New Life

This spring and summer we have been able to witness something amazing - something that not everyone gets to see or would even take the time to notice.  We live 45 minutes from a beautiful lake called Merritt in the heart of the Sandhills of Nebraska.  Something that most people don't know about the region is that it sits on top of the Ogallala aquifer and that the area is dotted with rivers, streams, and lakes of all shapes and sizes.  There is a "wetland" area that is located in the valley just to the south of Merritt lake.  In this valley is a large tree that contains a huge nest.  That roost/nest belongs to an American Bald Eagle pair and this spring we noticed the pair sitting on the nest and guarding it.  Over the last few months we have watched mom and dad tend to their eggs within that nest and then hatch them out.  Over time as the two babies have grown we have been able to see them peeking their heads out of the top of the nest, witnessed one of the parents feeding the chicks, and most recently saw the almost grown chicks sitting on the edge of the nest.  As an amateur photographer it has been extremely fun and exciting to stop and take photographs of these events every time we drive by the nest.  The babies are now about the size of their parents, but are dark brown in color.  After some research I discovered that these "babies" will stay brown for about 2 years and so it will be hard to distinguish them from their cousins the golden eagle.  At about 2 years old is when their head feathers will begin to take on the white color of a bald eagle.  It will be interesting to watch these babies continue to grow into adults.  Because eagles are highly territorial, they will most likely stay in the area for years to come and I can't wait to continue to document their process of growth and maturity.  What I am reminded of as I have witnessed this transformation from tiny fuzzy chicks to almost adult size birds is the fact that we as God's children are also in a process of transformation.  God works to transform out hearts, minds, souls as we spend time in relationship with him.  It is a process - we don't arrive and everything is done - as with any process we continue to grow and change.  Our goal is to remain faithful and remain in touch with our Heavenly Parent so we can grow into what God has called us to be.