The seagull and the cormorant

This may well be as esoteric as you’ll get to see me, but the idea is just too intriguing – and comforting after the death of Max – to ignore.

Fiona comments that some Native American tribes believe that when a beloved animal dies, you should look for a bird “… something unusual, something rare, something that doesn’t belong where it is. That’s a sign that the animal is safe on the other side. It can be soon after the animal goes, or even a week later.”

She adds that she doesn’t usually believe in such things, “but somehow I’ve seen a special bird with all my departing dogs since I was told about this belief”.

My first walk without Max beside me

When I read her comment this morning, I had just been for a long walk on the beach. It is a very beautiful winter day here: just the slightest breeze, and a clear and calm very blue sea. As I walked, I felt very sad: it was my first walk without Max, and he would have loved this, as usual.

Far up the beach, I stop to watch a group of cormorants. One is sunning his wings, a couple are swimming, and a few are clutched together on the rocks. Max loved to bark at these birds, and as he became more deaf, it would be quite a job to get him to stop.

And there is one cormorant that stands out: he stands calmly at the very top of the tallest rock. A seagull touches down next to him. They are watching the sea, it seems. And I watch them for a very long time. I take photographs because I think they are beautiful.

As I walk back along the beach, I meet my friend Lauren and her dogs. We chat and I tell her that I had a sense of Max being in turmoil, but that it feels that he has settled now. Maybe, I laugh, he’s with his Gypsy.

Just saying. It’s a nice pic, anyway.