Tradition

"Time To Kill"
by
Bob DaFolder

*
*
You packed up and left the truck over an hour ago.
Sometimes if the moon is still bright you don't even
need a headlamp to make your way out to the area
where you want to set up. It's cold out but the long
walk with the pack on makes you sweat inside your
waders and under all the layers. As you set your
decoys in the still water surrounding your blind, your
body cools and you can feel the chill in the air again.
Finally, with everything complete, it's time to wait
for sunrise.Just before the first light of day you can
hear the whistle of ducks flying near you. Wondering
what they are is almost torture. Are they the fat
greenies you hope to see again at first light, or are
they another brand, something you have never seen
before? Not long now till you start to make out shapes
and can see a little bit better as the sun comes closer
to the horizon. Now, as the other creatures of the woods
wake up and start to move around, you know that the
time is here. Time to kill.

*

Circa 2006