Swan Lake Iris Garden

The entrance to the Swan Lake Iris Garden has been closed for months as city workers were installing a statue or what-have-you and making this entrance safer and better.  The entrance opened up recently.  One day this week when I was driving by on that side of the street, I turned in to stop at the visitor's center and see the swans at the gate.

Here they are!  Magnificent, in my view.  The water spraying part is so lovely also.

While there I chatted with the kind lady at the visitors' center.  She gave me about three pounds of pamphlets and flyers and other paperwork about our town and the larger area. I am so happy with that. I love paper!

As I was noting all the recreational areas nearby I thought I would check them out for amenities.  There are many amenities.  However, there is one particular amenity that absolutely NONE of the recreational area offer.  Can you guess what it is?  One more second and I will tell you.  There is no swimming at any of these beautiful places.  Can you believe it?!! 

Apparently there are no outside swimming holes that are safe from alligators.  Too bad.  I can swim at the YMCA but I am thinking of checking with the neighboring apartment complex and see what their feelings are about letting their neighbors swim in their beautiful pool when no one else is swimming...which, to my view, is just about all the time.  Perhaps in the summer there are swimmers there but neither I nor Dear One (who goes by there every day) have ever seen a person in the pool.  It may not be olympic size but it has at least six lap lanes plus other real estate and is pretty good-sized.

Anyway, back to Swan Lake...the swans in the lake are very busy. All eight kinds of swans in the United States live here.  I am looking forward to seeing babies this spring.  I will have to go back to the VC and ask when they have babies.  Wouldn't that be the coolest to see some swans with little queues of cygnets following after the moms?