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].
