Shadows on a bridge at Philbrook Gardens makes an orderly geometric pattern.
Shadow Shot Sunday – Philbrook Gardens Bridge
7 Replies
Saturday’s Critters – Real and Sculptural
Here’s a real critter, out sweet Lizzie.
And another real critter. This is Sadie, our rescue terrier. She is very energetic and wants all the love. She is very sweet.
And sculptural. Somebody made an Adventure Lab geocache using some of the animal sculptures on Tulsa’s RiverParks trails. This is what I call the Bear Fountain. It’s a nice place to rest on a bike ride.
And a bobcat trying get duck or something. Very lifelike.
And some otters frolicking.
I completed the Adventure Lab. Completing it is its own reward!!
And here is a 20 second video showing some of the birds that visited my camera feeder this week.
And that’s a wrap. I am linking with Saturday’s Critters
Skywatching Bike Ride on the RiverParks Trails
I went on a bike ride at Tulsa River Parks on a pretty clear day the other day. The trail runs north and south, I always check a weather app to see which the way the wind is blowing. I like the wind at my back wind I am heading back to my car.
It was a south wind so I started close to the north end of the trail system. I love this mural and it’s setting on the river.
I went a mile further north and crossed the river at the 11th street bridge and took this photo looking south.
We had some nice clouds that day. I love fluffy white clouds.
I crossed over to the west side of the river and went a couple miles south and crossed over the Williams Crossing pedestrian bridge. You can see that the river is still running full. The Arkansas River’s basin is huge. It starts close to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado so if is rainy there is potential for a lot of water.
I looked the other way to the refinery oil storage tanks. I was reminded of one time when I was on the bridge and group of people came by and one of them wondered what the tanks were for. One said it is for the refinery, another one said with air of authority, that those were water storage tanks for the city of Tulsa’s water system because everybody knows oil storage tanks are illegal inside city limits. Just so you know, the Arkansas River water is pretty nasty. Way back when, the city layed a pipeline to a lake northeast of Tulsa and that is where most of the drinking water comes from.
I crossed back over the east side of the river and went down to what I call the Bear Fountain at 71st street. It’s a great place to rest up a few minutes. A new friend of mine hid a geocache near here. I spent some time looking for it but couldn’t find it. So I’ll try next time.
Turned around and headed north. The kayak boat ramp is closed. The river is too high and moving too fast. You’d be swept downstream fast.
So a little less than 14 flat miles at a leisurely pace. The red marker is where I started. My knee is coming along nicely. The first half mile or so is still “ouch ouch ouch” as I turn over the pedals but after that it’s fine after that. I’m still building up strength and endurance.
Shadow Shot Sunday – The Vault
“The Vault” is a restaurant in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma that was formerly a bank. It was a Mid Century Modern designed bank that incorporated rooftop parking and drive through facilities. It closed and sat empty for years until a local person converted it into a cool restaurant. They kept the circular stairs but they don’t want anybody using them. The restaurant has been in business for years now and is very popular.
And it has very nice shadows.
Not Happy with Squirrels Right Now
One of the little darlings chewed through the wire between my camera feeder and the solar panel. This is the second time. This time they ran off with the wire connector. They did last time also but I found it elsewhere in the yard. This time no dice.
So it’s going to be splice time. I think they are mad because I am using habanero flavored bird food which the squirrels won’t eat.
So I don’t have any bird videos but how about a photo of our Pom, Kodi with his patriotic tie. Doesn’t he look like a dapper dog? He had a spa day. He loves the people at the groomers.
And here is our rescue dog Sadie. She loves to play. In this photo she wants me to quit snapping pics and throw that red ball.
Here is a cardinal caught leaving a feeder by jumping off. It looks like a bird version of Tom Cruise.
And this might be a female cardinal (correct me if I am wrong) landing on the feeder.
Between squirrels chewing up solar panel wire and Sadie chewing up my laptop power cord, I am getting pretty good at splicing wires.
I am linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters.
Skywatch Friday – The Weather is Heating Up
It’s hot and humid in Oklahoma, USA these days. Yes, well it is July and that is what we get.
I don’t really mind it. We have air conditioning in our homes and cars and you just have to adjust your outdoor time accordingly and use precautions. Take water, use sunscreen, dress appropriately, (I wear a lot of tech fiber clothing that wicks perspiration away.) And try to do outdoors activities in the morning and very late afternoons.
And look out for your pets, they need lots of water and rest also.
So just get out and enjoy yourself and take lots of photos.
Three Shadows on a Hot Day
A rest stop on my bike ride Sunday morning.
On a hot sunny day, shadows are sought after.
