We have a great amount of Bald Eagles along the Mississippi River. They are so beautiful. I love to go for drives along the river at high Eagle tjmes of the year.
Beautiful, Nia. I'm so sorry you're suffering from Long Covid. As you described what does help, I had the distinct feeling what if Covid came here to encourage (push?) us to slow down and surrender our bodies to communion with nature? It's all such a mystery. Here's to lying by rivers. Sending love and river song.
Long COVID!? Oh man. As if everything else wasn’t enough!
There is a pair of bald eagles here near Sacramento along the American River (a little too on the nose, birds!). Their nesting tree fell in a storm about a month ago. Haven’t seen a new nest yet, but they are still around. They are kinda local celebrities, being an unusual sight for the area. There were no bald eagles here until the pair showed up something like 10 years ago.
And of course we have a county landfill too, and I’ve watched it grow over the years when driving through the rural area where it’s located. It’s absolutely massive now. A small mountain. And now the sprawl is closing in. Aerojet’s old rocket testing land is also near, where contaminated groundwater remediation continues to this day.
A terrible place to build homes, let alone buy. But they just keep building. I lived here my whole life…the ag land that dominated the county is almost gone, and much of the wildlife with it.
But we’ve got bald eagles now! 🫠
I want to move to the mountains, away from sprawl and cars. A sister that lives in Billings says I should move up…but leaving my friends and family here seems too high a price…for now. I have a feeling we are all headed north soon enough.
I’m on the cusp of making another shift in my life— one that has required a lot of finding homes for a great number and a great variety of things so they don’t end up in landfills (at least not yet). Three thrift stores (and multiple trips to one of them), one Habitat for Humanity, two houseless shelters, a recycling center trip or two, a tucked-away pharmacy, a great many no thank yous, an auto repair shop that finally took pity on me, and more Facebook marketplace interactions than I care to remember later, I feel much lighter and in community.
And it’s given me a whole new perspective on just how difficult it can be to home things or dispose of them correctly.
My friend, I’m so sorry you’ve been feeling so poorly. May you find as much time as possible a top sunny rocks near flowing rivers.
I, too, am turning 50 this year. And I sort of love that we’ll reach this milestone together.
Another wonderful post and opportunity to connect.
75 this year, which doesn't really seem possible. Bald Eagles have become downright common in these parts, with a perfect mix of habitat for them and their prey.
I do hope you feel better soon.
We have recycling for aluminum and steel cans, paper, newspapers, cardboard, #1 and #2 plastic, and glass ♻️. All our solid waste is trucked off the island these days, and ultimately heads by train to a landfill in Oregon.
I'm turning 55 this year, and I also grew up with Bald Eagles as an endangered and almost mythical bird (in Massachusetts).
There are now several in my town!! I gasp when I see them, fishing on the rivers or perched above the reservoir. They are So Hopeful!! We helped them come back, surely we can do other hard things.
(My local watershed also hosts a reinvigorated osprey population, but they don't hold the same magic for me.)
***
I not particularly a fan of George HW Bush. However, he implemented a rather remarkable foreign policy regarding Poland and the Balkan states. At the time, they were just coming out from behind the Iron Curtain and the Bush administration felt they knew what to do (be Capitalist!) but thanks to decades-long depravation, they were weak and might be susceptible to a hard-line takeover (ugh, prescient). So the Administration put them "in a bubble." Basically, the policy was system support and advice-on-tap *and* a protectionist stance on their behalf.
I think about that bubble a lot. We could argue that it didn't work, in the long run. But I think the idea was so smart and KIND.
We are currently staying at our timeshare near Port Townsend, WA. We have a lovely stretch of beach with some trees and a lagoon and a snag where the eagles usually nest. They aren't here at the moment but I hope they are back when we return later this summer.
Many, many thanks, Nia, and here's to continued healing!
We have a great amount of Bald Eagles along the Mississippi River. They are so beautiful. I love to go for drives along the river at high Eagle tjmes of the year.
