Gail Priest's Blog, page 2

Release Day Moonrise

At last . . . the long-awaited third book
in the captivating
Annie Crow Knoll trilogy!
Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise is now available.

Return once again to Annie Crow Knoll . . . a place to grieve loss, accept change, and rebuild a life worth living.

Breezy and Jemma, are world-class cyclists until violence at a race leaves Breezy with permanent physical disabilities and kills the man she loved. With her Olympic dream shattered, guilt and shame threaten to destroy her future happiness. Her sister Jemma escapes with only minor injuries, but the psychological damage she experiences shakes her self-worth, her Olympic potential, and her capacity to accept love.

The young women return to Annie Crow Knoll, their childhood home on the Chesapeake Bay, to heal and reclaim their lives, and with their parents and grandparents, struggle to make sense of life after this tragic and irrational incident.

Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise, the third novel in this fiction series by Gail Priest, is a story about the power to reinvent life after surviving loss and trauma. (This novel can be read as a stand alone.)

~~~***~~~

Buy your copy here!
Amazon/Barnes & Noble//iBooks/ Kobo

 

Advanced Praise for AnnieCrow Knoll: Moonrise

In Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise, the youngest generation of the Annie Crow clan returns to the Knoll hoping its transformative powers can help them survive tragedy and find love. A captivating tale that demonstrates the power of family, loyalty, and determination.

Nancy Sakaduski, Author and Publisher, Cat & Mouse Press

Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise is a richly complex and satisfying read, with a cast of characters so real I felt they could be my own neighbors. Beautifully written, thoughtful, and deep, Moonrise will speak to anyone who has faced loss and emerged on the other side of it.

Martha Conway, Author of Sugarland and Thieving Forest

MOONRISE is Gail Priest’s third, and most moving title in her Annie Crow Knoll series. Like Sunrise and Sunset before, the story of four generations of family on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is rendered with achingly beautiful power and sensitivity. The characters, led by the strongest of intelligent women, are all finding their way forward with tremendous wisdom, tears, and courage following a horrific tragedy that scars them inside and out. A literary tale of deep pain and every manner of healing, I wholeheartedly recommend Moonrise, and all the Annie Crow Knoll titles, to our most demanding readers, and yes, to Hollywood as well.

Robert Blake Whitehill, Author/Screenwriter, The Ben Blackshaw Series

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The first two Annie Crow books are available at all retailers.
Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise
FREE for a limited time!
Amazon/iBooks/Nook/Kobo/Scribd/Inktera
Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset
Amazon/iBooks/Nook/Kobo/Scribd/Inktera

Gail Priest is the author of the Annie Crow Knoll series. For many years, Gail and her husband have rented a cottage in Betterton, MD on the Chesapeake Bay in a cottage community that is the inspiration for the novels. Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise debuted in 2013. Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset was released in 2014. Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise is the third book in the series.

Gail is honored to have a selection from Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset in 50 Over 50, a PS Books anthology celebrating the wise and experienced feminine voice of fifty women writers over fifty.

Her play Eva’s Piano was produced at the Dayton Playhouse in their 2000 New Play Festival. The Church Hill Theatre in Church Hill, Maryland staged a reading of her play A Thing with Feathers.

Gail’s career in performing arts and education has allowed her to enjoy a combination of roles: teacher, adjunct college professor, guidance counselor, actor, director, and writer.

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Northern Gannets off the coast of Scotland

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Scotland. On the last full day of our vacation, we took a train from Edinburgh to North Berwick, situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. During our two weeks, I never saw a town in Scotland that wasn’t charming, and we traveled through many places on our tour, but North Berwick was one of my favorites. I’m a water person, and it’s a coastal town. I’m sure that had a lot to do with its appeal.

 

 

One of the highlights was our visit to the Scottish Seabird Center where we learned about the nesting seabirds in the area. I was specifically interested in the Atlantic Puffins and Northern Gannets that nest by the thousands on islands off North Berwick. The Seabird Center has live cameras to watch the birds. That was the only way we saw Puffins on the island of Craigleith. However, the Northern Gannets could be seen from the beach with the naked eye.

