My Corner of the World – Tulsa’s Mayfest Festival

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So last Saturday afternoon my bride, Heather, and I loaded up and went downtown to check out Tulsa’s spring arts festival, Mayfest. Mayfest has been going on forever and we used to go to it years ago when it was in the core part of downtown. Heather would come down for lunch and we would walk around looking at the arts and crafts for sale, get something to eat, and listen to music. In the 90’s Hanson would play on one of the side stages. A talented group of youngsters who became famous and are now all growns up with their own children and they still live in the Tulsa area. We’ve seen them from time to time.

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The University of Tulsa took over Mayfest some time ago and somewhere along the way they moved out of the core downtown area to the Arts District which is where all the cool kids go for restaurants and bars.

So we walked along checking out the arts and stuff for sale. I didn’t take photos of any of that as I have learned that artists and craftspeople don’t necessarily appreciate their work being photographed and I respect that.

This was the first time since before Covid that we attended the event and we were amazed at the quality of everything we saw.

After a while we got hungry and thirsty so we stepped into Cabin Boys Brewery for some refreshment.

Craft Beer and Nachos were just the thing.

Afterwards we drifted over to Guthrie Green to listen to the music which was also great. I amused myself by taking photos of people taking photos. Hey we are all in this public space and I didn’t take any photos that anybody could find embarrassing.

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I’m ending with a flashback to 2016 when I was invited to submit a couple of my instagram photos to an art gallery at Mayfest. Mine were the top two on the top right hand corner. That was my peak artistic experience. I’ve gone downhill every since. (Not really.) I’ll tell you what though the world sure has gone through some topsy turvy things since then.

I’m linking with My Corner of the World

Saturday’s Critters – Mother’s Day 2025 Edition

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We finally took our new dog, Sadie, the terrier mix, to a dog park. It had been rainy and cold and we wanted to get our vet to clear Sadie so off we went on one sunny afternoon. Above is my wife Heather with Sadie and Kodi, our pomeranian, in tow.

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Sadie loved it. She’s a social butterfly with both dogs and people. She was running here and there making friends with everyone. She was right at home. We kept asking her if she was looking for a new home.

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Kodi has always like the park but is much more reserved. This time, our poor little dog, got run over by another dog and that was it for him. We were told when we got him that he is a little dog with BIG FEELINGS, and that is true.

Sadie is making friends with Lizzie the cat. Lizzie insists on boundaries though so even though they may be together eventually we hear a hiss and a paw whacking Sadie on the head when she forgets the boundaries.

Kodi being cute one evening. He looks like a little bear cub.

At Brookwood Pond in Tulsa, here is a Mother’s Day shot. Geese and goslings.

Also at Brookwood Pond, I’m sneaking up on Great Blue Heron. All I had for a camera was my phone.

And at Hunter Park in Tulsa, another phone shot of a Great Blue Heron.

In our backyard an Eastern Bluebird visited our camera feeder.

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I attended an event at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area and afterward went on a short hike. I was going along and I could hear all these birds up in the trees, but could I see them? No!! I then I got to thinking maybe they are not up in the trees, maybe they are down below so that is where I started looking and I started seeing all sorts of little birds close to the ground. I didn’t really have a good lens for taking photos so these are highly cropped and thus a little grainy. Above is a Carolina Wren.

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And this is a Tufted Titmouse I think.

I guess that I am not as smart as I thought I was. I have walked miles in the woods over the years listening to the birds up in the trees and that is not where they were. Anyway, I finally learned something.

And Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers.. None of us would be here if were not for our Mothers. This Heather with our son Logan and Kodi back when he was little.

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And here is my favorite photo of my mother. She loved fishing and she was good at it. She had mobility issues so she didn’t move around very much but she could catch the fish. This was her favorite spot on Birch Creek in southeast Idaho.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Skywatch Friday – Sunny Days are Here

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It’s May and we have rainy cloudy days and we have sunny days. I like the sunny days best because I like to be outside. Right now the sunny days are also cool days and those are the best of all.

We won’t have our California weather forever. Soon it will be hot and muggy.

I’m not going to worry about that now!

I try and get outside at least a little bit every single day.

Skywatch Friday

Big News for Turkey Mountain

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The RiverParks Authority had some big news for Turkey Mountain on Monday. They invited everybody to show for an announcement. Turns out that the Bank of Oklahoma is donating two million dollars to a visitor center on Turkey Mountain. RiverParks only has about six million bucks left to raise.

