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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

Trumpeter Swans

A couple weeks ago, a friend and I took our dogs for a long birding drive to another part of the county. As is our luck, the weather was not in our favor despite a better forecast. As we drove, we observed swans on the river and a few other birds but mostly it was going pretty slow til one of our last stops. There, we found at least 65 Trumpeter Swans! These massive birds can weigh 25 pounds or more and have a six-foot wingspan! They have a distinctive, trumpeting call. Many of the pairs of birds were engaged in head bobbing and waving their wings at each other. Is this part of pair bonding? They mate for life. Sometimes they’d get up and fly to another part of the slush-covered shallow lake. Why? It was fascinating to watch and listen to them. The range map on All About Birds does not show them wintering here and yet they are seen most years and there have been quite a few reports of Trumpeter Swans in the county this winter.

Dogs Having Fun

A few of the Good Girls’ Club members got together over the weekend to talk about the weather (the most common subject these days), sticks, swimming and upcoming travel plans. It was a small group so no votes were taken and Wyatt Ann was not present to do the minutes. Sky found a stick. Willow tried to take it from her. Rozie ran faster than Willow. Willow jumped in the river and discovered that the water was colder than she expected.

Melting

It is normal to get a January thaw around here but with a thin snow base, it’s looking more and more like mud season, the prelude to Spring. Here are a few images from a walk last weekend.

Fun with Dogs

Since Sky started her new med for arthritis in November, she has become more tolerant of Willow, even playful! She doesn’t have the energy of the young dog but sometimes they have a lot of fun together. I made these photos on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Willow sprained her toe so they are not supposed to play for a while. Can you explain that to Willow who is seventeen months old?

Winter Light

The last two months have been dominated by gray skies. Whenever the sun makes an appearance, it seems like we should take notice. Here are a few spots of sunshine at the end of the afternoon, yesterday. I couldn’t decide between color or black and white.