Category Archives: Stories

Hacked Away Years Ago

Morning sun reflected off the tiny creek. The shiny silver band curled close to the big swamp’s edge, then disappeared in the matted canary grass. Unseen cardinals whit-sued to the south, this side of the watering hole. My moccasins crested … Continue reading

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And Yes, I Answer!

“That should be enough,” I said, walking to the truck with two big fistfuls of oak leaves pressed against each other. A cold but gentle northwest breeze dislodged a few strays and sent them fluttering on their way. I dumped … Continue reading

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Perhaps Another Time

The neighbor’s rooster cackled. A slight easterly breath pushed the morning’s fog. A crow cawed, off to the west, near the nameless creek that meanders through the big swamp. Jerry’s rooster cackled again and again. “Caw, caw.” What sounded like … Continue reading

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What’s That Bird?

Standing corn bordered the swale hole. Tall cottonwoods flourished in the outer edges, amongst the sedge grass and raspberry tangles. The oldest tree, at the swale’s southernmost tip, was dead. Two upper branches tented against the trunk. Slabs of bark … Continue reading

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“Testify to what you did…”

A young doe ran by, its white tail up. It did not appear alarmed, just in a hurry. A pleasant breeze caressed my face, coming out of the south, same as the deer. The faint scent of oak leaves and … Continue reading

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Feeling Small

November’s last day broke with a violent rainstorm. A steady drizzle and a high wind rendered a morning hunt impossible, but by late afternoon the tempest subsided. The air was late-March warm; the mixed stench of night crawlers, stale urine … Continue reading

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A Joyous Chorus of Hound Music

Seven woodsmen trudged up the long grade. The blazed trail cut through a young, regenerated forest. At seventy paces, the tight-growing maples, beeches, cherries and oaks looked like an impenetrable gray palisade. Before the first pause, the ragged column strung … Continue reading

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Hunger Knows No Preference

Morning clouds dispersed. Four wild gobblers gleaned the cornfield, beyond the hayfield, north of the homestead. A brilliant early afternoon sun cast a short shadow from the great oak. The night before’s fresh snow dripped from the eaves. The cabin … Continue reading

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