Earth Image Photography, Nature Photography, My Summer Office

3:30 p.m.-

The boat landing neighbor's daughter was there today, throwing a stick for a yellow dog from inside the now-and-then confines of a midget fuchsia bikini. She threw it, the dog ran and launched off the dock in a fifteen-foot arc, then hit with a splash, paddling hard to fetch at some bark. A great sight to see, such exuberant youth, the dog I mean, although the young woman looked satisfactory too.

I launched the boat.

As I tied it to the dock, Shabby the dog came for a visit. EZ leaped out to defend her good man; Shabby growled meanly and mounted her back. Young woman came over glowing, showing lots of tan skin, and called Shabby toward home, but her dog jumped in the boat. I thought the mood right for a foursome on the water and readied the words to invite her to get in, but reversed my desire when the girl giggled a green gap-toothed grin. Then I choked back some bile to notice the bulge of a shiv stuck down the back of her bottoms. I stayed silent; EZ stayed in the boat, the girls went back to their dock. As we idled past in escape, Gaptooth threw the stick and the dog leaped and splashed. Shabby didn't head for it, but paddled straight for us, snarling and snapping, big teeth bloody and oozing with pus. As I put it in hard reverse to back out of the weeds, EZ started barking and lunging, paying my shouting no heed. I shoved it in forward and we exited fast, just as Shabby bit the back of my boat.

We entered the main channel, I opened the throttle high, EZ ran circles, broken only by periods to stand on the bow Titanic style, tiptoeing paws like a child who has to go potty. The current squirmed beneath the hull, fidgeting us side to side. I've learned where the stumps are, the hard way for EZ. We hit one last year while going pretty fast. The motor "whumped" hard and the boat suddenly stopped and she flipped off the front. She surfaced blowing and coughing; I reached down and dragged her up by the collar. She stood panting and shaking, no worse for her dip, then promptly she went back and pranced on the lip.

8:55 p.m.-

Momentum carried us into the boat landing shore, no wind to disturb things, I "okayed" EZ out. I know that her weight gone from the front will make the bow rise and re-float the boat.

I knew that.

I walked to the truck, backed-and-forthed the trailer into the water, shut off the motor and got out.

But I had forgotten to remember to pull the boat up higher; it was fifteen feet from shore, sneaking toward town.

No time to lose, call in the guard, phone in an alarm! No time to think, though it was actually the best time. I dove into the water, forgetting it was only knee deep. So I stood right up quickly in case anyone was watching, then stepped through the mud bottom and grabbed the retreating bow. I turned around, and yelled a sharp "NO," in case EZ was laughing, and told her to get in the truck. Next time I'll consider for just a moment and take off the brand new sneakers and stash them on the dock.