Synchronicity

My plan was for a walk and yoga. I ended up going all around the reservoir talking to Moldovan Ivan.

Before meeting this Russian-speaking mystic, some latter day Rasputin of the Shires, I saw this pair of swans. At first, I thought I was imagining the synchronicity - and, for sure, it's not perfect and it's not as elaborate at grebes or cranes - but it went on and on and well on beyond my filming. At some points they do exactly mirror each other.

Later in the day, I saw two greylag geese engaged in something similar though simpler.

You'd have thought they'd do this in Spring. And these aren't Bewick swans, who mate for life... from what I understand, mute swans are serial-monogamists with a new mate each season... maybe they pair up in the preceding Summer after successfully raising a family? No... the cygnets would likely still be hanging around, wouldn't they?

A brief Google and this suggests it's a territorial display... but it's not exactly the rotational thing described in the text and is very different from the wonderful video this person has uploaded. Another site says: "During mating season, they perform beautiful courtship displays, involving head and neck movements, as well as synchronized swimming." But this isn't the mating season... surely they've done all that by mid-August? The same factoid is available here.

Ah-ha.... this offers the best analysis. It suggests they often do pair for life, though pairs can divorce if a nest fails, and suggests the courtship takes place in the winter. Maybe these are two youngsters getting a head start?

Anyway, the walk. I can't go through the conversation which was largely on another dimension.... but I will tell you that Ivan was very impressed by Kairos and also liked the Goddess and the Mother Tree.

One strange thing... he was telling me of a Romanian TV show for kids in which there were these super heroes who protected their land, but they were like nature-based super heroes and had acorns on their chests. I showed him the acorn pendant hanging on my chest and Ivan almost fell to the ground in shock.

Maybe I am a super hero? Just a rather crap one. Or with great powers only in the realm of self-sabotage.