The seagull and the cormorant

The cormorant and the seagull on the rocks this morning

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”.

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.