Just a few of the Sights and Sounds of the Ninnescah River.

       The chiming sound of a dragonfly's wings beating together as it floats from one sunflower to the next. Then I hear a pounding sound in the trees yet I see no house there. That's when I see them....Deer.

They are stomping the ground trying to tell me to back off. When I move a little closer to them the trees come alive with deer running for safety from my unknown appearance. As I walk a little farther up stream I hear, to my ears, an unmistakable sound. Frogs bumping their butts on top of the water. As I look down it looks as if they are walking on the water they are moving so fast to get out of the way. Above me are so many different bird sounds. The only one I can pick out is that one of a bright red Cardinal resting on a tree branch not 6 feet from me. The sight of four pedaled little yellow flowers growing from a small bush makes me smile. As I reach down to pick one from the cluster there is a little black wasp on the ground buzzing as it gathers mud to add to it's ever enlarging nest. On my way back to the trail that leads out of the river I catch a glimpse of a large snake falling from a brush pile hitting the water with a splash. As I run after it I see a majestic Bald Eagle soaring above the tree tops.

It has been following me the whole walk up the river. It screams at me and yes I talk back because there is no one to hear me and laugh. The river does not care if I talk. It just listens with a consistent trickling sound of water as if it is saying "I hear you." When I get to the trail I see an armadillo rooting around in the small trees on one of the sandbars trying to find something to eat. I watch it for a few minutes then grow bored if it's repetitiveness and walk up the trail to the truck. I will most likely come back again tomorrow and the next day just to hear all these familiar sounds again.
These are just a few of the sights and sounds of the Ninnescah River.

By ~ Elizabeth Pape