The Woodsman — R.W. Holmen

A short story.

Multi-colored splashes of sugar maple leaves carpeted the ground, disturbed only by squirrels scrounging for acorns and the woodsman's autumnal pilgrimage to cut firewood. Many happy days of the old man's life were spent in these hardwood hills, and he journeys here each fall with his memories.

Along with the doe standing invisible in the trees, the red squirrel scolding from a low branch, and the ducks splashing in a pond, spend a day in the life of the woodsman and share his life in the day. Is the shrill cry of the blue jay an intruder alert or a welcome home?