Tween Time In Montana

Sunday Greetings from Montana, fellow E-11ers!!

 

As the attached photos depict, it is, indeed, “tween time” here in Montana—the general color of the day is a drab gray, during the days it doesn’t quite know whether to rain or snow (so it does both) and, with the gradual melting of this year’s excessive and impressive ground snow, the springly process of rejuvenation is slowly underway, as witnessed by the robin’s nest shown in the first photo above that has reappeared amongst the snow on our backyard’s yet winter dormant lawn, the “eagle melt” in our front yard and, in the last shot (my favorite, btw), the early budding out of 2011’s new tree growth.

 

With our arrival back in God’s country and with the almost daily arrival now of goods and supplies that will become a part of Extravaganza 2011, I know that our ninth foray into the wonders of Western Montana is rapidly winging its way our way.  Yesterday I had the great privilege to be with Carolyn Persico, our land base purveyor, at the Rock Creek Mercantile to muse with her on this, our very first Extravaganza, without the physical presence of her husband, Doug, (Doug passed on during the off season and now participates with us from above), as well as to reach out to our Double Up Outfitter, John “The Great but Propaneless” Gould to prepare for our first scheduled 2011 trip on the Bitterroot River together this coming Friday.  Yesterday, it was nice to purchase my tenth (count ‘em) year-long Montana fishing license from Carolyn (for the whopping sum of $70, I might add—simply the best deal in the world!); and I can’t wait to try out my brand spankin’ new 9’ 5 wt B2X Winston fly rod with Propaneless in just a few days now.  My annual business succession plan (where “success” is the root word) is to spend 30 days fishing each year, and it is nigh time to get to plan!

 

Now, you rookies out there ask “Why is this Great guide also called ‘Propaneless’?”  Well, first off, sooner or later, everyone who travels here garners a new nickname and, after years of fishing with us, John’s nickname finally found him [that’s the way it works here…the name does find you] in 2009 when, on the very first day of fishing with me during E-09, John forgot to bring along the propane for a streamside hot lunch (fortunately, there was another E-09 boat right behind us who John then “invited to join us for lunch”), but, then, the very next day made the same moniker-naming fatal error when fishing apart from all with yet-again-returning-this-year veteran Group Oners John “SOS” Reimann and Demetry “The Ghost” Kondrasheff on the {very} upper West Fork of the Bitterroot.  Hence, truly Great but forever likewise known as “Propaneless”.

 

Your Hostess With The Mostess will be resident here in God’s own backyard, in the course of which I will be providing you with more thousand word images and reports from the very scene of it all!

 

Best to all tween it all!

 

Rock Creek Ron

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