Chocolate, swans and detoxing – going swimmingly?!

Swans on the water are the epitome of elegance and grace.  But my word, are they noisy eaters!  When I came across this swan I was astonished at the racket she was making, dibbling in the water.  And then I realised that it wasn’t just her making all the noise. She was a mum to a little bundle of fluffy feathers that I could just spy through the weeds.  Then as I watched, the downy jumble separated, as four little cygnets gradually spread out, searching in the shallows for more tasty titbits.

Camouflaged for safety, the cygnets are only seen as a slightly browny-grey lump in the grass, to the right.

There is something so serene about a swan, gliding through the water isn’t there?  Even better when it is a swan and her cygnets.  This little family was out on the waters earlier this year, getting some swimming practice in.  A wonderful moment to witness.  It looked like they were slipping through a pool of silken, liquid chocolate – it seemed so right to post this for the ‘chocolate‘ one word photo challenge from Jennifer Nichole Wells.

 

The by-product of writing this post?  I am now desperately craving a bar of chocolate!   A bit of a test for my will-power at the start of the new week, as I kick off my six week pre-Christmas detox!

“‘Chocolate’, I said.  ‘Theobroma cacao, the food of the gods.  Make it with pure ground cocoa beans, chillies, cinnamon and just enough sugar to take away the bitterness.  That’s how the Mayans used to make it, over two thousand years ago.  They used it in ceremonies to give themselves courage'”.

(Joanne Harris, The Lollipop Shoes). 

Maybe I can put in an argument for chocolate as a health and wellbeing aid?  Just a little, every now and then? The way Joanne Harris writes it, hot chocolate is basically a superfood! If I’m thinking like that already, I think this detox is going to feel never-ending. Here’s hoping that the much anticipated zingy post-detox freshness will compensate for the lack of cake and chocolate!

I wonder how many other entrants to the challenge this week found themselves wanting to raid the treats box whilst completing their entry? I wouldn’t mind betting there have been a few!