On a drifting board which is soaked through and splitting, there he is this morning like always, a bright white pelican.
He stands out against the green=brown of the lake and the grey upon grey of the drizzling sky.
He’s hunched into himself, withdrawn and protective. But usually I see him relishing the sun, which shines happily just after dawn, warming him and drying him as he picks the pests from under his feathers and holds his wings out wide in thanksgiving, like a worshipper.
His life is so much about water, floating on it, paddling in it, slamming down into it from above to stun the fish he swallows whole for breakfast.
And so I wonder today about his mood. How does he feel about all this damp? Is he okay with it? Or does he miss the contrast of sun above and water beneath? Does it maybe piss him off to find himself in this world of water everywhere?