The Thang

Since we saw that unidentifiable swan out at a place we call Lykers Pond because it is a pond and it is near Lykers, we have been going out there often.

It is, I know, a futile hope that we will find that swan again, but we sure won't ever find it if we don't look.

Thus yesterday we stopped for a bit, although it was too late to see much. Birdies like the early hours as a rule.

What I did see was this thang floating among the cattails near a beaver house. At first I thought it was a bedraggled children's toy. Kinda looked as if it had legs and a head. Or maybe arms.

Then I thought possibly a defunct pillow. I mean there are people who have things that ugly sitting on their couches right?

I took a bunch of photos and upon looking closer through the camera (which has more zoom than my binoculars) I realized that it was a naturally occurring object. Or substance. Or something.

 I came to the conclusion that this may be the root of a large water lily. We once lost a big one in the garden pond...winters get cold here...and the roots looked somewhat like this when we removed them. I think maybe a beaver got this, which is a shame, as there are some gorgeous bright pink ones growing halfway up the pond. Darned rodents anyhow.

"He" even has a feather tucked behind his ear

Or it could be a Hobbit that tried to capture a beaver and lost.

Who knows? 

Do you?