And then the Eagle Nest Falls

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Cathy

I’ve heard the other nest fell as well, said my neighbor, Stephanie, and I could scarcely believe my ears.

You probably know I’m talking about the giant eagle nests in our neighborhood. One is (ahem, was) in tall pine just across a tiny cove from our yard. The other, located deeper in the woods, had served as the Spring home sweet home for our Eagle couple and their three gigantic babies.

But perhaps I should back up so you get the whole of the story.

This is our eagle nest, circa 2008:

This is the Eagle nest today.

How on earth, you might be wondering, could that happen?

That old, tall pine had some brittle bones that simply couldn’t take the toll of time and weather. And then those babies came along in March, and—Good Lord—things would never be the same. Leaving the healthier “home” nest, the family of five came out of the woods for some afternoon fun. Mama decided the old nest—aka our nest—was the perfect spot for a little afternoon feeding.

Those babies took to fighting over that food like nobody’s business, and before you knew it, half of the nest just fell right to the ground.

(Neveryoumind those babies hardly seemed to notice, screaming and clawing for that daily fish catch like they were starving to death.)

And there went the rest of the nest.

I've taken to calling him Hording Harry. Don't think he ever learned "share."

I saw that nest fall, and I grieved. With it gone, I feared the Eagles would soon be gone, as well.

But oh, no. That is not what happened.

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Day 27: The Facebook Post That Tickled Me Pink

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Cathy

My sweet friend, Sara, is the mother of the most adorable twin girls in the world. Today on Facebook she had this story to share about precious 3-year-old Rachel:

I giggled all afternoon!

I must get a magic wand to carry in my purse. (Thank you, Helen Miller.) And I must learn to count in Spanish. Just like Rachel.

30 Days of Grace II

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Day 26: Little Message, Big Heart

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Cathy

life-love-laughter-celebrate via pinterest

It came as a quiet little text message long after my busy Work Monday was over.

How did your meeting go? she asked, my co-worker, my cohort, Julie.

Sweet Jules wasn’t a part of this particular project, so she had no skin in the game. She is just a considerate friend who knows this was important to me, who knows we worked hard, pushed hard, for this one.

And so I typed back immediately, from the middle of the Publix parking lot.

It went well, I said, smiling. Exhaling, for the moment. Thank you so much for asking.

And I meant it. It was nice to have a quiet moment at the end of the hustlebustle in which I looked back, my attention drawn to the accomplishments of the day. (Too often I breeze past the victories and right onto the the onslaught—NEXT!—that I know is coming tomorrow.) And it was sweet, especially sweet, to get this thoughtful inquiry from a friend just because.

I want be more like Julie, I thought, relishing the warmth of the moment she had just created for me. I’ll put that on my list.

And then I was off to find something for dinner.

30 Days of Grace II

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Day 25: A Little Motherly Advice

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Cathy

on Bickley's Pond

Because we’re all the same. Happy Mother’s Day!

30 Days of Grace II

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Day 24: Jivan’s Feather

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Cathy

It started quietly enough, a mere click of the mouse to get me to my Hootsuite dashboard. Status updates piled one on another as Twitter stream after Twitter stream lined up. My absence in checking them became more obvious; it had been a busy week.

And then there it was, this callout to me:

I clicked.

I am so glad Jivan looked up, and noticed. I am so happy he captured the image. And I am particularly grateful he shared it with me, even as I point out what can be the only truth:

This gigantic feather, my friend, is there for you.

30 Days of Grace II

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Eagle Surprise: Part 4

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Cathy

Recap. Shall we?

Part I, 2009: Eagle nest in our back yard.

Part II: Strange Eagle activity. Eagle eggs? Babies. X2! They eat. They grow. Big. Fast. They want to fly. They are so high. We fret.

Part III: They fly! And then they are gone, and we are left here. Empty nesters on Bickley’s Pond.

Part IV: Spring 2012

Three years pass. Those babies have moved on and wherever they are, must be nearly ready to start families of their own (at age four, the experts say). The parents are here, infrequently fishing these waters because they, too, have moved on to a new nest deeper in the woods. No wonder. The lanky pine that holds their old home place has declined significantly: its nest-shading mantel is gone; most of the remaining branches are broken or missing.

Still we keep an eye on that nest as if expecting them to return to it any minute. They do appear from time to time and it sets our hearts to racing. First the shadow, then the whoop whoop whoop of giant wings through air, then that unmistakable crown of white feathers.

A glorious sight it is.

But these are only quick glimpses, pass-through flights of one eagle or the other.

Spring arrives, 2012. Our hearts race again at a quick flurry of nest-repair activity in our tree. But they don’t take up residence and are gone again, no chance for a new brood within our sight, we know.

A few weeks pass.

And I’m standing at the kitchen window, looking out at the new green in our trees, our lawn, our little garden, when I look across the pond to see both Eagles sitting side by side, on the very edge of a branch.

There they are, I said, together. There can’t be eggs if they are both away from the nest. It’s been three years, I think. That’s really too bad.

But at least my Eagles are here, waiting patiently for me to come on out to the water’s edge, to get reacquainted. Snap, snap, snap goes my camera. And then I see a shape in a tree just beyond my focus.

Is that? Could it be? How on earth?

It is. A big, dark baby eagle, clearly out on an early voyage from that deep woods nest.

And then I hear another sound, just there, to the right. A little farther back. The dark mass of another baby.

I run for the house, and Tim. He gets in the canoe and heads in their direction, wanting a closer view.

