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Monday, July 12, 2010

Wild Swans!

When taking our usual ride out in the woods to see what we could find,
we found a
beautiful
beaver pond.

It had a huge beaver house in the middle....
and
looking out at the beaver house,
I was surprised
to see
four
large...

SWANS!!!!

Mostly they just slept.

They were quite far from us, at the other side of the pond,
but I did my best
to use my zoom to get them the best I could.




Here are three of them...two sleeping and one wondering what the noise was:





I was trying to be as quiet as possible, so they wouldn't get scared and either
swim away or fly off.
It must have worked, because she tucked her head back in for another nap:




I loved the big piece of "driftwood" looking wood behind them too:




The fourth swan was sitting across from them...also having sweet dreams:





I wonder what swans dream about?:






A shot of all four swans and the huge beaver house behind them:






They never woke up the whole time I snapped pictures of them....
we quietly left, leaving them to their slumbers:


We saw them one more trip out...and then yesterday when we checked to see if they were there?
They were nowhere to be found....

20 comments:

DJan said...

They look like art themselves, with their graceful necks tucked away. I love these pictures!! Thanks for sharing them.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Beautiful pictures, Joan. Glad you didn't wake up the sleeping beauties.... I read where most critters don't ever get much sleep.. There are too many distractions out there in the wild....

That is one huge beaver house!!!!!

Great pictures.
Hugs,
Betsy

CiCi said...

Some pictures evoke peaceful feelings. This is one of them. Just lovely.

Brian Miller said...

strikingly beautiful pics....the beaver home makes a wonderful background to the white beauty of the swans...what do they dream...hmm...perhas of danceing. smiles.

Bernie said...

I'm so excited, two days in a row I have been abe to open your site with no problems....yay

Love the swans and I love how you have presented your photos Joan, they look great....:-) Hugs

Carol said...

Hi Retired One. I love the landscape and the swans. John and I are heading for MN tomorrow and can't wait to see friends and family and this kind of landscape. Do swans dream, they don't have too they live a dream.

The Retired One said...

DJan: Thanks...I am always thrilled to get shots of them in the wild...it is so much better than getting pictures of swans or ducks in a park.

Betsy: Yes, it was the perfect background for the swans...it was nice of them to sleep by a cool background for me, now wasn't it?

Technobabe: Thanks...swans always look peaceful and majestic to me, too.

Brian: Yes, they cooperated perfectly for this photographer!

Bernie: I am so glad you could get the blog up...I put the slideshow of photos at the end of the blogposts now, maybe it was taking too long to load on the front? Anyway, I am glad it worked for you!!

Carol: Oh, yes, you will see wonderful landscapes and lake in Minnesota..we go there frequently (to Duluth). Have a great trip and you will find wonderful photography there for sure..can't wait to see the shots you are going to get.

Unknown said...

How peaceful and totally lovely!

Red said...

Now you've got me curious since you've taken such great pictures. What species of swans are they? Do they regularly summer in your area?
We have non breeding pelicans that summer here. The other day they flew by me at eye level. They were like 737's. And I didn't have a camera! Thanks for these great shots.

faye said...

Too many things lurking about for
swans and smaller birds to sleep very
long.. those seem to be making up for lost time.

SquirrelQueen said...

Swans are beautiful even when they are sleeping. I would love to see them in the wild like this, it must have been an incredible thrill. Great shots Joan, thanks for sharing.

Wanda..... said...

I like the contrast of the beautiful swans and the rustic wood. The swans may have been sleeping, but I bet the beavers were busy! :)

Alan Burnett said...

Beautiful swans and a beaver house of distinction.

dreamwalker said...

Even in their sleep, the swans look so graceful. Awesome pictures, as usual!

Far Side of Fifty said...

They look so calm sleeping..they are beautiful..you captured them very nicely! :)

Ginnymo said...

What a peaceful looking spot. The swans are beautiful and I love that beaver dam!!! Good thing you got to see them when you did. Sometimes we are at the right spot just at the right time. Great photos!!

Loree said...

Beautiful pictures of gorgeous birds. I love swans. They are very photogenic.

Pat Tillett said...

Not much in this world is as full of grace and serenity as a swan.
great photos Joan

Mike said...

The pictures where they were all together reminded me of an old Bugs Bunny Cartoon that I remember!

The Retired One said...

Eva: thanks! I love seeing swans in the wild so much.

Red: I think they are trumpeters but I am not sure...hard to see their beaks clear enough to identify them.
They do breed in our area but fly south when it gets cold.

Faye: yes, true..but these guys really were tired...they hardly moved the whole time we were there!

SquirrelQueen: I am always thrilled to see them in the wild...it is amazing. They are huge birds yet so graceful!

Wanda: I kept hoping the beaver would show up, but they are more nocturnal so we didn't see it at all. Maybe that is why the swans were tired during the day....the beavers kept them up all night. LOL

Alan: Hhaaaa a beaver house of distinction!!! hahaaa

Dreamwalker: Thanks! Sweet thing to say!

Far Side: it is hard to take a bad picture of a swan because they emit beauty!

Ginnymo: It sure was a perfect spot and it was such a nice day to catch them on camera.

Loree: they sure ARE!!! I wish I could get closer to them, but it is very hard..they don't swim close to shore usually.

Pat: true!!! That is why I love to see and take images of them.

Otin: I'd love to see what you had in mind! ha

Bossy: they sure were!

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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