Thank the Lord for the nighttime (to forget the day) - - -

 Got the Lordville Estate down to 71 degrees at 6:00 yesterday morning then closed things up and watched the thermometer out on the porch climb into the mid nineties. At noon Mom had a coming out party for her fawn. It's the first one I've seen in Lordville so far this year. Have yet to see a doe with twin fawns. Both the bears and coyotes are grim reapers and have been busy thinning the heard.

About 4:00 I got in the car, not so much because I thought the fishing would be good (it was 96 outside) but because it was up to 80 degrees inside and I was sure I could stand in both the cold water and the shade. It was strange being on the river. Sorta like going back in time 25 years.  Why? No boats, after two days of being cooked by the 90 degree temps drifters stayed home. In five hours of fishing on the WB only one driftboat went by me.

The fishing - In the first two hours I saw five rises, cast to them all and got five ignores. Rose five fish blind casting all of which ate my fly (two came unstuck). When the surge arrived I got in the car and headed downstream. It was 7:00 and from then until 9:00 I had a good sulfur hatch with fish rising all around me. Got a mix of ignores, refusals and eats. There were more than enough eats to make it a really good night. With thunder booming and lightning flashing the air changed and got "much cooler".  When the wind started to blow I reeled it in and headed back to the car where the thermometer said the "much cooler" air was 84 degrees.

The ride home - The ride home was illuminated by lightning but there was no rain. Drove up the 97 hill and turned down the three mile long road to Lordville. I am familiar with the twists and turns of the road and often coast all the way from 97 to downtown Lordville just for fun. There was a car ahead of me that was obviously not familiar with the road and was proceeding much more slowly than I would have. About half way down the car stopped in the middle of the road. It wasn't until I pulled up behind the car that I saw the huge tree (and several smaller ones) across the road. The tree had ripped the electric, phone and cable wires off the poles and they were down in the road for at least the next two hundred yards. Was but a mile from the fishing camp but I did a U-turn and drove back to Hancock, down the PA side and over the Lordville bridge to get back to a powerless fishing camp.  Called 911 on the drive home (they had already notified the fire department and NYSEG). With an all electric kitchen I sat in the rocker on the back porch watching the fire flies and eating cheese and crackers with  my perfect Manhattan. 

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