The lily pads have flourished since my last visit to Lakeside, and so has the resident swan family. Mom, Dad, and six strapping cygnets (still young enough to be cute and fuzzy) were grooming and dabbling at the water's edge.
It was Dad, I suspect, fluffing his feathers on shore while Mom supervised the youngsters closely. Thank goodness for telephotos--getting too close to a Parental Swan Unit can earn you a nasty nip.
In "Swan Lake" the cygnets (only four of them) famously dance sideways in tight formation; real cygnets practice synchronized neck-arching.
Nearby, on the splash-pad at Lakeside Center, other mothers kept close watch over their young. I felt a pang of envy at their momraderie in this wonderful setting; when I had my toddler 20 years ago, the park and its playgrounds were still quite scary and scruffy.
Soggy swim diapers or not, this was heaven on a sparkling almost-summer day.
And out on the water, at least one mom and baby paddled happily, like the swans.