Remember the fisher who dodged traffic? Well, this morning on the way in to work, the following scene unfolded as we slid our way down Lavaque Road past the Blue Max and Eagle’s Nest resorts on Fish Lake.
The snow was still falling. Wet. Thick. Like a mangy dog’s coat. The roadway was slippery and treacherous. I had all I could do to keep the Pacifica on track, even with all wheel drive. As we passed the Eagle’s Nest, Jack’s head rotated. The boy’s eyes were fixed on the growing piece of open water next to the Fish Lake bridge.
“Dad, there’s a dog trying to get back up on the ice. From the water. He’s barking and can’t get back up.”
I pondered the information.
Maybe Dave at the resort has a boat handy and can slip it out to the open water and drag the dog to safety.
I turned into a driveway, waited for a school bus to pass, and then retraced our route.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to save the dog.”
Jack thought a moment.
“You can’t walk out on the ice. It’s too thin.”
“I know. We’ll see if anyone is at the resort. If not, I’ll dial 911.”
As the open water came back into view, my lips began to curl upward in a grin. The grin turned into a smile. The smile turned into a chuckle as we stopped in the parking lot next to decaying ice.
“That, son,” I said watching the small mammal cavort from open water onto thin ice and slide back to water,” is what is known as an otter.”
And to think the kid’s about to get his Star badge from the Boy Scouts.
Peace.
Mark