3:45 PM Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007, Boalsburg, PA
Their sound traveled well ahead of them through the snow-filled air -- a noisy high-pitched honking, and ponderous flapping. Swans, I thought, as I finished brushing the white fluff from my front porch. I smiled at the memory of a friend's description of this organized traffic jam of birds -- "They sound like geese in tight shorts", he had said.
Four inches of new powder, falling all day long, had turned the earth, houses, trees, air and sky a uniform white. Snow, the great leveler, was smoothing the rough edges of the world. I could not see Tussey Mountain nor Mount Nittany, as I usually can. Snow limited my vision to just a small, tidy part of my neighborhood.
Although I did not believe the swans could possibly be visible, I looked around hopefully anyway. As the sound grew louder, I realized the swans were headed straight towards me. Then they appeared, like a living bas-relief sculpture, long-necked, great white birds, outlined against a white sky. Cruising low, in a loose, jostling V- formation the swans flew directly over my house.
"Look", I shouted. "Swans. Tundra swans. A whole bunch of them." I was too enthralled to count, but I guess there were about 40 birds, all seeming larger-than-life. Perhaps temporarily disoriented in the snow, they were headed east, but then turned left at the neighbor's house and headed north. A moment later I heard them again to the west and south. I think they circled Boalsburg, calling for stragglers: "Heep! Heep! Calling all swans. Last chance. Flight leaving for parts south. Heep! Heep!' Then the noise diminished quickly on an eastward course towards Colyer Lake.
I put away my snow shovel with a warm feeling of satisfaction. The snow had been feather-light, and provided me with honest work for a short time, and an excuse to be outdoors in a weird wonderful world. How lucky I was to witness the Flight of the White Swans!
Happy Winter Everybody!
Jean
Jean Aron
Boalsburg, PA
