Bison Tale

The mist was burning off of Jackson Hole

when we turned onto Antelope Flats Road.

There by the road we saw him, our first buff

a solitary bull, black-headed with

a stalk of sagebrush dangling from his horn.

We stopped to take his picture. We're shutterbugs

like everyone else here. By now the buff—

he deserves a name, let's call him "Isaiah"—

had crossed the road and started heading south.

Just then came by a guy on an ATV

ready for fun, tee-shirt & baseball cap.

"Man, that is sure one ugly son of a gun.

I've seen so many of those ugly mothers

I never need to see another one."

We'd heard enough. We walked off toward our car

when now Isaiah decided to turn around,

climbed back onto the road and stood there, twitching

his tail while traffic started to back up.

He took another step onto the road

and shook his head toward the ATV

sending photographers scrambling for their cars

then slowly ambled off and headed north

as if to say, "You're not worth the trouble to gore you"

that sagebrush stalk still hanging from his horn.

Later we told the tale to a ranger

who said, "I never get tired of watching them.

You never know just what they're going to do."

Appeared in The Weekly Avocet (3/19/18)

Photographer: Laura Barrett