Earthlings

The Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey nest has two cams, one on the ground looking up, and one right above the nest looking down. https://www.bouldercounty.org/open-space/management/osprey-camera/

The chat group that keeps watch and tabs on the nest and keeps us up to the minute, said the cam sometimes moves and focuses on a goose nest nearby, and the goose parents and goslings; and mentions squabbling sounds from time to time, apparently including raccoons in the area, and the ospreys chasing away intruders, an eagle last night. It’s a fascinating world to look in on. 

Yes, there are others, including our ospreys that are ever-present and fishing here, sometimes perching on the scaffolding just out of reach, and on roof peaks just above us. I could watch other osprey cams or eagles or others, but I watch the Boulder County Fairgrounds osprey nest because of friendship and a sense of personal connection for all sorts of reasons.

Sometimes it tugs at the heartstrings. Nature can be cruel, last year the first chick crawling up into the snow and freezing to death, and watching the mother bird a day or two later carry it away. This year already the snowstorm that dropped, I think it was two feet of snow on Longmont, and very low freezing temperatures that left the first three eggs lifeless. But now there are two new eggs in what a briefer in the chat group is calling her second clutch. So, hoping there’ll be two chicks this year, hatching and stretching open-mouthed for bits of fish that the father osprey brings from Cattail Pond adjacent. Growing feathers, filling out, eventually fledging, flying around for some weeks to get their wings. Finally this coming fall, suddenly flying off on migration to South or Central America, then the parents migrating one at a time, and the long winter empty space until the resident ospreys arrive again this time next year. 

Nature goes on and on, but it seems like by rights we ought somehow to grab hold of Father Nature and give him a good shaking. Maybe even take a belt to him and beat the devil out of him. Or at least a good talking to and shake our finger in his face. I think he has a girlfriend or something and forgets to pay close enough attention to what’s happening down here on earth with all us earthlings. Baby birds die and humans have to hide from some new plague called Covid19. But then birds do fly away, and many humans live as full a life as I have done.

But earthlings, us Earthlings. Come to think of it, all the other animals were spoken into existence (Genesis 1), only us humans were formed from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2), so maybe I should only refer to as Earthlings us sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, eh?

RSF&PTL
T+