Praeambulum

Praeambulum

Discovered

 Sliding sideways through the aspens, I carried my burden: five dead squirrels and a sack full of fish. My bow and quiver were slung across my back and my fishing pole jiggled as I walked. And then I was on top of the mountain, my mountain.

I stopped and stared, the view never ceased to amaze me in the six years I had been here. The mountains were sharp jagged points thrust into the sky, their tips dusted with snow. The wind blew through the trees making the aspens quake and shiver. It smelled like fresh air, the kind you only get out here in the wilderness. It blew my long braids sideways and wisps of hair danced in front of my face.

Rivers crossed the valley below and creatures moved in the trees. The sun came out from behind a cloud and made the landscape shimmer.

I was lost to the beauty of it. And it made me feel deliciously small to be in the middle of such a paradise.

I jumped when a cold, wet nose pressed into my free hand and looked down.

“Hey pretty girl.” I said smiling down at Caddy, my Carpathian shepherd dog. Her tail swished as I scratched behind her ear. “Ready to go home?” Her ears perked up and she glanced behind us before she trotted down the mountain. I smiled down at her before twisting around and whistling long and loud.

Paws sounded in the forest as they rushed to me. I began to walk down the mountain and soon four dogs rushed past me onward to our home. I looked down to my left and Hank, my Scottish terrier gave a toothy grin up at me, his tongue hanging out.

“You hungry boy?”

His tail became a blur as it wagged and he gave a small bark. “Have to skin us some squirrel and fish don’t we?”

As I spoke a bitter wind blew past us and slapped me in the face. Winter was a few weeks away, the snowfall would start.

“I’ll have to take Rio and Xena out and catch us some meat for the winter.” Hank pranced alongside me, my silent companion, and at last, we wove through the aspens that I had planted to grow thick around our home and there it was.

The yurt was in the middle of my cleared out field and my massive fence made of huge tree trunks stood as solid as a fortress wall made of stone.

My herd of six dogs all sat in front of the gate, waiting for me to open it. I reached around the top of it and undid the latch and as soon as it was partway open they all pushed past me and raced into the yard. I locked the gate behind me and glanced around, making sure we were alone.

Dropping my bundle at the door of my yurt I then turned to my shed and muscled it open and put away my gear, grabbing my .243 and pistol and tucking it into the holster at my hip.

Hours later as the sun was setting we all sat around a roaring bonfire I had going, eating our spoils from the day.

“Rio, Xena, we’re going out in the morning to start collecting meat. So get some sleep because we leave at dawn.” I pulled meat off the fish carcass I had and then I stood, chunking the remains into my air tight trashcan.

I turned for my yurt and was almost at the door when Rio, my Tibetan mastiff growled low and menacing from right behind me.

I turned around once more and saw that he had his back to me, his hackles raised all the way, and his lips pulled back from his teeth. I narrowed my eyes and grabbed my .243, loading a bullet into the chamber, and I raised the gun to my sights.

We all waited, not making a sound, and then a huge roar sounded from the northwestern corner of my wall. A black bear came around the corner, his huge body causing the aspens to bend, he had smelled our dinner.

Caddy started snapping her teeth and charged forward to the gate, barking and growling at the bear. It reared up on its back legs and swiped at her and I whistled.

She came immediately back to stand beside me with Rio. I inched closer to the bear and trained my sights on his heart and lungs. Just behind the front leg and a little to the back. He gave another mighty roar and I took a breath in and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit exactly as I knew it would and he went down, collapsing in a huge huff of fur.

We all waited another five minutes and then I walked forward and my herd followed closely behind me. When we reached the gate I looked over it and saw that the animal was truly dead. I went back to my shed and grabbed my thick leather straps and tied them around the bear’s torso. I gave one to Caddy and another to Xena, my Rhodesian Ridgeback, and another to Rio and I grabbed two and we dragged the body back into the field until we reached my meat barn on the far southeast side of my property. We left him in there for the night, because the sun was already down by the time we dragged him inside and I praised all three dogs for their help and we all went back to the yurt and shut ourselves inside for the night. I made a fire in the fireplace and once it was crackling I stripped and pulled my long underwear out of one of my trunks and climbed into bed. Hank snuggled into the curve of my body and sighed as he fell asleep and I passed out soon after.