Elizabeth's Secret Garden

  Tia Meer is the Simple Living Institute’s organization president. Tia and her husband on an environmentally friendly home located on the Econlockhatchee River, between UCF and Christmas. It is known as the Econ Farm, but without the barn animals you would normally imagine seeing. They do grow a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs though and own their own business called Homegrown Delights. Simple Living Institute website: http://www.simplelivinginstitute.org   This is the screen that serves as a filter to remove larger debris from the pile. The first two layers are the brown and green layers. This is composed of dead leaves such as palm leaves or even straw. The green layer is more like lettuce greens. The middle layer is known as the orange layer where fruit is dumped. The middle is best to keep animals from discovering it. The soil layer contains many microorganisms that help hold moisture. On top goes another brown layer. Another ...

I was able to experience my first Bull event this past March. I captured some of the excitement with my HD video camera and wanted to share it with you. This is the Nuevo Arenal arena used annually for the festival. This is one of the cowboys who uses his lasso to steer the Bull back into the gate after each ride. From our doorstop, we were able to watch our neighbors practice during the weeks that lead up to the event. They were a little camera shy at first, but enjoyed the exposure!

The Lucky Bug B&B, restaurant, and art gallery is one of my favorite stops on the main road to Nuevo Arenal. http://luckybugcr.net/   The Lucky Bug Gallery offers a variety of handmade arts, crafts, decorative ceramics, and paintings. For more info visit  http://luckybugcr.net/   The Restaurante Caballo Negro has an astonishing array of international vegetarian dishes made with organic ingredients. Many German favorites are also on the menu. http://luckybugcr.net/   Collared Aracari The Bed & Breakfast is housed in the backdrop of the lake. http://luckybugcr.net/   The dining patio overlooks a private lake where the tropical birds such as toucans, aricaris, tanagers, woodpackers, hummingbirds, and magpie jays regularly feast at the feeders. This hummer I captured in action as it hovered to sip the sweet liquid in the feeder.  

Jo Jo is a white faced capuchin who is part of the animal rescue. He likes to eat fruits, vegetables, and seeds. My friend, Gloria who started the animal rescue is a zoologist living in the tropical paradise of Costa Rica. She has the medical expertise to work with both domestic and wild animals. When Gloria arrived to Nuevo Arenal in 2000 there were no veterinarians in the community. When she learned that some people in the area were being inhumane in their treatment of street animals by poisoning them for population control, she took over and started a low cost spraying and neutering operation. Learn more at Gloria’s Jungle Animal Rescue and see how you can make a difference for innocent animals who need treatment.  http://www.gloriasjar.com/?page_id=8 Gloria has been working with parrots for about 25 years.  Above are the cages the rescued birds call home. The custom designed cages are easy to clean when necessary. Basically a spray from the hose does the job. You...

The town of Nuevo Arenal does not have a community playground for the children to play, so I decided to make a difference. My family has a non-profit called SHAPE International . We are raising $3000 to provide the children with a playground. SHAPE International will match all donations that come in for the play ground!! No amount is too small. Below, I am teaching English. I lived in Nuevo Arenal for seven weeks and volunteered in the school.   This is the playground at the school where I volunteered. We want to provide the children with a better place where they can play with swings, a see saw and a slide. These are some of the children in the local school who will be playing on the new play set. My sister Andrea (standing in photo) enjoyed meeting the children. Above is the site of the future playground. This area is located in the center of town and has been donated by the community to build a play ground (picture below) for all the children in the area. ...

This Howler monkey decided to take a snooze in a large tree near our rental in Costa Rica. Howler monkeys received their name because of the loud vocal calls they release. Usually they are loudest from dawn to dusk and as a group can be heard up to 3 miles away. They are also the biggest of the New World monkeys. When it comes time to “monkey around”, they use their prehensile tails for gripping and climbing. Once the Howler awoke, I was able to capture its expression with my new telephoto lens.   My YouTube Howler Monkey Video This is a Golden Trumpet flower. This Canna Lily is grown as a roadside, garden ornamental, and cultivated species in Costa Rica. Weeping Bottlebrush Common Tody Flycatcher   This species of creature is my brother! Elizabeth’s Traveling Tip: When traveling with a camera you need to protect it from moisture. You can do so by purchasing silica gel pack for your camera bag at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/3bwxsrd

While in Nuevo Arenal, Costa Rica February 14 – April 3, I have begun to truly appreciate and love the small town. Though it is not extravagant or large, the local people and community make it a truly special place that draws you in and makes you grow to love it for the sense of acceptance and friendliness that is present. Living among local residents of Costa Rica, shopping where they shop, and practicing some Spanish along the way has been a unique and learning experience. Now, I would like to allow you to experience the town of Nuevo Arenal by sharing pictures of some local businesses and individuals who are self-employed. This is the center of town where many of the businesses are located. There are bakeries, supermarkets, a vegetable market, restaurants, and even a hair salon. Above are the two supermarkets we have in town. We waited a month for the new Super Mas to open up across the street from our other supermarket option called Super Compro . For us, the opening of ...