Greeting the sun brings with it moments of warmth rewarding the early riser. I had a routine in Costa Rica, being out on the birding deck at Rancho Naturalista by 05:10 with my cup of coffee perched at the railing. High up on a hillside, the view sweeps all the way to the distant volcano. Cane fields and homes fill the valley below. The mountain side where the Rancho hides still has its rain forest habitat, something the view misses. It’s about at this moment that the chorus bursts out taking my mind away from the missing forest. Brown Jay and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird are the first out and heard, soon joined by the Clay-colored Thrust and Red-throated Ant-Tanager. Then the Lesson’s Motmot, Bright-rumped Attila, Montezuma Oropendola, Golden-crowned Warbler and Cocoa Woodcreeper add their voice to the deafeaning chorus. One morning a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl adds its voice, another morning a Tropical Parula, it’s volume is stagering and then at 05:25 everyday like clock work, the White-necked Jacobin arrive at the feeders just inches away keeping me company in the early morning twilight. As the light comes up, the chorus quiets down and as it does, more folks come to the birding deck to see what birds can be seen. The morning fog slowly burns off and by 06:00 birds are silent, busy filling up after the night of fasting. Across away the sugar cane fields fill with workers and appearing are two lone trees, the last survivors of the once vast forest. I wonder what the volume of the morning chorus was like when all one saw was forest? I wonder how long it would have lasted then? I watched those trees to see if any birds visit them. I see none.

Costa Rica has long drawn my attention to its rich wild heritage! Sharon & I first visited it over a decade ago, heading to the magnificent Osa Peninsula numerous times. We loved all we experienced (except the humidity), saw and especially photographed. The birds are over the top crazy, gorgeous and stunning! I couldn’t get enough of them but life has a way of getting in the way of life at times. Well, a year ago an opportunity arose for us to travel back and explore almost the complete opposite what we had done in the past.

Rather than heading south from the airport, we’re heading north. Rather then heading to the coast we’re heading deep up into the mountains. We have the potential, my hands are trembling as I type with the excitement, of over four hundred species of birds! Just to emphasize how exciting I am, I’ve packed the Z105mc to explore with too! I’m going for birds, landscapes and even bugs and know I won’t be disappointed. In preparation for our exploration I went through all the photos I had taken on previous excursions to the region. I found I was really heavy on sunrises and sunsets and real short on forest photographs. I’m a bit disappointed in myself for that so forest photographs are really on the top of my list. It’s going to be a phenomenal adventure, I’m sweatin with anticipation!

I was really little the first time I saw the valley. I’ve hiked in and out of the valley with my father. For a couple of years, the Peterson for spent 45+ days in the valley camping alongside the river exploring, shooting, and speaking. And if the skies were clear, you could see our old home that was a mere twenty-four miles away as the crow flies from Half Dome. Yosemite is very special to our family and it’s been six years since I’ve been on the valley floor. It’s time to go back so we’re planning a fall trip. Why now? The winter of ’22-23 saw historic levels of snow. This winter, especially the last month has brought a whole bunch more of the white stuff. Yosemite loves water and comes to life in a way that is best expressed in photographs. With new gear in the kit, it just seems like the right time to say hello to an old friend. It’s going to be great and I just love planning a long overdue visit!

Life has a way sometimes of getting in the way of life at least for me preventing me to be places I would like to be at tiems. There is so much amazing world out there to witness, explore and share but we can’t be everywhere at one time. It’s a good thing we’re photographers ’cause photography is a grand way of preserving memories and sharing them. Even if it’s just sharing them with ourselves to remind us of our favorite places when we can’t be there. Mesa Arch in late winter is one such place for me. It’s cold, remote as the light comes up and then the warmth of the light brightens the soul. A physically small spot especially when compared to the global scale yet massive in size in the heart. It’s simply for me a favorite place this time of year!