Looking at life from both sides now...

Last night they turned off the eagle cam - nesting season is over, and eaglets Peace and Harmony are thriving.  I, and thousands of other nature lovers, watched, enthralled, as the pair of bald eagles, apex predators, built their nest, laid and incubated the two eggs, and nurtured their young.  We watchers fretted when we thought the babies might be hungry, and cheered when the parents brought home fish or small animals or ducks or goslings.

Peace and Harmony, back at the nest for a visit

For the last five or six weeks, I often go check on the family of swans on the golf course.  There are always other people there, taking pictures, feeding them bread, or just admiring.

This afternoon, I was heartsick to learn that the mother swan and two of her babies were killed last night, dinner for a creature farther up the food chain.