I keep finding excuses to drive by Mill Pond just so I can look at them again.

“Oh, I don’t mind running to Alley’s General Store to get you a cup of decaf, ” I tell my husband.  “The car needs gas? I’ll go right now and fill it up.”

I’m pretty motivated these days to run errands near our home on Martha’s Vineyard. Especially when I know my destinations will take me down the road, up island, and past Mill Pond, my secret slice of Heaven.

I treasure the beauty of Mill Pond in any season.

Mill Pond on Martha’s Vineyard in the fall (Photos by Rob Berkley)

But this summer, I am completely in love and under the spell of the family who’ve taken up residence at Mill Pond.

The Swan Family.

Here they are…Mr. and Mrs. Swan and their babies

Each day I plot to figure out when I will see them.

Early morning, they may not be up yet; mid-morning they may be crouched hugger mugger in the grass; afternoon they are often paddling about in Mill Pond’s inky waters; and by dusk they are never seen, surely tucked for the night somewhere on the edge of the pond?

What is it about a mama swan, a daddy swan and their half dozen babies that has captured my attention?

To be correct about it all, mama Swan is called a pen; daddy Swan is a cob;  and the babies are cygnets.

The fuzzy-wuzzy cygnets of Mill Pond

I am so enamored with them that it’s made me wonder why these creatures give me such joy.

Does the Swan Family remind me of when I was a little girl and the five of us siblings were always sandwiched between and protected by our parents – just as these baby swans are?

Is it like reality TV?  Driving by each day I get to see this feathered family live out its life as their babies grow and change.  No two views of the family are ever alike. You never know what part of the pond you’ll see them in or what formation they’ll be in.

Yet, unlike reality TV, the Swans appear to have their act together – everyone seems happy and content!

Or, maybe it’s none of that.  Maybe it just simply makes me happy to see nature at its finest – a swan family paddling about day-after-day in a spectacularly gorgeous pond.

Babies growing by leaps, the Swan Family paddling about (Photo by Regina Blos)

Over the weekend, Woman on Fire member Trudy Dujardin and I were discussing the elements of a perfect day during Vision Day.   And, we came upon the idea that to live a fulfilled life every single day it’s necessary to include something “happy-making.”

So for now, in my own perfect-day plan, that guaranteed happy-making event is surely to fetch my husband a cup of decaf. 😉

Is there something “happy making” that you do in your day? I’d love to hear about it!