Tag Archives: winter

Mountain, Moon and Snow

Posted on November 30, 2023 by rivertoprambles

I was ready to fish the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the National Park Service had wisely closed the Shenandoah waterways to fishing due to the extended drought conditions in central Virginia. On Thanksgiving morning my son and I climbed Turk … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fishing, full Beaver Moon, hiking, homesteading, nature, planting, re-inhabitation, Shenandoah Nat'l Park, Time, tracking, winter, writing | 15 Comments

Winter Break

Posted on February 16, 2021 by rivertoprambles

The nasally, low-pitched notes of the nuthatch enter through my bedroom window (open even in winter and appreciated from beneath the comforters) and I sense my own reawakening. The white-breasted’s wha-wha-wha notes enter non-committedly, sliding in softly from the maples … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, hiking, home, nature, photos, poetry, Spring, transitions, winter, writing | 27 Comments

Two Ravens (Twa Corbies)

Posted on January 5, 2021 by rivertoprambles

The first days of the new year were an icy mess, although I still had a pleasant walk on the trail developed near the house. It’s been years since I’ve kept a feeder in the yard, but I still need … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birding, birds, hiking, myths, nature, poetry, Raven, solitude, Twa Corbies, winter, writing | 21 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

Old Woodenhead Skates on Thin Ice

Posted on December 15, 2017 by rivertoprambles

Old Woodenhead was on the Allegheny River by noon. The weather had become more seasonal, turning sharply colder, with air temperatures peaking at less than the freezing mark. Winter fly-fishing is an exercise in patience and layered clothing, he thought. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Allegheny, art, brown trout, Christmas, fly-fishing, holidays, Old Woodenhead, photography, reality, Walt Franklin, winter, writing | 21 Comments

Roots ‘n’ Boots

Posted on March 10, 2017 by rivertoprambles

For most citizens living in a modern world, to talk about the “home place” is an unfamiliar exercise. Most of us today are socially mobile and often move from place to place for economic or recreational reasons. Today, we rarely live in one … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged activism, brook trout, Buckseller Run, cherry trees, civilization, environment, hiking, home, home place, nature, Pennsylvania, place, silence, Spring, state forest, Susquehannock, Time, wilderness, winter | 15 Comments

The News from Fisher Brook

Posted on February 14, 2017 by rivertoprambles

There’s an old fellow coming down from the forest trail this afternoon to fish for an hour or two. He claims to be suffering from a serious cold, but to cast here for brook trout won’t be detrimental since the air … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brook trout, cold water, dry fly, environment, fisher tracks, fishing, I'm a Believer, nature, news, outdoors, Robert Wyatt, small streams, solitude, wildness, winter | 21 Comments

Winter Rose

Posted on December 30, 2016 by rivertoprambles

Since the sad news I reported on in the last post, I’ve been happily wrapped up in a wide variety of holiday activities. I even got in a couple hours of fly-fishing in Shenandoah National Park. I spent a week in Washington … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged brook trout, death, family, fly-fishing, holidays, Life, marriage, nature, photos, Rose, Rose River, Shenandoah Nat'l Park, travel, Virginia, Washington D.C., wild, winter | 22 Comments

The Greenwood Jumbies

Posted on December 28, 2015 by rivertoprambles

Old Woodenhead at Christmas. It was time for Old Woodenhead to pick up the rod again. It was time to catch a fish at the waterfall and offer it to the frying pan of all his readers– if they weren’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged barbecue, Christmas, global warming, hiking, Holiday traditions, humor, Moko Jumbies, Old Woodenhead, rural living, spirits, Virgin Islands, winter, wrecks | 21 Comments

The Ghost in the Thresher

Posted on March 15, 2015 by rivertoprambles

Part 1/March 1st: Inspired by the new month and the slightly warmer temperatures (20s), I decided to climb Dryden Hill through the falling snow and see if I could reach the old tower behind the house once owned by Pete … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged chaff, chaos, cosmos, custom threshing, Dan Redmond, farm machines, ghost, grain, Greenwood, historical societies, signs of spring, thresher, trout flies, winter | 21 Comments