April 3rd,Piping of the Swans Festival,Stratford

This festival was a lot of fun. I went with my friend Fran from Barrie. And it was a 2 hour drive. Some wonderful scenery along the way and barns and old buildings. I photographed a lot from the car on the road. The following selection of photos was of our day in Stratford. A pipe band escorts the swans and a couple of geese of which one is the leader of the pack so to speak to the water. He honked the whole distance there. Walking proud. The swans all follow the band and the goose and they get to the water and it's freedom at last after a long winter in captivity as the river is frozen. These are mute swans and one black swan. Beautiful. They will breed along the rivers edge and raise their beautiful cygnets. So the photos I have chosen to share with you are of the swans,some entertainment. A pair of swans fighting for territory over their mates which was a real battle till the end. Bathing playing in the water and scenery shots. It was a grand day for sure. This was on April 3rd. And on our way home our stop off for some dinner before we got on the road turned out to be a turn in the weather. We drove home through a snow storm,snow lightening,road closures and cars left right and center in the ditches around us. 2 hours turned into 3. Not bad. We made it!. Half way home it simmered down to a tolerable level. We left it all behind. What a night for the swans. Robins were hunkered down on fence posts wondering what the heck happened to the good spring weather. And a raccoon was trottin along the field to a nearby sheltering forest. What an end to a beautiful day. The lightening was spectacular and a beautiful orangy pink color. Bright as the bright sunshine on a clear day. Wow.