Last week we took a little family trip to the Zoo. While there I captured images of shadows.
I am a sucker for wooden pedestrian bridges. I have dozens of shots of them. I don’t know why I like them so much. Found this one with some shadows.
And I got a fairly sharply defined streetlight shadow.
I am also a sucker for iron work and the resulting complicated shadows such as this one at a picnic pavillion in the Zoo.
Since the zoo trip we got the kid back to college. He’s pretty happy, maybe too happy to be away from us. We miss him too! But we are also enjoying have the house to ourselves again.
Brother Bob is out of quarantine at his Assisted Living Apartment. He’s been in either hospitals or Long Term Care for over a year and has really worked hard to get to a more regular living option. He’s enjoying mingling (safely) with his fellow residents and is partaking of the activities the place has.
Sometimes when looking at animals I do short little videos. A still photograph is okay with critters who are stationary but sometimes I like to provide a glimpse of the movement of the subjects. Don’t worry, none of these videos are longer than fourteen seconds.
These are the flamingos at the Tulsa Zoo. I love flamingos for the Florida vibe plus even when they are not doing much that are moving around. I find it very comical. These birds were locked up because it was too cold for them outside. It kind of reminds me of recess in grade school when it was too cold to go outside so we were in a cramped room and repeatedly told to not make so much noise.
Giraffe’s are the most ungainly animals but they are fun to watch if they are in an energetic mood. The energy here is the youngster, all full of piss and vinegar.
Sea Lions are very graceful and beautiful. We were just getting glimpses from them in the murky water the other day.
These geese I saw on a golf course were hilarious. They were definitely headed somewhere. I glitched the video a little bit.
Back in the real world here in Oklahoma new Covid-19 cases per day have been in a sustained decline since the first part of January. But…
Deaths per day have increased tremendously. Hopefully they will start trending down as well.
So stay safe folks. Wear your mask, maintain distance, and stay home whenever you can. Our son just got over his infection early this week. My wife and I were tested and found negative and we isolated as well to be extra sure that we didn’t infect anybody. I got my first vaccine shot yesterday and will get the booster in three weeks. I am so happy that the new administration is taking steps to streamline vaccinations and ordering enough medicine to have everybody vaccinated by the end of the upcoming summer.
At the YMCA I temporarily joined while my regular gym has shut down temporarily for the pandemic. The Y has this big huge south facing wall of windows. Kind of nice to sit in there in the sunny warmth on a cold winter day.
A shot through glass to the tanks at a local brewery. We started going out to such places that took masking and social distancing seriously. With the advent of the new strains we don’t go out hardly at all. Plus both of us have received our first vaccine dose and we don’t want to get sick while for the second shot.
And an outdoor shot at a local restaurant. We eat outdoors if the weather is mild.
I’m kind of puny this week. I had a back spasm late Tuesday of unknown cause. That was the day I got my first covid injection but I doubt that caused it but who knows, right? So I have an appointment to see an orthopedic doc Monday so I am self treating with a heating pad, tens unit, ibuprofen, whisky and beer until then. Wish me luck!!
I went on a walk at Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. The trail is 3.1 miles long and loops around two golf courses, baseball fields, a tennis complex, a high school, a public library and there is almost always something going on except it was a cold windy day and I had the place to myself. The skies were overcast so I took photos of the trees on the golf courses.
I love trees in the winter. Their twiggy fingers reaching to the sky. I love trees in all the seasons, how about you.
I got my first Covid vaccination shot this week. I think it is crazy that every state in the union has their own way of doing things. I spent two days refreshing my browser every ten to fifteen minutes. The other thing is that here in Oklahoma just because a site says no appointments available doesn’t mean anything you have to click through to be sure. I know others out in blogland have related similar stories. Anyway, I am glad we are finally getting a foothold, a beginning, to rid our earth of this awful disease.
I’m thankful for the vaccine and for the many millions of caregivers around the world who have risked their lives taking care of people who got sick with the disease.
My wife has relatives who have a ranch in western Oklahoma. They sent me some photos of a new donkey foal just born last Saturday. There is not much cuter in the animal world than a baby donkey with its mother. Generally I edit them a little but these are perfect just as they are.
The miracle of life is always amazing.
Mama says photos are okay but keep your distance!!
The other day on a cold, sunny, brisk day we went to the Tulsa Zoo for an outing.
We saw lots of critters including this Caiman.
And a couple of Mexican Beaded Lizards.
Lots of different kinds of rattlesnakes. We are no strangers to rattlesnakes in Oklahoma. There are lots more outside the zoos than inside.
A Komodo Dragon
This was son Logan’s favorite, A Fennec Fox, taking a nap.
