THEY DID NOT HISS AT US

Tom pulled the truck into the parking lot near Lake Sally. I glanced for open water and there they were! Actually, I said, THERE THEY ARE!!!!

We don't see a lot of swans in this area. It has only been the last few years that we have seen them as well as taken a picture. It isn't that Canada Geese aren't impressive it is just we see them everywhere in all stages of growth. So the swans, somewhat mystic to me, are a huge treat to see.

After all, most of the swans I had ever seen where on wallpaper and shower curtains and knew little of them but loved the what they could curl that long neck. After lunch, we had gone to a shop in Detroit Lakes called the Red Willow. We have been there before. It is an old house filled to the rafters with stuff. She has gone into pots and knives now but in the last room, I saw a wooded swan with a curled neck. It looks old but it isn't. She reminded us of someone named Bonnie with a skin condition so we call her Bonnie the Swanny. When we left the store, (after a long discussion about knives), I was certain it was the only swan I would see that day.

We had hoped to see open water. We expected to see geese, and of course ducks. There were no loons, although at first glance on the edge of the open water, we did see white breasted something 'walking on the water'. They turned out to be Buffleheads trying to get away from the eagle who was swooping near them.

We drove back roads until we found ourselves in the middle of the Hamden Slough Refuge. How pretty that will be when the wild flowers bloom in the summer. It is about 6,000 acres of grassland and wet lands with the hope to draw shore birds, waterfowl, and song birds. We saw greater than a dozen song bird houses in one small area. In Kansas, at the Girl Scout Camp, there are blue bird houses, that is what these looked like.

I had noticed that the internal winter within myself had lifted a few days ago. Why else would I hear myself saying, "Oh I can hardly wait to taste the coffee in the morning". And now, the geese are back in great numbers and so are the swans!

This weekend, a day trip SE to a migration pattern and hopefully, more water fowl to admire.

No hissing allowed.

No hollering, "THERE THEY ARE!!!"

e