The baby eagles notice but don’t budge, too afraid of flight at this early age. And then a parent flies toward the abandoned nest—our nest—with a fresh fish catch. And lickety split they are there, Mama and her two babies, feeding time. Giddy, giddy, giddy I am.

Could there still be more to this fantastic story?

Oh yes, and this time I won’t leave you hanging:

You got it. Before long we discover there is Baby Number Three!

It has been a very fun couple of weeks, with our back yard as the playground of three baby eagles. Up to something all the time, they are. In fact, they fussed so much over a fresh catch dropped in that nest by their mother (or father?) the entire nest fell apart and to the ground!

But THAT is another story, for another day.

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Day 23: Feathers, Blessings and Miracles

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Cathy

It happened for the second time this morning. I’m standing at the kitchen window, coffee in hand (just like last time) looking toward the lake. Again I see:

Can it be?

I am out the door with my camera in such a rush I don’t even stop to put on shoes. My bare feet feel happy in the wet, cool grass, knowing it’s true, feeling the joy as I run for the water’s edge.

And sure enough, there they are, dancing on that water, waiting for me.

feathers, feathers, feathers

Fewer this time, you might think less spectacular. But not so, because I know the significance, can connect these feathers (without a second thought) to the great blessing coming my way, driving toward me this very afternoon. One last exam and she will return, the daughter I’ve missed, home to me, home for the summer.

These feathers are for me, I know, a reminder from God that He kept the promises He made in September, when my girl went away for the very first time. When my heart felt broken, when He showered this pond with white feathers to let me know I am loved, that He is there, keeping watch. That He knows. He always knows.

I smiled all the way to my liver. This is the day!

30 Days of Grace II

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The Story of the Eagles, Part III: First Flight

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Cathy

the eagle baby, out of the nest and out on the town

Those babies did eventually fly, although it came as a bit of a surprise to all of us.

It was early on a Sunday morning in the Spring of 2009. I was away visiting my parents when my sweet husband called. I could hear him pacing.

I can’t believe you aren’t here, he said. One of the babies is about to fly.

That eaglet (dare devil, remember?) had hopped hopped hopped out to the very end of a not-so-sturdy branch. One more jump and Snap! It happened. The limb broke and that branch, and the still-clutching-it eaglet, were 80 feet in the air and dropping, fast. Then flap flap flap and that big baby was airborne for the very first time.

The shock of first flight still pounding in his chest, the next problem presented itself in short order. Where on earth to land? he had to wonder as he lifted above our roof line. And more significantly: How?

not the maiden flight, but you get the idea

Those early voyages were not pretty. But he got the hang of it and in time, coaxed his little sister out of the nest and into the air. The two of them swooped and circled and played like giddy children, the sky above Sterling Lake their playground. And before we could say four to five weeks, they were “grown” and gone—off to claim hunting grounds of their own.

missing their babies? or rejoicing empty nesters?

Three years passed. We heard from friends that the parent eagles had built two more nests, still in our neighborhood but this time, a little deeper in the woods. While the Mama and Papa would come from time to time to fish within our view (and to our delight, to tease us with a spurt of rebuilding), we never saw any signs of real nesting activity.

the empty nest

Until this Spring, that is.

Up next: April of 2012

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22. Happy May Day!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Cathy

The next part of The Eagle Story is coming right up. (To catch up, there’s Part I, in which—just last week—the Eagle nest fell, and Part II, in which I go back to the beginning of the story, the 2009 babies. Did they ever fly? Did they survive? Then what happened? More to come.)

In the meantime, please allow me to post this in honor of May Day:

doorstep in downtown Columbia

As young girls growing up together in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, my friend Suzann and I welcomed this sweetest of months with our version of the May Day tradition. We’d gather little bouquets of flowers, place them on a neighbor’s doorstep, then ring the bell and flee—hiding just out of view as the door opened and the “delighted” commenced.

It was a simple, sweet celebration of this official* first day of summer.

Happy May Day to you!

30 Days of Grace II

*Summer is the swiftest of seasons, don’t you agree? How much nicer it is to consider May 1st summer’s beginning, thus positioning the solstice nearer the halfway mark. A longer summer season. Yea!

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The Story of the Eagles, Part II: 2009

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Cathy

One of them is always in the nest, we noticed, early in the Spring of 2009. That must mean there are eggs, don’t you think?

How many times did we say that to each other that first year? (We who were such novices to the nesting pattern of Eagles.)

And then she would hop from the nest and onto a supporting branch, out to the very, very end, where she would stretch to get very best view around the dog-leg of our lake. And she would commence to squawking, screeching with such ferocity that eventually he would appear, flying low but in no real hurry, and she would lift off at the sight of him and leave that nest unattended. Leaving him no choice but to do his part.

Eventually we spotted the fuzz of a baby eaglet head just above the rim of the nest. We rejoiced, feeling as if our concern had somehow helped this family along, had helped bring this miraculous baby into the world.

And then there were two. Two baby eaglets in the nest.

We spent many weeks that Spring with our eyes trained on that pine, watching every move. The parents fished and fed the babies, then fished and fed them again. Those eaglets ate and ate and ate, growing larger—fast. Within six or seven weeks they had become fully grown, equal in size to their parents (bigger? maybe?) and were inching farther and farther out on edges of the branches. Any day now, one was going to fly.

It was a thought that filled us with both excitement and fear—somewhere I’d read that 40 percent of baby eagles don’t survive their first flight. And that one eaglet—no doubt the older brother—was such a daredevil! Always doing things that caused his sister (?), typically tucked safely down in the nest, to fret. Still she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Nor could we.

And so we watched, and waited.