Each Spring over the past four years the Villa Residents have been blessed with  the hatching of baby swans.  The young cygnets have created a bond with everyone and are surrounded by watchful eyes and caring hearts.  This year seven eggs were laid by Mother Swan and two hatched.  The cygnets parents led them to the Villa Lake for a refreshing swim and much needed food. Mom and Pop Swan brought up food from  the bottom of the Lake and feed their babies.  They also fought off the turtles who were looking for a free meal of baby swans or ducks.

The next morning the cygnets were gone. We searched the banks of the lake and after
hours of fading hope we were resigned to look forward to next year and new hatching.

Two days later in the afternoon Bethany Miller, Villa Receptionist, was spreading the good news that one of the cygnets had returned.  I told her it wasn’t possible for we had just celebrated Easter and beside, one of the remaining five eggs must have hatched. Bethany said, ”There are five eggs still in the nest.”  Mother Swan was covering the eggs and it was impossible for me to count the eggs. When Mom and Pop took the little cygnet to the Lake, I visited the nest and there were five remaining eggs. I examined the eggs with my stethoscope and could not hear a  heart beat. Then I heard a faint cheep from beneath the eggs. The nest was built next to the down spout that directed  water from the Villa roof to the lake.  Beside the down drain pipe was a very small opening that ran all the way to the ground.  I reached about eighteen inches into the opening and found the little bundle of fluff.

The cygnet was very happy to be freed from its prison and immediately bonded to me as  a parent. I could not move fast enough to outrun the cygnet to my patio. The cygnet.  would stand as close to my shoe as possible.  I led it back to the nest and a real hero  walked up in the person of a  young boy.  Adam, the young son of Kathy Hubert, Villa Staff, came by and since he was closer to the size of the mother, the cygnet bonded with him immediately. We led the little swan to the grass area between the sidewalk and lake and Adam and I moved back slowly until we were out of the vision range of the swan.

Papa swan came out to greet the little cygnet.  The little fellow would have nothing to do with its father. The father returned to the lake and mother swan came and heard the baby calling. She returned the call with guttural sounds and into the lake went her hungry baby to be feed.  Mother swan was busy for some time bringing food, small bits of plants and moss, from the bottom of the lake to feed her baby cygnets..

The swans appeared to be grateful as were the residents and staff  of Epworth Villa.
The Epworth Family is  blesses with a beautiful campus filled with trees, flowers and fowls..

Dr. J. Clifton Sprouls, Villa Resident