I’ve been watching the Osprey family on Magnolia River raise their young. Two beautiful fledglings are the result of loving care provided by their amazing parents.

When I paddle my SUP board I always give them plenty of distance. Now that the chicks are flight-ready the parents create a wider buffer between potential harm and their young by keen observation and threatening fly-bys if there are curious visits that get too close.

Mostly the adults sit in a near-by tree instead of on the nesting platform but the other morning one of the adults was overseeing breakfast of fresh fish as both juveniles devoured the tasty sushi. It made for a nest full of large birds of prey.

Mom or dad sit in the nearby pine tree and the kids watch with wonder at every passing thing from their nest, high on top of a pole…birds flying by, mullet splashing and of course a strange woman on a large, flat board with a long stick in her hand…that deserves a cry from the older babe who is reassured by a loud response from the parental unit. I interpret it to mean….’She’s okay. Just don’t share your breakfast with her.”

On days when the planetary problems seem too much to bear, I think of breakfast with the Ospreys. My heart lightens and I breathe deeply into the beauty.