There is a Field

THERE IS A FIELD
A Short Story
BY
RANDY TAYLOR
6-2018

There is a field, on the edge of town, where at times I go to getaway,relax,and unwind from my every day toils.It is a large field, Bordered by tall trees on the far side.This field has many trails,I expect made from the deer that live in this area.
From the woods beyoned the trees, there is a river a few miles away, and most of the trails lead into that direction.It is early morning,the light fog is lifting, as the sun begins
To rise from the eastern sky. I don’t choose any particular trail, so as i begin to walk I am overwhelmed by the differant Scents that I am smelling.i feel the droplets of dew from the Tall grass as I walk by it,and the aroma from it is a sweet and musty smell.

As I continue on I notice little birds flying to and from a certain spot.getting closer to it,I realize why,there is a pond,that i did not noticed,because of the tall grass,so i decide to go over to it and check it out.there is a stump Next to the edge of the water,and I decide to sit for awhile.
My appearance seemed to scare the birds away,but soon
They began to re apeer,and go back to Their activities.
Some of the birds,like the spotted towhee,are enjoying bathing In the shallow water with no worries at all.
looking up off into the Tall trees,I see this beautiful hawk,it is a good sized one,and Im guessing that it is an adult Red Shouldered hawk.I am wondering how long he has been watching me,they have very good eye sight,and can even spot little rodents scurrying around on the ground.I know he would not attack me,so I am not worried.

As I sit and watch him,he begins to put his head Down low and with a gentle leep he takes off flying,with every movement of his wings he gets higher in the air,and i watch him until he soars over the trees,and is gone.oh how I wish I had brought my camera,and captured such an awesome event.yet I do have that captured in my memory,and I suppose I will think of it often when i go back to my world that is not really that far away,but void of the peace and harmony that this place provides if one would only take the time to find.

Looking at the pond,on the other side i can see an old
wooden row boat pulled up out of the water tied up to a tree,I decide to take the trail around the pond and check it out.the trail ,you can tell,has not been traveld on much, there are deer dropping but i have yet to see one.as i get to the boat and look it over it seems to have been painted white at one time, But most of that has been faded off,And the wood now is bare.there are ors in it,and to my surprise it seems to Have been used recently.a thought came to my mind about Taking it out on the pond,but as soon as the thought appeared,I brushed it away.

Looking out onto the pond,I can see many different insects Fluttering here and there . Not staying in one place for very long.i notice that there are different looking dragonflies,Wether one is a male and the other is a female I do not know.The Blue ones are brightly colored,and then there was a few Red Dragonflies,of which I did not know we had in this area.

I did not notice before now,but suddenly not far off in the
pond,there became a fairly good sized splash and ripple in the water.it seems this pond has some type of fish dwelling underneath,and came up for a meal.I stood there for what seemed to be 15 minutes,and this time I saw it.a nice sized Bass came out of the water,grabbing a meal,and darting back down into the water leaving a huge ripple as before.that Bass must have been four or five pounds.

Now I see what the little row boat is probably here for.there is someone else who knows of my field,and likes Getting away,and spending time here,and most likely doing a little fishing as well.

About ten yards away,I see the grass suddenly moving,and to my surprise up in the air was a pheasant taking flight,
No sooner did it get over the height of the Tall grass,there was a Coyote that jumped in the air and caught the pheasant by the Tale and took it down.I stood there,with my heart beating
As fast as it could,I wanst sure if I should applaud the coyote,Or cry for the pheasant.for sure it was a sad time for the pheasant ,but like life anywhare,it could end at any time.we even know that someday we to will be taken from this place For what ever reason,and return to that heavenly home where we came from.the coyote,only doing what instinct has taught For thousands of years,and that is the hunt for food to survive.He was only doing what he knew to do,
We kinda do the same thing,but our hunt is the fridge,or closest restaurant for our next meal.

I never will forget what I just saw with the coyote and pheasant, in life,things change,sometimes for a reason,sometimes not.but for us we just need to carry on
as best as we can,and believe things will get better.

I turn back to the trail,this time my head is down,I am not looking around,just pondering the events of this morning,
And suddenly,I almost run into an elderly gentleman.he had on an old pair of overalls,and a button down plade shirt, he reminded me of my grandpa,when i was young boy,he would take me out for walks on his ranch,and we would go fishing in the creek by the house,I really loved those summers.
that sure seems along time ago....this elderly man was carrying a fishing rod in one hand,and a lunch pale in the other.
In his face,you can see the years that have passed him by.
The wrinkles are many,but,His smile was gentle,as if to say,hello my friend.

I apologized for almost running into him,and with a smile
I said,beautiful field isnt it,he lifted his head,and softly he began to speak,he Said,i have been coming to this place
On and off for 30 years,just after my wife passed on,and each time I come here,I am reminded of how life can be short for some,and longer for others,i dont know why i feel this,but that someday,it will end and we will go into a field in heaven and be greeted by our loved ones that are there happily waiting.he said yes,this is a beautiful Field,and as he started walking off, he looked back and said,and The fishing aint so bad either.

I stood there watching him walk slowly down the trail until it turned to the left,and he was out of my sight.I stood for awhile,thinking about what he had just said,because,I to felt the same as he did,almost as if this place is giving us something we need to know.
As much as I did not want to,It was time for me to head down the trail,and get back to My world away from the magic that this place gives to those who come to it,and see the beauty and wonder it has to offer.

The End