I headed up to Tulsa’s Wooward Park to see if the Daffodils were blooming.
And oh, man!! They sure were blooming. The blooms were fresh and people hadn’t picked them, yet.
They were beautiful. There were a couple of young women sitting in amongst them (they were carefully making sure they were not trampling photos) and taking selfies. Usually I take photos of all people doing selfies but I left them alone to enjoy the flowers. They were probably taking photos of me and posting about the creepy old guy lurking about.
They also had lots of hyacinths.
And tulips
They had forsythia shrubs blooming
And rebuds. I’ve always loved that stone staircase.
The big trees don’t have their leaves yet.
And they still have remnants of trees knocked down on during our Father’s Day Windstorm in 2023.
I don’t run at all any longer and I enter very few races. Time was I ran two or three times a week and ran at least a race a month or even more in the Spring and Fall. Age and injuries are to blame. I’m injury free now and intend to stay that way but I am still pretty active I walk about 400 to 500 miles a year and bicycle about twice that, plus I have been doing yoga for several years now twice a week and about the same on weight training. I’ll say that yoga has been a lifesaver. I am getting my flexibility back slowly over the years and wish that I had started earlier. Oh well, I’m doing it now.
I have barely started the post and I’m way off point. I participated in the Tulsa Snake Run last Sunday. It is a trail race and it has a unique feature. Everybody “runs” the same time (three hours, or six hours, take your pick). The person who ran the longest wins!! You run in a loop. This year’s event was a two mile loop at Lubell Park. So you just run round and round until your time is up. Only full loops count. No partial credit.
I ran this race for years when I was still running and it was at Turkey Mountain. When I didn’t race I helped man the Aid Tent. Trail Races are special. Everybody is very chill.
The elite trail runners are amazing. They run very fast over all kinds of terrain, boulders, mud, up the sides of mountains. Doesn’t matter, they are blazingly fast. Me, I picked my way through the technical terrain and just trotted on the flat dirt spots. I think I have come in dead last in more than one such race. Doesn’t bother me.
So Sunday morning was cold and I had been staying up very late at the Tulsa Irish Festival listening to kick ass Irish bands from Scotland, France, and Kansas and drinking Irish beer. I kept it all under control alcohol wise but got to bed way too late. Plus Sunday was spring forward day for daylight savings time. I went to bed Saturday night (really Sunday morning) thinking if I make the race, great. If I don’t, too bad.
The race started at 9 am and I woke up at 8:15 am. So I got up, got dressed, and headed out to Lubell Park and got there at 8:45. Plenty of time to check in and get ready.
My plan was to do two loops and then quit. Not quite of the spirit of things but realistic. At the start of the race it was cold so I didn’t take any pics cuz I had my gloves on and I had not woke up yet. I was running walking in a totally non-caffeinated state. That was a major oversight on my part. It took me about 40 minutes to do the first loop and by then I had woke up and it was a lot warmer so I put the gloves away and got the phone out and took a few photos.
Here is a photo of me taking by somebody associated with the run. I look kind of like an ugly sasquatch who hasn’t had his coffee yet. So anyway the rest of the race was great. Beautiful day, great course, nice professionally designed and built sustainable trail. It was a joy. I thought maybe I could do one more two more loop but I had obligations and my legs were sore so I called it quits after two loops and four miles.
The aid station was great. Trail runs have more than just water and gatorade, they have snacks cuz the distance runners need carbos and salt. You will see lots of pickles and pickle juice at aid station along with cookies and such. They were going to cook food later on for the people who, unlike me, finished the race. And there might of been some adult malted beverages available as well.
Here were the awards. Custom made snake awards. And I have to give a plug to the organizers of the Race, Runners World Tulsa. Tulsa has a great running community and many outfits capable of putting on a fun, safe, competent race. Runners World put on the race. They put on lots of races and they do it competently and without a lot of drama. Something comes up, they handle it and move on. Very nice people as well. The courses are well marked, the aid stations fully stocked, the timing people get it right. Plus they are a great running store.
Another unique thing about the race is that they don’t have race tee shirts. I have lots and lots of race tee shirts but Sunday I got my first pair of race socks. I think they are ultra cool. And just so you know I did not finish my customary dead last in the race. I was pretty close to last but not quite.
So I had a wonderful experience! And just so you know, I paid my own fees on this race. They only thing I got extra was a couple of high fives!
