Today’s Flowers – Daffodil Mania

Here is the conventional view

I don’t mind Winter too much here in Oklahoma where it generally is not too severe and given my trailrunning and geocaching hobbies late Fall and Winter is really, really nice because I don’t have to worry about the many vipers we have here and the ticks, chiggers, bees, hornets, spiders, and wasps which have each sent me to the doctor before. Anyways Winter isn’t too bad but Spring is just great. It is great for baseball coming back and wonderful for the flowers especially the daffodils. I just love daffodils.

How about we get down to the ground and look up?

Tulsa’s best spot for daffodils is Woodward Park. This years “crop” seems a little sparse compared to previous years but still just spectacular.

How about zooming up the iso, and reducing the fstop to get narrow depth of focus. I know it is not much but I love this shot.

I went at lunch one day last week and the light was hazy. I thought it made for a nice effect.

Woodward Park is almost as good as the State Fair for people watching. We Tulsan’s love Woodward Park

I saw this lady get out of her car and she sat in the middle of a daffodil patch and brushed her hair really good and put a blue ribbon in and made a bunch of selfies. I thought it was really sweet. A couple years ago a guy and his girl were there and he set up a tripod low to the ground and he filmed he and his girl rolling around kissing and groping each other in the daffodils. That wasn’t too sweet.

On this past Wednesday during our Spring Break staycation the family indulged me by going to Philbrook Museum to take pics of the daffodils. They seemed kind of sparse there also. Still beautiful.

They had some of these very pretty blueish purple flowers also. That’s not the latin name for them, it is the Okie name.

And the purple flowers falling over the ledge is great also.

The best daffodils at Philbrook were in the front of the museum. They don’t charge you to look at these. We are members at Philbrook so its all the same to us. I love flowers in abundance. I’m greedy that way.

I know I am posting way too many pics of them. I promise not to post any more. I might change my mind though. Can you tell that I am a potential politician?

Here I found the abundance I was looking for. I fixed the focus about one third of the way down which left the flowers in the back kind of mushed (that is a very technical photographic term) in an effect that I kind of liked.

So this is my daffodil mania post. No filters, not even any cropping!

So, did I post too many photos? I’m trying to figure out what blogging means in this day of Instagram, twitter, and facebook. I love Instagram and post two or three pics a day with minimal text. Twitter I use mainly during breaking news plus it is a best way to keep abreast of industry news. Facebook is for friends. So I am trying to figure out where blogger fits in. I like getting to know people in blogging and it is kind of hard in Instagram and Twitter. With facebook I already know you. At least I thought I did until you started posting the My Little Pony videos. (hah)

So, how are the flowers where you are?

I’m linking with Today’s Flowers.

Weekend Reflections – Staycating for Spring Break

Logan has Spring Break this week. Originally we thought we might go to New York City but one thing led to another and so we are staying in town but trying to get out and do things. Wednesday we all slept in and then breakfasted at First Watch and then went to Zink Lake on the Arkansas River and walked about three miles or so.

We then went to the Philbrook Museum because I wanted to get some pics of daffodils. While there of course I had to take some pics of the Tempietto and the reflecting pool. I think more electrons have been spent photographing the Tempietto than any other feature in Tulsa.

All that is lost on some folks who walk around staring at the little screens.

Back to the Tempietto, I think it is the prettiest thing in Tulsa.aaBack to the Tempietto, I think it is the prettiest thing in Tulsa.

Wednesday night we took Logan to see the “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” with Clint Eastwood. I saw it about forty years ago when it came out and wow, I was blown away at how good it is. What a great, intense, well done, movie. Logan loved it also. Afterwards we realized it is the first R rated movie we ever took him to see so I guess it is a rite of passage.

Out of focus, and off kilter, I kind of like it that way except I wish I had the focus on the flower better.

I said something about daffodils, here are one and a half. I was trying to do the bokeh thing by messing with the speed and aperture. Next time I will figure out how to fix the focus so this is all I have for now. I’ll be posting my daffodil pics later.

Have you ever tried staycating? What is the secret.

I’m linking with Weekend Reflections

South Tulsa Skywatch

I used the Whisker Wire filter in Topaz Glow, backed off about two thirds.

So last Sunday it was kind of raining and sprinkling and so Logan and I decided we would go to the local mall and walk around a little bit. So we walked around and mocked the merchandise and left and I snapped the above pic with my cell phone. The sky was very dramatic. After a winter of no drama is was nice to see a few clouds.

What are the skies like where you live?

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Signs, Signs – The Lululemon Ladies and their Signs

Sorry, I’ve already posted this pic on Instagram and Facebook.

