With the warmer, thawing weather, I came across about a hundred swans at Cone’s Marsh the other day. Trumpeters have no choice…if they want to fly…they have to run first. They’re big, heavy birds that take a lot of gusto to get airborne. You can hear the unmistakable slap of their wing tips on the water as the work to get up to speed. Within a few short seconds though, the silence on the marsh resumes, and these big, white, magnificent birds become even more beautiful as they seem to effortlessly cruise through the air. It looks like it’s worth the initial effort to me.