Driving Bear Tooth Pass from Yellow Stone National Park through the mountains to Red Lodge, Montana we came upon many natural wonders. It seems a contradiction but at 10, 000 feet above sea level, snow and summer wildflowers coexist. The densest blooms are along the road where the soil has been disturbed by snowplows and cars. These flowers are nature’s survivors. The views were glorious and the flowers beautiful but at times it was a frightening drive. The narrow road curved around bends with little shoulder and a sheer drop down. It was a thrill of a lifetime!

A half-mile down the road from my brother’s home in Ann Arbor, Michigan is a tranquil marsh, the breeding ground and home for a family of trumpeter swans.  If you’re not familiar with them, you are not alone.  They have lived on the brink of extinction for decades and missed being on the endangered list by a feather. In fact, in 1900 they were believed to be extinct.

Snowy-white with long straight necks the trumpeter swan is, I am told, a spectacular sight. At maturity it is 4-feet tall with a 7-foot wingspan and weights up to 30 pounds. It is North America’s largest waterfowl. And yes, it does trumpet, unlike the smaller, mute swans that live in the bay by our house. I would love to see one. Unfortunately, when I visited my brother all I saw was a memorial posted by their many friends at the edge of the pond. Someone had shot the parents and their two cygnets in the middle of night and left their bodies along the roadside. Such a senseless act of cruelty!