Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek in Snow (HD) from Dawson Dunning on Vimeo.
I would offer this film with outcommentary, because it needs none. No words that I can muster can explain how beautiful, how unique and how majestic the scene is. With that being said, I must comment. I must offer my humble sentiments towards the grandeur of nature. My life, despite its thin veneer of complexity is in truth simple and elemental. There are three things that matter. (1) God, (2) Love and (3) Nature. In that order. Don't, however, let that third position fool you. Nature remains as a driving, shaping force in my life. It really saddens me that so few people get to experience it in its full glory. We are so caught up in our duties, our routines and our technology. I know full-well that such things make the world go around, and make our lives easier. Yet, these things are not what enriches us. God, love, and nature enriches us. I pray that my humble future is interwoven with all of these things.
I've never seen a grouse. There are not very many of them in Oklahoma. What we do have are wild turkeys. Dissimilar you say? Not really. Turkeys, like grouse, put on a very impressive courtship ritual. My part of Oklahoma (Green Country) has both Eastern and Rio Grande Wild Turkeys. Each are indescribably beautiful. There is really something about a big gobbler, strutting with bravado that is a defining character in the scheme of springtime in Oklahoma. Have you seen the colors? They are amazing! Blacks that glow an iridescent coppery hue in the sunlight, vibrant reds and blues that bespeak of America, and earthy creams and browns that make the tom seem like a regular part of the landscape. Few things so beautiful have ever crossed a spring wheat-field, or danced amorously underneath the shade of pecan tree. How can one help but smile at such an image?
