Tag Archives: Tulsa

Skywatch Friday – First Flowers of Spring

I headed up to Tulsa’s Wooward Park to see if the Daffodils were blooming.

_DSC0094

And oh, man!! They sure were blooming. The blooms were fresh and people hadn’t picked them, yet.

They were beautiful. There were a couple of young women sitting in amongst them (they were carefully making sure they were not trampling photos) and taking selfies. Usually I take photos of all people doing selfies but I left them alone to enjoy the flowers. They were probably taking photos of me and posting about the creepy old guy lurking about.

They also had lots of hyacinths.

_DSC0104

And tulips

_DSC0100

They had forsythia shrubs blooming

And rebuds. I’ve always loved that stone staircase.

The big trees don’t have their leaves yet.

And they still have remnants of trees knocked down on during our Father’s Day Windstorm in 2023.

So yep, Spring is Springing in Woodward Park!

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

2024 Snake Run at Tulsa’s Lubell Park

I don’t run at all any longer and I enter very few races. Time was I ran two or three times a week and ran at least a race a month or even more in the Spring and Fall. Age and injuries are to blame. I’m injury free now and intend to stay that way but I am still pretty active I walk about 400 to 500 miles a year and bicycle about twice that, plus I have been doing yoga for several years now twice a week and about the same on weight training. I’ll say that yoga has been a lifesaver. I am getting my flexibility back slowly over the years and wish that I had started earlier. Oh well, I’m doing it now.

I have barely started the post and I’m way off point. I participated in the Tulsa Snake Run last Sunday. It is a trail race and it has a unique feature. Everybody “runs” the same time (three hours, or six hours, take your pick). The person who ran the longest wins!! You run in a loop. This year’s event was a two mile loop at Lubell Park. So you just run round and round until your time is up. Only full loops count. No partial credit.

I ran this race for years when I was still running and it was at Turkey Mountain. When I didn’t race I helped man the Aid Tent. Trail Races are special. Everybody is very chill.

The elite trail runners are amazing. They run very fast over all kinds of terrain, boulders, mud, up the sides of mountains. Doesn’t matter, they are blazingly fast. Me, I picked my way through the technical terrain and just trotted on the flat dirt spots. I think I have come in dead last in more than one such race. Doesn’t bother me.

So Sunday morning was cold and I had been staying up very late at the Tulsa Irish Festival listening to kick ass Irish bands from Scotland, France, and Kansas and drinking Irish beer. I kept it all under control alcohol wise but got to bed way too late. Plus Sunday was spring forward day for daylight savings time. I went to bed Saturday night (really Sunday morning) thinking if I make the race, great. If I don’t, too bad.

The race started at 9 am and I woke up at 8:15 am. So I got up, got dressed, and headed out to Lubell Park and got there at 8:45. Plenty of time to check in and get ready.

My plan was to do two loops and then quit. Not quite of the spirit of things but realistic. At the start of the race it was cold so I didn’t take any pics cuz I had my gloves on and I had not woke up yet. I was running walking in a totally non-caffeinated state. That was a major oversight on my part. It took me about 40 minutes to do the first loop and by then I had woke up and it was a lot warmer so I put the gloves away and got the phone out and took a few photos.

Alan Running Snake Run

Here is a photo of me taking by somebody associated with the run. I look kind of like an ugly sasquatch who hasn’t had his coffee yet. So anyway the rest of the race was great. Beautiful day, great course, nice professionally designed and built sustainable trail. It was a joy. I thought maybe I could do one more two more loop but I had obligations and my legs were sore so I called it quits after two loops and four miles.

The aid station was great. Trail runs have more than just water and gatorade, they have snacks cuz the distance runners need carbos and salt. You will see lots of pickles and pickle juice at aid station along with cookies and such. They were going to cook food later on for the people who, unlike me, finished the race. And there might of been some adult malted beverages available as well.

Here were the awards. Custom made snake awards. And I have to give a plug to the organizers of the Race, Runners World Tulsa. Tulsa has a great running community and many outfits capable of putting on a fun, safe, competent race. Runners World put on the race. They put on lots of races and they do it competently and without a lot of drama. Something comes up, they handle it and move on. Very nice people as well. The courses are well marked, the aid stations fully stocked, the timing people get it right. Plus they are a great running store.

Another unique thing about the race is that they don’t have race tee shirts. I have lots and lots of race tee shirts but Sunday I got my first pair of race socks. I think they are ultra cool. And just so you know I did not finish my customary dead last in the race. I was pretty close to last but not quite.

So I had a wonderful experience! And just so you know, I paid my own fees on this race. They only thing I got extra was a couple of high fives!

I am linking with My Corner of the World.

Skywatch Friday – Snow Moon and More

IMG_3276

The latest full moon, yep, I amped it up too much so it is a little grainy. My bad. I like it though.

IMG_3273

I never get tired of Tulsa’s downtown skyline, as humble as it is.

I never get tired of seeing the flag wave in a stiff breeze. I think everybody should be proud of their country. Since I started tracking it, people from 152 countries have visited my humble blog. I wish them all well.

A local Pony League baseball field. Baseball is right around the corner!!

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

A Shadowy Walk Around the Park

We caught a dry sunny spell a while back so I took the opportunity to walk around Lafortune Park here in Tulsa. The walking path is three miles long and encircles two golf courses, a tennis club, a public library and several little league baseball fields. Three miles is my sweet spot and I bet I have done hundreds of laps in the over thirty years we have lived here.

I love the netlike shadows that chain link fences make.

