Flowers

FLOWERS

We spent a few days in Williamsburg this past week and I want to share pictures of beautiful flowers that we saw as we wandered through gardens in the Colonial section of that city.  I'll also share some of the things God says about the colorful flowers He created.  Hopefully, this post will make you smile and feel like you've received a bouquet of lovely flowers from a friend -- me!

Although a lily is used in this verse, I believe all of these flowers fit beautifully into the following description:  "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these," Luke 12:27.

While these verses speak of Israel, it's a happy verse that uses the fragile beauty and fragrance of the rose to make a mighty point.  "And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing," Isaiah 35:1-2.

 "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land," Song of Solomon 2:12.

             

Here are a few thoughtful quotes about flowers:  

     --"Where flowers bloom so does hope," Lady Bird Johnson

     --"Minds are like flowers; they only open when the time is right," Stephen Richards

     --"There are always flowers for those who want to see them," Henri Matisse

The Apostle Paul uses plants in an allegory about serving God when he says, "I planted, Apollos waters, but God gave the increase.  So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.  Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor," 1 Corinthians 3:6-8.

And finally, I'll borrow a quote from an unknown source and say, "I'd rather wear flowers in my hair, than diamonds around my neck!"  Enjoy your bouquet!

 

Wildlife in the Wild

    This rooster seems to be strutting proudly with his showy tail feathers.  We saw many, many chickens roaming freely in both Ybor City in Tampa and in Key West.  Rooster crows are common sounds in both of those cities.

    A cayman was resting in a shallow pond at the Cocao Plantation in Costa Rica.  A cayman is a small species of alligator that lives in Central and South America.  I'm pretty sure they still have razor sharp teeth!

      There were so many colorful macaws at the port in Cartagena Colombia.  They have a bit of a tropical habitat there, with macaws, loads of peacocks, flamingoes, and monkeys.

       Here is a peacock with attitude -- but then, don't peacocks always seem to be showing attitude!

There were peacocks on top of the roof, peacocks all in the trees, peacocks perched on poles, peacocks strutting around the grounds -- I've never seen so many peacocks in one place ever!!

    There were lots of monkeys high in the trees at the port terminal.  I learned that these cute little things are actually quite naughty (or, downright mean!).  Not far from where I was standing, a deluge of liquid poured down from the tree.  It was one or more monkeys peeing on unsuspecting people below.  I was shocked, never having been around monkeys outside of a cage.  I tried to be very careful walking under the trees after that!

         My most favorite picture I took is of this sloth with her baby clinging to her chest.  As we walked back to the terminal in Cartagena, this sloth was very slowly climbing a tree just on the other side of a small ditch.  We stood there and watched for several minutes and it was such a delight to see this gentle animal in motion (slow-motion)!

          No, this is not a picture of an animal, but I do consider it "wildlife," because it's alive and it also looks quite wild.  This is some sort of spiky tree that grows in Costa Rica.  The entire trunk of this tree is covered in these sharp-looking spikes.  I didn't even know there was such a tree -- guess I just don't get out enough!  Travel is definitely educational on a variety of levels.

          All of this very varied wildlife - from roosters, cayman, monkeys, macaws, peacocks and sloths, to this alien looking tree trunk -- all of it points to the great creativity, sense of humor, and attention to detail that's part of Almighty God.  I am in awe of His abilities, which are, of course, limitless in every way.

           Several verses come to mind when I consider God's wonderful gifts to us:  

        "He has made everything beautiful in its time," Ecclesiastes 3:11. 

        "What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!  You made it all with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations," Psalm 104:24 the Message.

        "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created," Revelation 4:11. 

 

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

 

    It's Monday, so I guess we're in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica!  Our guide Dennis took the picture for us.  He was such a nice young man and told us so many interesting things about his country.  Our 5-hour excursion took us one-hour from the port and into the countryside of this Central America country.  We passed so much lush green forests and numbers of lakes.  Even so, the homes along the sides of the road were mostly poor looking -- even more so than in Panama.

      Bananas are a big deal in Limon.  We passed many banana plantations on our one-hour drive out to a Cocoa Plantation.  These stalks were hanging at the plantation and we could eat fresh bananas from the stalk.  They taste really good!  Cocoa is also a major product in Costa Rica.  Photo of cocoa pods below.

    These men took natural cocoa powder, mixed it with a bit of raw sugar and powder milk and made delicious fudge for us to eat.  We also tried freshly roasted cocoa bean which was also good.

