early fall -
sporting goods store sign reads
Going Out of Business

dead duck -
not at all like the one on
the duck stamp

autumnal tints
the whiteness of the
bird dog's muzzle

staring at me
under swaying oaks
a wild turkey

autumn rain -
under the balsams
an empty shotshell

summer heat -
taking time off to get my
hunting license

autumn -
on the familiar trail
a new beaver pond

brushy pasture
the dog finds woodcock
and a dead cow

gun club chatter
a rifle accuracy geek
exaggerates . . .

muggy evening
through the scope a woodchuck
and heat mirage

through the scope
I spot the woodchuck
at his spy hole

photo courtesy of Cagey, aka KGT

summer evening -
in clover the woodchucks
still wary