When we were living in Northern Ontario we would regularly visit Killarney Provincial Park, about an hour's drive from Sudbury. We could go there during the day for a winter ski (sometimes deep into the spring as well!) and in three seasons we could quickly paddle into the network of beautiful lakes. It was a way of nurturing our spirits and fostering our love for the intricate web of creation.
We were excited when peregrine falcons were re-introduced to the park and as we paddled down George Lake we would search the cliffs for evidence that they were getting established. One day I was attending a meeting at the United Church head office in deepest, darkest Toronto and noticed people gathered around a television monitor. It turned out that peregrines were nesting on a ledge on the highrise building in which the United Church general council resided and I got much better views of peregrines there than we ever did in Killarney.
Which brings me around to the purpose of this blog. Right now you can watch eagles on their nests in British Columbia, thanks to the same technology. Apparently people from all around the world are watching with fascination, aware that eagle chicks may hatch any time now. The photo above is a captured image of one nest taken in the past couple of days. The people who are following this event cheerfully describe themselves as eagle-holics.
There seems to be something in us that is touched by the cycles of life. We could say that it is just biological curiosity but I think it is a delight in the world God has brought into being. http://www.hancockwildlifechannel.org/mediagallery/index.php
Have you experienced close encounters with the natural world, virtual or actual, that have been memorable?
4 comments:
"There seems to be something in us that is touched by the cycles of life. We could say that it is just biological curiosity but I think it is a delight in the world God has brought into being" I couldn't agree more.
We have had chick eggs here at school under lights for a few weeks and I find myself daily going in to see at what stage they are at. When they start to peep we are all so excited and watching that miracle of the "hatch" just fascinates me, even though I have seen it several times. :)
What a wonderful and informative initiative in a school. Don't tell too many people or it may be considered a public health risk. Thanks for telling us about it.
Memorable encounters with the natural world have been some of my closest encounters with God. My soul becomes calm and yet at the same time full of a presence that words cannot explain. The following quote touches upon just the smidge of such experiences...
"When the weather breaks and it's calm and it's beautiful, you sit up on these summits or on a high ridge and there's a strange thing that happens to you. You begin to sense your own minuteness and the shortness of life, and yet at the same time in a split second you sense the eternity of the universe around you." (Dr Maynard Miller)
The eternity of the universe is equivalent to saying the eternity and enormity of God's love which is indeed all around each and everyone of us.
Thanks, Not Alone, for this perspective. Great quote.
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