From the brackish waters of the Piankatank River..

Today was a good day. Rising early, 4:00am in the morning to go fishing with my father. Taking the boat two hours distant to the reeds and deltas of the Chesapeake to the confluence of the Piankatank and Rappahanock Rivers. A warm morning and the smell of salt spray and marshy vegetation bringing back familiar memories. Ospreys nesting along the channel piers and scolding us warily from their perches as the boat drifts by. Lazy ruffled waters and the ghostly shapes of skates rising up occasionally to the surface from the depths only to disappear into the darkness. A fair breeze and the horizon line dotted with the triangular white apparitions of many sailboats.

Slowly jigging our lines along the bottom of oyster beds and pulling in croaker and flounder. Steadily gaining dinner for the night. The sun kissing my shoulders and the glare making me squint my eyes looking out on the blue expanse as my feet dangle off the side of the boat. As the sun reached its zenith we called it a day. Content with enough for a meal. Pan fried croaker, fresh sauted squash, and homemade cornbread. Nothing better.

My last catch of the day. This rascally blue crab free riding on my line. So bold and arrogant he wouldn't even let go, but making for a great photo. Reminding me of my childhood on the bay when we used to catch bushels of blue crabs from the docks of my grandparents farm. My grandmother steaming them in a big cauldron in the kitchen as my brother and I scrambled after occasional escapees scuttling around the linoleum floor. Pinchers snapping madly and my poor dogs nose always the worst for the encounter.