Monday, April 27, 2009

Sunday Afternoon at the Battlefield

Sunday afternoon my mom wanted to take me up to the battlefield to see the newest residents on Wormley Creek pond. A pair of swans have some new fuzzy cygnets. Last week she said there were 10 babies.

The most I could count was 8 yesterday. Perhaps a couple were hidden by the adults. They are sure cute... and fuzzy.

Springtime on the battlefield is so pretty. There is such an expanse of unspoiled landscape. The redoubts at the Yorktown Battlefield are not only from the Revolutionary War, but the Civil War as well. These redoubts are so large and it is amazing to think that all this was dug by hand, during wartime. The Yorktown, Williamsburg, Jamestown area is riddled with history, it is hard to miss it.




There are plenty of websites to find more information about military fortifications --from Seizure of Redoubts 9 and 10 to the National Park page on Yorktown.
The woods are brimming with new growth of many varieties of ferns and Golden Ragwort, Packera aurea or Senecio aureus. The dappled sunlight really plays on the yellow blooms. The Golden Ragwort is common in moist, shady, wooded areas.





We did a second lap along the trail to see if the swans were any closer to our side of the pond...as we approached there were three turtles on the log in the foreground (who quickly slipped into the water as we came closer) and you can see the swans...all the way on the other side of the pond.

20 comments:

  1. Lovely shots on swans.... very elegant looking swans indeed. ~ bangchik

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  2. I am super jealous of those swan photos! SIMPLY WONDERFUL!
    Happy Spring from my garden in the midwest.

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  3. Those cygnets are so cute! Don't think I've ever seen any before. So fuzzy!

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  4. bangchik- there is something majestic about swans. True beauties.
    Bren- it was a real treat to see this family gathering. Along the Colonial Parkway we see one or two swans in some of the quiet creeks, but not with such a brood.
    tina- they are super fuzzy!
    keewee- cute too!

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  5. Must be nice to be surrounded by all that history. Not so much of it out here in Idaho. Some, but not as much.
    Swans are so pretty.

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  6. The swans are beautiful !!!
    Sounds like a wonderful day.
    Stop by my blog I have a gift for you.
    hugs, Cherry

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  7. Hi Janet, oh what a gorgeous spot! The swans are precious. I grew up next to a place called Swan Lake in Tulsa, there were babies every spring, too cute and not at all ugly ducklings! Your new home site looks fabulous, so exciting to see what is already growing there too. And water! It will be grand. I ordered some seedlings of the red clover from the seed savers exchange, hoping for that beautiful red color in the garden. :-)
    Frances

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  8. Kim and Victoria- It is amazing how much history is in this area. Everywhere you turn there is something from either Revolutionary times or Civil War time.
    Cherry- Thanks so much for the award and for stopping by here and seeing the swans. Now I just have to figure out how to do the importing of said award.
    Frances- There is just something so cute about fuzzy baby swans. The home site is really nice. I am still trying to ID some of the plant material. Always a gardener! That crimson clover is striking when the field is covered with it.

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  9. Awww..how sweet are those little babies! That is a beautiful area in Yorktown, so natural & untouched by man still. :)

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  10. My husband and son want to tour the battlefields in Virginia. One of these days...

    The swans are so graceful! I love the fuzzy ones, too. Cute! :-)

    Cameron

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  11. Racquel- It is untouched, really a nice spot.
    Cameron- You should come and tour the battlefields. Early spring is a great time, not too crowded yet, and the dogwood and redbud are glorious...and there may be more baby swans!

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  12. Beautiful photos! I almost can feel the peacefulness.

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  13. Thanks Dawn, it is a very peaceful quiet setting.

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  14. There is just SO much history in VA...where I live, included! Battlefields in Manassas, Fredericksberg, etc...all with loads of stories behind them. Those fuzzy babies are going to more beautiful swans to grace the landscape;-)

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  15. Jan- Virginia surely has lots of places where battles were waged. Oh those original 13 colonies...full of history. ;-D

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  16. That's so pretty and historic. Right up my alley. Me and MrD will visit some day and I want to go back to Gettysburg too.

    Swans mate for life don't they? I hope the other two were just hidden and not gotten. Beautiful pictures and so serene.

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  17. Thanks Anna, you all should come up while we still live up here.
    I have heard that about swans, but not sure if it is fact.

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  18. Janet the swans are so beautiful.the babies(cygnets) I can never remember the babies names, are the cutiest things.They look too little to be swimming. When I visit places like that I can almost feel a reverence about the place.I guess it is thinking about all of the lost lives.

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  19. Hi Lona, truth be told, I had to Google the name of baby swans...I had an idea what it was, but not 100%. You do have a sense of reverence up on the battlefield. It is a neat place.

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