The women (and the occasional guy) of the local Lululemon clothing store really go all out on race days and cheer people on during the local runs and we runners love them. I even love the two people updating their facebook status. Or maybe snapchat, like “This really old, fat, ugly thinks he’s a runner dude come by, it would be funny if he weren’t so gross.”

Here they are during a cold Route 66 Marathon a couple years ago.

And the token Lululemon guy.

And the Lululemon kids

And this is the first time I saw them, at the 2012 Route 66 Half marathon. I didn’t know who they were back then but I loved the signs. This is the only pic that I have ever had go halfway viral. I posted it on the race facebook site and it was seen by thousands of people. My favorite signs were “You’re the Sh*t” and “Go Random Stranger Go!!!” I’m sure that they got discussed. You know the old corporate “Do you really think that that is the image we should be sending out there about what we are about.” You fellow corporate drones will surely recognize that. I kind of hope that the the Local Lululemon Ladies (and guy) pull them out of the closet for the next race. But if they don’t, that is okay.

I can’t afford their clothes but I love their signs.

I’m linking with Signs, Signs this week.

Poems and Promises by Rosalind Cook in Honor of EG Camera Girl and Birdman

Friday at lunch I hauled the Nikon over to Tulsa’s Woodward Park to take some pics of stuff. You know Spring type stuff, daffodils and such. I got those pics and I got this one. Actually, this sculpture is hard to photograph decently because it is dark and the shadows and all that so I bracketed it with three photos in succession each about 2 fstops different; under exposed, right exposed, and over exposed. I then combined the three pics with some software I had and I got something halfway decent.

At least we can see her face and the background isn’t blown out. If I were a photographer instead of picture taker I could monkey around a little more but this what I get. This sculpture is named Poems and Promises and it was gifted to the City of Tulsa back in 2010 by the Sculptor, Rosalind Cook, and her husband. I think it is incredibly beautiful!!

I got to thinking that I had posted this art before and sure enough I posted some film photos back in 2012 so I went back and checked it out and and what stunned me were the first two commenters: EG CameraGirl and Birdman. EG CameraGirl was a Canadian blogger whopassed away at the end of February as a result of car accident where her husband died and Birdman was from Maine and died of a heart attack just after retiring from a long career as a high school teacher.

They were both full of life and had unique blogs and were lively, interesting, and humorous comments and both very encouraging. I never met either one in real life but I feel that I knew them. I know that I miss them both. So this post is dedicated to them.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keefe by J. Michael Orenduff

I just finished “The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keefe” by J. Michael Orenduff. The seventh book in his “Pot Thief” series. The book, like the rest of the series, is set in New Mexico and features Hubie Schuze, the owner of a native american pot store (the pottery kind of pot, not the Colorado variety) who buys and sells pots but is also known to take his Bronco out to the boonies and dig one up illegally on public land and sell it.

A pot on display at the Heard Museum in Phoenix

Hubie is quite the character and you can tell the author has fun with him. In the book Hubie falls in love with a beautiful woman. (Thankfully the author closes the blinds and turns up the music on the intimate scenes like I wish more authors would) Hubie also steals a pot from a top secret military installation and makes a copy of it and then finds out that his pots are changing hands way faster than he can keep track of himself and of course one of the characters ends up dead and Hubie sets to finding out whodunnit. He also gets involved in an obscure O’Keefe painting.

This isn’t a painting by Georgia O’Keefe is by Mary Cassatt and is called the reader. I don’t have any photographs of an O’Keefe painting

He spends a lot of time at his favorite bar drinking margaritas and eating chips with his friends. Orenduff lived and worked in New Mexico and knows it. I was born there and spent my high school and college years in Albuquerque and get homesick from time to time. This book is the latest mystery set in New Mexico. If you love New Mexico and fun mysteries this is for you!!

So I give this five stars out of five.

Skywatch Friday – Downtown Sky

We had some stormy rainy weather on Tuesday when I went to my car on the roof of the parking garage I liked the view to the south with the big clouds and the wet streets. I also noticed that four of Tulsa’s major churches were in the view. From left to right we have the tower of the Bruce Goff designed art deco masterpiece, Boston Avenue Church, then the green domed First Christian Church. Then to the right the twin spires of the First Methodist Church and then to the far right, Holy Family Cathedral. Tulsa is unique in major cities in the US in that the downtown area are really thriving and maintaining their membership. The churches and businesses stayed downtown when everybody left and now the people are coming back to live, as well as work and worship. Exciting times we live in is what I say.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Digital Art – Back to the Future

Son Logan and I were wandering around Best Buy the other day when I was attracted to this strange glowing device. It is an amplifier for a music system and it uses tubes! Those of a certain age remember going to stores with suspect tubes in hand and putting it in the tester to check. That all went by the way side when solid state amplifiers and televisions came about. I still have an amplifier from the 80’s and some massive speakers but I haven’t played anything on them in decades. It has been all about headphones and iphones.

