excerpt
I particularly remember the early thaws with the sloughs starting
to show water which froze during the clear and cold spring
nights giving us “rubber” ice to test on the way to school. All too
frequently the result was someone getting a boot-full of ice water
for his efforts. In the bright morning sun the crispness of the night
would noticeably give way to the heat of the sun and begin the
melting process even as we made our morning journey through
nature’s classroom.
Our sex education was also provided by nature with the horny
bulls mounting willing cows and the ambitious steers copying the
actions, but not the results. We avoided the bulls by staying close
to the fence lines, ready to get across if one charged.
As the warmer days of summer arrived they signaled the ending
of the school year and we could contemplate spending our entire
time outdoors. The walks to and from school became more
languid. More thought was required on school exams and results
to ensure that not just passing marks were obtained but marks
good enough to please the parents. There was a dollar in it for
each of us if we topped our respective classes. A dollar was big
money, equivalent to twenty rabbit skins, not to mention the
bragging rights that went with it. Yet, as much as studies became
important, we still took notice of the prairie vegetation, the fragrant
prairie roses, the colorful tiger lilies, the buttercups and lady
slippers, and the new leaves on all the poplars.
Where there was ice and snow on the sloughs a few weeks
prior, these were now brilliant blue bodies of water filled with
mallards, and the surrounding reeds and grasses home to the
singing red-winged blackbirds. The morning air was full of bird
song as the scores of prairie tenants returned to mate, nest and
raise their young. Killdeer performed their deception antics,
hawks circled in the skies and magpies chattered as they scrapped
for food.
Libros Libertad 