Skywatch Friday – Sneaking in a Run

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I love this newly renovated substation on the edge of downtown.

Monday I had a lunch meeting that and so I left a little earlier than my regular time to sneak in a run downtown before going home. It was right about 5 pm and the skies were clear and the light bright so I took my camera. Of course I take my camera no matter the lighting.

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A good view of downtown and am empty desolate parking lot. The domed structure off to the right is the First Church of Christian Sciene.

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As I got closer to the Arkansas River I ran close to one of my favorite structures. It is a fountain, or it used to be a fountain. I love the mid-century modern design with a bunch of geometry. It is quite a striking structure.

Not a long run by any means but a nice way to end the day.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – The Lakes of Turkey Mountain

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One of the ponds on Turkey Mountain late in the afternoon. We have had a good amount of rain on the mountain this spring so many of the ponds are full of water. For some reason, the ponds are called lakes. I’m okay with that. The sky is a little vague in this photo but I like the light on vegetation in the foreground and I like the reflection of the sun also.  So I’m going with it and hope you don’t mind.

Come join us at Skywatch Friday!

The Kid Bows Out and Other Happenings this Weekend

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Last Friday was Logan’s last performance with the Laughing Matter Teen Improv Group at the Clark Youth Theater here in Tulsa. He is aging out of the program. Heather and were trying to figure out how long he has been with the program. We think that it has been about eleven years but we are not sure. What kind of crappy parents are we anyway??

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He’s really enjoyed it and it has been fun watching the other kids grow up also. We are going to miss it. He hasn’t really started looking at what’s available for him now in the community but we’ll keep you posted. He just finished his first year of college and did very well. His mother and I are pleased.

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The kids have really blossomed. Maybe they blossomed too much. They are an independent bunch and I think that is a good thing.

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Saturday morning we did our cat rescue gig at the the Petsmart in Broken Arrow. We have gotten kind of fond of the cats and are happy that they all eventually get adopted.

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There were three new ones Saturday morning. The one above is a male that got caught in a fence and some asshat shot him with a bb gun. He’s a sweetie but he is a little traumatized by his new surroundings. He’ll make somebody a great cat.

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After the cat gig Heather and Logan went home and I went geocaching. I’ll post in detail about it later but I bushwahacked for 0.3 miles through the woods alongside the Verdigris River looking for a geocache. All told I spent two hours  on that gig and didn’t find it. Three ticks found me though! The cache above is one I found later. I guess that I can find them if they are painted pink and have yellow caution tape so that I don’t trip over it. Yep, I love geocaching whether I find them or not.

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We went to see Guardians of the Galaxy II later on. Heather and Logan loved it, and me I was just confused. Still am. We did build a fire in the patio and chill out for a bit afterward though.

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Sunday was a work day at the house. Logan and I mowed the yard. Heather “amended” the soil. I got my chainsaw down and cut down a volunteer tree in the greenbelt behind the fence. We got a lot done, heathen pagans that we have turned into.

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Later on we went to Nana’s house (Nana is the world’s greatest MIL) and grilled burgers and chilled. That’s Nana’s dog Reba above. She is my model for chilling.

And that’s a wrap on the weekend. How was yours?

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday

Skywatch Friday – Storm Coming on Turkey Mountain

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One day after work when I was on the east bank of the Arkansas River looking across trying to figure out whether to run on Turkey Mountain or not which is the hill to the right. I decided to go ahead and stayed dry for the most part. I really look forward to my Wednesday night runs on the mountain or the river and rarely cancel them. I always feel like a kid when school has let out especially when the weather is decent. I hardly ever see anybody else especially when I’m more than a quarter mile from the parking lot.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Sunday Afternoon at the Oklahoma Aquarium

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The Gas Company had their annual Employee Appreciation Day Sunday afternoon at the Oklahoma Aquarium in the Tulsa suburb of Jenks. We hadn’t been in years and we love the aquarium and so we signed up and off we went.

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The Aquarium has a dazzling variety of fish, everything from mud colored Oklahoma natives to colorful exotics from the tropics.

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They have a great shark tank. It is a great tank but exceedingly difficult for a hack like me to get a decent photograph. The tank is dark and the observation area is a tunnel through the tank and it is dark but mesmerizing. It is kind of hard to take a picture of dark mesmerization. If I were a photographer that would be no problem but I’m not there yet. So I give you this tiny yellow fish instead. What kind of fish is it you ask? I just got through telling you, a tiny yellow fish.

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The star of the show is a green sea turtle in its brand new exhibit. Such a huge creature moving gracefully through the water. This is a great addition to the Aquarium.