    This is a common house along the side of the road, but surrounded by lush green as are most of the homes.  Below are nicer homes, but still a bit hodge-podge and usually surrounded by a high fence.

Here is the downtown that we passed by.  Too bad, tours don't stop in places like this.

    I'll end our visit to Costa Rica with this delicate vanilla blossom growing at the cocoa plantation.  Did you know that vanilla is actually an orchid?  That was news to me!  The plant thrives in the tropical lowlands of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.  I'm very thankful for the wonderful vanilla plant since it adds such delicious flavor to so many foods.  I'm reminded of the verse in Psalm where David writes, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" 34:8.

Colon Panama

   (March 12)  Our next stop was Colon Panama.  One of our excursion stops was at the Agua Clara Locks and a very nice viewing facility.  We watched a ship pass from Gatun Lake (behind us), enter the locks and then proceed to go in and out of two more locks until it exited into the Caribbean Sea.  It was less than an hour from start to finish.  Photo below.

    The other stop on our excursion was the UNESCO World Heritage site of the town of Portobello.  The photo above was the prettiest spot on our visit there.  It seems to be a rather poor town in spite of its status and importance.  There was a surprise visit by a former president of Panama and she was gracious to allow us to have our pictures taken with her.  She was the first female president of Panama - Mireya Moscoso Rodriguez de Arias.  Our guide said she was visiting because of the importance of the small town.

    We danced with some of the local dancers and learned steps for their national dance.  This lady was very cheerful and colorful in her dancing clothes.  We were inside the broken walls of a fort that had been there for centuries and once helped keep pirates from attacking the town.

    We visited Portobello on a Sunday so this church was in session during our entire visit.  The Iglesia de San Felipe (ca 1814) is unique as it houses a statue of Cristo Negro AKA the Black Christ.  Legend has it that the statue was found on the shores of the harbor and is responsible for numbers of miracles in the town.

This is a nice photo of the shoreline of Portobello.  There is nothing fancy in the town.

    We drove for an hour to get to Portobello and then, of course, an hour return.  These are the kind of houses that most of the people appear to live in.  Primarily concrete and always with a dish on top.

    We passed several ball fields each of which had kids playing baseball on Sunday afternoon.  Here, I was able to snap a photo of their makeshift team "dug-outs."  With so many lush trees around, gathering palm fronds to create shade from the hot sun seems to work well for the teams.

     This lovely tile is on the wall of a building in the town of Portobello.  The compass rose always reminds me of direction.  There are so many aspects of direction that we should consider.  One is -- what direction are you following and what do you hope to find along the way as well as at the end of your journey.  I am so thankful for all the many directions our feet have carried us on this delightful journey.  I love the verse in Psalm 16:11 that says it all for me:  "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

    

 

Cartagena Colombia

    Larry and I spent a beautiful, sunny day wandering around the Old City of Cartagena Colombia.  It was our first visit to South America and we were excited about our adventure.  The photo above is taken in the San Pedro Claver Plaza.  This lovely ochre colored building faces the San Pedro Claver Cathedral.  The plaza features whimsical metal artwork by Edgardo Carmona that show glimpses of everyday life - like the two figures below playing chess.

We went inside the cathedral (only $4 admission each) and ended up spending over an hour in there.  This was the view of the sanctuary from the gallery on the third floor.  To get to the gallery, we climbed wide stone steps and then narrow, curving stone steps tucked away in a corner (in photo below).  We considered it an adventure 😀

   This is a nice stained glass window showing Peter Claver, a Spanish Jesuit priest, telling slaves about Jesus' love for them.  His primary work was with the many slaves who passed through the port town of Cartagena.  It was a major slave market of the day.  He helped the slaves not only spiritually, but also with food and physical care.  He was truly a man of God.  He died at the church in 1654 and his remains are in a coffin on the altar of the church.

  There are many beautiful buildings and balconies in the Old City.  In the background are towers for the Cathedral (ca 1603).  Cartagena was founded in 1533 and didn't become independent from Spain until 1821.  

    We walked up one street and down another along narrow sidewalks, some of which were cracked, broken and had holes while others, like these, were in great shape.  Shade is my friend on such a day and this was a nice street to walk down.

   Here, we are standing in front of the famous Clock Tower which stands above the entrance to the walled Old City.  We took a taxi to this spot and after our "walk-about" within the walls, we took another taxi back to the ship.  It was a 13,000 step day!  Thank you, Lord, for giving us an opportunity to enjoy a glimpse of South America!