Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Hemlock Grove

Posted on July 31, 2020 by rivertoprambles

Preparing for a long road trip into western places where I like to believe that a fly-fishing spirit can really soar at times like this, it’s good to remind myself that one needn’t go far in order to find a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, hemlocks, hermit thrush, In the Hemlocks, John Burroughs, naturalist, nature, poetry, solitude, song, Spirit, travel, writing | 26 Comments

Strange Fruit and Other Start-Ups

Posted on July 24, 2020 by rivertoprambles

1. I had a couple of non-related flashbacks to the late 1980s. In the first one I recalled a winter night, trundling off to a movie at Alfred U., in which our four-month-old son experienced his first theater production. Woody … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bananas, family, flashbacks, hiking, history, humor, literature, Lyman Run, nature, Slate Run, trout, Woody Allen, writing | 16 Comments

Transitions

Posted on July 17, 2020 by rivertoprambles

Anticipating an August road trip out West, I recalled several earlier trips taken with my wife and kids– one trip just two years ago, and others, oh, way back… Perhaps the highlight of one westward transition occurred as we stopped … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ecology, exploring, family, Firehole, fishing, Gardner River, Greys River, nature, road trips, Sand & Sage, transitions, travel, Walt Franklin, writing, Yellowstone | 18 Comments

Narragansett

Posted on July 10, 2020 by rivertoprambles

My quest for saltwater species taken with a fly rod continued to elude me, defying all odds, on coastal Rhode Island. There were no fish seen or caught in my pleasant trials along Quonnie Pond, at the sand bar on … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bay, birding, fishing, high hills, hiking, Independence Day, Narragansett Bay, nature, perfect skunk, poetry, Rhode Island, travel, Trustom Pond NWR, writing | 15 Comments

Common Sense is Like Running Water

Posted on June 26, 2020 by rivertoprambles

I have a new book of poetry just released from FootHills Publishing in Kanona, New York. From the High Hills to the Bay is a 72-page hand-sewn book with spine– pretty cool, even though I understand that poetry is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged common sense, Conhocton River, E.R. Hewitt, friendship, From the High Hills, insectivirous plants, kettle bog, literature, Moss Lake, Neversink Skater, poetry, running water, writing | 20 Comments

Reflections on a Gentle Art

Posted on June 19, 2020 by rivertoprambles

The Genesee River near Shongo, New York was flowing weakly and with water almost too warm for trout survival. I found a stretch of river cool enough for an evening of fly fishing and began hooking and releasing hatchery … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged art, Catskill rivers, Catskills, Crete, dry flies, fly-fishing, Genesee, Greece, Minoan, nature, reading, trout rivers, Walt Franklin, writing | 16 Comments

Planted Near Running Water

Posted on June 11, 2020 by rivertoprambles

“Happy the man who does not read advertisements,/ does not listen to their radios/ does not believe their slogans. He will be a tree planted near running water.” — Ernesto Cardenal Often in times of social and political turmoil, I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birds, E. Cardenal, fisher pair, fly-fishing, freedom, gas leak, gifts, healing, imagination, nature, plantings, poetry, protest, small streams, turmoil, wildflowers | 24 Comments

Operation Perdigon

Posted on June 4, 2020 by rivertoprambles

I’d intended to fish the brook ever since a friend indicated that his son had looked for trout there years ago. Through my decades of digging into local history, especially with regard to native fish populations, I had never seen … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brook trout, exploration, fishing, friendship, headwaters, local life, nature, nymphing, Perdigons, preservation, small streams, writing | 11 Comments

Halfway Lake

Posted on May 28, 2020 by rivertoprambles

The small seven-acre lake was a good choice for a meeting of the clans. My son and his wife would drive north from Arlington, VA to meet us at Halfway Lake, a feature of Raymond B. Winter State Park in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged environment, family, fishing, Halfway Lake, hiking, natural history, nature, Rapid Run, social distance, travel, Winter State Park, writing | 19 Comments

Spinners, the Final Stage

Posted on May 21, 2020 by rivertoprambles

“Spinners” form the fourth and final stage in the life cycle of a mayfly. The aquatic insect lives through egg, nymph, adult (dun), and spinner stages. The adult typically rises from the stream as nature says, “It’s time to mate.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fishermen, fly-fishing, friendship, Genesee River, mayflies, philosophy, poetry, psychology, spinners, the final stage, transcendence, writing | 12 Comments