 

 

All that white on Bass Island isn’t snow. It’s over 150,000 gannets! What a thrill for me. Northern Gannets are my favorite seabird. I enjoy watching them migrating along the coast of Cape May Point, NJ in April every spring. I was blown away by the huge number of them on Bass Island. It is the largest colony in the world. You’ll notice the light house in my photograph. There are also castle ruins with dungeons once used for political prisoners, including several Jacobites (think Outlander). They eventually overpowered the guards and held the island for three years.

 

There are boats you can take out to the islands. Alas, we didn’t have enough time for that . . . this trip. Here’s a YouTube link for a closer look at the Northern Gannet colony on Bass Island. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2AumcGBE0

Lots of birds, great history, sea breezes, and I’m a happy traveler.

Teaser from ANNIE CROW KNOLL: MOONRISE

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter Fifteen of Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise!

Yes, Annie’s ex-husband Drew is back in this third book. I’m so glad I decided not to kill him off in Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise! Otherwise he couldn’t be back in Moonrise to stir the pot.

 

Summer 2015

Annie had been selected to head the scholarship committee again. She had done so on and off for many years since she first founded the scholarship with some of her inheritance from her great-grandmother. She had put to good use the money Delia Witherspoon had misused to control and manipulate professors’ careers at Queen Anne, her ex-husband having been one of the victims. With that sad memory in her mind, Drew appeared at her porch door.

Annie closed her laptop. “Pretty sky after that great storm.”

“Can we talk?” His face was serious.

“Come in.”

Drew stepped onto the porch but walked past Annie and into her cottage. “I don’t want to be interrupted by anyone wandering past.”

“But it’s such a nice night.”

“If you don’t mind.” He motioned for her to join him in the living room of Sunrise Cottage.

Annie reluctantly went in but halted just inside. She looked at the sofa and decided she’d feel better with a table between them. “Let’s sit in the dining room.”

Once they were seated, Drew became quiet. He gazed at Annie.

Annie tried not to fidget with the edge of the tablecloth, but her ex-husband was behaving oddly. “You said you had something to talk about, Drew. What is it?”

“Oh, I wanted to talk about Breezy. Don’t you think she’s depressed?”

“This again? She’s grieving and working on reinventing herself.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s a process that takes time and patience. Although she’ll never be the same physically, she’s getting stronger.”

“But emotionally. I mean, she seems a lot like you did after Nate was born.”

Annie frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“She’s shutting down.”

“At first she was, but now she’s isolating less. She’s taking on this wonderful new project with her photography.”

“That’s just a distraction from what she should be doing.”

“I understand that you’re desperate to make sense of what has happened to our granddaughter, Drew, but you’re grasping at straws.”

Drew didn’t seem to hear Annie. “She used to be passionate and competitive. Now, she’s just willing to give up. She’s lost her fight, like you did when you handed Nate over to me.”

Annie leapt to her feet but controlled the urge to slap Drew across the face. “I wish for one day you’d experience what depression is like.” She made fists with both her hands and strode away from her ex-husband. “It wasn’t a choice to let you take care of Nate the first few months of his life. I wasn’t capable.” Her voice broke. How did this man manage to dredge up pain that she resolved long ago?

“Annie, I’m not blaming you.”

Annie straightened up. “Let me clarify things for you. I’m not going to allow you to bring up the past in order to manipulate me. I’ve worked through all this. I’ve accepted the past. I’ve made peace with myself and with Nate. I have a wonderful, healthy relationship with him. Rehashing old guilt and blame in order to get what you want is mean-spirited, and it’s not going to work on me.”

Drew slumped deeper into the dining table chair. “I’ve screwed this all up. Forgive me for saying those things. I didn’t come here to start a fight. Please sit back down.”

Annie hesitantly returned to her chair. “Why did you come over here tonight?” *

 

 

ANNIE CROW KNOLL: MOONRISE is available for pre-order! Click the title to pre-order, and it will show up on your Kindle on August 9th!

