FreeWine

After a week of school closings due to icy roads and temperatures below freezing, the forecast for my part of Oklahoma this weekend calls for some 70 degree days again. If the wind isn’t too strong I think I will do a bit of winter paddling on the Deep Fork River this Saturday.

My Dad has been seeing a Bald Eagle frequenting the River near Nuyaka Creek Winery, I think I will paddle my kayak around a bit and try to get a picture. The bald eagle population in Oklahoma has really been growing in the last few years. It is really a joy to see these majestic birds hunting the rivers and lakes close to our home. I haven’t been out in my kayak for weeks now, so I am really looking forward to unwinding on the water for a few hours.

This winter my wife Dianne and I have been focused mostly on bowling and dog training. Dianne is looking into adopting a dog from an Oklahoma animal shelter, so we are studying up on the latest advances in Dog Training techniques. Dog training methods seemed to have made some major advances in the last few decades. Positive methods have replaced old methods based on fear and aggression. This is an exciting time to be studying this subject.

Despite the many inches of snow dropped on the Sooner State, the rivers are not up very much at all. The slow melting of the snow and ice seems to have allowed the water to slowly soak into the ground rather than raising the rivers. Obviously, this is not ideal for the kayakers, but the ground certainly needs the moisture. The Oklahoma Flatwater Paddlers are trying to plan a Spring float trip down Arkansas’ breathtaking Buffalo River. I hope I can get sometime off work to join them. I love that part of Arkansas. You can paddle the scenic Buffalo River one day and then kayak the misty and mysterious White River the next day!