Deuces Out

As the largest native waterfowl in North America, and with a wingspan of up to 7 to 8 feet, these elegant swans need a lot of room to take off . . . on water that is: Trumpeters cannot take off on land, only on water. Usually needing up to a hundred yards for takeoff, these beauties will start running and flapping with their big, black feet until they finally get airborne; it’s a beautiful sight to see.

On this day last fall, they were aided by a strong west wind and didn’t quite need a 100 yards as the four of them bobbed their heads, started running and flapping and said “deuces out!”