Category: Nature

My profession is to always find God in nature.

– Henry David Thoreau

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Managing Humidity

I live in a tropical country, 13° above the equator, with lots of rainforests and cloud forests an hour or so from where I live. Though this Central Valley location is not as humid as a rainforest (except in the rainy season), it is still humid and I’ve learned that humidity does many negative things to my cameras and the lenses .

I recently spent over $300 at the authorized Canon Repair Shop for minor repairs and mainly cleaning of 2 cameras and 2 lenses which had various kinds of mold or other humidity-related problems affecting the electrical connections, the glass and other details.

The repair man was kind enough to reduce some of his future business by recommending that I store my cameras and lenses in a “Dry Box,” which is a metal box containing an electrical device that keeps the humidity down to the level recommended for cameras (40-50%) and at a recommended temperature of 25-29°C. And it costs a fraction of what continued cleaning and repair would cost! (just $150) So a no brainer! 🙂 When you walk in my office now, it looks like I have a little dorm fridge sitting on top of my file cabinet, full of cameras & lenses. 🙂 Anywhere one lives, there are some adaptations that can be made to live with the extremes that might be there. And this will particularly be good when I return from one of my trips to either coast or any rainforest or cloud forest where there’s always more humidity. Humidity damage is now stopped and I expect my cameras to work better! 🙂

“Helios Dry Box” or Dehumidifier for my cameras and lenses.

Under the ABOUT Menu of my website there is a PHOTOGRAPHER page with a sub-page on My Photography Equipment where I have now added this handy little device to protect my cameras and lenses. 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

This post was made about 2 weeks ago which is about how far ahead I am on creating most of my Blog Posts now since the Christmas trip to Punta Leona.

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Giant White

This was in my garden and not the cow pasture, but with the strong winds this time of year I’m seeing a lot fewer of any species in the garden, though this one has been pretty common in the past as you can see in my Gallery: Giant White, Ganyra josephina. Note that all of them have been seen in Atenas! 🙂 Two shots from the other day . . .

Giant White, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Giant White”
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Tropical Kingbird

A favorite of mine among the many birds found only in Central & South America, the Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus (my gallery link). One of the many wild birds that seem to like power lines for perching. And that can make it easy to photograph, depending on the sunlight of course! 🙂

Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Tropical Kingbird, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Hesperini Tribe

This tribe level identification means it will be difficult even for the experts to identify, as that is as far down the ID latter the iNaturalist AI would go and I’m certainly unqualified to go farther. It may end up being a common species with two anomalies, that dark “plate” or whatever on his back or shoulders and the whitish tip of his tail. Neither characteristic matches any of the similar species photos I could find, so I’m leaving it at the tribe level. 🙂 Found in the cow pasture and it is the last one from that visual adventure. 🙂 This tribe is also called “branded grass skippers” which is appropriate for one found in the grasses of a cow pasture! 🙂

Hesperini Tribe or branded grass skipper butterfly, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

An added side-note on that walk along the cow pasture in my shorts is that, when I got back to the house, both legs were itching all over, possibly from some insect in the grasses or allergic reaction to some plant. A generous lathering of Allergel took care of that itching pretty quickly! 🙂 This is all from the cow pasture for now. Back to my garden! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

PS to Anyone Who Tried to Subscribe to my Blog and it Didn’t Work!

Technology drives me crazy sometimes and it seems that the email subscription box in the right column wasn’t working for maybe a year or more, but when I realized it, I found someone who could fix it and it is working fine as of the other day. If you don’t have an email subscription, you are missing the easiest way to receive my blog posts with guaranteed security and no spam! So subscribe today! 🙂

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Cow Pasture Banded Peacock

It is not all little dull brown butterflies in the cow pasture, but some colorful ones too! 🙂 It was also interesting to note that most of them stayed close to the ground or down low in the tall grasses, only occasionally flying or landing up higher to, I guess, absorb the sun or eat from a flower. This one may be my most seen butterfly all over Costa Rica, as you can see in my gallery: Banded Peacock, Anartia fatima.

Banded Peacock Butterfly, Cow Pasture, Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Hermes Satyr

This interesting species was very common in my garden in past years, but not this year. Now I know where they are! In the cow pasture across the street! 🙂 Note that this is almost identical to the Carolina Satyr found only in the U.S. See my other photos in the gallery: Hermes Satyr – Hermeuptychia hermes.

Hermes Satyr, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Continue reading “Hermes Satyr”
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Laverna Metalmark

Of the many Metalmark Butterflies (Riodinidae) in Costa Rica, this is the species that I personally see the most of with more photos in the gallery: Laverna Metalmark, Calephelis laverna. And here he is in a cow pasture! 🙂

Laverna Metalmark, Cow Pasture, Roca Verde, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

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Pasture Skipper

Seems like an appropriate name for this plain brown Skipper photographed in a cow pasture! 🙂 The only other one I’ve given this identification is much lighter in color. See my gallery: Pasture Skipper,  Vehilius stictomenes. And I’m still waiting for a confirmation by an expert on iNaturalist. Either one could have their ID changed! 🙂

Pasture Skipper, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica on a blade of grass in the Cow Pasture.

¡Pura Vida!