Moses turned five months old today. In short of his life he has successfully helped me to avoid a traffic ticket (apparently swerving on the highway is bad), melted the hearts of the elderly ‘morning walkers neighborhood brigade’ successfully annoyed every neighborhood dog because Moses refuses to bark in return to the insistent yawlps, hounds, and whimpers. He has sprouted from a wee little puppy, with long brown spotted legs, wavy hair along his back, and
ears that flop so perfectly, a Hollywood producer would hire him on the spot.
Moses has received bird wings and feathers from Missouri and South Dakota. Spent a week making friends with a pointer named Cookie. He has charmed my wife’s heart, and begs to be loved by our cat, Paisley (she will have not of it!).
On a recent walk Moses brought life into the aging wrinkles of a seventy-five year old man name Larry. We spoke from a distance. One that seemed to bother young Moses. He posed liked the Winged Victory, chest out shoulders back as if to quietly say, “Look at me.. see how magnificent I shall become.” Larry was charmed, perhaps a bit sad. For he spoke in somber tones of his beloved and aging Brittany, Emma. Disregarding his water can, a moment of youth filled strength returned to Larry, his eyes continually being pulled down to Moses, the Iris patch starving to be quenched. I could see Moses’s little legs shaking with excitement. I hope to see Larry again. To sit with him. Enjoy his prized flower garden. To talk with him about birds, life, and his feet Emma.
The upland season will be arriving soon, five more months will have passed. Moses will be taller, heavier, still melting the hearts of new friends and strangers. I will be in the field walking amongst the rich blue skies reserved only for Autumn. He will stop, nose working the scent of a hidden bird. Wings will rocket through branch and bramble. The day can not arrive soon enough.
By Erin Woodward
Erin Woodward is a novice bird hunter. He was born and raised in Kansas where he currently resides with his wife and three children. Erin can be found during the fall and winter months venturing across the Great Plains in search of wild game. Summers are reserved for fishing and making homemade ice cream. His works have appeared in: Sage & Braker, Missing Sucks, Hunt Redi, Project Upland and Endless Migration.