Evening Hunt

Hunting is usually associated with pre-dawn rises and shivery walks through dew drop laden under growth. I have had a few hundred such hunts, but years ago I began to appreciate the evening hunt. There is no advantage to it. It's the experience I relish.

Squirrels that have chattered their aggravations all day become subdued as the sun begins to set.

The constant conversation of the day birds is slowly replaced with slower more patient, sometimes haunting, calls of the night birds.

Raccoons skid down tree trunks or emerge from hollow logs. Possums waddle along in search of the repugnant. And in the distance, coyotes sing to all that their shift has begun.

 Even the wind slows, and a coolness surrounds your neck as you sink a little deeper into your collar. My own senses become heightened as darkness approaches.

It is the changing of the guard. It is beautiful, even when all I bring home is a contented smile.

Oct. 10 2011