Pre-order links to additional retailers can be found on the Books page of this website.

ANNIE CROW KNOLL: MOONRISE COVER

Recently I revealed the cover for my upcoming release ANNIE CROW KNOLL: MOONRISE, and it’s getting a great reaction. I wanted to tell you a little more about how it came about.

Several years ago, my husband, photographer Gary Collings, did a series of Chesapeake Bay photographs using an old Polaroid camera. You remember the ones that spit the picture out the front of the camera, and you had to be careful not to touch the image until the dyes on the surface dried. Well, instead of allowing it to dry, Gary  manipulated the image using a stylist. Then he scanned the finished image into the computer, so he could print it in a larger size on his ink-jet printer. The final photo looked like a painting, and people loved it. He taught classes on this process to other photographers at Chester River Art Works (now Chestertown River Arts) in Chestertown, MD.

When I finished the first book, Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise, I asked Gary if I could show his photographs to the creative team at Hayson Publishing. I sensed that one of these Polaroid manipulations would be perfect for the cover, and the folks at Hayson agreed. The talented Stephanie Nelson of Once Upon a Time Covers went over four or five of the photos and selected that first cover. When it came to Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset, she manipulated the color of the photograph to invoke a sunset, and the last one to look like evening at moonrise. This cover for Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise is my favorite because of the mood and it has Packard’s Chesapeake Bay Deadrise Workboat in it!

Here are some of the original Polaroid manipulations. Three of them became covers for the Annie Crow Knoll series.  You can see how the original photograph for Sunrise is pretty much the same, but the color was adjusted and enhanced for Sunset and Moonrise.

I’d love to hear what you think of the new cover!

You can also pre-order Moonrise at the following locations! It will be released on August 9th!

Amazon:   http://tiny.cc/uuu7by

Barnes & Noble: http://tiny.cc/gvu7by

iBooks:   http://tiny.cc/zxu7by

Kobo:  http://tiny.cc/ze5vcy

 

Annie Crow Knoll: MOONRISE

Return once again to Annie Crow Knoll . . . a place to grieve loss, accept change, and rebuild a life worth living.

Breezy and Jemma, are world-class cyclists until violence at a race leaves Breezy with permanent physical disabilities and kills the man she loved. With her Olympic dream shattered, guilt and shame threaten to destroy her future happiness. Her sister Jemma escapes with only minor injuries, but the psychological damage she experiences shakes her self-worth, her Olympic potential, and her capacity to accept love.

The young women return to Annie Crow Knoll, their childhood home on the Chesapeake Bay, to heal and reclaim their lives, and with their parents and grandparents, struggle to make sense of life after this tragic and irrational incident.

Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise, the third novel in this fiction series by Gail Priest, is a story about the power to reinvent life after surviving loss and trauma. (This novel can be read as a stand alone.)

Pre-order Below:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Annie Crow’s Autumn Journal Entry

Autumn is my favorite season here on Annie Crow Knoll.  It’s bitter-sweet because I am sad to see the rental season ending, but I enjoy the way the Knoll changes in the fall. It’s a time of transition, which reminds me that sadness can’t be avoided.  Summer has ended; winter is on the way, but I have learned to accept whatever feelings that brings up in me.  If sadness surfaces, I embrace it, along with the changes that are a part of autumn.

Although there is a drastic reduction in renters staying after Labor Day, I don’t close up the cottages until the beginning of November.  It’s what my dad always did.  Some of the retirees stay straight through.  A few die-hards still swim into the beginning of October, including me.  It’s wonderful to get out on the water in a kayak at this time of year, too. The fishing gets serious now.  Anyone who enjoys catching rockfish is out in their boats every chance they get.  We always have a pumpkin carving party, so the cottagers with children make that weekend a priority. I love how the Knoll looks with lit jack-o-lanterns set out in front of the cottages.

