“Why are they pulling off the road?” I wondered aloud as we were following behind our son and his family out to Kaw Lake. We stopped behind them, and I saw our daughter-in-law and grandson get out and stand beside the car. Must have needed some fresh air, I concluded. They seemed to be watching something, though, and as my eyes followed their gaze, it dawned on me. Prairie dogs! They had said there was a colony out here, and there they were!
Little heads were popping out of holes, and furry little bodies stood upright to hold the pieces of bread the kids tossed to them. How cute! The land rose slightly behind them, and I could see the openings of dozens of burrows. The tiny creatures appeared as if by magic then disappeared just as quickly beneath the surface.
I forfeited my air conditioned view through the window to get out and see them and toss some bread myself. In all the years we lived in Oklahoma, which was up until 1962, I had never seen prairie dogs. They must have migrated into the area in the many years we lived away. I told my son in Houston about it on the phone later, and his reaction was, “You mean they have prairie dogs outside of zoos?” That would have been my reaction, too. “We’ll have to take the kids to see that the next time we come up!” he exclaimed. I’m sure my little granddaughters, 2 and 4, would be fascinated.
We had stopped by Greg’s and Joanna’s house shortly before that, having visited an estate sale just to have something to do, and now the whole Saturday afternoon loomed empty before us. Greg said they had been to the lake that morning for an SPCA fishing tournament that Joanna had volunteered to help with. “I had never been to that part of the lake,” Greg told us. “Would you like to go see it?”
We were agreeable, then suggested they first go with us to check out a fishing camp at Lake Ponca that we had been invited to use. It was very rustic, but a fantastic place to fish from the floating docks, swim, or while away an after noon on the redwood deck shaded by a gnarled old tree. The water was beautiful up this close.
And now here was a fishing dock at Kaw Lake that we hadn’t known about!(I decided I’d better not ever take a cruise, after getting slightly dizzy on the swaying docks.) On the way out of the area, we stopped for cokes and candy bars at an all-purpose filling station/convenience store that proved a wellspring of information from the friendly owner on everything from the eagle nesting grounds to deer, wildlife and fishing. The yellowed newspaper clippings on the walls with pictures of record-setting catches of gar, paddlefish, and all sorts of trophy-worthy angling bore witness to the sportsman appeal of the area.
We headed home munching our treats with a sigh of contentment. Our spirits were lifted by being out in nature and enjoying God’s creation. Who said it was going to be a boring day? All that was necessary was that we get out and open our eyes to the wonderment all around us!
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