Wins and losses on the prairie

On the west side of the faded red barn hang two elk skulls. Both sport 6-point racks, one with weathered tufts of brown hair clinging to the forehead, the other with a crazy left eye leaving it with a "holy shit" look. Trophies of some hunter's kill. On the east side of the farm house, facing the elk, a pair of barn swallows raise their young in a nest built in the window guard installed to keep them away, and swoop in on schedule to feed their clutch.