It snowed yesterday, maybe six inches, maybe more, but the roads cleared off quickly, so no worry about drifting snow, sliding around, and landing face down in a snowbank. My car has fancy new snow tires, made with walnut shells, but we took the Cowboy’s pickup. I closed my eyes and smiled. The sky was bright blue with a few wispy clouds, no wind, the makings of a perfect day. Don’t ask about the temperature, though, because it was colder than a witch’s whatever. Today was Sunday and we were going on a drive. Blue skies, white hills, it couldn’t be prettier!
Three miles up the road, I shouted, “Stop! Look!” and the cowboy screeched to a halt looking at me like I had a third eye. Standing in the adjacent field was something I had never seen before…a herd of elk, probably 150, proudly standing in a row at attention, saluting us with their heads erect and their eyes focused directly on us. A whole herd of bulls and cows and young ones staring at us. I heard some noise, not sure how to describe it, something between a chirp and a growl, but louder. Google says they bugle. Really? Bagpipes might be closer.
I grabbed my phone and opened the window, sure that I could get a good photo on my iPhone and started snapping. Elk must have great hearing because they suddenly began to run at full speed. They had to leap over two fences separated by a road and the whole herd began to run and jump, one or two at time, like leapfrog or like swimmers in the Olympic synchronized swimming competition, only no swimming caps. Of course, I was so excited that I forgot to turn on the video switch, so the whole event is still stuck in my brain, not recorded. Nevertheless, it was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen.
That was one adventure, but the Cowboy was all over adventures and thought we should take a look at the local lake, Cooney Lake. The lake is frozen over, and our boat is in storage, so what the heck? We arrived after a few stops, you know coffee, bathroom, let Cody out, those types of things. And before long we were at Cooney and I was back in la-la-land because although I had heard of ice fishing, I had never seen it. We saw twenty or more tents and about fifty people moving around on the lake, and before long, Cody led us out on the ice, and I cautiously inched behind when suddenly I heard a shot. My inching stopped and my eyes began darting around, “What was that? It sounded like a rifle shot.”
The cowboy said, “No, it wasn’t a rifle shot, it was the ice cracking. If you aren’t wet, it’s all good.”
“Stop!” I shouted for the second time that day “Ice cracking? Are you kidding? It sounded like it was right under me, and my inching quickened to a trot, not easy for this old girl.
I don’t know much, but I do know that ice breaks and ice water is cold and getting wet in below freezing temperatures isn’t my idea of a good time. Probably some who read this are going to think I have lived a sheltered life, and I might have, but so far, I haven’t fallen in a lake in December and I’m not starting now.
Elk, deer, eagles, and lots of other animals, our Sunday was both eventful and uneventful, a full day.
Gail Sale…four books for $20…good for teachers, Sunday School teachers, secret Santas, less than half the cost of a roll of stamps! Only on this website.
Flash of Time is now available on Amazon!
