Let the Show Begin

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The shows on this stage have always been more than spectacular and tonight’s

performances even exceeded our expectations.

A bumbling pair of wild turkeys opened the show. The hen pecked contentedly at

the corn beneath a deer feeder while the long-bearded gobbler who played her

sidekick milled about rather aimlessly, acting as though he was too good to be

seen grazing with the likes of her. At this time of year wild tom turkeys usually fall

all over themselves to impress the ladies, twirling and prancing with their tails

fanned out, but this fellow acted as though he had either lost all his mojo or

totally forgotten his lines.

By the way, kudos to the set designers and to the orchestra for the astounding

life-like sights and sounds they prepared for tonight’s show. The sets were

marvelous and the designers totally nailed the colors of the dogwood blossoms

and the purple and yellow wildflowers that dot the hillsides this time of year. The

orchestra perfectly recreated the silky-smooth cooing of the mourning doves, and

even the raucous buzzing made by the hummingbird’s tiny wings seemed

impeccable this evening as they chased each other from feeder to feeder. Now

and then the muffled gobbles of wild tom turkeys could be heard drifting through

the theater, sounding for-all-the-world like we were actually sitting in the hills

hearing their unmistakable throaty warbles echoing across the ridges.

For the next couple hours we were treated to an unbelievable evening of sights,

sounds and smells so realistic that with our eyes closed it seemed as though we

were actually somewhere in the woods experiencing them firsthand in the wild.

The closing act for the evening was the comedy duo of two beavers. They

appeared on stage by suddenly popping to the surface of their little pond one-at-

a-time, then cruised aimlessly around before suddenly disappearing just as

silently as they had appeared. This routine was repeated several times before one

of them began drifting slowly up the creek above their little pond. Just ahead of

the beaver, a deer stood near the creek, gobbling corn from beneath the same

feeder that was the opening prop for the turkeys. As the beaver reached the

feeding deer, it loudly slapped its tail in the creek, throwing water everywhere

and sending the poor deer, who was minding its own business bolting from under

the feeder with its ears laid back. The deer stood looking around as if to wonder

what it had done wrong while the cranky beaver sped on up the creek.

By now the house lights had been brought low and the entire theater was bathed

in moonlight. You could feel the tension building toward a dramatic ending of

some sort. Then, just when we thought nothing could top the last act, the evening

reached a crescendo and was followed by……..absolutely nothing! The absolute

stillness of the night was beyond any “quiet” I have ever known!

OK, I have a confession; we saw and heard all the above from the front porch, yes

from the front porch of my brother’s cabin, deep in the Ohio woods, which I guess

can be considered God’s theater, and God’s stage. While I realize this was not

Exploring Kansas Outdoors per say, I didn’t think you’d mind a change of location

for a week as long as you got a good story!…Continue to Explore Kansas

Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

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