Louisiana weather. Under the clouds the heat is building and with it the humidity. Sophie and Angus have a long walk by the side of the river where the cool breezes linger.
This morning the swan family are proudly displaying two tiny cygnets. They paddle backwards and forwards twenty yards off shore. The cygnets - two maybe three days old - are as white as snow. Sophie stops and stares with walk pausing incredulity. There is something at once innocent and reassuring about these new arrivals. I find myself laughing aloud and saying 'thank you' to no one in particular. One of the benefits of advancing 'maturity' is the ability to express ones gratitude about unexpected joys without embarrassment.
Here at The Rickety Old Farmhouse we've left an area where the nettles can grow wild. The bees love it. Our numbers seem to be up :https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2022/06/whatever-happened-to-bee-apocalypse.html
10 comments:
Here in New Zealand our native Red admiral butterfly (kahukura) feeds off nettle plants and lays its eggs on the plant. We have a very healthy crop out in some of our paddocks to encourage the butterfly.
I feel for Sophie, enduring Louisiana weather in her thick fur coat.
Here in Aberdeen, Nobby is still thinks that bees, which seem to be particularly plentiful in my back garden this year, are provided for his entertainment... I fear he'll end up learning the hard way that they are not playthings...
Nobby - I fear Sophie will need a trim. Her last cut at the end of April was supposed to last the summer but her fur operates on the more its cut the faster it grows basis.
Indeed, at times like these it's good to be able to enjoy the simple things in life and find such pleasure in the swans and their cygnets.
The sky here is a pale blue, almost white - a sure sign of yet another very hot day.
I understand what you mean about the cygnets. I used to have an office just above the Imperial Moat in Tokyo. At that level of vision, it's like any other pond, and I always looked forward to the emergence of the swan families in the summer. There were also a lot of cormorants, but I don't think I ever saw a baby cormorant.
Hari OM
Hmmmm... a case of the play of light? All swan cygnets are a downy grey until they become adults. But this does not lessen the pleasure of watching new life revel in the environment for which it was made! YAM xx
It is magic. Should anyone inquire, you are conversing with Sophie...
Despite all that is happening in the world, some things make us say Thank You!
I think that is the wisdom of age manifesting.
The bee video was very interesting and somewhat reassuring. I now know the difference between honey bees and wild bees. I'll be looking for the wild bees in my garden from now on.
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