That's Not a Swanie River! That's a Lake

"Way down upon the Swanie River"
Oddly Enough, Reuters Blog (November 24, 2009)

"Blog Guy, you seem to know a lot about nature. Can swans fly?

"No. They can neither fly nor swim.

"What? Hold on, I’ve SEEN swans swimming in lakes and rivers and stuff!

"No, you've seen swans, which have very long legs, PRETENDING to swim. Mostly, though, they prefer to travel by boat...."


(from Reuters/Christian Charisius, used w/o permission)

It's not so much that they prefer to travel by boat, really. A bit at the end of this post explains that Olaf Niess - he's the dark-colored one in the photo - is supervising Hamburg's swans - they're the ones with the long necks - in an annual routine they all go through. Winter's coming on, you see, and - well, actually, there isn't really an explanation given.

There is, however, a fairly redolent play on words.

Enjoy.