I am pleased to announce that the SmacDown ShapeUp is going well. There was a small set-back when I came down with a cold last weekend, but the pressure from intramural sports kept me going, albeit slowly. I knew that I reached a pivotal moment when I was actually excited to go running during the height of the cold spell. This was a monumentally cold run, during which the water in my water bottle actually froze into a little ball of ice. During the run, I was able to observe some of the peculiar social behaviors of Great Lakes waterfowl. I have been observing these magnificent (save the geese) creatures for over a year, and sometimes I am dumbfounded by their behavior. I shall begin by describing the various types of waterfowl that live on the river. The species that I have spent the most time observing are the Canadian geese and the mallard ducks. The former of these is a most discpicable creature, and there happens to be a colony of about one hundred that routinely deposit crap and other niceties on the sidewalks and roads near my home. These vermon have the audacity to hiss and charge at me whenver I so much as look at them or meander in their direction. I was almost fooled during the rearing season by the cute little fluff balls hopping onto and off of the curb, but these chicks rapidly grew into replicas of their disgusting parents. The mallard ducks, on the other hand, are quite agreeable. During the summer months, they could often be found in pairs, never letting their mate more than a foot or two out of their sight. I was quite sad to see a male being eaten by a hawk in my parking lot. I could only hope that this male was one of the pack that had not yet found a mate. The image of a lonely female duck and her loss was quite striking to me. However, watching the hawk pull out the duck's innards from a safe distance (give or take seven feet?) was quite an enthralling experience. Apart from the mallard ducks and geese, I would occasionally see a swan or two further down the river.

In the past few weeks, the populations of waterfowl have changed drastically, which has created much excitement for me. Since the river has mostly frozen and temperatures have been quite frigid, many of the waterfowl have congregated in the flowing section of the river, which happens to be a few hundred yards from my window. So far, I have counted upwards of forty swans at one time. But the most delightful discoveries have been the merganser duck and red ducks that are now frequenting my section of the river. The merganser duck is an elusive creature, who typically spends its life in solitude, away from other species of waterfowl. However, during this past week, all of the waterfowl have been hanging out together, with ducks swimming next to swans and red ducks intermixing with the mallards and geese. Everyone is one, big happy family for the time being, and it is quite a spectacle to watch all of the birds interacting. There are usually about one hundred of them going about their business, taking a nap on the ice, foraging for food, and swimming up and down the stretch of water. At night, all of the species separate back into their groups. The merganser and red ducks disappear, the swans vanish into thin air, and the ducks and geese hunker down on the shore of the river just as they have always done.