Goodbye Ice Fishermen, Hello Swans!

We may not have flowers blooming like Shannon in California and we don't have trees budding like Jason in Cincinnati, but yesterday we finally got one tiny little hint of Spring!

Over the past few days the lakes have been thawing. (It was scary seeing the ice fishermen still out on them this weekend!) Yesterday in the lake nearest my house there appeared a little melted opening in the midst of the remaining ice, and guess what? A swan was floating in it!! It had a patient air about it, like it was saying "ok, I'll just hang out here 'til the rest of the lake thaws".

I started loving swans when I was a little girl & my grandmother read "The Ugly Duckling" to me. Until I moved up here I'd only seen them in captivity. I nearly ran off the road when I first saw a flock here just swimming casually swimming around! Here in Michigan they're on nearly every lake you pass, and even after living here for years I still get excited about them!! They just amaze me, they're so majestic in the water & so huge when they fly that you have to wonder how they ever got off the ground!

Here's a photo I took one Spring when my favorite pair of swans were taking turns sitting on their eggs. (If you look closely you can see their nest - it is just huge... and my California & Texas friends will want to note that there's not a single bit of spring green appearing, even though it was taken in April!) I pass by them on my way to work every day & enjoy watching their progress as they build the nest, then seeing them sitting there warming the eggs, and finally the thrill of seeing the babies all out swimming in a row behind their parents! Did you know that swans mate for life? This week they brightened my life by letting me know that YES, Spring IS coming, even to the land of ice & snow!