Early morning shadows on our fence.
Saturday’s Critters – On the Lake, at the Mountain, and Home
I went on a bike ride the other day. I saw this great blue heron and a turtle hanging out together on Zink Dam here in Tulsa.
Nearby was this egret fishing for their lunch.
An isolated American White Pelican was paddling around.
I rode my bike over to the other side of the river and saw these geese wandering around.
Slim pickings on the backyard trailcam except for a couple of dog pics. This is our pom, Kodi.
And our rescue terrier, Sadie. Her tail is always straight up in the air.
With my camera I captured this mourning dove on the camera feeder.
And a sparrow with a bit of fluff it found.
A squirrel checking everything out.
A brown thrasher
A house finch
Another sparrow, tiny enough to sit down on the flat part of the fence picket.
I went hiking on Turkey Mountain on Wednesday. I heard all sorts of birds and even spotted some but I wasn’t quick enough to take their photo. Oh well, I saw this guy though out in the open and it was polite enough to wait for me while I got my camera, focused and took a few shots. Merlin and google images tell me that it is a Western King Bird. I had never heard of such a thing but there it is. Number 19 on my recently started life list.
Here’s the Merlin screenshots on the smart aleck birds that I could hear and not see.
And here is a short 57 second video of some of birds showed up at the camera feeder the past few days.
That’s about it for this week. I am linking with Saturday’s Critters.
Skywatch Friday – In the Air and Over the Water
From a drone flight in early June. Usually June is boring blue but we are getting lots of clouds this month.
And another flight a few days later. It looks like a giant hammer is fixing to pound Tulsa.
And from my first post-surgery bike ride. I had a knee replacement back in mid-February and have done a lot of Physical Therapy and exercise on my own as well. Earlier this month I went on my first ride. Six miles. The first two of which were ouch, ouch, ouch, on every pedal rotation until I got warmed up. So it is just a small ride. Earlier this week I did another of eight miles and it went well also.
It rained here a few days later and so for my hiking I went a park that has paved trails. Less erosion that way and I am all about Leave No Trace principles. (Hit the link to find out about the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace.)
Last week, my wife and I went to a free concert at Jenks Riverwalk. It’s a nice shopping/eating center right on the Arkansas River. I took a little break from the music to take some photos.
Linking with Skywatch Friday
2025 AAA Route 66 Roadfest and Car Show in Tulsa
Last Sunday, Heather, Logan and loaded up and went down to the Tulsa State Fair and checked out the Route 66 Roadfest going on there. A celebration of all things concerning Route 66. This is the third year I have attended it and I love it.
Cars are a big part of Route 66. After all it is a highway and cars are best way to travel it.
A core part of the show are five or so sections that take the Route 66 by decades and talk about what was happening with the road and what was happening with the country.
There was a section of vintage travel trailers. These two ladies had this trailer and a bunch of associated things plus what I loved was they wore matching dresses color coordinated with the trailer. I hardly ever ask people if I can take their photo but I asked them and they seemed delighted to do so.
Our family of five in the 60’s also had a small travel trailer. We used a lot and I am sure that we saved lots of money but we were also very cramped. It was not too bad if the weather was good as you could always go outside. In bad weather though it led to lots of family togetherness. Much of it good, and some of it not so great.
Hey had metal glasses like those and a metal water pitcher. The iced water in such pitchers just seemed a lot colder than that in plastic water containers.
Everybody had these small phonographs. So nostalgic but I’ll take my Ipod with almost 6500 music tracks on it.
I love this two story travel trailer. Reportedly it has two bedrooms upstairs. What a spectacle that would be. What a nightmare pulling the thing in a strong crosswind.
My dad loved Buicks and I don’t know how many times he told me that you could tell how fancy the model was by the number holes in fender. So this was a three holer in his parlance, kind of like the Buick LeSabre. The Electra had four. We had a LeSabre when I was a kid. The first new car my parents ever bought. Dad saved money by getting it without air conditioning and then he salvaged parts from numerous cars in junkyards and built his own. It worked well but it took him months and it was kind of a complicated thing.
There were a ton of mid 1950’s Chevrolet Bel Air’s at the show. I always thought they looked cool
There were loads and loads of Ford Mustangs as well.
The 1950’s Ford Thunderbirds, in my opinion, were some of the most beautiful cars ever built. I especially like the unique colors.
I love the Land Rovers, especially the vintage models.
This was the prettiest car at the show. The Volkswagen Karman Ghia.
Next year is the centennial of Route 66. There are going to be big events all over the place including the Routefest in Tulsa.
I am linking with My Corner of the World