Happy Valentine's Day to all. . .

Wherever you may be.

The much better half of the blog (aka art department) and the lesser-known editorial department, will be celebrating with two of the best subscribers of the blog.

Indeed, two-thirds of the loyal blog readers are down here in the jungle now, though they do still gripe about the lack of blog posts.

Considering that there is close to a 90-degree (Farenheit) temperature difference between Wisconsin and Costa Rica, we hope the loyal readers from the north will forgive our tardiness in posts.

Ma and Pa Eidson are

visiting, so since they comprise the majority of our readership, we will try to put up some compromising pictures while they are visiting, though the art department may very well cede control of the pictures while they are here.

Tooting our horn. . .

For the two other folks that may not check our Facebook page, we were recently honored by Tripadvisor.com for multiple awards, including best for family in Central American and Costa Rica and best for service for Costa Rica. You can check it out on our Facebook page and on tripadvisor.com:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tree-Houses-Hotel-Costa-Rica/302379833147411

Who would have thought. . .

That kennel cough can be caught from a pooch that hasn't been in a kennel?

Certainly not us, as we spent most of the night comforting Akila as she honked, horked and snorted her way throughout the evening.

Kennel cough has been going around the area (like the flu for pooches) and Akila unfortunately picked it up.

Warm and dry places are the best spots for a dog with the cough, though that's not always easy to come by here. We are trying out best and Akila, after a bunch of shots. is on the mend.

Two hours. . .

A couple from France checked in the other day, and got settled into their tree house. They went for a quick hike around the grounds, and came back an hour or so later.

They were a bit red in the face (much warmer here than in France at this time of year) and we asked if they were doing OK.

"We are fine!" was the response.

On their short jaunt around the grounds, they had found a sloth and its baby; a white-tailed fawn; and some monkeys. They also saw a lot of birds, though the mammals were the highlight of their walk.

We did ask if they would like to join the art department, but they declined.

The picture we alluded to. . .

Earlier. . . The great array of birds that come down to the rancho at breakfast. They all don't flock to the plantains that we put out; a lot of them hang out in the background, waiting their chance.

Difference of about 80. . .

That was the answer to a question from a couple in Wyoming that made a reservation for 10 nights in December, 2015.

They asked what the temperature was down here, compared to what theirs was. We were close to 90 (farenheit) and they were just a bit above the zero line.

They seemed happy with the answer and said they were definitely looking forward to December of 2015.