What a great looking area PM2. Are the grayish ones the young ones? Called Cignets maybe. I can't remember. Norma

PM, those are wonderful pictures. Is it all the same body of water? Some of the pictures appear to be more of a lake. Very interesting skys too. Last night we saw a small tornado form as we were going down the highway. It stayed in the clouds and didn't touch down. I find clouds very interesting.

Michelle

So pretty PM! We have geese around here , and herons, but no swans.That seems pretty big to be called a 'pond'...I wonder what the 'official' difference is between a pond and a lake? It's so interesting to see the natural landscape around and about the Idylls abodes...

Kathy in Napa

Kathy, I had a whole lot of trouble with this question when I first moved up here! Some of the things that pass for lakes are smaller than the ponds, LOL....perhaps the link will make the question clear as mud, LOL....try googling this query yourself :)

We have swans on our town waterway, too, PM, but I have never seen the babes (signets? didn't look that one up, LOL). Do swans attack, and how close were you in that shot?!?

Beautiful pond pictures, PM!

Saucy

Here is a link that might be useful: Q: Difference between lake and pond?

Good question Kathy. Thanks for posting that link, Saucy. I was looking at Wikipedia last night and really didn't see an explanation that was clear cut either. [g] The explanation I read suggests that all ponds are man made and lakes are not.....among other things. That didn't seem possible to me? So I went looking at the history of this particular pond and couldn't determine whether it had been man made or not. It seems pretty large to have been dug out. If you notice in Photo #2, there is paving....that circles the pond and makes a great walking, running surface too. Kids bring their bikes, lots of in line skaters sometimes and it is Dog Heaven....lol. Very unusual to see it so empty. There was not a car in sight and not a person out there yesterday.

If you notice the paved area, there is water on both sides. Looking in one direction you see the small side that is very still with the evening primrose in the photo and the one above it. The sky in that direction was lighter too. On the other side of the pavement it is larger with more movement to the water. All of the dark photos. This might give you a better idea of it's size on the larger side.

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It is about 2 miles around to walk it, perfect size. It also has some different unpaved trails to explore. I have seen photos taken there of Herons and Osprey but have not caught one myself. I've seen the Heron when I didn't have a camera with me, naturally. [g]

This is hardly the nicest natural area around. But it is in an almost urban area which makes it more special and it is well used, safe as far as I've ever heard. Always lots of friendly people using it all year.

Thanks for the catch Norma...I had to look it up...Cygnets. Evidently swans are from the Genus Cygnus. I was wondering where they came up with that name for the babies....you learn something new every day.

I love photos of the sky too Michelle. I think it is because I can't see the horizon from my property at all.

Saucy...we caught the babies when they were still small and fuzzy one year which is a lot of fun to watch. These would have been babies in the spring. Yes the parents are very protective and will attack, but with all the people walking along that paved path, they are well used to people. I was able to get about 4 feet to them, but when the parent's back was to me. When I tried it from the other side, she went on the alert and would have charged me if I took another step toward them.

I have a photo of a swan in attack mode, chasing off another swan who was evidently overstepping his bounds near her territory. She had her wings out and was moving at top speed after him. I didn't get the photo of her on the shore with her wings flapping before she went into the water, but here is the one I was able to get....

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Thanks for looking... :-)

Pm2, I am enjoying all of these beautiful pics. and all the commentary. That is interesting about ponds versus lakes, and the fact that the definition of sizes doesn't apply to farm ponds. There are many farm ponds in Arkansas, and some are quite large. Ours is a smaller one.
In Harrison, a portion of the seasonal stream that runs through the edge of the town was expanded, and they call it "Harrison Lake". I find that rather amusing.

The swans are beautiful. The cloudy sky is too. :-)
The only 'horizon' that we can see from our home, is the tops of the surrounding hills. :-) And they are hidden when the leaves are on the trees.

Marian

Very beautiful pictures! It looks like a lovely area.

There are a couple of swans that have been living down at the lake, not too far from here, for a couple of years. I gather they aren't usually resident on Lake Ontario because there was a lot of comment the first year they showed up.

Great photos of a lovely pond PM. Love the cygnets!

Deanne

It's beautiful, and you've captured it well with the camera. How far is it from your house? I'd be there all the time. The babies are adorable.

Saucy, thanks for the link, I like the depth definition best. When I think of places that are defined as lakes here they are way deeper than 6 ft. PM , do you know the depth of your pond? My walk here is along the river-maybe I ought to do a walk and slideshow !

Kathy in Napa

Marian, the tops of the surrounding hills sounds like a wonderful sight. :-) It's a short drive away, Anita. We go in spurts, sometimes in the fall we manage about 4 times a week. But once daylight savings time comes and it is dark too early, it is hard for us to fit it in, until the weekend and then it competes with so many other things. Kathy, I looked it up and the pond is 40 ft maximum depth and 10ft average. It was described as a 'natural' pond, but they do stock it with fish. So, I don't know if that clears anything up. I would love to see a post of your river walk!

pm2