Thanksgiving in Panama

Forecast: 85°/74° with thundershowers possible after 2 p.m.. 

Humidity:  79%

Sunrise 6:17 am., Sunset 5:57 p.m.

These azulejos celebrate Thanksgiving
with bananas and birdseed.

Today is both U.S. Thanksgiving and Panama's Independence from Spain Day. I asked my Panamanian friends how they're spending the day: they said, "um  . . . sleeping?"  Apparently, the spate of celebrations that happened early in the month sap the energy from this particular day, and it's mostly marked by government offices shutting down.  Maybe a bit like our U.S. "President's Day"?

Atop a banana tree, the Chachalaca pretends
to be a statue.

So far from my family, and so far from cold weather or a house with a well-stocked larder, my husband and I aren't going to do the traditional turkey dinner or large gathering, either.  

Here are a couple of Chachalacas a bit closer,
standing on the "Monkey Bridge" and on a platform 
where they can eat papaya.

I've suggested that maybe we do a Tropical Fruit Thanksgiving: it seems appropriate to give thanks that I'm so close to locally grown pineapples, papayas, and bananas.  

These bananas are from the garden of my AirBnB. 
Hard to get more local than that!
I eat at least one each morning in my oatmeal,
and the birds get to have some, too.

Even though mangoes are out of season and have to be imported right now, I think we're going to have mangoes for our Tropical Fruit Thanksgiving, too.

On the ground toward the top left,
pigeons and ground doves pick up bird seed.

And we will probably have a chicken instead of a turkey.  But the birds I'm mostly thinking of aren't the ones I eat, as you can see by this post.  All of these photos are from the screened porch where I eat breakfast and dinner each day at this new AirBnB.

In the center, a bunch of parakeets share space on a feeder.
In photos, they blend in well with the background.
In real life, they are so active and numerous, they stand out amazingly.

My camera doesn't do justice to it; when the parakeets arrive, there will be 30 of them vying for space.  The Chachalacas are huge.  The air is full of noise -- birdsong, but also the sound of wings.

On the wooden feeder, a red-and-brown
woodpecker is visiting.

Our host, Greg, feeds them every morning and the birds arrive in droves. They feast on bananas, papayas, bread, sunflower seeds, and more.  After the bulk of them have fed and moved on, a few shier ones will come flit by to entertain me, and to get their own favorite snacks.

Yellow-backed orioles are brilliantly colored.

It's a different kind of gathering than I have on other Thanksgiving days, isn't it?

To all my U.S.-based friends, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving, however you're spending the day.