Amid these activities, there’s a sense of loss the closer we get to closing up, and once October is over, I have a lot of work to do winterizing the cottages. Now-a-days, the porches are enclosed with windows, so it’s not as bad as it was when we covered every porch with sheets of plywood.  The place looked abandoned like that.  I think that bothered my mother a great deal when she was alive.  There is still a bit of a ghost-town feeling starting in November with no cars on the driveway and no lights in the cottages.  That part is difficult for me when I know winter is really around the corner.

However, the transition from summer to autumn on the bay is a sight. The evening skies are more dramatic because the sun has moved to the south causing the clouds to take on extreme shades of pinks and purples at sunrise and sunset.  The trees behind Cattail always seem to change color first.  I’ll see little hints of that in September along the edge of the water up there.  There are maple trees along Packard’s property that turn the most delicious shades of orange and gold in October.

I always grow pumpkins and gourds in my garden. I put them on the front steps of Sunrise Cottage, Packard’s house and the School House Studio.  I decorate the entrance to Annie Crow Knoll with pumpkins, too.  I put small, interesting gourds around the cement crows on the top of stone pillars out there.  All those autumn colors against a crystal blue sky on a sunny October day make me giddy.

Along with the shift in the landscape, the birds are migrating.  Canada Geese moving at night call out to one another in reassuring honks.  The Osprey, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other birds have gone south, while the ducks that winter over here begin to arrive.

Most people might assume that summer is my favorite time of year on the Knoll.  It is a close second to autumn.  There is nothing more thrilling than sharing this property with my friends and family.  Grace has come out to stay every summer since my parents passed.  I’ve watched her family grow up and the families of people who have rented for generations.  The days are long with late sunsets over the water, and I love to swim.

So what is it about autumn that makes it top ever so slightly over summer?  It’s because once summer arrives, not much changes in the landscape, but everything about autumn gradually shifts and evolves. The passage of time is more poignant, making it a great time to take stock of my life.

In the fall, I have a feeling of contentment that may go way back to my first season of running Annie Crow Knoll without my parents.  I remember feeling so proud that I had held onto the property that first year. So every autumn as the cottagers begin to pack up and the colors of the leaves pass through stages of yellow, orange and red, I am always aware of how grateful I am for all the gifts I receive from living here on Annie Crow Knoll at the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay. *

 

You can read more about Annie and the Knoll in the first two books of this trilogy.

Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise

Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset

To hear about the upcoming release of Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise and special promotions, sign up for an occasional newsletter here!

Three Quick Tips for Getting Back to Writing

I recently had a young author ask for suggestions on how to get back into her writing.  She’d been away from it for several reasons, and now that she was able to recommit to it, nothing was working. She felt stuck and frustrated. She found herself starting things and not getting far before editing. Nothing was good enough. We’ve all be in this place at one time or another.  Here are three things that I have found helpful.

Negative Self-talk  

I pay attention to negative self-talk. It can be blatant or subtle. Either way, it kills any efforts. When it was habitual, I didn’t even know I’m doing it. In order to become aware of it, I made a list of the negative things I was thinking on the left-hand side of a piece of paper. Then I turned each critical comment into a positive one in the right-hand column. Then I enjoyed crossing out each negative statement listed on the left. I became more vigilant about saying things to myself and my inner artist that I’d say to a child. I am kind, encouraging, nurturing, and patient.

 

Time Writings 

I set a timer for ten minutes. Often I use writing prompts to kick off the timed writing. I write without pausing to worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, the “right” words, or anything else. I write stream of consciousness until I hear the buzzer. If during this time, I change point of view or topics, I keep writing in that new direction. I don’t worry about anything.

 

Stop Editing 

Practicing positive self-talk and timed writings helped me to stop editing early in my writing efforts. The time for editing is later. I don’t worry about creating a finished piece in the beginning. I just write. When I stop to edit, I kill the flow.  I also move from the creative mind into the critical mind which makes me more susceptible to negative comments about the writing or myself. I give myself permission to make mistakes in order to discover what emerges later without critique.  I keep writing.

 

I hope you find these tips helpful in your creative journey. Others have assisted me along the way, and I want to do the same. Below are two resources that continue to have a positive influence on me.

