We had a huge scare when we went to check on the nesting swans - a large dead bird in the water. Nearly had a heart attack when we didn't immediately see Papa Swan, but he was there, and the dead bird turned out to be a goose. Still not pretty, but, after all, there are a lot of geese, and only 3 swans these days. Ber bravely went out on a fallen tree trunk to push the goose closer to shore with a stick. I fished him (the dead goose, not Ber) out of the water and we took him to a trash can. Not exactly a dignified burial, but at least it won't pollute the lake.
I'm getting quite tired of all these dead animals. dead duck, dead goose, dead raccoon, dead fish, dead possum, dead turtles. I like to look on the positive side, but it's getting a little hard. The good parts were it was a beautiful day, with stunning scenery and strange flowers growing directly out of tree trunks.
I was discussing the swans with a friend the other day. Ber and I really feel especially attached to the swans - so handsome and dignified, yet friendly. My friend doesn't like swans, says they are mean. Hmmm. I think mean is when someone is gratuitously nasty, or nasty as a power trip or to stoke up their egos. The swans are perfectly well behaved as long as no one invades their personal space. Only then do they stare, hiss, spread their wings, and possibly attack. They stop as soon as the person/duck/goose/dog/whatever has crossed back over the personal space boundary. Mostly, they just stare at the invader, move silently towards them, and the invader decides, "I think I'll go the other way." This seems quite reasonable to me. Actually, I see them as an excellent role model for human behavior. Make your position known when necessary. Otherwise, live and let live.
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