HAPPY 2022

PROSPERITY

HEALTH

happiness

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WALLPAPER:  SHRIMP AND CHIPS

'Tis The Seasons

345 Days Of . . .

KEEP ON TRUCKING

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.. One year minus twenty days of something, mostly different.  We're hopeful that the snow comes. We're hopeful that we remain healthy. We're hopeful that our nation is strong and sensible. We're hopeful that you and yours have more ups than downs.

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WALLPAPER: ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

First Day

NOW & FOREVER

Luck, Love, Coins

we're snug -- you?

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.. For this year, resolutions are out and commitments are in. Pick your own and stick to it. Commitments require a bit more action than resolutions. Have at it.

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.. Hoppin' John, corn bread, spiked coffee, and hair of the dog all being enjoyed imbibed served and appreciated. 'Twas too late last night and too early this morning. How usual.
.. Bright sky, cold temps, snow by Sunday if we're lucky.

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.. See y'all soon.

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WALLPAPER:  HOPPIN' JOHN

It takes Two

ON THE EVE

On The Day

persistent tradition

WALLPAPER:  SALT PORK

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.. The persistent tradition of black eyed peas for the new year is a Southern American tradition that dates to the colonial times and grew and spread during the mid 1800's and through the 'Great Depression.'

..  One of the earliest written recipes in the American culinary lexicon is for Hoppin' John. It can trace it's origin to the African and Haitian dishes prepared by slaves.
.. The black eyed peas supposedly represent good luck. Corn bread represents gold. Greens represent cash. The tradition grew rapidly in post depression America - particularly in the southern states.

.. Up here in the north it's hard to get collard greens. Spinach can be substituted. The other basic ingredients like bacon, rice and salt pork can easily be procured.
.. Our recipe requires a long soak for the peas and a short soak for the salt pork.
.. The salt pork provides the meat for the beans and for the cracklin's to sprinkle on the top.
.. Unbeknownst to most Americans are the affinities to the deep south owned by Montana. It's a bit of history lost to many folks here and in the south. Anyway - it has to do with gold and slaves. Way up here!
.. We're soaking right now. We will crackle later in the day and may put the dish together tonight for a late dinner. It doesn't hurt to have two good luck meals: one at the end of the year and one to start the new one.

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WINTER NYMPH BOX

.. We finally got a bit of snow last night. The neighborhood has 4 or 5 inches and the mountains have an avalanche warning. The multiple small snowfalls have produced a dry sugar base and several layers that have been winnowed by wind and surface melt.
.. Sledheads and back country skiers should be alert to the danger. Chutes and runout areas should be assiduously avoided.
.. There are a few stalwart neighbors that fish a "secret" spot on the eve of the new year. This is to seek a final fish for this year. Some count and some measure. Good on 'em ??

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WALLPAPER: CHORIZO CON HUEVOS

Our Mountains

THEY INFLUENCE US

They Influence Weather

they catch our water

WALLPAPER:    OUR MOUNTAINS

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.. In this new year, as we sort through the things around us, our mind comes to rest on our mountains. They are but a small part of the Rocky Mountains yet they are ours.

COLD TODAY

.. They are just down the road. They divide the western continent into separate drainages.
.. They block some weather. They push some weather. They harbor the species of our neighborhood: plants and animals. They contain the geologic record of our past  --  AND, the past of our neighborhood. They are playgrounds and refuges for all things living.
.. They are inviting and dangerous. They are beautiful and menacing. They push and pull in so many ways.
.. Right now they are pushing weather toward the eastern expanse of our continent. They shelter us from tornadoes and hurricanes and the like. They provide fuel for fire and a barrier to it.
.. They give us sunsets and clear skies. They roil the clouds and divert some snows. They stop some clouds and squeeze out some moisture.

SMALL COMPARED TO THE SKY

.. These are the mountains that capture our precious water: the water that nourishes the nation.
.. As the water leaves us it nourishes our fish and bison and bears and voles and wolverines and trees and grass and flowers  --  AND  us.
.. These very mountains, our mountains, hold the headwaters of mighty rivers like the Snake River, the Madison River, and the Gallatin River. These rivers feed the Missouri River, Mississippi River and of course the Columbia River: our mountains.
.. Along its way to the Gulf Of Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean, the water nourishes farms and wheat lands and alfalfa fields. It waters orchards and gardens. It creates small streams and giant rivers. These are the waters from our mountains: millions drink from it!

CLOUDS OVER OUR MOUNTAINS

.. Each year about this time we are drawn to the treasure that is being deposited in our mountains.
.. We watch the snow accumulate. We take note of it's moisture content. We speculate on it's depth in the nooks and crannies that are removed from the data gathering stations.
.. We wish for deep and wet snow in the playgrounds of our mountains.  We enjoy the view from our little village. From afar we squint toward hunting camps of our past. We envision the frozen and buried 'secret' streams that will give us the pleasure of quiet fishing and catching and wandering.
.. There are trees and trails that disappear in the green and black and white collage that is our mountains. We know them but can't see them.

ICE OUT BENEATH OUR MOUNTAINS

.. We are pleased to be near to our mountains.
.. Our village is fortunate to be so close to our mountains. We drink from them in many ways: not just the water.
.. Come springtime we will worry about runoff and floods and erosion.
.. Come springtime we will plan our visits to our mountains and their waters. For now, however, we bask in the knowledge that they are there and we can see them and their treasure.

