  I discuss the problem of constructing an effective low-energy theory in the
vicinity of a resonance or a bound state. The focus is on the example of the
$\Delta(1232)$, the lightest resonance in the nucleon sector. Recent
developments of the chiral effective-field theory in the $\Delta$-resonance
region are briefly reviewed. I conclude with a comment on the merits of the
manifestly covariant formulation of chiral EFT in the baryon sector.