Trees always have great shadows

I don’t remember pursing my lips like this I didn’t notice it until afterwards. So this is my shadowy face, with a strange expression. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kiss you.

I’m linking with Lisa’s Shadow Shot Sunday. Come check it out.

Saturday’s Critters – Oxley Nature Center

IMG_3138

In early August I ventured up to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center.

IMG_3137

They have lots of deer up there. Sometimes I find them and sometimes I don’t. This time I found three groups.

IMG_3150

They are wary but not skittish like deer who have been hunted.

IMG_3154

If you stand still long enough, they ignore you.

IMG_3152

I found this mama with a fawn.

IMG_3149

Lots of birds out that day also. They were way off so the photos are a little fuzzy.

IMG_3136

And a dragonfly!!

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters

Tulsa Wind Storm 2023

We had a horrendous wind storm hit northeastern Oklahoma at about midnight last Saturday. Straight winds of 100 mph were recorded and our family, and the dog and cat, were in our “safe space” for not very long.

We didn’t suffer any damage at all although we are getting our roof inspected and might have some tree work to do. Our neighborhood didn’t have much damage either except for trees down. All I can say is thank goodness for underground utilities.

Elsewhere in Tulsa it was a different story. Over 200,000 people lost power. By now over half those have it back and it has been a great response from other states sending their utility crews here to help get power restored. They think that they will have everybody hooked back up by late Saturday afternoon.

Turkey Mountain had a lot of damage. Volunteers got out there with their chain saws and got a lot of the trails cleared. I don’t do chainsaws but I moved some limbs off the trails as I found them.

There are still some “hangers” or “leaners” that will have to be removed by people that know what they are doing. Best to keep an eye up in the air to avoid hazards.

The sounds of chainsaws were all over the place when I made my outing the other day.

Reportedly by now almost all the main trails are open.

Of course it is difficult to pin any particular weather event on global warming but still one wonders. Something new I’ve seen in the last few days is “#ShowYourStripes” a graphic developed by Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading in England. It’s like a bar code showing the yearly variation of temperature from the long term average over a time period.

The global temperature change chart is as follows. Blue means below the long term average and orange is above. The darker the color, the more difference there is. So this is the Global stripes showing data from 1850 and one can definitely see that things are warming up quickly. Keep in mind it is just temperature data and doesn’t say anything why.

Created by Ed Hawkins of University of Reading, Creative Commons License

So, I jumped in and looked at the Oklahoma data which they have from 1895 and the results surprised me. Oklahoma has had ups and downs over the whole time period. Although there is a definite trend since the year 2000. But there was a previous period back in 1930 or so that had increasing temperatursewhich roughly coincides with the dustbowl.

Created by Ed Hawkins of University of Reading, Creative Commons License

I find this kind of thing fascinating. Go check it out for your continent, country, state or province at ShowYourStripes.Info. Let me know what you find.

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – The North Woods at Oxley Nature Center

A week and a half ago, late on a Sunday afternoon, I went on a hike at Oxley Nature Center’s North Woods area. I love the North Woods area because it is beautiful, the trails are well maintained and hardly anybody besides me goes there even on a nice weekend afternoon.

It’s kind of a walking meditation.

Be careful while you are meditating and walking though. This thing will give you a headache.

The staff and volunteers are always tweaking and improving things on the trails.

It’s got water views and benches.

And what I call tree tunnels cutting through the woods. I love to come here when it is windy like it was on my hike. The woods are thick so there is no wind on the ground but you can hear the wind as it moves through the tops of the trees.

Later on in the spring, the reflections will be prettier.

I was hoping to see deer, not today!

And the end.

I try and go on all the trails during my visits to the North Woods. That entails taking some of the trails twice. That’s alright.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

2022 Dia de Los Muertos Art Festival at Living Arts Tulsa

_DSC0351

Living Arts hosts normally hosts at Dia de los Muertos Arts Festival during or close to the holiday of November 1 and 2. Of course, nothing since 2020 has been normal. This year I wasn’t able to attend the festival which includes art and performances and food because of the weather but I did make it to the gallery to see the Ofrendas or altars to the dead.

_DSC0354

I love the ofrendas. They are made to honor the dead. They have a lot of symbolism in terms of the colors and decorations used. Here is a great article about the symbolism. Many of the altars adhere to the pattern others do not so much.

_DSC0356

I look at them as stories of a person’s life as told by the loved ones. Religious faith, professions, hobbies, loved ones, favorite foods, sports teams, and other facets of a person’s life is displayed. Obviously almost all of these people were much loved when they were alive.

_DSC0369

So I try to never miss these. They are wonderful works of art with meaning.

_DSC0378
_DSC0379

This ofrenda was finished off by sand on the floor below with a beach scene. That could be mine, or a small trail in the woods.

_DSC0380
_DSC0382

Some ofrendas were communal such as this one offered up students at a local school or who made painted rocks in memory of a loved one of theirs that they had lost.

_DSC0390

Dallas Cowboys merchandise was displayed on three of the altars. If somebody makes me an altar, they could add that.

_DSC0391
_DSC0397

Outside, there are murals in honor of deceased people.

RIP Frida Kahlo, what an amazing artist.

Have you thought about an altar for somebody. I have. I think it would be interesting and emotional coming up with a design and gathering the various elements and then putting it together. I think it is good to remember people. I am not one who wants to get rid of reminders of people. Yes, sure that can be sad, but what about all the happy memories?

I am linking with My Corner of the World. Go check it out.