Anyway we checked out the fish, said hello to some coworkers, ate our beans, potato salad, hot dogs, and hamburgers and left. A great afternoon.

First Bike Ride of the Year

My employer had a few events during Earth Week and one of them was a presention from a couple people from the The Tulsa Hub (check them out, they do lots of good stuff. They are trying to change lives through bicycling) about basic maintenance on bicycles. I’ve had mine for a few years now and have not done anything so I paid attention and even asked a few questions about several things especially, chain maintenance. I’ve had my bike for several years now and have not done anything besides air up the tires since. So I went to the store and bought the degreaser and the chain oil and got some rags and cleaned and oiled both my bike and Heather’s. Last Sunday I decided to go out for a ride. Heather couldn’t go so I went by myself.

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We live within a mile of a part of Tulsa’s extensive bike path system so I rode my bike from the house over there and made my way east to the Liberty Trail in Broken Arrow paralleling the Creek Turnpike Extension. The Liberty Trail passes very close to my MIL’s house and I have walked over to her house about three times so far. It’s about seven miles so it is not a bad walk at all. One of these days Heather and I will ride our bikes to her house.

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I only stopped to rest once on my leg out. I liked this tree and I liked the water fountain. A miscalculation on my part was not enough water. I brought a water bottle but I thought there was more water available along the path than what there turned out to be. I have a hydration pack that holds 1.5 liters. I might bring that, in addition to a bigger water bottle next time I ride this route. I also was reading about leppardlaw.com in case in got into a bike accident.

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And here is a shadow selifie of me at the halfway point. Tired and thirsty.

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I did a little more sightseeing on the way back. I stopped to take a photo of the horse. He (I guess it is a he) walked up to me seeming pretty friendly. He let me rub his nose for a little bit.

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Nice horse but I had to go.

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And I saw this little thing out in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea what it is about. There are lots of roadside memorials in Tulsa in memory of people who died in car accidents involving negligence or reckless driving but they generally have some information about who the person is. Try to investigate this site to find out about the best injury attorney who will help you claim injury compensation for the injured or the deceased member to provide a good life for their family. If you need lawyers for medical malpractice claims, it can be checked out here! 

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Stopped near the end to take this photo. I have taken this shot many times but what I liked about this was that the sun was low enough that the reflections actually illuminated the bottom of the bridge.  Yeah, sorry, I like stuff like that. People can check out Moore Injury Law for the best injury related cases.

Anyway, I got home very tired and thirsty. Just shy of 25 miles. Not bad for an old guy who hasn’t ridden since September. Time to rehydrate with a couple craft beers and a gallon or two of water.

I am linking with “Our World Tuesday“

Taking Care of the Kitties

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One of the things we do as a family is a couple times a month we go the Broken Arrow Petsmart and take care of the rescue cats. This is through an organization called Partnering for Pets. We started  on it because son, Logan, needs volunteer hours as part his college requirements but it turns out we really like doing it.

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It only takes a couple of hours to tidy up their crates, clean out the litter boxes and give them fresh food and water plus spend some time with each of them.

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The cats of are such hoots. We love our dogs but we like cats also. Cats have such different personalities and temperments and of course they take everything we do for them as their due. That is part of the reason we love it so much.

I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday;s Critters

The Knot Board

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We spent Easter Sunday with my MIL Nana and we had a great meal and visit. I had my camera so I was taking pictures of this that and whatever. Nana has her late husband’s knot board hanging in her garage. You see her husband, Charles, one of the world’s really good guys was really involved in Boy Scouting. He was an Eagle Scout in fact. Charles has been gone a number of years now but in many ways it seems like just a few days ago.

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Charles and his grandson, Logan had a special bond.

Charles was a great story teller and one of my favorites is about scouting. You see Charles went on to become a pharmacist and after he got his degree he went to a small town in southeast Oklahoma and looked up the local Boy Scout Troop and went to the scoutmaster and introduced himself and said that he would like to get involved and was willing to help in any way possible. So the Scoutmaster said that was great and told Charles when and where the Troop met and invited him to the meeting.

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Logan and I went through Cub Scouts but neither of us was interested in continuing with Boy Scouts.

So Charles showed up at the appointed time and the Scoutmaster said “Everybody gather around here.” and then he said “I would like to introduce you to your new Scoutmaster, Charles.”

I loved that story and of course Charles was a great scoutmaster.  The knot board is something that he made for the scouts. Heather and Nana have lots of stories about numerous scout outings. When Charles passed away years later, several of his scouts showed up for the funeral. I think about him every day and still can’t believe that somebody who so full of life is gone.