THIS SWAN IS THE MOTHER OF SEVEN

She is Climbing on the shore, far from her six 20 weeks old youngsters. Her seventh is ill and has been taken away for recovery.
I take this picture at the big pond, I do not know at that moment who she is. She is all alone. When I taken some pictures of other waterbirds I suddenly do not see her any longer.
I follow a little canal, where 20 geese are gathering, I know them well, they always stick together.
Then I see Hetty standing at the side of another canal, she is feeding six cygnets. I greet her and ask her how she is doing. She does not answer how she is doing but that the young ones are without Mother Swan. It is obvious that mother is the one I had seen at the pond.
She tells me the dramatic story of this family. Father is, and she indicates to her left, rather far away, Mother is, she points to the right, far away too.
The young ones are threatened by a lone male swan, and she adds: the most beautiful one I ever have seen.
She asks me to stay with the babies and she will try to bring the mother towards them. I stay and watch for nearly half an hour, then I see a swan flying low over the water towards me, it is the mother. And she will help to calm down the stressed babies.
The story is not yet finished. Marylene arrives too and there is the plan to take the whole lot to the father. And then bring them all back to this rather safe place.
But the swans are reluctant, there near that bridge they have been attact and fear the place.
Hetty suggests then that she will bring the father to his family. She disappears and Marylene and I stay and watch.
After a long time Hetty returns. She had almost succeeded but then a carr that cleans the Streets and makes a lot of noise did the father scare away.
After some time we leave the family there and go home. Children have to be collected and attented.
There are seemingly a lot of conflicting swan families in the vicinity. Hetty and Marylene know them all, where they had their nests, how many eggs there were, how many children have survived till now.
The swans are so beautiful but they threaten each other severely.

My haiku:

When a swan has cleaned
Herself the surface is white
Of summer feathers

And the proverb:

H/zij heeft zoveel verstand, dat h/zij er wel een winkel van kan opzetten

Translation: H/she has so much brain, that h/she could begin a shop for it.