Munster Indiana

rainbow

I wonder if that Barn is full of gold?

Pedway

Chicago 6/3/26

Swan Memorial Reflections

This is much more you. The observational wandering works really well here. I’d mostly just tighten the voice recognition and punctuation while keeping the flow intact:

I’m standing in front of a pond by my Airbnb in Urbana. There’s a very lovely bronze memorial stone that the residents erected for a swan who used to live here.

There’s a new pair of swans now named Bert and Ernie, and the last time I was down this way I heard one of the residents calling to them. I think he was trying to get them to come eat.

I just think it’s so sweet and beautiful that the people who live here — in this very snooty, stuck-up neighborhood, and I’m serious, these houses look like fucking castles — became attached to this swan who apparently lived here for fifteen years. They cared enough about her that they made this beautiful marker.

Right now it looks like maybe they have a nest. One of the swans is sitting up on the shore, and you can tell she’s alert and watching everything around her, but she doesn’t seem to have any intention of going anywhere. The other one is swimming slow circles around the pond.

A little while ago he had his wings spread out to make himself look huge and intimidating, although honestly he just looked beautiful.

There’s other life around this pond too. A couple pairs of mallards keep looking like they want to come sit down here. There’s a pair of geese, some squirrels, and red-winged blackbirds. But it’s very clear the swans are the royalty here. Everybody else hangs out at the opposite end of the pond.

Well, I guess the female isn’t broody after all because now they’re both swimming, but I still think they’re planning a nest. She got down and swam around for a little while, then came right back to the exact same spot on shore. I can see feathers and nesting material scattered all around that area.

I was going to stay out longer, but it’s starting to get chilly, so I’m heading back to the house now.

Swan memorial reflections

I’m standing in front of a pond by my Airbnb in Urbana. There’s a very lovely bronze memorial stone that the residents erected for a swan who used to live here.

There’s a new pair of swans now named Bert and Ernie, and the last time I was down this way I heard one of the residents calling to them. I think he was trying to get them to come eat.

I just think it’s so sweet and beautiful that the people who live here — in this very snooty, stuck-up neighborhood, and I’m serious, these houses look like fucking castles — became attached to this swan who apparently lived here for fifteen years. They cared enough about her that they made this beautiful marker.

Right now it looks like maybe they have a nest. One of the swans is sitting up on the shore, and you can tell she’s alert and watching everything around her, but she doesn’t seem to have any intention of going anywhere. The other one is swimming slow circles around the pond.

A little while ago he had his wings spread out to make himself look huge and intimidating, although honestly he just looked beautiful.

There’s other life around this pond too. A couple pairs of mallards keep looking like they want to come sit down here. There’s a pair of geese, some squirrels, and red-winged blackbirds. But it’s very clear the swans are the royalty here. Everybody else hangs out at the opposite end of the pond.

Well, I guess the female isn’t broody after all because now they’re both swimming, but I still think they’re planning a nest. She got down and swam around for a little while, then came right back to the exact same spot on shore. I can see feathers and nesting material scattered all around that area.

I was going to stay out longer, but it’s starting to get chilly, so I’m heading back to the house now.

Mother's Day 2026

Kiddo is now 25 years old. We went to the zoo.