O’ Blue And Me

I felt 14 again, lying on my old fishing barge, listening to the water lapping against the sides and watching a red dragonfly hovering over my fishing pole and O’Blue resting his shaggy yellow lab head on my back. Yonder I see Hunter Eagle skimming over the water, talons extended, eagle eyed ready.

It’s so peaceful here, lying on your back letting the sun soak through your skin, toes wiggling in the cool lake water and your yellow lab next to you.  Yonder I see an orange butterfly cast against the green of the redwoods. Wish I could be a butterfly and lazily fly over the lake all day.

Can fish fly?  Yup, sure can when ‘O Hunter Eagle has um.  You wouldn’t even bother to sit up. You’d just lie there on your back and the fish would fly by.  You’d say “I’ll take that one, just drop him off on the hot coals over at camp.”

Best damn fishing lake anywhere.

Nothing to do ‘cept gaze at marshmallow clouds and deep blue sky.  Yup nothing ‘cept watch the fishing pole and a red dragonfly hovering at its tip.  ‘Bout then, O’Blue started thumping his tail on the wood and looking at me in dog language saying “Let’s go swimming!”  O’ Blue loves the water – silly water dog.

Out yonder I hear a woodpecker pecking on a redwood.

Yup, the only sound to break the peace is a woodpecker pecking on a redwood.  And here comes Hunter Eagle dangling fish from his talon – when y’all get hungry, there’ll be fish dinner waiting for you back at camp!

A splash draws me back to the coolness of the deep blue.  I see mister trout through the crystal clear water swimming lazily below me.  Sun rays played on the water shimmering on mister trout.  I watched as he fanned his fins ever just so slightly – wished I could be mister trout.

I’d be swimming in the coolness of the deep.  I’d be so calm and peaceful.  No sounds to annoy my ears, no TV, no hustle and no traffic to disturb the peace.  ‘Bout then O’Blue broke my reverie with his tongue licking on my toes.

Can’t be Mr. Trout, I concluded, ‘cause I couldn’t do without O’ Blue.  Gazing over at my fishing pole for signs of a promising wiggle I see that silly dragon fly still hovering around like a helicopter waiting to land on the tip

Maybe I could be a dragonfly for just for a day?

I could fly all around and leave my anxious life behind

Yeah that’s it!

A dragonfly!

But then I thought what if someone grabbed me to use for bait!

Nope, don’t wanna be no dragonfly bait today.

Then I saw a big O’frog at the water’s edge sitting on a very green water lily.

That ‘O frog just sat there without a care in the world.

Hey maybe I could be a frog?  What does a frog do?

A frog sings at night!

Yeah I could be part of a frog quartet!

Call us the soggy bottom slimy frog quartet!

Yeah!

But what do frogs eat?

They eat bugs and dragonflies?

Nope, don’t wanna be no bug eating green buggy eyed O’frog

I guess I just better be me

Y’all find me here lying on this ‘O barge, with my fishing buddies Hunter eagle and O’Blue .  .  . an ah green buggy eyed O’frog!

So .  .  . hang a big O’ sign on the door of your mind  saying “Gone fishing with my buddies, Hunter Eagle, O’ Blue, Froggie and me!

Yup, Gone fishing.