The challenge lay before me. I could not ignore it. I had to act quickly and without hesitation. Only then would I be victorious. I couldn't afford to flinch or waver from the deed I knew I must perform. Yet, I had to be steadfast, deliberate, and patient. But most of all, I had to be deadly accurate.

I had shattered a floodlight on my first shot. But I needed to be more precise to strike my target. For a second time, I took aim and fired. Feathers flew in every direction, and the pesky but BB-stricken woodpecker flew away.

Story and Photo Illustration Copyright © 2023 by Michael DeFrancesco