And some goats.
A hungry looking Tiger.
And a beautiful regal Lion.
It was a great way to get out of the house safely. They are regulating the number of visitors at any one time and have mask mandates for the inside exhibits. All the other visitors were complying with the masks and spacing requests. You can’t just walk up to get in you have to get a reservation. Check out TulsaZoo.org for more information.
I went on a hike on Turkey Mountain on a cloudy day on MLK day. The parking lot was full but I didn’t see very many people. You don’t on the backcountry trails I like to take. The more popular trails are on the east side of the mountain and overlook the Arkansas River and south Tulsa, and those trails are better mapped. You have to kind of know where you are going on the back country.
I love getting in the woods on cloudy days in the winter. Everything just kind of pops out, especially the trees. We get to see their greedy fingers reaching for the sky competing with other trees for enough sunlight to live on.
I love a twisty turning trail disappearing into the distance. I also love that some of the shrubs are still green despite the season.
This is the area called Rock City or the Rock Garden.
Elsewhere on the mountain I found this bucket sitting on a rock. Turkey Mountain used to be the home to farms, ranches, liquor stills, and oilwells and the detritus from those previous uses still litter the landscape. With the advent of industrial scale meth production in Mexico, meth making on the mountain has disappeared. We used to find small meth labs and “shake and bake” containers during our periodic cleanups in the park. It was part of the briefing to the volunteers that if they saw something like that to leave it alone and let one of the leaders know so it could be removed safely.
I came upon a flotilla of mallards who paddled away from me. I was lucky they just didn’t fly off.
I got a glimpse of the new buildings going up at the Herman and Kate Kaiser YMCA (formerly the Westside YMCA). The Y occupies the very northwest corner of the park and have been in existence since 1956. They got a ton of money and are completely rebuilding the facilty and will open this summer. Check the link for details. It’s going to be great. One of the great things about Tulsa is the generosity of the corporations and wealthier citizens who really step when needed.
As part of it’s past Turkey Mountain has at least two active pipelines, two major powerlines. They were there long before the area was made a park. The owner of the above pipeline recently “cleaned up” right of way so it’s kind of a clearcut through the area. And we park users make it into a trail of course!!
So anyway, I had a good time and went about 3.5 miles. It took me a while. I got a couple phone calls in the middle of the hike. I am not a walker talker (on the phone) so I talk in place. I still had a great time.
Have you been on any walks lately?
I’m linking up withSkywatch Friday – lots of friendly, talented people from all over the world participate
What a grand Inauguration we Americans had today to celebrate the election of Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President on the same site that two weeks earlier a mob had invaded the Capitol and beat to death a policeman and injured many more.
Public Domain Photograph by Luke Harold on Flickr, Los Angeles, CA 2018
Today though all traces of that was erased except for the thousands of National Guardsman and Police present to protect the event from more treasonous attacks.
Photo by Library of Congress in Public Domain, March 2020
We had some great speeches and some great songs by J-Lo and Lady Gaga but as an Oklahoman I was especially proud of Garth Brooks showing up in his Cowboy Tux, boots, jeans, and a sport coat with a big huge belt buckle.
As stirring and emotional as all that was it was Amanda Gorman, our National Youth Poet Laureate, gave a huge performance of her poem, “The Hill we Climb.” What a huge young talent she is and so poised in her delivery.
It was also great to see the previous Presidents mingling together afterwards. The Obama’s, the Bush’s, and the Clintons all seem to get along well together fine. Too bad that Jimmy Carter couldn’t make it. And Mike Pence, our former VP, showed a lot of class today by showing up.
President Biden went right to work issuing a bunch of Executive Orders.
Photos by friend Cheri Lou whose family operates a ranch in western Oklahoma. She goes and snaps photos and sends them to me. I love them. I edited them a little bit.
In case you are wondering, this one’s name is Red. I wonder why?
Here’s a calf getting breakfast. They are always so earnest.
Here’s a family photo. Getting them to line up is like herding cats. In the back you can see some guard donkeys. They protect the herd from coyotes and other predators. They are pretty comical in their own right.
Heather and I went hiking on the Keystone Trail near Tulsa on a kind of tough (for us), kind of long trail and found this taunting sign. Made us laugh. Hell no this isn’t too tough!!
I love this long covered walkway at the Linnaeus Teaching Garden here in Tulsa.
Big secret in Tulsa is that the gardens at Gilcrease Museum are free!! I loved this shadow made by a Victorian wrought iron fence and arbor.
Backing away a little so you can see it better.
Sorry, still working from the archives. We were exposed to Covid again and so we stayed inside pending tests. Heather and I were both negative!! The virus is raging through Oklahoma right now.
