Check out the Eaglecam!
As I try to comprehend the magnitude of how much our world has changed in the past couple months, I find myself once again turning to the intrinsic beauty and serenity of nature. As Wendell Berry so poetically conveyed, the “peace of wild things” can provide moments of respite and grace when we need them most.
The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
If you would like to discover or reconnect with the “peace of wild things” during this time of social distancing, Minnesota and Wisconsin provide numerous opportunities at their beautiful state, county and city parks. Birds chirping a spring song, raindrops dripping off budding branches and the first small glimpses of green peeking out beneath carpets of brown fallen leaves are all part of nature waiting to be experienced.
If you don’t feel like traveling outside quite yet, another amazing example of nature’s renewal and resiliency can be watched in real time on the Minnesota DNR’s EagleCam live stream. The DNR was very eggcited when three eggs were spotted in the nest earlier this year. Then, on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, the first eaglet broke through its shell and briefly debuted on the EagleCam before one of the parents covered it again to keep it warm.
One word of caution, however, especially for parents of young children: The EagleCam offers a very close and upfront view of a wild eagle nest where anything can happen. Eagles are carnivores and the circle of life is sometimes fully on display.
The EagleCam is brought to you by the Minnesota DNR Nongame Wildlife Program, which helps over 700 species of Minnesota wildlife thrive.