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It’s going to be a visitor center and office for Turkey Mountain all in one. Right now they office in high rise building just out of downtown Tulsa.

(Note photo stolen from Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition facebook site)

They also had free tshirts as a giveaway and snowcones. Better not stand in my way for either one of those. Four members of the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition board was there, including me.

The city fathers gave speeches patting themselves on the back about turning back a planned outlet mall on Turkey Mountain more than ten years ago. They ignored TUWC’s crucial early work (before I joined the board) but that ‘s okay, what matters is the results and we are off working on other things.

I chatted with a few people I know. It was almost old home week for people who love Turkey Mountain. When I first started coming here all they had was a dirt parking lot. The trails were deer trails or dry streams on the hillsides. There were not really any maps, you just had to learn the trails by getting on them and seeing where they went. Not very sustainable. Now we have all sorts of new designed, sustainable trails. Two big parking lots and a third under construction, and of course soon we’ll have an $8 million dollar visitor center.

And some really nice hiking bridges!!

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As popular as Turkey Mountain has become, you get a half mile down the trails you don’t see very many people.

I’m linking with My Corner of the World

Shadow Shot Sunday – Patio and Basketball Court

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Late afternoon shadows on our backyard patio late in the afternoon. The strips of light is from the sun peaking through the gaps in our picket fence.

Went on a walk at a local park. No basketball games today. I played ball on these type courts growing up. Sometimes when it snowed we would shovel off the snow the best we could and play on the wet court.

I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday

Skywatch Friday – On the Trail Again!

I was feeling all energetic and everything so I thought that I would go for a little hike on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. I probably should have gone to the gym, but I’m gymed out, Physical Therapy is all gym, and not the fun kind.

So off I went, the trails were all wet, not very muddy though but rain was in the forecast and the park warned that they might close the park to everybody if it got bad enough.

The upside of rain is that all the ponds were full. Nice to see.

I used a mixture of the new trails and the old trails. The Stay Gold and Tree Hugger respectively.

This pond was dry the last time I came by.

I was going down the trail with my Merlin app trying to figure out the birds that were singing and a mountain biker came by and said to be sure to watch out for the copperhead snake on the trail up ahead. Yes sir! Time to put the eyes on the trail and not the device.

Do you know how many sticks look like snakes!! A bunch. The thing about copperheads is that they are the slugs of the poisonous snake families. They are not vicious and once they find a spot they like, they don’t like to move, and they are hard to see. So watch where you step!

The only snake I saw was this chain snake.

This is a Skywatch Friday post so I need to have one view of the sky. Here’s the overlook on Turkey Mountain on the very southeast side of the park. That’s the Arkansas River down below. To the left are the funky old office towers that used to be the televangelist Oral Roberts hospital. (Don’t ask me why a faith healer needs a hospital.)

And then back to the parking lot. Never did see that copperhead. I am not complaining about it, just saying.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday and Our Corner of the World.

Saturday’s Critters – Dogs, Birds, Rabbits and Squirrels

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A white crowned sparrow visiting the backyard and singing its song.

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A mourning dove checking things out on the fence.

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Sadie our new dog romping in the backyard.

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A midnight bunny

Sadie is really fitting in well in the household and gets along with everybody.

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From the Gathering Place in Tulsa, I shot this image of American Pelicans hanging out in the Arkansas River.

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A common grackle at the Gathering Place.

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A couple ducks taking advantage of a water feature.

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And a squirrel posing for me.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters.

Skywatch Friday – Late April 2025

A sunrise this morning. We have a new dog, Sadie, and she gets up early, and that means we get up early with her. You dog owners know that when the dog gets up you better take it outside right away or face the consequences.

A neighborhood skyshot and reflection.

My volunteer gig with the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition is kicking in. It’s Earth Day season. Here is me and my friend Marci at the local electric utilities employee Earth Day event.

And at a community event a couple days later in downtown Tulsa.

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And speaking of electric utility, here is there power plant on the Arkansas River.

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And the boat shed at Tulsa’s Gathering Place.

Here is my wife Heather. We attended a fund raiser for the local botanic garden. It was called “Sip and Stroll” so that we sipped and strolled, noshed appetizers and talked to people. Our first grownup date in a while and it was fun.

It had been raining in the gardens so the iris’s had raindrops on them. I love raindrops on flowers.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday and My Corner of the World.