We have ice! Well, sort of…There is a very thin layer over much of the lake, but still enough open water that the swans haven’t left yet. This morning I saw a couple of swans out in front of the resort that seemed to be “sitting” on the newly formed ice about 15 feet from the open water. They had been sleeping all night with their heads tucked under their wing and had ice form around them. These birds are so large, they need to run along the ground or water as they take off for flight. It would have been difficult for them to take off from their spot, as the ice wasn’t thick enough to support their weight for their running takeoff. I was curious how they would get to the open water because the ice was too thick for simply swimming through it. It was slow going, but they used their beak and broke the ice in front as far as they could reach, then swam forward and repeated the process. So, moral of the story? Look on the bright side today, at least you didn’t wake up with ice blocking your path to the coffee maker!
