My friend Monty was always a slightly elusive presence, even in his autobiographical sketch in Amazon, written by himself: “M. R. Montgomery, known to the various government record keepers as Maurice R. Montgomery Jr., and to all his acquaintances as Monty, was born in eastern Montana in 1938, raised partly in California, and now lives …
Tag: The West
No Respect
These fine photos of a cow giving birth are by John L Moore of (near) Miles City, rancher and novelist. If they were of antelope, they would probably be on the cover of a magazine, but domestic animals get no respect. Johnson and Janiga, the authors of the magisterial Superdove, on feral pigeons, say they …
Tom’s tour- and Book
A friend in Alberta snapped this photo of Tom Russell and Ian Tyson in fine form at a concert up there. My informant said that he told a story of bringing his Swiss Father-in-law over the Continental Divide at night to visit us and our hounds and hawks. It could have been a fraught scene …
Lever Gun Legacy
People from cities who hunt once a year think they must have he latest flat- shooting magnum to achieve success. So, often they miss because of an unexpected flinch, or end up destroying meat. Third gen ranchers like Miles City’s John L Moore (well, that is the nearest TOWN) know better: “My dad was a …
Another Wind River Poem
From Tim: Wind River Justice Alan riding his first horse from Big Sandy to celebrate his thirty-seventh birthday: his mare reared in the lodgepoles when a spruce grouse flushed and nearly pitched him down a switchback. My own gelding stampeded through a meadow, and our young wrangler called those ponies “gentled.” We braved Pyramid’s boulders, …
C J’s latest project
C J Hadley came over as a young girl from Birmingham in England, and worked at Car and Driver magazine in its legendary years, when the late David E Davis ran a strong stable of writers and illustrators. It may be advancing age, but I think magazines were more colorful then, perhaps because they were …
Old Timers
Our annual fiesta seems to have taken on new life, and despite threatening (pre?) monsoon clouds staggering by, nothing is getting cancelled. It SMELLS like O t’s. Now we just need the metronymic rhythm of 4 pm daily storms (with hail!) and maybe this will be the best “real” rain in a decade… Pics, random …
Rueful truth
Reid attended Tom McGuane’s signing for his new book of short stories, Crow Fair, at the Tattered Cover, where they talked of Helen’s meteoric rise, gun nuts, and the blog– I was pleased to know he sometimes checks in. He was kind enough to send down an inscribed copy via Reid– thanks to both. I …
The Rose of Roscrae
Tom Russell’s magnum opus, his “Western Opera” or “Cowboy Musical” will be out in mid-April, debuting at Passim at 47 Palmer Street under Harvard Square, once the home of the legendary Club 47. It was one of the very few venues that kept a sort of vernacular American music alive even as it morphed into …
Heirloom Photos?
Two “family” photos that hang on our walls are a little better than snapshots. Our friend Jay Dusard took this of me a LONG time ago at Libby’s house in Montana. This, even longer ago, was an outtake for this. That is Libby over near the right with the short black hair and the blonde …