Radnor Lake in Nashville is one of my happy places, a beautiful state park in the middle of town, close to my house. It’s always beautiful, it’s always different. A couple months ago, I went out for a hike late afternoon on a Friday, it’s a less crowded time than the weekends, and lately, there have been a fair amount of people out to see the bald eagles and their newly hatched young ‘uns. I took the lake trail, hoping to spot them and sat down at a bench directly across the water from the nest. Sure enough, one of them came out and began circling and it was amazing to see how high they fly and how graceful they are when they glide. Framed against the clouds, it began to descend, looping much closer, to the point where it flew directly over my head and back, several times. I was in awe; I’d never seen one that close. I wished I had my “fancy cam” as my son used to call it, but at least I got a pretty good snap on my phone as it rose again, which I’ve posted here. Then I sat and watched it for quite some time, thinking, what a great moment, what a great day. It was a perfect moment because nature is like that.
As I hiked the rest of the trail, heading back towards the parking lot on the southern side of the lake, I passed a fellow set up with a tripod, camera, and pro lens, pointed at the nest across the water, an excellent vantage point. I asked him if he’d seen the eagles and he said, yeah, he got some good pictures and he even saw one dive into the water to grab a fish. He was as excited as a little kid and he added, echoing my thoughts, “this has been a great day.”
Our experiences at the park that day cost nothing, they were meditative, fulfilling, restorative, and thrilling. And this is something I think about constantly, when I see the contrasts in the world around me, as we fight the power, and keep pushing towards a better day. Keep the faith and get in touch, whatever that looks like.
Doug Hoekstra 