The word for 29.12.09 is SWAN.

Oops!.... forgot to post yesterday (Tuesday) and l am late for today which is Wednesday! Never enough hours in the day!
Anyway Tuesday's word was SWAN and l was wondering, when this was chosen at the beginning of December, how l was going to complete this one. Well as my gran used to say, "Where there is a want, there is a way" and "Things will happen if they are meant to be child".
It so happens we decided to go for a walk on Putney Heath, to visit the big pond and back again. And would you believe it! There on the pond were 2 adult swans and 3 cynets! Who is a lucky girl then? Ha!
They look so serene and gentle and yet they can cause real damage, or death, if they decide to attack you.

There were wonderful effects in the woods were the light, which was a sort of dull gold, fell on the  leaves and branches. The water at one point also looked as if it was glowing. Very dramatic to see.

FACTS:

1. The only person who is allowed to kill and eat swans in Great Britain is The Queen. All the swan belong to her!

2. There are 6 species of swan.

3. Swans usually mate forlife, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularlyfollowing nesting failure.

4. The number of eggs in each group ranges from three to eight .

5. The male swan is a Cob and the female is called a pen.

swan |swän| |swɑn| |swɒn|

noun

a large waterbird with a long flexible neck, short legs, webbed feet, abroad bill, and typically all-white plumage. • Genus Cygnus (andCoscoroba): several species.

verb ( swanned |swɑnd|, swanning |swɑnɪŋ|) [ intrans. ] informal

move about or go somewhere in a casual, relaxed way, typicallyperceived as irresponsible or ostentatious by others : swanning around ina $2,000 sharkskin suit doesn't make you a Renaissance prince.

DERIVATIVES

swanlike |-ˌlīk| |ˈswɑnˈlaɪk| adjectiveORIGIN Old English , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zwaan andGerman Schwan.