I must have been 10 or 11 years old the day my mother drove 10 miles, took me out of my junior high class and rushed me home so I could watch my cat have kittens. Recognizing education comes in many packages, she figured me witnessing a cat giving birth was as valuable as what I might miss in the classroom that day. I didn’t have a camera yet, or I am sure I would have photographed the educational event. However, in the decades following, I photographed numerous animal and human births. Watching new life enter our world never gets old.
I like to think I’m a positive guy who usually doesn’t allow the hard things in life to get me down and to embrace the biblical admonition of focusing on things that are good and lovely. However, sometimes I can slip into dark moods. After all, a person can take only so much lying, cheating, posturing, stealing and killing. Watching animals in person or online, especially parents caring for their newborns, helps push away those poisons.
I was in a melancholy mood this past week, troubled too deeply about the state of our country, until a video of a baby elephant snuggling humans tickled me. It felt good to laugh. And then I watched rare footage shot from the mouth of a mountain lion den as a mother played with her kittens. Finally, I became engrossed with a livestream of bald eagles hatching eggs at California’s Big Bear Lake.
I was again reminded how amazing our natural world is.
Just as a slow walk in nature calms my spirit and reminds me of the awe-inspiring creation we inhabit, watching baby animals enter the world and witnessing the care of their parents lifts my spirit.
Reader Challenge
This is the time of year a lot of creatures give birth. Explore to see if you can find a spot to observe new life entering the world. This might be a nest near a lake or in a backyard tree. Perhaps you know where there’s an active fox den or a large hole in a tree where raccoons or squirrels have chosen to bring their young into the world.
Without disturbing, see if you can capture new life and the behavior as the offspring ventures into the world. I can’t wait to see what you find.
Email your best image (just one) with caption information, including an explanation of how it affects you, to gph@pioneer.coop. We may share submissions on our website and social media channels.