I was glad that our boot camp session was held in Botanic Gardens because after an extremely exhausting session, we could roll out our yoga mats by the side of a beautiful lake, kick off our shoes, and relax.
I actually intended to lie down and sleep but I just couldn’t resist that picturesque view.
It would have been a crime to close my eyes to it, so instead I found myself taking out my camera and snapping picture after picture.
I wasn’t the only one. It was a photographer’s dream.
We cooed when the birds flapped their wings and ascended into the sky as one.
We giggled when we saw two pigeons “kissing” each other. Literally love birds! (Get a room!)
We were thrilled when a beautiful black swan glided across the lake, trailing ripples in its wake.
We shrieked with delight when it gingerly stepped out of the water and willingly waddled towards our direction and started poking at Dred’s backpack, perhaps thinking she had food in there.
The ugly duckings were busy taking pictures with the beautiful swan when suddenly, a kid came out of nowhere and said, “The swan needs to go back into the lake,” and promptly shooed it in. Um… what just happened??
When it happened again a second time, Dred finally couldn’t resist and asked the kid why she needed to do that. “Because swans need to be kept away from the people who feed bread to the pigeons. Swans can’t digest bread. Five of them already died from doing so.”
Omigosh this was very sobering news.
Dred and I had planned to bring bread to feed the birds with next week, but after hearing that, we decided not to. We definitely don’t want Natalie’s and Swanson’s blood on our hands!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention… there were two swans, and I decided to name them Natalie (after Natalie Portman on the movie Black Swan) and Swanson (after Ron Swanson in the TV series Parks and Recreation).
I really do hope that I’ll still see them both when I go back next time!