Fowl Update and Turtle Story

There are other "things" in the water besides mallard ducks. One end of the lake is further away from the parking area and has been left fairly natural. This guy caught minnow after minnow while we were watching him across the water. I should be so successful fishing.



From clear across the lake, in a little cove, was the blue heron which visits the little pond under my balcony. It's nice to know he "lives" here when not visiting me.


Part of the Waterfowl Flotilla which can hear the rattle of a bread bag clear across the lake. The little ones have already learned to race across the water.

One of the pair of swans which live here. They are really impressive in size, especially compared to the "regular" ducks.




I never knew there was this pair at the lake until this last walk. We have named them "Ying and Yang". One solid black and one solid white, they are definitely a pair, swimming everywhere together.



The swans look like battleships among little tug boats.

And there are also geese, Canadian ones. It is interesting the ducks and the swans will swim together, but the geese keep totally away from them. Of course, swans, geese and ducks are way too noisy for the herons and cranes.



These are not "fowl", but there are hundreds of these little beasties in the lake and they will come up and eat bread and chips also. While I like turtles, I have a real problem with them in lakes.

See, when I was little, my grandparents lived near a lake and we would go up there during the summer and spend a couple of weeks, minimum. The cabin didn't have a really efficient bathroom system, so it was a daily ritual to load up, go to the lake with our bar of soap and play in the water and take a bath.
Since the bottom of the lake was really rocky, we had to wear old tennis shoes to protect our feet. But there were tons and tons of turtles in this huge, huge lake. There were parts of the lake were they would run trot lines and catch turtles which were 2 feet across and ugly and scary (mud turtles).

I was told when I was little, if a snapping turtle bit you it would (1) not let go until the sun went down or (2) not let go until it thundered. When you are 4-5 years old, it doesn't take much to put it together it could be several days before it thundered when the sun went down, so I have visions of walking around with this turtle attached to my toe. I don't like swimming in anything I can't see what's in there with me. A turtle might get me!