It is often said that in England all the swans belong to the Queen, well this is not strictly true. The crown retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water but the Queen only exercises her right on stretches of the Thames and surrounding tributaries. The birds are marked according to ownership during "Swan Upping" in July. I took this photograph on the same day as the branch was taken off the apple tree (in my last post) you may have noticed the water in the background?
The stretch of water is the river Avon
in Stratford-upon-Avon
This is Mark Myers (aka Tatman) Swan and below it has been given a make over, could not resist having a go at playing with the image, thank you Gina!
Now for Jane's swan which you can find here.
And some famous English matches which have the royal warrant of appointment on them.
After the photo-call the swan turned his back on me and swam off!
And some famous English matches which have the royal warrant of appointment on them.
After the photo-call the swan turned his back on me and swam off!
Sadly there have been a lot of swans dying in Stratford over the winter. Nobody seems to know why either.
ReplyDeleteLovely swans, tatted and live ones too!!
ReplyDeleteYour tatted swans are lovely! - but I have a deep dislike of swans, they can be terribly dangerous. So powerful, that one woman was actually killed in a park in Sydney a few years ago when she was dragged into the water and attacked by an enraged bird.
ReplyDeleteBlack swans are perhaps not quite as frightening!
What is "Swan Upping"? - I've never heard of that,it sounds fascinating.
I loved seeing the swans in Stratford when I was there. It surprised me to see that they go bottoms up in the water just like the ducks and geese do, digging around in the muck at the bottom of the river. Lovely birds!
ReplyDeleteOh that swan made a lovely image both on its own and in the kaleidescope effect!
ReplyDeleteYour tatted swans are so wonderful, and very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw your image manipulations, I was reminded of the Zoo Flake challenge at InTatters. Have you seen the challenge? I think you could do something with Mark's swan pattern. I haven't forgotten about this challenge myself, but I'm still too busy with my education to work out the problems I was having with my pattern. It is high on my To-Do list for after graduation this spring.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post.
ReplyDeleteI stayed on Watersmeet Road, Wiltshire, in Salisbury, at a home on a river facing the cathedral. I remember the wonderful swans... Jane's note makes me sad. I hope they find the reason.
Fox
Thanks for all your comments
ReplyDeleteJane that is sad about the swans, Carol, Maureen and Jane S, our dad used to actually hand feed the swans, frightening to watch, I have a picture of him doing it somewhere. Swan Upping is the annual census of the swans and the men are in boats and wear scarlet it goes back to the 12th century! Gina that programme is a bit of a time waster - but what the hec!!!
Orsi you are right swans are so elegant and inspiring.
Eliz no I have not seen the challenge, sounds interesting, hope you have more time to tat in the future.
Fox that sounded a really lovely place to stay, Salisbury isn't very far from where I live.
Love this post!
ReplyDeleteNancy I can guess why!!
ReplyDelete