Blog #254 Seeking Nature

Orpheus flying over Salt Point, my harbinger of spring,  

courtesy of Cassandra Rooney-Monger. 

Being in nature, immersed in a world of trees, water, birds, and especially Osprey is  where I’m at peace. It is where I feel connected to the Earth. While humans suffer the  COVID-19 pandemic and panic grows, nature is constant and oblivious to it. Snowdrops  and daffodils are peaking out of the snow, and soon, very soon, the forsythia and cherry  blossoms will bring forth color to a dreary world. 

Orpheus at the Salt Point nest, courtesy of Cassandra Rooney-Monger. 

To many, nature is just the outdoors, but to me, it’s so much more. Nature is my  church, my sanctuary, where I can escape the human sphere and indulge my senses  in all that is beautiful. Nature heals and re-energizes me, frees my soul, and gives me  happiness. The calling of an owl gives me inner calmness. Life and rebirth are all  around us.  

I’m drawn to where forests meet wetlands, shallow lakeshores, or marshy beaches— the realm of ospreys—and now they are back! The first Cayuga Lake Ospreys on  nests in 2020 was Myers, the male on the Myers Hill nest, on March 22 and Orpheus guarding the Salt Point nest on March 23. Daily trips around the lake confirmed no  other nest occupancies until March 26, when a small group of males reclaimed their  nests at the northern end of the lake. 

Myers, the male Osprey at Myers Hill nest March 22, 2019,  

courtesy of Jonathan Wood. 

Those who have confronted death know what precious jewels every sunrise and  sunset are. Our turn on earth is indeed precious and finite. Perhaps this time of  tremendous stress due to the COVID-19 virus will teach us to be more conscious of the  natural environment and value nature’s wonders more. Being in nature makes me  grateful and appreciative of all forms of life. My fascination with these majestic birds of  prey runs deep; they complete me.  

As long as I surround myself with nature, I know I’ll be alright. 

Eyes to the sky! 

Candace 

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Lansing, NY 

cec22@cornell.edu

ALL EYES ON OSPREYS 

READ! 

On Osprey Time 

Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail

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