I wouldn’t say Mike was afeard of water. He genuinely loved to get into the big ol’ fountain in upper Senate Park. It was an aquatic jungle jim for the big guy..sometimes wandering into the deeper section on the lower Senate Park where the water spilled out of the mouths of granite lion heads into a collecting pool that looked north toward Union Station and, more important, a duck pond that usually had a few ducks in it! Mike also surprised us with an occasional swim in the Potomac River, off the trail in Turkey Run Park. But it wasn’t always so. Waaay back in 2001, when he first joined us, we took a trip up the Karen’s family farm. This was quite a big deal to a five- or six-month-old West Virginia Porch dog for a million and one reasons. And, we figured the family swimming hole would be a highlight. So, we packed Mike into the Westfalia camper van and picked our way over the corn field to the big gravel pit that was dug 40 feet deep for the fine aggregate that covered the floor of the Tully valley and was piled high by crews building the nearby exit ramp to Interstate 81. As soon as the road crews rumbled away, the deep depression filled with clear aquifer water and beckoned like a cool sapphire for generations of Currie farmer kids. The van bumped to a stop and we slid the side door of the van open at the lip of the swimming hole. Our little sprout launched down the hill and up to the water. He found a shallow area and began picking his way into a wading area while Karen and I stripped to our swimming gear and headed for the deep end where we began our customary splash battle. It could not have been more than a minute of water fury when we both noticed that our little newt was no where to be seen. Damn! He is so quick and the highway is so close. With a thumping heart, I started yelling. I was still swimming toward shore, imagining the worst, when I noticed Mike’s head. It was peaking out the slide door of the van. “Gosh”…his big eyes seemed to saying…”I think this water stuff if scary!”
I wouldn’t say Mike was afeard of water. He genuinely loved to get into the big ol’ fountain in upper Senate Park. It was an aquatic jungle jim for the big guy..sometimes wandering into the deeper section on the lower Senate Park where the water spilled out of the mouths of granite lion heads into a collecting pool that looked north toward Union Station and, more important, a duck pond that usually had a few ducks in it! Mike also surprised us with an occasional swim in the Potomac River, off the trail in Turkey Run Park. But it wasn’t always so. Waaay back in 2001, when he first joined us, we took a trip up the Karen’s family farm. This was quite a big deal to a five- or six-month-old West Virginia Porch dog for a million and one reasons. And, we figured the family swimming hole would be a highlight. So, we packed Mike into the Westfalia camper van and picked our way over the corn field to the big gravel pit that was dug 40 feet deep for the fine aggregate that covered the floor of the Tully valley and was piled high by crews building the nearby exit ramp to Interstate 81. As soon as the road crews rumbled away, the deep depression filled with clear aquifer water and beckoned like a cool sapphire for generations of Currie farmer kids. The van bumped to a stop and we slid the side door of the van open at the lip of the swimming hole. Our little sprout launched down the hill and up to the water. He found a shallow area and began picking his way into a wading area while Karen and I stripped to our swimming gear and headed for the deep end where we began our customary splash battle. It could not have been more than a minute of water fury when we both noticed that our little newt was no where to be seen. Damn! He is so quick and the highway is so close. With a thumping heart, I started yelling. I was still swimming toward shore, imagining the worst, when I noticed Mike’s head. It was peaking out the slide door of the van. “Gosh”…his big eyes seemed to saying…”I think this water stuff if scary!”