12 Swans a-Swimming on New Year’s Day

This is unheard of – two posts in two days, but my excellent beginning to 2018 warrants it.

I walk in nearby Petticoat Creek Conservation Area every morning, with the yarn eating poodle, as soon as the sun comes up. It’s been a challenge this past week with temperatures at -15 to -22 celsius plus wind chill. Our walks have been severely shortened, but on New Year’s day afternoon I decided to walk the whole park and give Hugo, and me, a treat. It was cold, but not too cold.

On our way back over the bridge, I saw 4 swans in Lake Ontario. Quite remarkable,  usually they are in pairs. A minute later, a small flock of what I thought to be sea gulls swooped in overhead for a landing. Eight more swans! So graceful, so beautiful.

Samantha Bucknam, the daughter of a neighbour, was tobogganing and captured these beautiful photos. It looks like there may be 13 or 14 swans, not 12, but that didn’t stop Samantha’s mom, Dawn, and me from singing “12 swans a-swimming!” at the top of our lungs. We progressed well on the song until we came to “7 swans a-swimming” and were stopped short, laughing, completely unable to remember what 12 was. We agreed from now on, it will always be “12 swans a-swimming” for us.

Continuing in the animal theme, here’s Hugo and a pal of his, Ollie, sharing a stick on Christmas day. Pure joy.