Mama and Papa Swan sailed proudly along the channel at their end of the lagoon. They have enough feathers to look regal, as long as Papa doesn’t try to raise his wings too high – they ARE still a bit sparse. What this pair of swans may lack in feathers is more than made up for with spirit.

People standing on the Stone Bridge above had dropped some small pieces of bread (a no-no) down to a raccoon below, who shamelessly raised his front paws in begging pose, “working the crowd” for all he was worth. Little did he know what awaited him!

Along sailed Mama and Papa – wings unfurled, necks stretched, tossing out some impressive HISSes as they neared the furry bandit. From that moment, the raccoon didn’t stand a chance, but he was a bold animal and refused to give up. As each morsel dropped, and he reached for it – the swans whisked it away from under his nose, sometimes actually reaching for his nose – to give it a good PECK!

This scene called for a short video. Watch the raccoon decide maybe he should climb up on land and leave, but then figure he’d better not turn his back in case he lost his tail to our white warriors!

The crowd of onlookers sympathized with the raccoon, but I was cheering for Mama and Papa! Maybe they were recalling Mama’s first 2 eggs that got eaten by raccoons back in April…..or again, maybe this is just some plain ol' summer fun for our faithful swan mates.