We Love The Water

Yesterday was a rough day here on the central Florida coast, with lots of rain and wind, thunder and lightning, and even a tornado warning. At one point a funnel cloud was spotted about five miles from our house, but fortunately it didn’t touch down. All in all, it was a good day to stay home and work on my newest Big Lake book, which is what I did.

Since that’s no fun to tell you about, instead let me tell you about the previous day, when Terry and I spent an hour or two down on our fishing pier. It was a beautiful day with moderate temperature and lots of blue sky, and there were a lot of people and animals out enjoying it. When we first got down there, a fellow was getting out of his sit-in kayak and told us that he had fallen out three times and was about done with it. We told him that’s why like we like sit-on-top kayaks like our Old Town Predators. They’re much more stable and easy to get in and out of.

His wasn’t the only watercraft out there, for sure. There was a parade of vessels going up and down the Indian River, also known as the Intracoastal Waterway. The first one was this pontoon boat, and I can’t tell you how much I wished we were out on the water on ours.

Not long after it passed, this big one came by. We know people that live on their boats just like people do in RVs, as we did for 18+ years.

Then this big catamaran came by. I should have gotten a picture of the front of it as it approached, but I was having problems getting the phone of my camera to cooperate.

And the dolphins were certainly having a good time out there! This one put on quite a show for us, jumping, rolling, and flipping its tail. There were a lot of smaller baitfish out there jumping, too, trying to get out of it way before they became dinner.

There was also a mama dolphin and her calf, and we had a good time watching them for quite a while.

Our local manatee population is in distress, with huge numbers of them dying off this year. Pollution is killing the seagrass that these gentle giants live on and they are literally starving to death. We did see one, where usually we would see several.

And this was the prettiest sight I saw all day, no question about that.

I’d rather be spending an afternoon hanging out on the dock doing this than playing golf or watching any kind of ballgame or sitting on a barstool. It just rejuvenates my soul.

Back at home, I spent some time editing chapters I had written the last couple of days before dinner, and then in the evening, our friend Jesse from across the street came over and brought a gift for Terry. Jesse loves working with wood, and Terry has a deep affinity for things made from wood, almost like she can feel the spirit of the tree they came from. Jesse had made this beautiful bowl for her from a chunk of wood he had found somewhere and turned on his lathe. Terry loved it and the thoughtful gift brought her to tears.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Dog’s Run, my mystery set in a small Ohio town in 1951. I have 36 novels out, as well as 11 nonfiction books, and I have to say that Dog’s Run is my favorite. It’s a gritty tale that is loosely based upon an actual crime that took place in that part of the country when my father was a young police officer there, and I warn you in advance that there’s some rough language, but it’s appropriate to the time and place. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – I thought I wanted a career. Turns out, I just wanted paychecks.