I’m so sorry to hear you have long Covid!
Nature does soothe and heal with its simple presence.
Beautiful, Nia. I'm so sorry you're suffering from Long Covid. As you described what does help, I had the distinct feeling what if Covid came here to encourage (push?) us to slow down and surrender our bodies to communion with nature? It's all such a mystery. Here's to lying by rivers. Sending love and river song.
Long COVID!? Oh man. As if everything else wasn’t enough!
There is a pair of bald eagles here near Sacramento along the American River (a little too on the nose, birds!). Their nesting tree fell in a storm about a month ago. Haven’t seen a new nest yet, but they are still around. They are kinda local celebrities, being an unusual sight for the area. There were no bald eagles here until the pair showed up something like 10 years ago.
And of course we have a county landfill too, and I’ve watched it grow over the years when driving through the rural area where it’s located. It’s absolutely massive now. A small mountain. And now the sprawl is closing in. Aerojet’s old rocket testing land is also near, where contaminated groundwater remediation continues to this day.
A terrible place to build homes, let alone buy. But they just keep building. I lived here my whole life…the ag land that dominated the county is almost gone, and much of the wildlife with it.
But we’ve got bald eagles now! 🫠
I want to move to the mountains, away from sprawl and cars. A sister that lives in Billings says I should move up…but leaving my friends and family here seems too high a price…for now. I have a feeling we are all headed north soon enough.
Wishing you luck and grace. Take care.
I’m on the cusp of making another shift in my life— one that has required a lot of finding homes for a great number and a great variety of things so they don’t end up in landfills (at least not yet). Three thrift stores (and multiple trips to one of them), one Habitat for Humanity, two houseless shelters, a recycling center trip or two, a tucked-away pharmacy, a great many no thank yous, an auto repair shop that finally took pity on me, and more Facebook marketplace interactions than I care to remember later, I feel much lighter and in community.
And it’s given me a whole new perspective on just how difficult it can be to home things or dispose of them correctly.
My friend, I’m so sorry you’ve been feeling so poorly. May you find as much time as possible a top sunny rocks near flowing rivers.
I, too, am turning 50 this year. And I sort of love that we’ll reach this milestone together.
Another wonderful post and opportunity to connect.
75 this year, which doesn't really seem possible. Bald Eagles have become downright common in these parts, with a perfect mix of habitat for them and their prey.
I do hope you feel better soon.
We have recycling for aluminum and steel cans, paper, newspapers, cardboard, #1 and #2 plastic, and glass ♻️. All our solid waste is trucked off the island these days, and ultimately heads by train to a landfill in Oregon.
I have somewhat scattered thoughts!
I'm turning 55 this year, and I also grew up with Bald Eagles as an endangered and almost mythical bird (in Massachusetts).
There are now several in my town!! I gasp when I see them, fishing on the rivers or perched above the reservoir. They are So Hopeful!! We helped them come back, surely we can do other hard things.
(My local watershed also hosts a reinvigorated osprey population, but they don't hold the same magic for me.)
***
I not particularly a fan of George HW Bush. However, he implemented a rather remarkable foreign policy regarding Poland and the Balkan states. At the time, they were just coming out from behind the Iron Curtain and the Bush administration felt they knew what to do (be Capitalist!) but thanks to decades-long depravation, they were weak and might be susceptible to a hard-line takeover (ugh, prescient). So the Administration put them "in a bubble." Basically, the policy was system support and advice-on-tap *and* a protectionist stance on their behalf.
I think about that bubble a lot. We could argue that it didn't work, in the long run. But I think the idea was so smart and KIND.
More bubbles.
Or, lying in the sun near a river.
https://drpierrekory.com Pierre Kory has a lot of good resources. I hope you feel better!
We are currently staying at our timeshare near Port Townsend, WA. We have a lovely stretch of beach with some trees and a lagoon and a snag where the eagles usually nest. They aren't here at the moment but I hope they are back when we return later this summer.
Waving from Whidbey Island 👋
Waves back!