Fly Tying, Book Signing and Bears

It was a fun day today at Shannon's Fly Shop in Califon. Signed a bunch of books, tied a bunch of flies, and met a whole lot of nice people. Jim and Chris seined the South Branch of the Raritan River and brought back lots of aquatic insect nymphs, including stonefly nymphs, hendricksons, sulphurs, caddis and scuds. I tied and shared the flies that imitate them, and learned some good stuff from those that came to watch. You can't beat this stuff - everyone I have met the last few months has been great.....with one exception - the Devil in a Clown Suit (see Jan. 29 '08 post). Karen took a few pictures and I'll post them tomorrow.

L-R: George, Sign, Me and Jim
After we got done at the shop, we drove over to Oldwick to go by the house that will soon be my home. In front, on small rock outcropping, there is a cedar tree that had some fresh bear scratchings on it. The claw pattern was small so it must have been a small bear. Looks like I'll be keeping the garbage in the garage until it has to go out to the curb. I talked to some people that live in town, and they said they see an occasional bear, but they have not been a problem at all. I'd rather have an occasional bear and lots of land than traffic, noise, and high taxes. Can't wait to get into the place.

Time for scrabble...........Happy Easter!