Ready For The Day

On the beach around six A.M. the sun is bright, the water calm, the tide high. The birds are busy doing morning callisthenics. A large brown bird, perhaps a cormorant, streaks by as though on a mission, his long neck stretched out like the prow of a ship.  The gulls seem to prefer solo exercises, dipping and swooping alone.  The loons, on the other hand, are far more organized and group-oriented. One might even say, regimented.  Every few seconds there is a flash of white from a line of loons crossing the sky.  Their formations are like ribbons, some long, some short, all of them shimmering as they flap in concert with each other.  Usually they  travel south to north, in which case their white bellies are rhythmically punctuated by black wings flapping. This makes their flight look like a coded signal to those of us stuck on the ground.   When there is a line going north to south, the tilt of their bodies show mostly  black backs with just a hint of white underneath flicking on and off as their wings beat. 

It is not a time for feeding.  Even when the birds are drifting on the water, they don't seem to be that concerned about food.  Every so often a tail  flips up as an individual bird dives for a fish.  But generally, they are either flying or lounging.  It seems as though they're getting ready for the day.  There are no arguments or disagreements.  Eagles are noticeably absent.

Around the end of the spit a stream of boats is going out of the bay  toward open water for another day of fishing.  The boats almost seem eager as they progress quickly.  Nelson is on one of them.  I watch as his boat grows smaller and smaller until it disappears around the end of the island.  In about twelve hours, when the tide is high again, all those boats will reverse their path and come home, hopefully with a big catch.

At my feet is a large log still smoldering from a camp fire last night.  It's sending smoke signals that the breeze is from the southwest. I take a deep breath, whisper a thankful prayer, and head home.  It's going to be a beautiful day!