Blacktail

The view here is gorgeous. I'm facing the Tetons in ankle to shin deep water. It is not uncommon to find moose stalking these same banks.

The drift is perfect & easy, the water a bit spooky. I am fishing with the perfect fly, one Blacktail Baetis, from www.theallenbrothers.com.

The truth is that fly would be my preference, even if it wasn't sold at Allen B's.

Since it is, and I like one of the owners quite well, I have many at my disposal.

The other perk is they last. I can take multiple fish on the same fly and have it hold up well. My fingers feel like I'm tying them in knots when I tie a fly on, so the less moments spent replacing flies, the better.

3 babies + mom

not so many nights back, j & i sat on the front porch, dreaming. i sensed motion and noticed 2 birds, sitting on the ledge above us. we peered at each other, unsure how to share the space. more nights - they sat together, we sat too. the plant hanger - their outpost, which is why i have not hung flowers.

they began building a nest, and while inspiring it has also been messy.

i have not cleaned it up....i cannot disturb what they are building.

i am not sure how they spend their days, when not working on the nest, but every night they sit together on the ledge.

i have come to love those birds. sipping my morning coffee, I watch them watch their world.

i feel a kinship with them, i looked at j & said "that's us"

then, momma bird began sitting in the nest, papa bird near by.

she squirmed and moved awkwardly. he did not come close, wise bird.

i watched her anxious. how to ease birth pains?

for days we waited....nothing....and then a brown speckled shell at our feet.

straining for sounds of peeps and hunger cries...nothing.

a neighbor child climbs up and touches the nest.

and then 3 heads are poking up. my heart skips...is it possible?

they have 3 babies? it seems ridiculous that my first thought is to call my mom with the good news. i call anyway.

The Snoopy Pole

This seems an apt place to start....the beginning. The truth is I grew up on a lake & decided at about 7 that I deplored the taste of those fish that swam with me. Although I would squirm & squeal when they nibbled on my legs, I would also bribe my brothers to toss them back after catching one. I still remember there small suntanned bodies lined up at the end of our dock, snoopy pole in hand. Me praying my parents would not see if they caught one, while assessing what I had to offer. I remember asking if I could pay them, knowing Ryan had more money than all of us kids put together. Ryan, the other middle child in our family, has my favorite laugh. Except when he'd laugh at my bribery attempts and we'd end up choking down the nasty fish he'd caught. That was my intro to fishing.