It's Still Life

1 Thankful to see an Andean condor in the wild. I know it’s not a very good photo, but he/she was a long distance away, and I only had my iPhone to take the photo. It’s wingspan was enormous!

2 This is a Blushing Bromeliad. It’s an entire ecosystem on to itself; collects water, feeds on trapped insects, produces fruit, and reproduces underground. It turns red when it’s ready to set fruit. The rain forest is amazing!

3 A coffee plant. These beans are green but will eventually turn bright red when ripe. The bean itself is inside that shell and it’s white. Not until they’re roasted do they turn dark. Ground coffee is always 2nd grade coffee (including insects!). 1st grade are the beans only.

4 Thankful for Google Translate so I can order fried eggs the way I like them.!

5 I never take for granted that birds and animals always seem to settle near me. This beautiful dog lay down beside me on the bench at a cafe, and stayed there for the entire time until I left. I’m thankful for the joy he brought.

6 A Colombian man who knows how to relax on a hot and humid day. He’s a foreman on the coffee plantation. I’m thankful he didn’t notice me taking this photo.

7 This cat’s name is Mango, and he was entirely happy asleep beside me on the sofa. I’m not particularly fond of cats, being a life-long dog-type-person, but this is a sweet cat who I believe borrowed his purr from a Porsche Turbo.

8 Thankful that I didn’t mistake these for bananas — because they’re not — they are plantain, and not to be eaten raw.

9 This sweet little bird, a saffron finch, is another example of birds and animals coming up close to check out the odd old woman. It sang to me. I was thankful, and said so.

10 And lastly, I am thankful for my silly sense humour. Even toilet humour. This toilet was a display unit in the middle of a hardware shop. The sign reads “No Pisar” (which actually means Do Not step On) but to me it read “No pissing!”