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WALLPAPER:  FRENCH OMELETTE WITH HAM

GOOD MORNING

A FEW DOWN

Another One To Go

make it a good one

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.. So it has come down to this: our cultural reckoning of annual episodes - as if something stopped yesterday and something starts today.

Le Penseur

.. The machines of the universe grind on. The winds blow, the sun shines, the snows come and go, the recycling of all biological stuff continues and all is continuing constancy. Yet we choose to stop something and start something else: curious.
.. We're not fooled by the rationale for our midwinter revels. We know that today has only an artificial status as the first day of a "NEW YEAR." Tell it to the Chinese.
.. The upcoming year of the dog, (4710,) begins on February 16, 2018. Another beginning and another ending. Such are the bits of cultural audacity. The mental ordering of sequential events are seemingly chopped short every 365.2422 days. So be it: we'll play.

狗

.. In most reckonings now is a time of stock taking and resolve based on accumulated evidence from the past.
.. In this cultural milieu we have "New Year's Resolutions." In the Chinese way they have a two week celebration consisting of spreading money around and eating well, (not a bad way for it to be.)
.. 恭喜发财 to you. Resolutions are not as big in the orient as they are here.
.. This might have something to do with the fact that in early Christianity the first day was used to reflect on the past and vow to do better.
.. In the Orient it's best not to repeat the past or reflect too deeply on it. After all the cyclic nature of existence will bring it around again. Just do the best that you can  --  in all instances. There is a realization that no real sundering of past events from the present reality or future occurrences is sensible or comprehensible.
.. A new age for the occidental Christian started about 2018 years ago. and each year was finite and encapsulated.
.. So resolve to "DO BETTER" at something personal.
.. Better manners, better fishing, better catching, better at weight loss, better at gathering wealth, and all things better from a personal perspective. It's as if the past is not connected to the present or the present to the future.  My, my.
.. Most of the various Chinese peoples provide new year wishes for others to have health, wealth, and good fortune.
.. In the Chinese fashion we have had a wish for our president - but the golf club wouldn't fit.
.. For our own thought we wish for the understanding that this is as good as it gets in this cycle, (apart from petty concerns of money, position, advancement, status, ego satisfaction, and all other things valued so highly by fly fishers and other plutocratic sub cultures in our society.)
.. So we wish for you a Happy Disconnected Future  --  free from all past influences. May you be richer, happier, and more healthy than ever before. May you catch all the fish you set out to catch. May you have no worries or anxieties. May all your dreams come true.
.. For us we'll plod along with the frustration of fishless days, bills beyond our means, fatness of the midriff, slowness of stride, anxieties about the health of our water, and fears about the health of the American Rule of Law and and it's vaunted democratic republic  --  one vote for each citizen - HAH!
.. We have no resolutions  we do have a wish: to live a few more healthy years with fewer fishless days and more loving friends.

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WALLPAPER:   A NOBLE CONTINUING TRADITION

Jingle

MAY THE FIRST BE WITH YOU

Happy New Year

IT'S NOT JUST
FOR FOOLS ANYMORE

A Sensible Starting Time

try it, you'll like it

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.. Today would make sense as the day to start the new year. It smells like Spring, (8" of snow aside,) and it feels like Spring, (freezing temperatures aside.) It looks like Spring, (the sky is the right color.)
.. Spring, in our mind, is the new beginning. The Winter is over, (please excuse the winter storm warning.)
.. Summer is just around the corner, (ignore the snow flurries, high runoff, muddy water, and reformed streams.)
.. Fishing and catching is about to begin in earnest, (after all the Park will be open in a couple of weeks - just not for fishing.)

.. The origin of April Fools' Day may just be because:

"In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European towns. In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on April 1. So it is possible that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates. The use of January 1 as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-sixteenth century, and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon." {{SEE WIKIPEDIA}}

.. We like the idea of starting the "new year" at a time that our hopes for the new fishing season are foremost in our psyche. Hope springs eternal that this season will outpace all previous ones.
.. We're going to see new places, find new waters, and dance with new partners. It's a thought that keeps us cheerful through the Spring snows and blustery weather.
.. Spring is a time of renewal. Spring is a time of greening, (just ask the Irish.) The Easter Bunny knows! The local coyotes know! The ravens know! The ducks, geese, bluebirds, bears, and neighbors know.
.. The French really know. Today is a fishy fête called Poisson D'Avril (April's Fish)! It's celebrated by trying to sneakingly tape fish cutouts onto the backs of your friends. [There's a marketing opportunity here for the Moldy Boys!]
.. SO! Happy New Year, (or "Bon Poisson D'Avril.") It's not just for fools anymore!

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The Baby New Year

FLY FISHER IN TRAINING
HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Nothing Like Nostalgia

WHERE DID IT ALL GO ?

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Those under 60 - don't bother to click HERE.

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For Tim, Mom, & the "Damn Beaver"

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For Jerry & the old gang!
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Granddaddy Time

HAPPY COUCH TIME

'Tween Dusk & Dinner

after trout & temptation

COLD BEER, HOT WOMEN, WACKY MASCOTS,
COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
IT'S NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE

The truth of the matter is: not only fish babes are hot. The New Year's Classic is back.
We extend our best wishes to the Women of Troy -- thanks for the memories. Happy New Year.
For Pete & Joe it's a good news / bad news day. Someone has to lose.

FIGHT ON !!

Just Over Five Months

WHERE TO FISH
ON OPENING DAY ?

Is Five Below Warm ?

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