A day for seeing wildlife!

Today was a day for seeing wildlife!

First there was BIGFOOT.  Seen just after I got settled in my lounger overlooking Cowley Lake with my coffee.  I counted myself very fortunate to get a picture of this shy guy!

Then there was BLACK FLY. And not just any black fly but a PRAIRIE black fly.  2 inches from toe to tail tip if he was a centimeter!  We were glad this behemoth was on the 
                                            outside of the screen not 
                                            in.

Then on a trip in to the Arkansas City Library we caught a glimpse of the infamous Kansas Brown Squirrel.  Related to the much more docile Eastern United States grey squirrel, this Dentus Rodentus is known for his fearsome eyetooth attacks upon unsuspecting easterners in many Kansas city and state parks.  He is strangely absent from the county parks.  We don’t think counties have 
                                                                   the tourist traffic that towns and state 
                                                                   parks do.

And finally, in an evening trip of some thirty miles on 1 ½ car width farm roads around Cowley Lake we took our $40.00 three lamp multi-LED bulb spotter (charged to the max since its been plugged in unused for the last 6 weeks) and by golly Mona saw a deer!

She remembered seeing as many as 40-50 in one field as a child packed into the Garner Family automobile (6 kids and 4 adults. No one reported them to the authorities.  It was about 1958) with two 99 cent flashlights and an old RAYOVAC single bulb flood.  I believe you may still see that many deer in the Allegheny Mountains in one open field today.  But out here we’ve proven we need a $40.00 multi-LED spotter to see one.

And finally, finally, the winner in the wild animal spotting contest of the day is ME.  “WILD, Mona.  WILD.  The armadillo and the two porcupines you saw flattened on the highway don’t count!”

I win for seeing the biggest beast of all. An Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe IRON HORSE! And it sat still on its steel paws for several pictures in the Arkansas City Lions Club Park.

What an exciting day!  Tuesday we pick up camp (roll in the awnings and slides, hook up the TOAD and give FROG her head) and go a few miles farther east to the town of Independence, Kansas, where hopefully our next batch of mail sent by our trusty mail dispatcher daughters, Jenn & Chris, will have arrived at the post office care of General Delivery.

You know, I’ve read a lot of military history and I don’t believe I can remember any officer by the name of Delivery, can you?



Good night!

-Ken