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| The
male enjoys a little snooze on the quiet, icy river under
the warm winter sun. |
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| The
curiosity is mutual. |
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| An
enchanted moment as the pair take an icy drink under the
shimmering sun on this cold winter's day. |
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| The
pair have become so relaxed with me nearby that they now
slip into their normal character. |
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| Ahhhh,
if only I had the time to just nap all day like these
swans... |
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| The
female splashes some water on herself which is how she
cleans herself, while the male takes a little nap. |
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| The
pair comes over for a little quiet company. With a big
animal like me around, the swans have learned that they
are safer being near me, so long as I do not impose a
threat. And, since they are alone with no other swans
around, they don't mind some safe company once in a while. |
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| Come
to me, my feathered friends! |
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| The
pair were always close together when they first arrived
at their new home. The lack of familiarity with the area
introduces the potential of many unknown dangers. As they
became more comfortable with the area they would wander
apart a little more often. |
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| The
female takes a sip of cold water out of the icy river as
the male overlooks the situation, always protecting his
girl. |
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| The
pair follow me home along the bank of the river. They
followed me about a half mile this day. |
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| The
swans fan their feathers to make them look bigger to any
intruders feathered or furred as they cruise up the river
to follow me home. |
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| The
pair of swans come right over to welcome me in a quiet
pool in the river. |
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| Tranquility,
grace, and beauty. And, he knows I have the camera! |
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| Now
he has forgotten about the camera and has really dozed
off. |
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| The
male knows he is safe near me now and takes advantage of
this to catch a little nap. This gives him a break from
his constant guard duty of protecting his mate and
territory. |
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| I
don't know what caused the cloud-like effect in the water,
but the picture is real. |
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| And,
when they really want to take a nap, this is how they put
their heads. |
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| The
male is really entering deep sleep in this photo. |
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| He
has forgotten that I am even there now! |
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| Unconditional
love and devotion, swan style! |
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| And
finally, the fairytale swan. |
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| The
cob naps in front of me as the sun lights him, reflecting
on the water behind him. |
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| The
cob swims off into the sunlit waters. |
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| The
cob comes over to see who it is that is near the lake. |
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| The
swans swim off into a surreal setting with the sun
lighting up the water. |
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| Ulysses
basks in the sunlight that lights up his feathers from
the reflection on the water. |
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| Ulysses
stretches his head back to rub that spot that only swans
can reach with their long necks! |
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| It
is hard to believe that anybody would ever kick this
animal so brutally that it would injure his leg or break
his wing. |
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| And
Kristin, this one is just for you!!! A once in a lifetime
shot. No matter how many times I tried to recreate this
type of picture, I could not. Simply magic!!! It will
never happen again! I saved the best for last!!! |
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| The
female finally got her way and convinced him to buy her
what she always wanted: a private pond with a nest in the
reeds. The whole kit-n-kaboodle! ... Movin' on up, from
the riverside... We finally got a piece of the pie. |
