A swan is not meant to be alone. I hope the other one was in the rushes.
For some reason, I had it in mind as I trotted past on my muddy, windy, slithery, sweaty run that that was Mr. Swan. So if it were, the Missus was maybe nesting somewhere. Though not nesting in December surely? Maybe she died? I think I saw a dead swan on the side of the road recently. Its surprisingly big body like some rubber dummy of a swan. On its side with the legs sticking out into the road.
What is it like to be a solitary swan? When I was approaching it was on the bank with some smaller birds. As though they were its friends. There used to be one white goose that lived with the Canada geese on the lake at Pitsford. It was a little bit of an outsider but not entirely ostracised.
There's a story of a group of sperm whales that adopted a deformed dolphin. The dolphin couldn't keep up with his mates so he hung out with the sperm whales. They treated him like one of their own. As though they felt sorry for him.
Humpbacks will save other cetaceans from killer whale predation. Elephants will try to rescue rhinos, but the silly rhinos try to attack them.
Me, when my animals lie with me, I meditate better. But not when they whine (that's the dog). I can cope with the cats stroking my face, jumping over my head and playing with my feet. Just about. But the most calming thing seems to be when the dog rests its head on me. Funny, that.
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