Bonnie Neubauer: The Write-Brain Workbook and Story Spinner

Julia Cameron: The Artist’s Way and her many other books and resources on creativity

 

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The Second Draft

I’ve been working on the second draft of Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise.  It’s the third book in the series. The best way for me to describe my process with a second draft is it’s like a large jigsaw puzzle. I have all the outside edges done, and I’m filling in the middle. It’s a great feeling to have the beginning, middle, and end of the plot. All of the characters have usually arrived by the end of the first draft, too.

Although in Sunset, I did have the surprise appearance (or reappearance) of the little girl Nate rescues from the bullies in the first chapter. She is his nurse when he ends up in the hospital toward the end of the novel. I had the character of the nurse in every draft, but it wasn’t until the eleventh hour that I found out she was Ivy Green grown up. What a joyful discovery! And she is expecting! The child she is carrying in Sunset has become a main character in Moonrise. I love it when my characters let me know what’s going to happen. It’s too much fun!

I received the initial image for Moonrise a few years ago while cycling around Kent County, Maryland. I had to file it away until last autumn when I published Sunset and could begin Moonrise. The area in Kent County between Betterton and Chestertown is beautiful for biking. You’ll pass beaches on the bay, fields of corn and soybeans, wooded areas where you might spot a fox or deer, historic neighborhoods, and artists’ studios. There are also a few serious hills for a good workout. From this, I got the idea that Annie’s granddaughter was a professional cyclist. Eventually I found out why she was training near Annie Crow Knoll, and that she had a sister who is also a cyclist. I’m always amazed how character ideas are birthed.

During the second draft, I’m also double and triple checking my research. This time it’s on professional cycling, physical injuries, police business, and adoption.  I have some generous people helping me with these topics, and I will be thanking them from the bottom of my heart in the acknowledgements.

Some of my readers have been quite vocal about having to wait for the third book. It makes me happy that they are chomping at the bit. It’s going to be a while longer. There will be more drafts, editing and rewriting. I want to give everyone the best story possible. Hang in there. I keep plugging away at it.

In the meantime, I have two giveaways happening on Goodreads! I’m giving away two signed copies of Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise and two signed copies of Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset. The giveaways begin on May 6th and run until midnight on May 9th. Be sure to use the links in the sidebar to the right of this blog and enter! Tell your friends! Thanks!

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Writing Lessons from Owls (Follow-up on Nesting Eagles and Owls Teach Me)

The older owlet in the Great Horned Owl nest I’ve been watching fledged last night.  On and off all day long yesterday, she (the larger size hints at it being a female) climbed up and down the tree branches above the nest.  The first time she disappeared from view of the nest camera, I honestly had tears come to my eyes, and it was always a relief to see her land back in the nest to snuggle with her sibling.  She seemed to be encouraging the younger one to give this branching thing a try.  Each time, she climbed higher and higher into the tree, and last evening, she didn’t return.  It was the first night the younger owlet spent alone.  All the viewers of this nest cam were commiserating for the little one left behind. The parents didn’t bring any food in order to encourage it to branch out of the nest.  I had trouble turning off the computer and going to bed, and by 5:15 AM, I was back on to see how the little one managed. There was one post from a viewer explaining that she left the site up all night, so she could check on the owlet whenever she woke up.

This morning, the owlet kept looking up and calling out to its mother and older sibling.  He (could be male due to its smaller size) would hop around the nest, taking a few tentative steps up one of the tree branches, but clearer he wasn’t ready, yet.  Eventually Mom came to the nest with a big, juicy bird.  One viewer posted that it was a Purple Gallinule. Boy, that mother couldn’t tear it up fast enough for this little guy.  He was hungry.  I’m guessing the mother realized he wasn’t ready to fledge, and it was time to give in to feeding him. She also spent some time reassuring him and preening him. (She is one of the most magnificent creatures I’ve ever seen.)

