Cleotoo departed Greenook Lake when we converted it to Mudnook in early September. Hugh and I kept an eye on her and carried bread and grain to Delhi Park after the river ice closed in and left only a narrow but swift channel down the middle. Catching bread was impossible in the fast flow but we wanted to let her know we were nearby. Thanksgiving weekend she decided it was too exhausting to fight the strong river current and she flew back to what was left of Greenook which was its parent, Boyden Creek, re-routed to course down the north shore bringing it by our house and making it easy to serve her breakfast and dinner of wheat, shell corn and bread.
Cleotoo is showing terrific homing instincts by remaining in this "fixer upper" as it is being "fixed up". I yearn to tell her to "just wait-it will be nice again someday". Our bird is looking very sleek and flies every day to stay in shape and very soon she'll be wanting to entertain a nice cob. Will the nice cob say, "what's a nice pen like you doing in a place like this?"
Boyden Creek is not big enough or deep enough for swans to engage in "friendly activity" so trips to the river might be necessary. Swan activity in March, April and May should be very interesting but if Cleotoo accepts another mate and he's just half the bird that Caesar was-then he'll surely be a "keeper".