Tuesday, January 31, 2006

senryu

on a hunt with Rich
he wants to be back by noon -
so we turn around
how many guns now?
how many's a "collection"?
don't ask and don't tell

Monday, January 30, 2006


autumn artistry -
not landscape but rather a
still life with dead grouse
the Royal Gun! "That
gun has a pedigree, son"
couldn't shoot for crap

Sunday, January 29, 2006

invisible grouse
there on a branch the whole time -
suddenly flushes
my first side by side
L.C. Smith with a cracked stock -
soured me on Elsies

Saturday, January 28, 2006

the hunt haiku muse
is as hard to chase sometimes
as a wily grouse
tired hunting dog
a long day of chasing birds
smells of the pasture
had a pheasant gun -
a New Ithaca Double
with mod and full chokes

Friday, January 27, 2006

attempt at tanka

passing of a life
a sudden tranquility
seizes the remains -
I can almost believe in
the transmigration of souls
old hunting coat -
wintergreen lifesavers
worn out shell loops
scenting conditions -
forty degrees Fahrenheit
and light breeze . . . perfect!
gun I miss most? my
beat up Parker 20 gauge -
could shoot it eyes closed

Thursday, January 26, 2006

seen on a pickup
"Bambi makes cute sandwiches"
- angry vegans glare
walking silently -
light snow falling through branches
where grouse roost above
number 8 chilled shot -
collisions of randomness
then a bird falling
in cold months it's a
Benelli SBE II -
death to ducks and geese

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

shotguns I have known

I recall my Rem
11-87
it killed my first grouse

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

a bloodied deer tag
filled with the vital info -
strings are still attached

shotguns I have known

shotguns I have known
Remington 870
the classic pumpgun

Monday, January 23, 2006

POAS

flush like chickens do
corn just ain't balsam and birch
better than nothing
Northern Wisconsin
Old Tamarack hunting camp
grouse in the popple

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Pete's opening day
Manic duck hunter with boat
"Think I'll take a walk"

Saturday, January 21, 2006

the sense of regret -
what they don't talk about in
books about hunting

Friday, January 20, 2006

upland detritus -
sticks feathers and empty shells
time to clean the vest

Thursday, January 19, 2006

March evening mudbat
peents flies circles trills drops lands -
cruising for some chicks

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

flattened sodden leaves
creek ten feet above normal
iffy for hunting

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Jehovah's Witness
hunting neighborhood converts
bagged one yesterday
desperate turkeys
jumping up for crabapples
they need a ladder
in autumn sometimes
the venison fairy will
leave a gift of meat

Monday, January 16, 2006

withered berries and
leafless hedgerows - now we are
hunting grouse for real
the season's over
waders hanging left to dry
until next autumn

Sunday, January 15, 2006

late afternoon snow
grouse tracks under the spruces
suddenly ending

Saturday, January 14, 2006

wet leaves -
my boots fixed with
duct tape
'Third Base' - the hot corner -
where birds have congregated
and two have fallen
eudaimonia
the Greek word for happiness
grouse hunting bliss

Friday, January 13, 2006

partly frozen ground
under red osier dogwood -
was that a woodcock?
shide no yama
literally 'Death Mountain' -
the end of the line
the snow all melted -
a road killed deer in a field
eviscerated
six fifteen a.m.
getting the paper, a quick
look around for deer

Thursday, January 12, 2006

time for the Zebco -
push-button convenience at
a rock bottom price

#3

spring thicket -
a muddy dead deer
rotting alone

Ending

It is not repose
mourning the pass of season
cleaning fouled barrels.
January thaw
the grouse are spread out now just
living the good life

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

hunting canoga
is the best because they serve
hot meals in the field
full crop
the bird's last meal of
sticks and berries . . .

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

wings cupped . . . breathe slowly
and then the pit commander
says to us -- take 'em

Monday, January 09, 2006


sunrise beam of light
I bet they marvelled at it
in antiquity

Sunday, January 08, 2006

after today's hunt
"crestfallen" is precisely
the word for goose camp
ducker aesthetics
what's so great about goddamned
bluebirds anyway?
sunny muddy field . . .
you shoulda been here friday
geese were everywhere

Saturday, January 07, 2006

"crestfallen"
now there's a word you don't expect
to hear at beer camp
light snow is falling
on the last weekend for ducks
I drink my coffee

Friday, January 06, 2006

decaying apples
dinner for deer as I wait
up in my crow's nest
kamikaze duck
spirals downward cupping wings
with a fatal sound

Lonesome Bay

Two more days of ducks
new L C Smith reigns supreme
miss guys to share blind

taunt the vicar

we got game galore
fur fin feathers you name it
our freezers are full
icy predawn breaths
just then a glimpse of antlers
and neck shot he folds

Thursday, January 05, 2006

light on feather
sky on wave
life returns
over sweet waters

Reddening maples

reddening maples
on a hunt not long ago
Pete got a woody

Bag limits

daily limit on
haiku is nonexistent
so haiku away

Addiction

Jimbo's second blog.
I thought that one was enough.
Here I am. How sad.

haiku numero uno

it's january
I should be out shooting ducks
instead I'm right here