency response. Now, we just had to wait, wait for her to get through the night, and the next night, and the night after. It was a very long wait. A week, in fact, for the inflammation to go down and her to stabilize so the orthopedic surgeon from San Jose could perform the surgery. Mia had to wait. I waited with her, every day.
So, after the surgery, Mia recovered very quickly. She was ready to come home but not her home, mine. She received my total attention while she recovered. Also, my dogs accepted her as part of their pack. Just one big happy family until I went with Armel back to the vet and they said her other leg may have to be amputated. She was not using it and just dragging it along. That bit of bad news was what it took to get us in high gear to get Mia back on all fours. I devised this boot that velcro-ed around her leg and she started lifting her leg instead of dragging it along. Armel did water exercises with her to strengthen her legs. 
Today, Mia is walking with a sassy little twist, with both legs (almost). She stays at her house now and things around my house are getting back to normal. Mia still comes to visit Macha. They've become like two peas in a pod. 
Photo: My Macha waiting in Mia's bed for her to return.
and Armel,,, he's turned out to be quite the good doggy daddy, still does his surf thing and Mia can tag along with him again now. I am still training my dogs, or at least trying to. We had another family dog fight the other day, first one in years but that's for another post another day.
Life is good.
Pura Vida.
This photo was taken on Week One. Armel was training Max with his dog, Mia so I had to use a telephoto so Max would not know I was there. At this stage of the training, Max would become aggressive to Mia when I was present.
Now, it's all different. We can walk as a pack and they allow Mia on their property.
Just wanted to give you an update on my dog situation. Momma Brindy passed away in August and Max, Mela, and Macha have been jousting for the "Top Dog" status. Neither won, in fact, I am happy to report I did. It has been a struggle until recently, when I met Armel and his well-mannered female pit bull, Mia. They have transformed our lives. After three weeks of Armel and Mia working with my dogs on the beach, one by one, two by two, and then all three, I am proud to announce that this week
WE began walking ALL THE DOGS on the beach together!!! It's a miracle!! No, it's hard work and Armel had the patience to see my dogs through their bad behavior and take them through their aggressive actions to other dogs to a place where they can calmly walk pass the other dogs. I am still very nervous and try to keep positive thoughts when we pass pit bulls off leash that are big enough to kill my Macha with one bite. I owe it all to Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer. Here, he is known as El Encantador de Perror. Without Cesar's books and DVDs,watching Cesar every night, sometimes twice, I don't think I would have progressed this far. In fact, my dogs probably would have ended up killing each other at the rate they were going. Armel helped reinforce Cesar's Way of training. Mia, his dog, set a fine example of how a balanced dog should be. Together, they have been a God send and I feel blessed my prayer was answered.
I want to give a huge thank you (and huge) to Melissa Jo, Cesar, Armel, and of course, Miss Mia. I couldn't have done it without you. "It takes a village to raise a well balanced dog."
Here is one of my past experiences from 2007:
Delusional Illusions
To See Photos Click Here
"Peace and Harmony", it's just an illusion.
Here I was concerned about my dogs fighting with other dogs. This morning I had the biggest dog fight I have ever seen and it was between my own two dogs! Mela (the very meek one that gets picked on by Max, the bully) ATTACKED Macha (my precious one). I heard the screaming and before I could get out to them, Mela had already drawn blood and it was everywhere. Especially all over Macha's face and Mela's mouth.
I was toally horrified.
I got the bleeding to stop and called the vet. He wouldn't be in for another hour so I calmed my Macha and tried to keep pressure on the wounds around her eyes.
What do parents do when they have grown boys that fight with each other, with fists? This was a knock-down brawl between my two sweetest dogs.(?) The other two, which I consider the Alphas and are more ficious, stayed out of fight.
What to do...
There are always solutions, compromises, or whatever and I am working on finding them.
Peace and Pura Vida.
The above posted by TICA MACHA on Tuesday, February 06, 2007
....................................................................................
If you search my blog, you will see this has been an ongoing battle for years.
Here is the almost last fight: The Final Bloody Battle.
I can finally see the light!!! NO MORE FIGHTS!
To Cesar - We STILL need you to come to Costa Rica, specifically, Playa Hermosa near Jaco. We have lodging for you and your crew ready and waiting!!!
Bring Junior!!
This is my (not so) new pet, Iggy Guana. Iggy loves to lay out in the sun all day. Special attention is given to the tanning of the legs......
The frogs took off during the rainy season and they had served their purpose.... to desensitize my dogs to them. Toad frogs secrete this milky substance on the base of their head that can kill a dog. Word has it that dogs know they can get high by just licking a toad frog. The trick is - not too much, most dogs get a foamy mouth and die of the poison. This type of iguana is mean and dangerous if you catch it. Macha caught one the other day and the iguana reached around and bit her eye and cheek, drawing blood. I was glad. Unfortunately, he died giving Macha this lesson. I scolded Macha severely but her brain is pit bull/chow. I am trying to teach her to NOT CHASE IGUANAS! It's a hard lesson for her to learn since she can catch them nearly every time. There's one iguana running around here that got away from Macha's clutches recently. I was happy to see him scamper up the tree yesterday sporting a new three inch stump for a tail, I call him Chinga (no tail). Actually there are several with regrown tails, I call them all Chinga (aka - Macha survivors).
Now that I have Iggy set up at my front gate and sleeping peacefully in a pipe, I want Macha to see on a daily basis that iguanas are for looking (and feeding) not killing!! Iggy waits ever morning for banana pieces, lettuce, papaya, or whatever I have on hand (actually, I now buy fruit for Iggy and his friends/foes). It's amazing what iguanas will eat (birds, too). They love my gringo gallo pinto! (in Southern Spanish that's, Gringa Galla Pinta). It's a local dish.
There have been other iguanas that have wanted to take over Iggy's set-up but he is defending his turf. I am hoping my dogs seeing Iggy on a daily basis will desensitize them to iguanas and there will be no more bolting out the door to chase down iguanas in the yard. ESPECIALLY IGGY!! I can't count the number of iguanas I have had to pick up and rescue from my yard. I NEVER dreamed I could catch and hold an iguana in my hands!!!!
This is the iguana that lives at the river. The battle is coming for Iggy's spot. Iggy is on the left.
I tried to break it up with the water hose but they were determined to duke it out. Lots of scuffling and arm biting but no damage. The river iguana went back to his domain and Iggy to his throne (that rock). In the photo below, you can see Iggy's house (the tube with barrel tile on top for insulation). 
In the photo above, you can see Iggy is NOT HAPPY the bird is taking his banana!
I have alerted the yardman for the neighboring property about my "mascote" because he trims my hedge and I don't want Iggy to end up on someone's dinner plate... like what happened to my last "pet" iguana that lived in the water drainage pipe. I watched their dogs chase him down and them take the iguana to the house. I had to just turn and walk back inside my house without saying a word. They did not know he was my pet and eating iguana meat is a common practice for some. Pura vida.
Macha checking on Iggy's location. Iggy likes the grass on HER SIDE of the fence!! why is that??.......
