Fall is in full swing

For anyone driving along Interstate 80, Highways 30, 83 or 25, or the back roads of Lincoln County, the fall colors are spectacular! We have also recently seen some of the most glorious sunsets ever. OK, Nebraska has so many glorious sunsets that it's hard to call any the "best", but if you've seen them, you know they have been beautiful. And what about that night sky? Coming home late from a football game last night, the waning full moon in the sky blanketing the landscape with pale light, with a few wispy clouds flitting by, the majority of the stars visible in the mostly clear sky. What could be better!

The beautiful seasons of Nebraska! Yes, we have had our first frosts, the nights are definitely chilly (cold, if you are sitting on the sidelines of a football game, but enjoyable if you are heading for a duck blind before sunrise), and we know that winter is fast approaching, but right now we are all reveling in the beautiful fall Indian Summer days.

My son recently returned for a ten day visit from California. The first Saturday eight of us got together for a guided horseback ride at 9Penny Ranch south of Maxwell. There were supposed to be ten, but two couldn't pull themselves away from the Nebraska game on TV. Bob and Penny Miller offer horseback rides, riding lessons and stabling. They have a great string of horses. Of the eight who went riding, only two of us had any extensive riding experience, and the rest varied from slim to none. Bob took great care of us, choosing the right horse for each person, and leading us through the deep canyons and high bluffs of the terrain south of Maxwell for an unforgettable experience. And, we got done just in time to listen to Nebraska's comeback on the radio on the way home. Their attempt fell short, but the Cornhuskers sure made it exciting.

We also spent one morning at Seifer Farms Sporting Clays south of Sutherland. This time there were ten of us, many of whom had never held a shotgun! We didn't go through a full round, but spent most of our time at a couple of the easier stations, just getting the hang of it. Everyone had at least one clay target broken by the end of the day.

Most of the rest of my sons visit was spent archery Turkey hunting. He was finally successful on his last morning in town, bagging a large "Jake", which was almost a mature Tom, with a five to six inch beard and spurs about three quarters of an inch long. When he took us all out to see where he had shot his Turkey, we surprised a rattlesnake sunning itself in the road. As this is a well populated area, we did our civic duty and dispatched the snake, too. Danny had a rattle to take back as a trophy as well.

In the middle of the days, he spent time again out at Seifer Farms working to deplete the Prairie Dog population. He did manage to kill eight or ten of the varmints, but, unfortunately, did little to dent the population of the vast town.

We also managed to fit in a drive into the Sandhills which was a real treat for Danny's girlfriend, who has virtually never been out of the Los Angeles area. We also took along our host son who hails from Australia. They both were in awe at the wide open spaces and sparse population. We finished it up with dinner at Ole's Big Game Steakhouse in Paxton. It was a stretch for the girlfriend who is a vegetarian, but she was a good sport about all of the trophy animal mounts on the walls. The Aussie even developed a taste for the Rocky Mountain Oysters.