I’m always on the lookout for shadows. Heather and I were at an Irish Festival here in Tulsa on Saturday evening enjoying listening to Irish Music. It seems like that even the most modest of music events now days there is a huge investment in lighting and video stuff in addition to the sound. Anyway, I noticed a shadow formed by a security barrier and a snuggling couple near the stage. (What is it about music and alcohol leads to snuggling? Asking for a friend, wait a minute, I already know, forget I asked).
I was at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center and came across this bee hive in a downed tree and the bees were active. So I stood off a ways with my camera and took a bunch of photos but I couldn’t tell at the time if they were any good. I got home and I got this bee coming in for a landing. I was pretty happy with the photo.
More backyard bunnies at the house.
Lizzie chilling at home
At Lafortune Park I found this guy and his girl testing out the pond.
And the moose is loose!!
A squirrel getting a snack
A couple of geese getting their feet wet.
A sure sign of spring.
And another great blue heron. They are all over town this spring.
I went walking a couple times at Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. Treated to the sunset one time.
I noticed this brush with beautiful coral flowers. Google lens tells me that it is Chinese Quince.
The redbud trees are starting to bud out. The Eastern Redbud is Oklahoma’s State Tree. I love them.
Fuzzy pic of people playing golf at one of the golf courses there.
Memorial High School has a baseball field that they were using.
I also went geocaching at Expo Square. I didn’t find the one here but I love this locomotive. It is retired now but pulled logging trains in southeast Oklahoma for years.
And checked out the Golden Driller there. It is dressed up in honor of City Year Tulsa’s tenth anniversary. They are the sponsor the people I tutor for. City Year is under attack for pushing a “woke ideology.” I’ve been tutoring grade school kids for five years now and the only ideology I have been trained to push on the kids is learning how to read.
Another geocaching stop. I didn’t find this one either but I loved the windmill in the stiff Oklahoma breeze.
Another time I went to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center and walked the trails.
Heather, my wife, was gone for an evening and our little pomeranian Kodi got so lonely he decided he would sit with me. That hardly ever happens. He loves to play with me but gets grumpy if I try and do anything else like pick him up.
We had a really nice, warm, sunny day. Kodi went outside and just basked in the sunshine. He’s generally here, there, and everywhere but he was happy in the moment in the sun.
A walk in the neighborhood park gave us this great blue heron fishing in the creek.
On my walk around Lafortune Park found this guy and his girlfriend.
Also came across Mother Goose. Behind her you can see Alice and Peter Rabbit.
Here is a closeup of them.
I also found these feeding geese in a backwater of the Arkansas River on a recent bike ride.
I put my trailcam in the backyard again. I activated video. Stills are fine and are easier to edit but I like seeing the critters move. Here is a bird in the middle of the night.
That’s all my recent critter sitings. I’m linking withSaturday’s Critters. Go check it out.
The latest full moon, yep, I amped it up too much so it is a little grainy. My bad. I like it though.
I never get tired of Tulsa’s downtown skyline, as humble as it is.
I never get tired of seeing the flag wave in a stiff breeze. I think everybody should be proud of their country. Since I started tracking it, people from 152 countries have visited my humble blog. I wish them all well.
A local Pony League baseball field. Baseball is right around the corner!!
A bunch of people got up early last Sunday morning and headed out to Tulsa Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness for a Work Day. I’m a member of the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition, the organizer of the event. Lots of people from the community joined in. Notice the camera lady interviewing the President of TUWC? Check this link on the coverage they provided of the event.
It was a perfect storm of great weather and great publicity. Also, there was a promised pancake breakfast. All told about 70 or so people showed up to work on a variety of project. Everything from picking up litter and lopping trees and brush on the trails to some heavy duty trail armoring involving moving heavy rocks (100 pounds or so) to help with erosion control. There were also fence building projects to separate hikers from the downhill bicycle trails, and other erosion control projects.
The various projects were described and people gathered around the designated project leads for what they wanted to do. All tools and equipment are provided. We ask participants to bring gloves, water, and appropriate clothing. I was the designated lead for those who wanted to pick up litter and clear limbs. I ended up with about ten or so people of all ages, including some Boy Scouts and their moms and a dad. So we got our garbage bags and loppers and off we went to clear out the Snake Trail.
It took us about two hours to work on the two miles of designated trails. Everybody stayed with it very well.
I had another event to go to so I didn’t get to participate in the pancake breakfast but from all reports it was a success. I think everyone involved enjoyed the event and they really did some good. Check out the TUWC facebook page for over a hundred other photographs and some more descriptions of the work that was done.
A bike shadow during a ride last week on Tulsa’s RiverParks trails. In the background, on the other side of the river, is the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness.
And strolls on a stroll at Broken Arrow’s Ray Harral Nature Park.
