Hunting

Hunting, originally uploaded by A Schultz.

I was walking down the trail after hiking Stuart Peak. Of course, I was torn between the beautiful surroundings and the grumble in my belly telling me it needed an Old Post burger and a pint of beer. Winter and I spooked a well fed whitetail - its coat was glossy and every bound was precise. The birds were trading calls over our heads. The trees at the tops of the ridges were filtering the last of that day's direct sunlight. And the wildflowers were splashed everywhere. But one looked strange. I looked closer and closer and... jumped back suddenly as I realized what was hanging out in this particular flower. "Cool!" I exclaimed as I reached for my camera.

Backstage

Backstage, originally uploaded by A Schultz.

So much happens behind the scenes as we go about our daily life. People's lives are saved daily by St. Pat's Life-Flight. Wood and gas used to fuel our life passes through town. People back out of their alley driveways to run thier errands or visit family. The homeless are hanging out on the foot bridge drinking and bullshitting while the 30-something, sporting a courier bag and riding a mountain bike passes by on his way to work. As a person is hiking up to Lolo Peak, a deer jumps up out of the brush that was its bed and bounds away. And somebody's dog, without a collar, is running down the street...

What Does She See?

What Does She See?, originally uploaded by A Schultz.

EXTREME close up of Winter's, my dog, eye. I was giving her a scratch down at the summit of Stuart peak and saw the coolest reflection in her eye. I heard once that 90% of the information about the world around them comes in through a dog's nose. This is why I freak out the neighbors dog occasionally, until she gets close enough to smell me, even though I have seen this dog just about every day since it was 3 months old So, again, I ask what does she see? Is it my bad posture or fuzzy forearms? Does it mess with her for a day or so when I buzz all my hair off? A dog's sense of smell seems so intrinsically tied to the world around them that if I were able to mask my smell somehow would Winter still be able to recognize me? I hope so, cuz she's my buddy.

Any destination, it's all the same

Mohawk pushes board with All Stars
chain slapping his thigh
Eyes and mind focused on the rail
in front of a burger shop
He passes a woman in a business suit and winks
She blinks… And his board is rising
Ssshhhhhrrik.
“I couldn’t do that,” she thinks
than continues, sidewalk cracks pacing
heal clicks towards diner
She smiles at a man as he passes
Apron rolled up and held in his hand
She thinks he looks failure and cute
He smiles back, but is late for work and
His mind is on an audition to sell a product
he doesn’t believe in
Dress shoes spotted with balsamic and ketchup
Step over newspapers and McDonalds cups
and past a man in a doorway asleep
The man in the door mumbles through
Yellow beard, something about chickens
Dress shoes pause… Then continue
Head attached to the yellow beard
Slips in sleep and smacks glass door
His eyes blink sleepily, partially from mental sickness
But notice little girl holding dad’s hand
She waves and he smiles back through beard
remembering his own little girl
He hasn’t talked to in… Can’t remember
Girl skips on in pink jellies, swinging dad’s arm
Looking forward to burgers and milkshakes
“Remember, don’t drink all your shake
before the burger comes.”
Dad glances at man in the corner booth
scribbling in notebook
The writer raises eyes… Dad looks away