Gone squirrelly
Posted on February 28, 2015 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
In the ground were nearly 150 feet of seed potatoes, freshly planted before most of my neighbors had their first cup of morning coffee. I’d finally found time to prep the soil, get the chitted chunks of spud in the ground, and mulch them sufficiently to both protect them from frost and keep moisture levels […]
A Nose for Trouble
Posted on January 31, 2015 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
I got the call an hour into our trip. My youngest pup – hardly a pup any longer at nearly four years – was casually roaming the neighborhood in that worry-free way only dogs who know their owners won’t be back for a few days can manage. “Do you have a dog named Bella?” the […]
Woodrow’s Home
Posted on November 30, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
“Sorry, but a couple wood ducks are not worth a 3 a.m. wake up,” they’d say when he’d ask. It was all the same to him, the invitation being obligatory anyway to appease his wife when she worried about him hunting alone. “Couldn’t get anyone to go,” he’d respond. But he wasn’t alone. He had […]
The Ones That Got Away
Posted on November 1, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
There are monsters that haunt his dreams, resting in the dim corners of his mind where the light doesn’t quite reach. There they lurk, in wait, taunting him in weak moments. Sometimes he lies awake at night, staring at the ceiling, imagining their hulking, weightless shapes silhouetted against the light filtering down from above. Sleep […]
Dogs That Don’t Hunt
Posted on October 4, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
Despite his best efforts, the Brittany would neither hold nor honor a point, and by this stage in her training should’ve been doing both with style and proficiency. From her morning performance, it was evident she would rather chase grasshoppers than find birds. Back at the truck, he watered her, placed her back in the […]
A Good Enough Nest
Posted on August 30, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
I surveyed the yard, glanced up at the glaring sun and back down at my wristwatch. It was half-past noon, less than three hours before my daughter woke from her nap. In one hand was a list of tasks no mortal could complete in such a short time, in the other, a dusty chainsaw. Suppressing my […]
Lost Cat
Posted on August 1, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
“Hold it,” he said, the stern floating off the trailer, its lights an eerie scarlet beneath the water. He cranked the motor and backed off into the damp darkness in a cloud of two-stroke smoke. “Got a light?” his voice echoed off the shoreline trees. “Meet ya at the dock. Watch out for ol’ red […]
Ghosts in the Grass
Posted on June 30, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
“I don’t believe it,” the old man said. “A retriever is not a bird dog. A fine water dog, yes, but no bird dog.” The boy shook his head in respectful disagreement, smiling at his grandfather. The old man grumbled something about self-respecting bird hunters, then turned his attention to the tea pot on the […]
The Rolling Store
Posted on May 29, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
Long before the faded blue panel van pulled into view, you could hear him coming down the road. His Chevrolet could hardly skid to a stop in the gravel drive before the herd of cousins were bouncing on the bumper and wiping the red road dust from the windows itching for a peek inside. Like […]
Bream: The Moon Fish
Posted on May 1, 2014 by bob in OffTheBeatenPath
The voice on the other end of the line answered on the fourth ring. “This better be good!” “Pardon?” I asked, perplexed. “Someone better be dead or be dying for you to be bothering me right now,” he said. Taken aback, I glanced at my watch; it was just four o’clock, a Tuesday in mid-May. […]
