Category Archives: My Corner of the World

USA Memorial Day 2025

Remembering those who fought for our Freedoms.

My Corner of the World – Tulsa’s Mayfest Festival

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.

https://flic.kr/p/2r3WZ6Z

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.

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

Big News for Turkey Mountain

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.

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!!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Skywatch Friday – Flowers and More

Here is the Full Pink Moon from just a few days ago. It’s not pink. It has not ever really been pink. Now if you insist, I have the skillz and appz to make it pink.

From the Tulsa Botanic Garden. They had ultralife size origami, only with other materials and they called it florigami. It was cool, I’m guessing this is a giant begonia. Sorry if I am wrong, I often am.

And these are some big lillies.

And these are some tulips.

My gym is part of a hospital system that I think spends more on landscaping than they do on medical stuff (I’m kidding.) So these are the tulips from my gym. Does your gym have tulips? Maybe you need a cheaper gym. Maybe I do also.

Me leaving PT earlier this week cuz I hit 120 degrees on the knee bend test. That is a critical point in knee replacement physical therapy. Hurts like you know what but things are getting better quickly. Also, this week I was able to get on the stationary bike and turn the pedals. That was also painful but I loved it just the same.

From my latest money making venture. I’ve been saving the families aluminum cans for a long time. My wife gave me the ultimatum that they needed to be gone by the time book group starts or she’ll get rid of them for me. Hey she never asks me for a thing or ever gets mean or anything so we she makes a request I’m all over it. (most of the time). So I bagged them up and weighed them. 30 pounds!!

Drove 22 miles to a metals recycling place in north Tulsa. Got in line drove through the hole into the building. They threw my bags on scales and they suddenly weighed 17 pounds. Got paid in cash and I’m still trying figure out where my missing 13 pounds of cans went. To be fair, the scales are literally big enough to drive a car onto so I am not surprised that they are not true in the entire range. I’m not sure that I cleared a profit but hey I got to see a different part of Tulsa society. I sure lead a sheltered life is all I am going to say.

Went for a walk and found these small bluish-purply blooms and thought they were pretty cool. Just so you know, in Oklahoma, bluish-purply is word.

And late one day caught the American Flag flying.

I’m linking with the fine photobloggers at My Corner of the World and Skywatch Friday.

February Days

Misty Day in the backyard

Brilliant Blue Sky and and even more Blue Audi (I keep wanting to write Bluer, but I am not sure that is a word.) I’m kind of in a holding pattern because of upcoming knee replacement.

The only bit of green on Tulsa RiverParks right now. Ironically, I am spending more time than ever in the gym now. The surgeon has exercises that he wants me to do to speed up the healing time afterwar the procedure. Plus, the encourage you continue what you were doing before.

Sharing a truffle latte with my wife after an exercise class. So yoga, weights, water classes, stationary bike, and a little bit of walking. Walking is what really hurts now.

A little bit of ice and snow Wednesday morning. So not too many adventures right but I am eager to get on with it and start recovery.

My Corner of the World

Skywatch Friday

Recent Tulsa Area Skies

Last Thursday it rained and then late in the day the sun came out and I happened to be driving by to see this church with some great golden hour light so I stopped and got a photo.

Earlier last week during a cold wet miserable day I was on the RiverParks Trails here in Tulsa and captured this image of downtown Tulsa. It’s kind of grainy but I like it.

At local park on a sunny day I got this pond and skies.

I went to the Tulsa Boat Show last Friday. On nice days the Tulsa Driller is always a must do photograph.

Expo Square is where the Golden Driller is, right on Route 66. The county has made some improvements

And a backyard skywatch photo looking east.

And again in the backyard looking northwest.

And from the front driveway looking down the road to the west.

And that is about it.

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

Skywatch Friday – Last Week of January 2025

I went looking for a geocache last week that was supposed to be near the site of a former World War II era prisoner of war camp near the Tulsa suburb of Bixby. There is no trace of the camp left, nor was there any trace of a geocache. Bixby has some of the most expensive land in Oklahoma. It is Arkansas River bottomland, flat as a pancake. Used to be huge vegetable and grass farms here but they are pretty much gone and real estate development is taking over. You can see to the right of the photo that there is a new subdivision is going in there. Flat is good for both agriculture and subdivisions I guess. Just between you and me though, I wouldn’t live in a flood plain. I think here in the USA that climate change can jump up and bite you in the rear end.

Coming home I came across this building close to the house. I have always loved this structure. Very clean lines and lots of glass. I love the little sunshades they have on the south side (to the left).

I was picking up pizza at rush hour the other night. I loved the light in this photo plus a big dark cloud was hanging out over town. It was ominous.

This is from the parking lot of the pizza place. I love the cloud and the cars in traffic and the whole thing. I have the technology to take the sign down and the power lines but you know, doing that just causes more problems in my opinion. I am sorry the photo is so grainy. I shot it in RAW on my iphone using the Halide app.

And another jigsaw puzzle. This one of an arch somewhere in the high desert. This one was harder than I anticipated by I “got-r-done.”

So that is it for this week in my unexciting, waiting on knee replacement surgery, life.

Skywatch Friday

My Corner of the World

Tulsa’s 2025 Martin Luther King Day Parade

Monday, January 20th was a huge day for America. An historic day that all Americans honored.

Martin Luther King Day!! Of course and many of celebrated by participating in or watching the Parade for the day in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, just north of downtown.

It was bitterly cold but that didn’t stop neither the participants nor the watchers.

Lots of civic organizations, city government, the University of Tulsa

And Oklahoma State University were represented.

My former employer, ONEOK, Inc has been a sponsor and participant for years. They had a nice float,

and a ton of marchers braving the cold. One thing that was missing that I was looking forward to was their drill team. I participated as a marcher in 2019, not in the drill team. I made a video back then of them practicing before the parade.

I think they are pretty good. They should come back!!

And here is ONEGAS, our sister company, they broke apart years ago.

And Williams Corporation, another huge employer and growing, headquartered in Houston. I expect one of these days a merger between ONEOK and Williams. When that happens they’ll probably move their headquarters to Houston. Houston is the center of the energy universe and has been that way for over a half century.