Swan Song

I went down to the marsh yesterday in the hopes of photographing some geese. I was pleasantly surprised to find this trumpeter swan. After looking at this beautiful creature for a while , I got to thinking about the water and the melting of the lakes in our area. Someone once said," As man reached for the stars, he glanced back to look at the world and saw the blue waters". I wondered what this swan has seen on it's migration to and from the area I live in. I think about the water and how we as people polute it for our own enjoyment. Here on the Trent-Severn Waterway, boat traffic can take it's toll. All boats regardless of engine size diffuse or muffle the exhaust into the water. I was once advised that ,"The solution to pollution is dillution". I was appauled by that statement and it has stuck with me ever since. Gone are the days when we could drink from a garden hose let alone drink raw from any lake or stream. Our water is treated with chlorine, one of the most if not "the" most toxic substance to animals and the species that they consume, including us! The next time you come back to the cottage, dust off that old canoe you have under the deck and use it instead. Who knows you might just slow down enough to enjoy life and maybe preserve it at the same time before it's gone. After all, we don't own the earth. We are just stewards of it. Hopefully our children and theirs will be lucky enough to experiance what we had and not just read about it in some book or museum.