Living the Lake Life

Moving out to the East Coast, after living on the West Coast for most of my life, brought many episodes of Culture Shock. (Where are all the Starbucks? And cheap Vietnamese restaurants? And do you really NEED a pizzeria on every other corner??!) There are many lovely things, too. We are blessed to live on a beautiful, small lake. The views from the house are lovely, even if we never go down to the water. (Combine a toddler's inability to swim, the lack of a fence, and her completely irrational fear of anything that can be termed "a bug", and you have a toddler that would rather stay indoors.)
Soon after we moved in last year, I noticed some swans swimming in the lake. I couldn't recall ever being around wild swans on a regular basis, and I was enamored. I assumed they were sent to charm me into loving the East Coast, or at least ease my transition. (Lo Gung was a complete sweetheart and added a crystal swan to my figuring collection that year, in honor of my new friends.)

Lately, though, I have been seeing some new friends out on the water. I've had such good luck with getting you guys to answer all my "What IS it?!" questions, I thought I'd give you a shot at these. Only this time, there's a twist. I already know what these things are. Pop quiz time!

The first one's easy.


This next one is a little tricky. He's a very rare breed. You might not have seen him before.

It's so unusual to catch a shot of one of these in the wild. Here's another one, so you can get a better look.


I'll post the answers on Tuesday. Good luck!