Standing at the threshold of your home today, I realized the advantage you had over me thanks to the phenomenon known as Snell's Window. When you are in the shallows only a foot or so deep, the window you peer through is quite small and narrow. However, today you were in deeper water - three feet or more and the window you were looking through, at me, was much larger.
My hope though was the angle of the sun would mask the shadow of my offering and the line it was attached to. To further increase my chances of meeting one of you, I employed a sidearm roll cast that has a much lower arc.
I thought you had me for good today - a couple of missed sucks and a quick release. However, I would come to meet one of your children.
I must tell you... he was a feisty little chap and I know the day will come he will make a fine fighter.
I wonder if Charlie has been by to see you? I do know that he is feeling better and said something about going to see the pretty little fish since he hasn't had much chance of visiting them. If I were you, I would keep a keen eye out for Charlie.
I am compelled to tell you that I've always watched the animals and their actions in trying to get a sense of what the coming season will do. Here of late, in watching you, along with noticing the gleeful play of the squirrel in the trees, along with the joy warbling from the throats of the birds, I can tell you we will have an early spring.
An early spring is an exciting thing, but there is still troubling concern. As I stand along the fringes of where you live, it is hard to ignore the fact your home is continuing to shrink. The prolonged and exceptional drought continues to plaque us. Now, the men and women who tell us what to expect in the future are saying that this part of the prairie ocean needs 9 to 12 inches of rain to come out of this drought. The question is will we receive that much.
The beaver may be trying to show us the answer. At Charlie's Pasture, the animal Charlie calls Little Beaver has constructed a dam that has raised the level of that sea lane by two feet. Today, just upstream from you, I found the makings of another dam. Perhaps the beaver senses something and is trying to build reservoirs to ride out the rough times.
Before leaving you today, I rid your home of some more refuse. There is so much this year it seems overwhelming at times. A little each time though will make a difference and also gives me an excuse to come see you and your lot.
I probably won't see you for a couple of days. A juggernaut of a cold front is headed our way arriving tonight. Tomorrow's daytime temperature will be thirty-five degrees colder than today. So, I will stay home and tie you some more presents in hope you will like the gifts I bear.
Sincerely,
Prairie Ocean Fly Fisher
2 comments:
Barry,
You keep them coming, that's a blessing. Here snow in the mountains is also a blessing. You have a cold snap coming you say, does precipitation in snow count toward your drought as it does here? Hope it does.
Gregg
Gregg,
We'd take any kind of precip we could get right now including snow! Generally, we don't get a lot of snow events - maybe two or three a year. This year we had one event with about three inches.
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