Tag Archives: swans
The Back Yard
A pair of swans, who had been spending the summer on the Back Pond, recently moved up to The Pond. I was watching them one evening, when a second pair of swans crashed the party, and chaos ensued. The original pair did not take kindly to sharing The Pond. For an hour the original pair chased the interlopers across the usual still waters. I was stacking firewood, and I’d hear the Flap,Flap,Flap… of wings beating the water as they skimmed across from end to end. Pretty fascinating to watch, although I’m convinced the beaver just wanted the peace & quiet back.
When I took the video, things had calmed down some, but you can see one of the interlopers off to the side, testing the waters, as it were. Eventually, that lone swan crossed the red line, and chaos ensued once more. It was getting dark when the four swans finally paired off at opposite ends of The Pond.
Welcome Back
Film Friday:
Ducks, geese, swans and cranes have all come back to the neighborhood. The back pond still has ice, although it’s looking more than a bit dodgy and should go out this weekend. The beaver is patrolling the edges, occasionally flushing a pair of mallards from the open water to the ice, where they stand patiently waiting for the open water to be beaver free. Even the gulls are back, swooping low over the pond’s edge looking for the perfect nesting spot.
Spring has indeed arrived in the Far North.
Camera: Leica M3; Film: Kodak 35mm, Ektar100
The sound of moving water
The thaw has finally come to the north. Running water, which has not been visible for several months now, can be found at every turn. The change of seasons, so dramatic towards the ends of the earth, is an adventure to experience every year.
The melt is slowly crossing The Pond
The transition season in Alaska’s Interior is a quick one, as a friend recently reminded me. As I wrote earlier, it has been years since I experienced the spring thaw in its entirety. I’m enjoying break up, even though boots are often required to experience the melt, close up and personal.
Creamers Field
The snow is all gone out at Creamers Field, the local waterfowl sanctuary. The field was loaded with geese, ducks, a few sandhill cranes, and more trumpeter swans than I usually see out there. The swans arrived early, and are taking advantage of the retired dairy farm. I took the Leica out there, so we will eventually see if anything will come out of those pictures. The swans were putting on a show that day, so hopefully I captured something on film worth sharing.
The Kenai
While in Anchorage, we took a side trip down to the Kenai Peninsula. It was a beautiful drive. The swans seemed to be floating in every puddle. Both trumpeter and tundra swans were migrating through, and their numbers were in the hundreds.
Autumn is a perfect time to visit the Kenai. Very little tourist action is going on this time of year, with absolutely no combat fishing. Although, that also means that almost nothing was open.
Kenai Lake near Cooper Landing
The Sterling Highway as it snakes its way through the Kenai Peninsula
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