A Beginning

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." After a hard, heart-breaking 2013, it's a reminder I needed. So this year, I plan to take a good look at every single day, and to remind myself that every day I'm alive is a good one, somehow, regardless of the crap that might be happening in my life. One of my New Year's resolutions is to take at least one photo every day this year of something that's wonderful or interesting or beautiful or funny or important, and I've decided to start this blog as a way to "force" myself to keep it up. So here goes!

Today, I'm in Costa Rica, celebrating the new year with a gang of fellow nature enthusiasts at a ranch in the Caribbean foothills. Last night, I spent part of the evening ogling a huge variety of moths drawn to a light specially mounted to attract them. Below is one of the highlights. Initially, it didn't look like much -- brown, a bit furry, a few lines that suggested "I'm just a dead leaf".

Then, however, something unexpected happened. Another moth bumbled past the light and crashed into the sheet right beside this moth, which dropped to the ground and assumed a defensive posture. Quite a difference, I think you'll agree!

So there's a good reminder for day one of the new year: the ordinary can sometimes become extraordinary if you're paying attention!