What I would give to see a blade of grass. The plug the CAT C 12 gingerly placed across the front of my drive is now cleared. The impending snow shovel shortage awaits! I have one snow shovel left, the other expired in the early dawn hours Wednesday on the warm side of the house where the heat from the big wood stove full of red oak turned the powdery light stuff on the walk into an ice crystal slurry mess. “Split handle?” “Cracked blade?” “See it all the time,” may be part of the new fly shop vernacular. I’m certain that by the weekend, there will be run on salt, those fancy reflective driveway markers my neighbor uses to prompt the snow plow man to “do the right thing” and mailboxes. At the shop the half round gutter over the side porch could use a bit of a lift, otherwise the lot is plowed and we’ve seen a few fisherman today-some getting ready for trips to the Bahamas, Tierra del Fuego, and Argentina and even one fishing locally. The 23.2 inches in December now pales in comparison to the 79.9″ reported this season in, The Stats are In, by Frank Roylance. At this time we’d like to remind everyone that if you’re planning on fishing next week, as of today the river is clear, the lots are not and the trails are treacherous. Be sure to bring a shovel to clear a space along the river if you dare–the fish are waiting…Stoneflies are on the way.