Waning Days of Fall, Bartlett Pond, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Cool, clear mornings, typical of mid and late Fall......

Papa swan ever on the alert for territorial intruders. Although we have seen more than a dozen visiting swans in the past, the pond seems only large enough (33 acres) to support two full-time separate monogamous parenting pairs.  And speaking of swans, there is a well-known pair that live in the Public Garden in downtown Boston named "Romeo and Juliet," unfortunately though, testing a few years ago revealed they are really "Juliet and Juliet."

This is the only surviving cygnet from this year's brood on Bartlett Pond.  His five siblings fell prey to the harsh realities of nature - perhaps pulled under by a snapping turtle, plucked from above by raptor or land predator, or, simply didn't measure up in survival of the fittest.  His parents still are close by but soon he will be on his own.

A wintry looking sky, harbinger of storms to come......