All of this got me to thinking about my writing process.  I set goals, make lists, track my progress, and hold myself accountable for my writing. When I write, I hear and see my characters, and they tell me or show me what is going on.  However, there are times when they may give me a visual with no dialogue or dialogue but no setting. The time just isn’t right. When this happens, it’s not easy for me to be patient.  I can get into negative stories about not accomplishing enough.  That’s when I have to back off and give myself permission to quiet down, listen, and wait.  An example of this was when I was writing the scene in Annie Crow Knoll: Sunset when Nate brings Jose to Annie Crow Knoll to tell Beth Ann how he feels. For a while, all I saw was Nate and this dark-haired man standing up on the hill looking down at Beth Ann below in the fireplace pit.  For the longest time, I had no idea who Jose was or what was supposed to happen.  I had to wait, and eventually they let me know about Jose and his relationship with Beth Ann.

And so we wait for this younger owlet to fledge.  I realize it must have been hard for the older owlet to take off without her buddy.  But she was prepared.  She did what was natural for her to do.  Her younger sibling will leave the nest when he’s ready and not a moment before. The owls teach me about patience, waiting, and listening in regards to my writing and to everything in life.

I’d like to hear from you about your experiences of waiting for the right time.  Is it easy?  Is it difficult?  As you’ve aged, have you gotten more patient or less?  I look forward to your comments.

Since I previously blogged about two active eagles nests, I’m excited to update you that both eggs hatched just days ago in the Hanover nest.  They are doing well with their excellent parents protecting them.  It’s thrilling to watch these huge birds gently and patiently feed their tiny chicks. The two eaglets at Berry College are growing in leaps and bounds.  It’s cool to see the dramatic contrast in color, size, and behavior between newly hatched eaglets and eaglets that were hatched last month.

 

I’ve also started watching a Red-Tailed Hawk nest with two chicks in California.  I know, I know. It’s addicting.  Either fortunately or unfortunately, the Osprey are going to begin nesting, and there will be a nest cam at the Blackwater Wild Life Refuge.  I could watch these birds all day, but I won’t. I know you’re waiting for Annie Crow Knoll: Moonrise.

I have finished the first draft, and I’m celebrating today (March 26) and tomorrow (March 27) with a Goodreads giveaway of two signed copies of Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise.  There’s a link at the top of the sidebar on the right or click here.  Please celebrate with me by entering to win! Thanks!

Added Note: The older owlet returned to the nest last night, and hasn’t left this morning. The mother lured her back in with food, and so far today, she is staying with her younger sibling in the nest.  Just like so many goals, adventures, and plans, there are stops and starts and even some repeated steps.  More lessons for my writing process.

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Nesting Eagles and Owls Teach Me about Letting Go of Attachments

I’ve been watching four nest cams for several weeks.  The first was a Bald Eagle nest in the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, MD on the Eastern Shore.  This was an important nest to me because it’s on the Chesapeake Bay and a day trip from the cottage we’ve rented for fifteen years.  The pair laid three eggs, and two hatched.  It was exciting to watch these two tiny eaglets, but we had really bad weather with record cold temperatures.  First one eaglet died. Then the other one, which had been eating and doing well, was not covered by the inexperienced father one freezing night, and died.  This was my first lesson in letting go of attachments this nesting season.  I was attached to these two eaglets and to the notion that I’d watch them grow until they fledged out of view of the camera.  Then I’d be able to get updates on how the young eagles were during from the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge site and from their Facebook Page.  I could go down there and perhaps spot them in my binoculars.   However, in one night, the eagle nest season at Blackwater was over.  It’s a lesson in permanence.  There is none.

