Dawn's hard frost covers the browning grass, tumbling the world into a cascade of pale white and crisp air. Leaves, colored red and orange and yellow, are ripped from surrounding trees by a rush of harsh, cold wind. The forest slows, hung on the brink of impending winter. Surrounding a lone man hovers hushed sounds of life; the quick chattering of squirrels searching for a temporary home; the rustling of a branch as a bird of prey lands; the stealthy step of a coyote creeping through the underbrush. Two proud black grouse ruffle their thickening feathers, moving in quick, graceful pecks and jerks, unaware of the other. They idly search for loose seed and food, slowly moving close to each other. Suddenly, one grouse spots the beautiful, deep blue plumage of the other grouse, and cocks his head, watching silently. The other grouse raises his red-crowned head and stares back, not moving. Both grouse raiser their feathers and ruffle, silently engaging in a war of arrogance. A lone man crouches silently in the trees at the edge of the field, watching the two magnificent birds. He raises a long barrel of manufactured steel, singing under his breath. He thanks the forest for this gift of food and life. The two grouse circle each other warily, tilting their head one way then the other. The lone man finishes his softly spoken song in a long hiss of breath, exhaling. He pulls the trigger.
This is a lovely narration of an event that ends violently--I think your poetic way of describing it is so effective...nature disturbed.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Mrs. Fraser,
DeleteOnce again, I wanted to take a picture of a real event, and look beyond it, putting an interesting twist on it. I wanted to signify the importance of the two black grouse to the man without words, so I made him sing instead.
Have a lovely night,
Zachary