Tag Archives: wild

No Run-of-the-Mill Run

Posted on May 21, 2019 by rivertoprambles

I’d passed the Pine Creek tributary a thousand times, hardly ever noticing its alder-bank flow beneath Route 6. I seldom considered its steep descent along the edge of state forest land until I learned it was a PA Class A … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ecology, environment, fly-fishing, Gougers, hiking, lost terrain, Mill Run, Pine Creek, poetics, psychology, wild, wild trout | 6 Comments

A Small Stream Fantasy

Posted on March 19, 2019 by rivertoprambles

At last the upstate temperature had risen into the 50s, and snow-melt rushed down from the hills. In this topsy-turvy world of climate change, the New York weather might now be warmer (again) than the winds of Barrow, Alaska. Oh, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged community, dreams, environments, essay, fantasy, freedom, nature, poetry, reality, sense of place, small stream, Spring, Thoreau, wild, writing | 12 Comments

Gone Feral

Posted on December 27, 2018 by rivertoprambles

The joy of a holiday gathering for our family was clouded by the rapidly fading health of a long-time pet. Alfalfa, a loveable old housecat that resided at the Franklin residence for a dozen years, succumbed to an illness that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged animal tracks, bobcat, cycles, family, fishing, house cats, nature, pets, poetry, traditions, wild, winter, winter holidays, writing | 16 Comments

Autumn Run: Four Strands

Posted on October 2, 2018 by rivertoprambles

1/ The first full day of autumn brought the usual blend of premonition and seasonal promise. I drove to Lyman Run, thankful for the sweatshirt on a morning as chilly as the John Cale tunes, like “Fear is a Man’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, fly-fishing, hiking, nature, Pennsylvania, photography, September, small streams, transitions, trout, wild, writing | 13 Comments

I Love/Hate Investigations

Posted on January 31, 2018 by rivertoprambles

I love investigations, especially when they involve fish, birds, and wildflowers. Investigations involving politics, economics, or health– not so much. Returning to familiar Pennsylvania headwaters for a second consecutive weekend, I began to ponder the presence of brown trout in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged activism, Allegheny, environment, First Mind, fishing, fracking, hatcheries, investigations, nature, Pennsylvania, Seneca Nation, waste treatment plant, wild, Wind in Willows, writing, Zen | 21 Comments

Song of the Kettle

Posted on October 4, 2017 by rivertoprambles

I’m growing silent these days. I’m not sure why, although I’m also angered and saddened by political events and tragedies occurring in this crazy world. I’m growing silent at a time when my voice should be loud with protest. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, brook trout, civilization, fly-fishing, Kettle Creek, machine, madness, mayhem, photography, poetry, protest, silence, Television, Torn Curtain, wild, writing | 28 Comments

The Rough Country

Posted on June 28, 2017 by rivertoprambles

Whether we enjoy the notion or not, everyone who strives for well-being needs to stay in contact with the wild. Such contact is readily attained in sanctified places like our state and national parks, but we can’t always reach those … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Apple Tree Hollow, exploration, Gary Paul Nabhan, hiking, humanity, Life, nature, rough country, Slate Run, timber rattlesnake, trout fishing, wild | 22 Comments

Staircase Run

Posted on May 16, 2017 by rivertoprambles

The day surely started out on a bright note– a little birding in the early morning sunshine of the yard, my small binoculars picking up a bit of the warblers waving through– Blackburnian, black-throated green, ovenbird, Louisiana water-thrush and, later, the black-throated blue warbler– … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, Cedar Run, environment, fishing, fly-fishing, headwaters, hiking, nature, Pennsylvania, ravines, Slate Run, small streams, staircase, trout, wild, world view | 18 Comments

So, How Was the Fishing?

Posted on March 30, 2017 by rivertoprambles

1. Sometimes when there’s nothing new to say or to add to the overall blogging compost, I like to hear that ageless question directed at a rambler on the trail or in the water: “So how was the fishing?” Hearing it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brook trout, Cattaraugus creek tribs, environment, etiquette, fishing taverns, fly-fishing, forest, friendship, nothing to say, Pennsylvania Wilds, philosophy, photos, small stream fishing, steelhead, stonefly, western New York, wild, Zoar Valley | 20 Comments

Winter Hike, Mt. Tom

Posted on February 7, 2017 by rivertoprambles

Like many of us these days, I was feeling the tension that resulted from a sense that our country was bursting at the seams. I didn’t feel above the moral degradation that seemed to be plaguing the land, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birds, dissent, mountain, Mt. Tom, nature, Pennsylvania, photography, Pine Creek, politics, vistas, wild, winter hiking, writing | 20 Comments