The weather here has taken a sudden turn and today was cold. Tomorrow I shall wear a warmer coat. I’m glad that butterbeans were already on tonight’s menu; warm and tasty, the perfect dish for an evening where winter is making itself felt.
I am hoping that MasterB’s fans are content with the Instagram pictures which appear on this page. I shall of course be putting up more photos of His Gingerness in posts here, but today he is giving way to swans.
Aunt lives by the river, and when I returned from the ham and rolls shopping trip, I saw this group of swans and had to take some photographs.
Swans in the distance
From a distance it looked like a group of adult swans. Only as they approached did I realise thsi was a family, the parents with their almost grown up cygnets. Each cygnet had a few tell tale brown feathers.
I liked the way they carefully swam round the unsavoury scum and the trapped rubbish.
Skirting the filth
And the way the parent birds swam abreast while the cygnets were in single file.
All in a row
They seemed quite interested in seeing what I was doing, but when it became obvious that I had no food for them, they turned and continued their journey on the river.
Isobel (and Cat)'s Blog 
Fascinating and beautiful swans, great shots!
Thank-you.
Thoroughly enjoyed the photos of the swans… peaceful. CH loves butter beans. I have a pot of chili on the stove… 🙂 It is cold with rain in our bit of country. I enjoy these days and love the undressed trees standing tall against the winter sky as I look out the windows from the porch. Winter is my time of year.
The butter beans tonight were perfect. I had some good fresh whole meal bread to have with them too. I got very wet feet this morning and it was cold, so that wasn’t a lot of fun. The sudden drop in temperature caught me by surprise.
You were a winter baby, weren’t you? Mother’s birthday was November and she loved the autumn. Aunt and I have birthdays in April and May respectively, and we both love the spring. I’m sure there is a connection.
I was a fall baby… 🙂
Mute swans? They can be nasty characters …. We saw some on New Year’s: tail up and “dabbling” they were not quite as elegant as yours.
I shall leave the identification to others, but they weren’t in the least scary or aggressive, just beautiful.
I agree with Kathy, they can be scary but still very beautiful birds.
These really weren’t scary. But then the ‘children’ were no longer babies, so they probably felt quite safe.
The males have been known to kill their male children. Can even break a man’s arm if provoked. But that aside, they are gorgeous and parents with cygnets are enchanting. Just a reminder that birds are not just about the pretty – theirs is a nasty world in which it is every bird for itself. And no one is pretty upside down in the muck with the legs in the air.
Lovely swans and enjoying Master B on Instagram…hope auntie is doing okay?
what delightful views! there are more ducks and geese here in this corner of the planet. and seagulls, of course 🙂
but there is something elegant about these stately birds. thanks for sharing.