Yesterday afternoon, before meeting up with an Internet “friend I hadn’t met yet”, I took a little excursion through the Skagit Valley.  The day was gray, and the clouds were spitting rain occasionally, but the roads were quiet and I was able to stop in the road to take pictures without causing anyone to have to wait for me.  Most of the fields had been shorn of their crops, and were waiting for the winter rains to replenish their moisture (summer 2022 was extremely dry in Western Washington).  Here is what I saw in some of those fields.

Swans!  And more swans!  Both adults and juveniles (the gray ones) were enjoying the green field.

They look pretty contented, don’t they.

And in one place, there were interlopers.

The swans only come around in the fall and winter, but the Canada geese hang around all year long.  They can be real pests, too, especially in city parks.  But in the Skagit fields, they contribute some fertilizer.