Spring is here in all its glory. It took a while but it’s here. My dog Manu and I have taken to walking out at the wild life area, Crex Meadows. For the last two years a large group of trumpeter swans have made it their home for the summer. They came quite early. There was still snow on the ground. The first day I saw them they swam right at Manu and me. I was a little frightened as they are massive beasts with wings that are very like a baseball bat. You don’t want to make them mad. So we turned around and left.
The next day the same thing happened. This time I paid more attention. They were not doing any of their warning behaviors, no head bobbing and their vocalizations seemed normal, so we kept going. They followed us as we walked along the road. When we turned to go back to the car, they still followed us. Every day we went, there were more and more. Some would come from all the way across the lake to swim alongside us.
It wasn’t me they were interested in, it was the dog. When he goes down to the water, they all come close and swim near him as he splashes along the shore. They obviously know he won’t go any deeper than he can stand. It seems he is a curiosity for them.
The wildflowers are in bloom, lupin, hoary puccoonn, columbine. Those are the only names I can remember. My husband knows them all. For me I know them as tall purple one, pretty orangy one, and upside down one. Fortunately it doesn’t make them any less beautiful.
In about late January or early February I get so fed up with putting on all the winter clothes, the jacket, hat, neck gaiter, mitten’s and boots. I look so forward to the day I slip on some croc’s and I’m out the door. I always forget about coming back inside. First have to you check the dog for ticks. Next strip down and check yourself for ticks. Then clean off all the blood splotches on your arms and legs from killing the gnats and mosquitoes after they have feasted on you. Then of course you have to dig all the gnats out of your eyes. How do they know to fly right in there? I swear sometimes I have so many of them it looks like I’m wearing eye liner.
It is shaping up to be an interesting year so far.
May the swans always find you a curiosity.
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