{"id":8188,"date":"2019-07-04T17:41:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T21:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/?p=8188"},"modified":"2020-10-23T14:11:19","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T18:11:19","slug":"adirondack-chronicles-2019-1-the-state-of-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/2019\/07\/adirondack-chronicles-2019-1-the-state-of-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Adirondack Chronicles 2019.1 – The State of Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"eagle\"<\/a>\"loon\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Adirondack Chronicles are back!\u00a0 And not a moment too soon as we pause to celebrate the freedom and independence that are the true meaning of the 4th of July celebrations.\u00a0 And there’s no better way to celebrate the best of our great nation than to spend some time out in nature enjoying and observing the wild things that inhabit the beautiful forests and lakes of the Adirondacks in upstate New York<\/p>\n

This is a tale of the State of Nature — specifically, how the relationships among wild things also teach us humans about responsibility, courage, power and the natural order of living things.\u00a0 The two beautiful creatures seen above, the eagle and the loon, are the apt protagonists in this story of nature’s beauty, power and sometimes harsh realities.<\/p>\n

Typical human, I was driving along a back dirt road along Horseshoe Lake — a favorite place to spot cedar waxwings and hummingbirds.\u00a0 As I rounded a curve approaching a lovely outlet near the lake, I heard a loon calling nearby, and thought it strange since usually the loons are far out on the lake. As I came around the curve and the loon call grew louder, I was startled to see a beautiful big bald eagle perched calmly on a lower branch of a small sapling just across the outlet:<\/p>\n

\"eagle\"<\/a>I inched closer to see what was going on that had the eagle’s attention on the pond, and lo and behold, there was a lovely loon paddling in circles and crying out endlessly.\u00a0 The eagle suddenly took off, but the loon continued to circle and call out:<\/p>\n

\"loon\"<\/a>I was puzzled as I watched the loon circling and calling and moving nervously to the bank of the pond and back again, head swiveling and throat bellowing the haunting loon call.\u00a0 Where was the mate?\u00a0 Usually there are two loons at some point evident.\u00a0 Was there an egg or chick the loon was protecting from the eagle?\u00a0 Did the eagle kill the mate?\u00a0 These questions ran through my mind as the eagle swooped back into the scene and perched high on a fir tree.\u00a0 The loon calls grew frantic.\u00a0 Listen and watch the drama:<\/p>\n