In my last post, I mentioned that I LOVE Chicagoland – not just Chicago proper but all the towns and villages that surround it. A big part of that love is rooted in the affection I have for our little Village. We always say it feels like living in a bubble – the type of community that Tim Walz describes in his stump speeches. It’s a big neighborhood and we generally treat each other with kindness and respect. I like to joke and say we’re living in a “Leave It to Beaver” episode with Smartphones.
If I meant to talk about all the things I love about this community, it would be a very long post – not going to do that. What I did want to talk about is my morning walk and one of many things about this place that leaves me with a peaceful, easy feeling on most days. We’re lucky enough to have a smallish lake about 2 blocks from the house. My wife and I – after a slow morning in bed drinking coffee and reading the newspapers – generally start the day by walking the dog. I’d be completely remiss at this point (and the dog would never forgive me) if I didn’t introduce her so….meet Daisy.
That lake makes for about a 2-mile walk – perfect for two retirees and our 13-year-old Daisy girl. What never ceases to amaze is that even here – this close to one of the largest cities in the country – we’re not all that far from the natural world. In that regard, we were lucky this morning.
Here’s a picture of a Great Blue Heron that was just hanging around having breakfast.
It’s not uncommon to see these guys on the lake but it’s always worth a small celebration – they’re just such beautiful birds.
If that wasn’t enough, this next one is what really got us excited. We used to have a mating pair of swans that made our lake their home. They were neighbors everyone in town was glad to have and it was always comforting to start the day seeing them out there together. I don’t know a lot about swans, but I do believe that they mate for life and that they generally keep the geese off the lake. I don’t really have anything against geese – with the exception of the fact that I get a little tired of stepping around / over piles of goose poop and their general lack of congeniality – but given any choice between geese and swans, I am a “swans” guy hands down. Swans are a permanent presence so they feel more like neighbors whereas the geese are definitely just tourists.
Sadly, we lost our swans around the time the pandemic hit – had heavy rains, the lake rose pretty quickly, and the mother swan drowned (we think because she refused to leave her nest as the waters started to rise). With his mate gone, the male swan left shortly thereafter. I think it’s fair to say that, for many of us, their loss left a small hole in the community.
So, it was with no small amount of happiness that we saw these folk on our walk this morning.
Can’t say for sure but this looks like 2 new Swan couples cruising the lake. We also won’t know for a while but we’re truly hoping that this means we’ll have new neighbors in the future and that we’ll all eventually be hearing the pitter patter of small swan feet. I guess you don’t always have to find a solution to a problem. Sometimes all you have to do is wait and holes fill themselves in.
Cheers