Monday Morning Labor Pains
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Well, if you’re lucky, you’re not where you usually are this Monday morning. So checking in with that high speed office connection may be replaced by a couch, chair or bed and no need to look over your shoulder or lock the bathroom stall … whatever the case may be. Welcome to wherever you are.
Thunder has rolled through the North Texas area all night and continues now. It’s the rolling thunder that isn’t being drowned out by the patter of rain. Cursed.
Two are missing on Lake Lewisville, Texas, and one presumes loosed from their earthly bonds. Other lakes have set loose souls as well this past weekend, and still I wonder why anyone bothers with Texas lakes on holiday weekends. One silver lining was sent to me last night, as I think about it, by Evan who lives nearer Lake Lewisville (also known as Lake Dallas). He sent me some great information and images of his outing, and was telling me that on certain undisclosed parts of an undisclosed water body, the water is so shallow due to drought, that there’s no boat or jet ski traffic that can get anywhere close to what he’s finding.
It’s the first Monday in September, and this is going to be a busy month, an unusual and busy month. In a week we are headed for some family R-n-R in Bamff, Canada. Not long after that, photo shoots in Houston, Dallas and three days fly fishing for jack crevalle at Port O’Connor, Texas, sandwiched in there somewhere.
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Most of the past weekend was spent laboring at finding and testing a new website for my photography work, and if all goes well, that will be rolled out in September. I found myself digging in the garden for the second morning in a row Sunday, and talking website SEO with my wife who is about to refashion her clothing site as well as launch her own personal art site.
On the way to a Texas Rangers game this past Saturday evening, we stopped at Joe’s Crab Shack, and a special insert in the menu included flavored moonshine. As someone who is a trend watcher, it suddenly occurred to me that we are about to drift right past “micro distilleries” and right into straight up, good old white lightning. You may recall my encounter with a quart Mason Jar of “uncut shine” happened earlier this summer in Alabama while I was assiting Matt Jones on a photo shoot. No visions, and no blindness, although it did raise every hair on my body to full attention – immediately. By that time I already loved Alabama, but the shine … that’s just one more thing to love. Keep an eye on the moonshine craze.
The beginning of months are always a rush of fly fishing club meetings statewide, and if you are a club member, or thinking about joining a club, try attending a meeting as a way of seeing if that kind of organization is your cup of tea. I built the Texas Council of International Federation of Fly Fishers website for easy viewing, and to give someone who may have never been a part of any club (like myself) a place to find the club near them and find out when they meet and what they do. Clubs are unique just like people; in South Texas Dr. Rey Ramierz has launched a fly tying club, and that’s exactly what they concentrate on, while the largest and most active population of fly fishers resides in Houston, Texas. Two clubs there are powerful and potent representatives of fly fishing activity and communion. The epicenter of fly fishing in Texas still resides in a (roughly 100-mile) vertical-southerly-oval around Austin, Texas, and next year’s Fly Fishing Expo is acknowledgement of that fact. I strongly encourage you to visit the Texas Council site, and see for yourself that change is in the air.
END NOTES
Thanks for reading on your day off. The intensity of the heat, and serious nature of redesigning my photography site are keeping me a little high and dry right now, but we all know September and October are great months for saltwater, and carp are still cruising as well. Basically, I am launching a dual drive – to generate income through every remaining opportunity – to right the ship, and buy the boat, finish the Silver Fly Shack, and launch the next adventures. Heck of a deal.
Moonshine – If you know anyone in Texas making moonshine, please contact me as soon as you can. I am interested in this from a photography, writing and knowledge standpoint. I appreciate any “editorial style” stories you can send me tips on – stories that lend themselves to publications like D Magazine, Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, Texas Observer or outdoor pubs like Lone Star Outdoor News, Southwest Fly Fishing and Texas Parks & Wildlife.
by Shannon Drawe
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Category: Culture on the Skids, Fly Tying, Industry, Life Observed, Texas Fly Fishing Club, Writing
