Changes

I walked yesterday and couldn't help but be chagrined at how everything's changing at Striebel Pond. Nothings quite the same now. The flowers have lost much of their color.

And the grasses are so tall that it's hard to shoot pictures of the pond from most parts of the path and many of them sport gorgeous seed heads.

The overall look of the pond is changing and while the flowers are losing their brilliance, the trees and grasses are gaining theirs.

Even the reflections in the water look different. There's just so much more color.

The swans are changing too. The feathers of the brown cygnets are becoming mottled with white and I notice that one of them is acting more and more independent. Sometimes I see him quite a distance from his siblings.

And I'll bet he's the one acting testy and bossy in the next series.

Gasp! He needs to save that aggression for the annoying geese.

Yesterday things with the swans were more different than I'd ever seen. The cob and the pen were by themselves in the north pond. They seemed nervous and unfocused as they swam quickly back and forth.

Then as one of the adults flew surveillance:

The other joined the cygnets in the south pond. It really looked like a joyful reunion.

They swam rapidly toward each other and ended up in this swan knot in the middle of the pond.
Soon they dispersed again but they never got very far apart before darkness fell which is how they were when I left. And that's just how I like it.

As I left I mused that perhaps I'd witnessed a swan cycle similar to a human life. Only they repeat theirs every year. They mate. They love and protect their young. They teach them to fly and encourage independence. And this seems like the hardest task right now. They worry about them when they're away and rush to reassure them that they're nearby if needed.

Maybe swans are not so very different from humans.