Author Archives: rivertoprambles

About rivertoprambles

Welcome to Rivertop Rambles. This is my blog about the headwaters country-far afield or close to home. I've been a fly-fisher, birder, and naturalist for most of my adult life. I've also written poetry and natural history books for thirty years. In Rambles I will mostly reflect on the backcountry of my Allegheny foothills in the northern tier of Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York State. Sometimes I'll write about the wilderness in distant states, or of the wild places in the human soul. Other times I'll just reflect on the domestic life outdoors. In any case, I hope you enjoy. Let's ramble!

Wild Chemung

Posted on January 22, 2020

1. Trails. Chemung– a river in the large Susquehanna watershed of New York State and Pennsylvania. A place of towns and cities, Corning and Elmira, linked to farm communities, even to pockets of wildness, vestiges of pre-colonial America. Looking back– … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged art, Chemung, diversity, human nature, outdoor narrative, poetry, sexuality, tales, taverns, touring, wildness, writing | 15 Comments

On the Road (Once More)

Posted on January 10, 2020

[Sorry, Jack & Willie, for the blog post title… The rivertops are winter quiet now, so I thought I might serve up something different here– a few memories from my road of life. Also, the accompanying photos are reflections of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged hitchhike, memory, on the road, Ontario tribs, poetry, Time, tradition, wfranklin narrative, winter fishing, work, writing | 10 Comments

Reaching Out

Posted on January 3, 2020

1. In spring the surface of an orchard pond is broken into circles as the trout begin to feed. It’s like a fantasy gifted by the kingbird in its flight– away to the pear tree’s pearly blossoms. In summer the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged conservation, ecology, natural energy, nature, New Year, poetry, reaching out, red fox, seasons, spirits of place, Walt Franklin, white ash, writing | 21 Comments

Whiskey Run

Posted on December 28, 2019

1. The beauty of the stream is a simple gift, a holiday revelation. There’s a wholeness to its many parts where pool and riffle, snowy bank and mossy rock cohere. The solitude, the wooded hills, the winter trout are gathered … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Allegheny foothills, brook trout, fly-fishing, holidays, nature, Pine Creek, poetry, prose, Whiskey Run, wild brown trout, writing | 23 Comments

Pilgrimage

Posted on December 18, 2019

Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau, has been a favorite book of mine for nearly 45 years. I’ve long appreciated this record of a life well-spent and, thus, have long resisted the temptation of visiting the book’s post-glacial centerpiece near … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American Revolution, Authors' Ridge, Concord, Emerson, freedom, history, Massachusetts, pilgrimage, Thoreau, Transcendentalists, Walden Pond, walking, writing | 15 Comments

The Wild Boy Campfire, 1891

Posted on November 29, 2019

1/ So, Mr. Goodyear and his men believed they owned the place– the forests of northern Pennsylvania, the mountains good for building railroads over, the sawmills great for gobbling up the white pine first and then the giant hemlocks… Hold … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged forest fires, Goodyear, Hawthorn, Hide-Behind, history, House of Seven Gables, lumbering, narration, nature, Pennsylvania, poetry, Salem, Wild Boy Campfire, wilderness, wildlife, witches, writing | 9 Comments

The Wild Boy Cycle, 1870

Posted on November 19, 2019

Winter: Klukey died in a bear trap he had set near Kettle Creek. Klukey died three miles from his cabin, wandering in the deep snow till his feet accidently struck the pan. Those jaws sprang up– held him through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fishing, history, Independence, jumping the back fence, literature, nature, personal narratives, poetry, seasons, Sinnemahoning, Walt Franklin, Wild Boy Cycle, writing | 16 Comments

Autumn Letter

Posted on November 11, 2019

The day begins like a sheet of paper waiting for words. Its composition won’t go digital until later, when darkness comes again. Two bald eagles sit together on a carcass near the road as I go speeding by, wishing I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bob Dylan, composition, Egg, fishing, football, friendship, Henry James, hooks, letters, nature, poetry, Slate Run, trout flies, Walt Franklin, writing | 18 Comments

A Thin Man Fishing

Posted on November 7, 2019

Physically, the thin man isn’t really thin but, looking at a thread-bare autumn day, he felt that way– just basic flesh and bone, reduced to seasonal elements. His summer garments had been stripped away, replaced by heavy clothing to ward … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fiction, fly-fishing, hiking, invasive species, narrative, nature, non-fiction, Pennsylvania, poetry, society, thin man, Walt Franklin, wild trout, wilderness, writing | 13 Comments

Jumping the Back Fence

Posted on October 30, 2019

Wild Boy Run was named for Lewis “Wild Boy” Stevens who settled on the Pennsylvania mountain stream in 1842. Born to alcoholic and abusive parents, Stevens “jumped the back fence” of his home (in New Jersey) at age eleven and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brook trout, fishing, hiking, history, jumping the fence, Lake Ontario tribs, Lewis Stevens, narrative, peace, Pennsylvania, poetry, Salmon River, small streams, war, Wild Boy Run | 18 Comments