A fascinating wedding.......

We went to the most interesting and different wedding I have ever attended. Of course it was great because I have known the bride for 49 years and because I got to give the bride away (Her father had died.), but it was special because I have never gone to a wedding that was anything like this one. I will include a few photos to show how different it was.


The wedding party arrives. The bride and groom, Amy and Gary, and the Judge who officiated at the wedding, rode in on their horses. How many weddings have you seen where this occurred?














I led the bride's horse into the arena where the wedding was to be held and Amy's goddaughter led Gary's horse in.


Now, here is something a bit difficult. Can you imagine the bride in a white wedding gown getting on and off the horse? There was a bit of a problem because the gown got caught on the saddle horn.




They both got off their horses and at the right, the Judge is beginning the proceedings.

We need rings. Gary says, "Come Guinness," and the big black great Dane comes trotting up with the rings. How often have you seen a ring-bearer like this?



















They exchanged rings as Guinness stood patiently by.
The bride and groom have the first dance together.



























There was plenty of dancing. Most people kept dancing into the wee hours.


At the right, Shirley, mother of the bride, dances with her son, Jef, brother of the bride.




The food was pretty much normal, and there was plenty of it.




And, of course, there was the traditional wedding cake.







 While people were waiting for the festivities to begin, they could prove their prowess by using the lariat to rope the steer.











And there was plenty of great western music to give the evening a special flavor.

 That is brother Jef at the right, with his wife Karen, and Arleta.

 And Arleta and I enjoyed the wedding out here in this beautiful open countryside.












Sitting around the table, enjoying the food and the good company. Laura, sister of the bride, Zach, nephew of the bride, Mark, brother of the bride, Karen, sister in law of the bride, Jef, brother of the bride, and Arleta. It has been an important part of our lives, to be able to be a part of this wonderful family.

The patch of light green is chayote, a sort of squash which takes over a year to grow. They fix frames for the plants to grow on and they make a canopy above the ground. The fruits hang below.

Beauty in small creatures

 Just outside the restaurant were hummingbird feeders. I have never in all my life seen as many of these small birds as I did on this trip. Everywhere we went, there were hummingbirds, and so many different and beautiful ones. Yes, I know the one shown below is out of focus, but aren't the colors magnificent....... It is a fiery-throated hummingbird  and I wish I had it in focus.

The Bird

This is the one who makes all those nests, a Montezuma Oropendola. It is really quite a colorful bird, and they were widespread. I caught this one on a feeder.

Nests

We drove off the mountain in a different direction, heading toward the Orosi valley.
We saw these big hanging nests in many places during our trip.

Eating

And of course we need to eat. We had great food, always in very nice places.

Irazu

After visiting the garden, we left the hotel and drove to Irazu volcano, at about 10,000 feet altitude. Here we are looking for birds along the side of the volcano. Turning in the other direction, we see Turrialba with its smoking summit poking out of a valley of clouds

Along the way up the side of Irazu, we stopped in a pleasant green area surrounded by trees, a piece of cloud forest that was left. A quetzal flew from one f the trees, its beautiful tail streaming behind. We saw them many times, but I was never able to get a picture of one.

Statues

Not only was there a statue at the front door, but there were several in the garden as well

The garden

We were up early to visit the garden and see the birds there. So many birds we saw! And most of them I had never seen before. The flowers were so beautiful.........Ernesto, our guide knew the birds like no one I have ever known and could hear them and identify them quickly.

First day in Costa Rica

We left Houston and flew to Costa Rica, arriving late at night. As we left the airport, there was a man to pick us up and take us to the motel. Oh that was nice to see! At the right is the first view of the front door of the motel.

Heading for Costa Rica

Our local Audubon group planned a trip to Costa Rica. We decided to visit our son, Dan, and family in Nassau Bay, south of Houston, since it was on the way. We had a great two days with them and are very thankful to Dan for driving the great distance to the airport to pick us up. Softball is really important in that part of Texas. Breanna is on one of the teams and we got to watch some games. Texans were saying that it was really cold for this time of year, but it was good weather for softball. There are a lot of great restaurants in that area, so we greatly enjoyed some special food.