For Release December 25, 2005

Presents I've Received

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

Someone came up to me last week and asked me what was on my Christmas "wish list". I told them that there really wasn't much of anything on my list. They were rather taken back and weren't sure what to make of my response. I guess I approach this holiday season a little differently than most folks. My parents can confirm that as a child I was always a little bit different. You see, I feel that I'm the recipient of many very special presents each and every year, a recipient of presents that are hard to place a value on or which come with no price tag what so ever. Let me list several of them for you.

*The joy of watching a Bald Eagle soaring over Milford Lake. I've been watching them do it for 24 years and it still makes my pulse quicken. Is there anything more majestic or anything else that screams freedom like a free soaring eagle?

*Walking amongst the wildflowers in the Flint Hills on an early June morning. The grass is damp with dew, there's a slight breeze out of the southwest, there's a little bit of a haze that the sun is busting through as it rises, and the birds are everywhere singing to claim their territory and their mate.

*A job that I love and coworkers who inspire and support me. In my teenage and college years I occasionally had jobs that I deplored. I didn't stick around long! But to have the same job for all these years, and have coworkers who make it enjoyable to come to work every day is a dream come true.

*A house that's warm with a roof over my head and food on the table every meal. Simple things, by our standards, that we probably all take for granted. I don't view it as a "right" to have these things, I view it as a precious gift that many people around the world don't have!

*The Stars and Stripes going up a flagpole while the strains of the Star Spangled Banner engulf you. I get a lump in my throat every time it happens. I never grow tired of seeing that flag or hearing that song.

*Watching fireworks over downtown Junction City while the lightning flashes and slashes all through the sky. Everyone that saw that display should still be in awe of the man made fireworks dwarfed by Mother Nature's own.

*Driving over Milford Dam with ice fog in the valley and sundogs (pieces of rainbows caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere) dancing about above and below the top of the dam.

*Birdwatching on the Pet Cemetery trail on Fort Riley. If Kansas has ancient timber, then this is what it's like. Walking this trail in spring time is like being transported to another place and time.

*Birdwatching with friends at Cheyenne Bottoms, or Quivira NWR or Morton County, it doesn't matter where, just birdwatching with friends always becomes a special time.

*A wife and extended family that I love and who return that love and add to it a hundred fold over. People toss the word love around like it was a match stick now days. But any woman who can put up with me for twenty years is truly a rare find!

So what do I want for Christmas? I think I already have more than any man can ask for. I hope you have a Christmas season that brings as much joy to you as I feel each and every day. Merry Christmas everyone!

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