Swans in East Rock

When Paul and I lived in New Haven, we used to take walks -- sometimes during our lunch breaks -- to East Rock Park, which was just a few blocks from our apartment. That was one of my favorite thing about that apartment, actually: we were in the city, but East Rock was always right there for when we needed a nature fix.

This morning, we got a chance to revisit our old haunt, because Paul was running a 5K through East Rock Park. (He did well!) So while he was running uphill and helping refugees (it's nice when races are for charity), I rambled along the river at the boundary of the park with my camera.

Surprisingly, the blaring music from the race hadn't scared all the animals away -- but then I guess they might be used to noise, living on the edge of the city and all. I saw a few small birds (sparrows, a Downy Woodpecker, etc.) foraging in the bare trees, and I watched a pair of Mute Swans swimming on the river.

I remember we once saw swans with babies here, and I wonder if these ones will stick around long enough to raise a family. I probably won't be around to see it, but it was fun to see these impressive creatures right in the middle of such an otherwise bare landscape.

The temperatures are back to hovering around freezing, but I did spot some bulbs starting to poke through the ground next to the sidewalk.... I remember that bulbs sometimes come up rather early in New Haven, though, so I'm not getting my hopes up about this being a real sign of spring.