I had heard about purists praising tubes and okay, if it works it works. The recent renaissance of vinyl records has puzzled me also although I do miss the days of rummaging through albums and playing them in the evening with a glass of wine and friends.

Are so called stereo systems making a comeback? I have to tell you the music from the system that included this device sounded wonderful and the speakers were very light.

Anyways, I thought it appropriate to use Topaz Glow to highlight the tubes on this photo.

I’m linking to Digital Art Meme Today

Multitasking – Geocaching with some Hill Training

Son Logan rocking the hat and Star Wars shirt.

Part of geocaching is that if you place a cache then you are responsible for it and if it goes missing you have to replace it. I have such a cache called “Little Haikey Creek” located in south Tulsa right in the middle of a giant freeway exchange. I’ve had it for years and hardly anybody ever looks for it because it is a long walk from the nearest parking areas.

So off we went on the Mingo trail that winds through the freeway interchange.

The highest part of the freeway exchange goes right by the Mingo Trail and the resulting hill is popular with runners who want to do hill repeats. Hill repeats are where you keep going up and down hills, repeatedly. It is kind of like hitting your head with a hammer repeatedly, except hill repeats are good for you. Supposedly, anyway Logan and I decided to run up and down the hill just for the fun of it. Really we just walked. But I’m calling it a run. What do you know? You weren’t there.

So anyway we got to ground zero (that is geocacher lingo, for the place where the cache is supposed to be) and placed a new one. Somewhere in the woods above. Then we headed back.

We passed a homeless guys place. This kind of puzzled me. Most homeless guys camp near where they can get food and water. This place is a long hike for either. Oh well.

On the way back, we ran up the hill again!! Just for the heck of it.

There he goes down the hill. I like how he is holding his hat like a cowboy holds his cowboy hat. Logan is a native Okie you know.

And then a cyclist came by and went up the hill by diagonal. No way that Alan Bates could do that.

Anyways a good time was had by all. The cache was replaced, we got some fresh air and exercise and a lot of fun. Logan still hates geocaching but he is starting to run/walk with me a little bit and I’m loving that.

What have you been up to lately?

The Morning before the Day Of….

Somewhere around here, a geocache was found.

Friday was my day off. It had been a while since I had my day off because I worked my last day off. I didn’t mind, I made the most of it and I’ll tell you about it because I made a “field trip” to meet with a customer and I took some pictures of some amazing technology that my employer uses but I need to clear the pics I took with my employer before I show you. So we’ll see what happens.

But I get distracted easy. This day off, I got to take it off. First on the agenda was taking the kid to school and then next was a dental appointment… at 9:30. Wow, almost tow hours between when I drop the kid off and and when I have to go to the dentist…. Hmmm, I have time to go to Turkey Mountain and walk around (I don’t want to run because I like my dentist and his staff, and I don’t want to run, and sweat, and stink up the place.) So I will walk, I will hike, I will shop up at his office smelling sweet. I might be dirty and bloody, that has happened, but at least I won’t stink. My experience has shown that blood doesn’t bother people as much as smell does. Do you agree?

I found this one last year.

So I went to Turkey Mountain and walked a couple of miles and found a couple of geocaches.

Little miss blue eyes. I found her on Turkey Mountain last year on private land that is now posted “No Trespassing” I left her there and I haven’t been back. I respect private private property and observe no trespassing notifications. She is still up there though, waiting for you.

And I get my head screwed on straight. And set me up for a good day. And a good day it was.

The approach on the Yellow Trail to the main parking lot on Turkey Mountain.

And a good day it was. I’ll tell you about it…

Let me see, Oh yes, I found two geocaches,
And I had no cavities!!! (I haven’t had a cavity in decades, literally! and I don’t floss, ever)
Heather has a contractor doing some work on the house, mainly on Logan’s bathroom, we went to Lowe’s and got him a first class commode, a veritable throne. The best commode in the house, the best we ever had. We also fetched some lighting and other items. I mean who is working for whom here?
I don’t mind, he is not the cheapest guy in town but he does a good job and treats us right.

And then Heather and I snuck away to “In the Raw” and ate ~~fishbait~~ sushi. That is our newest thing together. We have been trying all the sushi places in town. It is a whole new world to us.

And then Friday evening, Heather went to a Zumba master class and Logan and I went on a three mile walk around Lafortune Park. By the time I went to bed on Friday night I had almost 21,000 fitbit steps and I was tired.

And it all started with a little walk in the woods.

What have you been up to?

YogisDen.us

Welcome to my world