I am in love with Montana . . . Montana seems to me to be what a
small boy read more

I am in love with Montana . . . Montana seems to me to be what a
small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.

Plant no other tree before the vine.
[Lat., Nullam vare, sacra vite prius arborem.]

Plant no other tree before the vine.
[Lat., Nullam vare, sacra vite prius arborem.]

The fountains of sacred rivers flow upwards (i.e., everything is
turned topsy turvy.)

The fountains of sacred rivers flow upwards (i.e., everything is
turned topsy turvy.)

Fragrant o'er all the western groves
The tall magnolia towers unshaded.

Fragrant o'er all the western groves
The tall magnolia towers unshaded.

This is the forest primeval.

This is the forest primeval.

Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of
course I usually read more

Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of
course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends
think I shouldn't. Like many fly fishermen in western Montana
where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not
start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic
half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my
soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a
four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise.

It was the noise
Of ancient trees falling while all was still
Before the storm, in the read more

It was the noise
Of ancient trees falling while all was still
Before the storm, in the long interval
Between the gathering clouds and that light breeze
Which Germans call the Wind's bride.

I think that I shall never scan
A tree as lovely as a man.
. . . read more

I think that I shall never scan
A tree as lovely as a man.
. . . .
A tree depicts divinest plan,
But God himself lives in a man.

In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly
fishing. We lived at the junction of read more

In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly
fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in
western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a
fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told
us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were to
assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen
on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the
favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.