I’m also watching a Great Horned Owl nest cam on Skidaway Island, Savannah, Georgia.  This has quickly become my favorite nest because both owlets are doing well, and they are so much fun to watch.  The older owlet is not dominating the younger one.  The baby is very feisty and doesn’t take any crap off its older sibling.  It has swallowed mice and snakes whole before the older one gets a bite. At the risk of anthropomorphizing, I’d say these two are buddies.  Judging from the comments I’ve read, (there are currently over 2700 comments) a lot of the viewers feel the same.  We’ve watched these two little owlets huddle together during 40 MPH winds and rain storms.  They preen each other, and are rarely inches  apart.  With Great Horned Owls, both parents are involved in the care of their chicks.  The father stands guard, hunts, and briefly stops on the nest to drop off prey.  The mother keeps the chicks warm until they are able to regulate their body temperatures, and then she is off hunting, too.  And what a huntress she is!  She has brought back snakes, mice, squirrels, and all kinds of birds, including a good sized crane.  She feeds the owlets, and she covers them for protection.  Crows frequently harass the nest, and I’ve seen her and the older owlet click their beaks in defense.  Elaine Mercy W. posted a video when something large was circling the nest, possibly an eagle, and the mother completely fanned her wings and tail over her babies and puffed herself up into the scariest defense posture possible. The look in her eyes could kill. I wouldn’t mess with her.  So, can you tell that I’m attached to these owls?  When the owlets stretch and flap their wings now to build up their muscles for flying, their wing span has gotten so big, they are practically knocking each other off the nest. They’ll start branching in about two weeks.  This is when they hop out onto the branches in preparation for their first flight.  The parents will bring them food out on the branch until they fly and learn to hunt for themselves.  Once the owlets branch, they will be out of view of the camera.  The nest followers are already posting how sad they will be to lose their daily fix of these owlets. I will be, too. But nothing is permanent.  Even if both owlets make it into full adulthood, their chances of survival are not guaranteed.

There’s another Bald Eagle nest cam on the Berry College campus northwest of Atlanta, Georgia with over 5000 people chatting about it. It has two eaglets. The older, larger one has been aggressive about getting fed first. This is simply instinct, but not so easy to watch. Eaglets have been known to commit sibilicide in order to get enough to eat.  They may push the smaller eaglet out of the nest or peck at it enough that it just gives up and dies. The older Berry College eaglet has pounded on its smaller sibling so that now the younger one waits passively until the older eaglet is full and waddles off to sleep.  Then the mother feeds the younger eaglet, which looks like it’s hanging in there so far despite its lower status in the nest.  The eaglets are so awkward at this point. Their feet/talons and wings are too big for their bodies. At times, it is comical to see them struggle around the nest, but it’s difficult for me to watch this site as often because I get too upset about the smaller chick. I’m attached to things being fair. Food should be evenly distributed, but the eagle will feed the older, bigger eaglet because it has the better chance of surviving.

The last cam I’m watching is on a Bald Eagle nest in Hanover, Pa. There are currently over 3000 comments on this page. Two eggs were laid about a month after the eggs in the Blackwater nest.  They should begin hatching in a few days. The mother has had twelve successful nests with her mate, who died last year.  She has a new mate this season, and he’s doing a great job.  Both Bald Eagle parents share the duties of incubation.  During the last big snow storm when it was the father’s turn to sit on the eggs, the mother let him take over, but after a few minutes, she pushed him off.   She didn’t leave her eggs for close to two days. At times she was so completely covered with snow that she wasn’t visible.  This is an example of remarkable parenting.  I can’t help but wonder if the last eaglet in the Blackwater nest would have survived if it had these Hanover parents instead.

The Annie Crow Knoll series is filled with birds found on the Chesapeake.  The power of nature is a recurring theme in the novels.  My play A Thing with Feathers (I also wrote a screenplay version) is about a wild bird rehabilitator in Cape May Point, NJ.  My husband and I have been birders for close to twenty years.  We’ve raised two Cockatiels over the past twenty-five years.  I love to watch birds at the feeders in the yard at home and at the cottage.  When I’m on the Eastern Shore and lucky enough to witness a Bald Eagle fly out across the bay, I marvel at the extreme beauty and power. There’s nothing quite like it.  Having the opportunity to see these eagles and owls raise their young via the nest cams is miraculous. Birds are hardy and delicate at the same time.  What I come away with over and over again is that life is fragile.  Nothing is permanent.  When I let go of attachments, I am able to live in the present moment.

I’d like to hear about your successes and struggles with letting go of attachments.

Do you watch any nest cams?  Where?  What lessons are there to be learned from the birds?

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