Here in Tulsa, construction continues on the new Pedestrian Bridge across the Arkansas River. They are using this tall crane to set the bridge sections. And yes, I used a filter.
I’m linking with Blue Monday and Ruby Tuesday Too
Late afternoon shadows make me look thin and our Pomeranian, Rascal, look big.
Retreating into the shadowy woods of Turkey Mountain on hot days.
A deer checking me out while on my hike.
An old hunting camp found on a hike.
I’m linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2, check it out!!
On a hike on Turkey Mountain the other day I saw this doe on the trail. She had a fawn in the woods nearby.
A neighborhood adjacent to ours has a large pond with two swans.
And a gas station near our house has pet dinosaur.
Check out Saturday’s Critters!
On a bike ride a week or so ago I stopped and took a photo across the Arkansas River to this power plant. Yep, I used a filter.
From the same spot I turned about 30 degrees to my right and captured this scene of the new pedestrian bridge and low water dam going on. They are really busy, busy, busy with all the work going on. Who knows when it is going to be done.
A few days later I took my bike back to the river to do another dam inspection trip and the skies opened up. Fortunately, I hadn’t started my ride yet.
A few days later I was walking in a park and captured this scene.
I took a hike on Turkey Mountain and captured a scene at Pepsi Lake.
The trail I was on came out on a powerline right of way and hey, there is the office building I worked in for about half my career way on downtown. I waved, “Hey guys, get your butts back to work.”
That’s about it for this week. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Come join in the fun!!
An Armadillo escaping the heat in the woods.
A fawn in the deep woods staying close to its mother.
When its hot, the woods are the place to be. This is son going ahead of me.
Linking with Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Check it out.
I spotted this Great Egret on the Arkansas River during a recent bicycle ride.
This is another one. He was standing still and got tired of waiting on me. I was lucky to catch him in flight.
Our hummingbird feeder is getting regular visits now. Problem is that wasps and hornets are also visiting and they don’t like hummingbirds. So I’m trying to figure out what to do about it. I hate to kill native pollinators.
Lizzie thinks we got this tray in the living room for her. She thinks everything in the house is for her!
And our little Pomeranian, Rascal. He is very sick with cancer in one lung, congestive heart failure, and other issues. Vet said that he doesn’t know he is sick so just love every moment we have together with him and we are pumping full of meds and supplements. The weather has cooled a bit so we are taking him on short walks. He sure does love his outings. They wipe him the rest of the day but he’s happy. We are doing our best for him to live his best life.
I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out!!
Below is not my photo. This is a jigsaw puzzle I did on my Ipad of the Mouton Barn at Mormon Row in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. This may be the most photographed barn in the world!!
I’ve always loved Mormon Row, it reminds me of a ranch that my aunt and uncle had in Idaho not that far from this scene in Wyoming. The closed up barn with great patina. The brutal winters mean not too many windows.
This is a photo I made a few years ago. Just looking at how the west barn eave cuts into the tree line I think I was standing just 10 to 20 feet west of where the person who took the photo for the puzzle was standing.
And while we are loosely of the subject of architecture. Above is a photo of Westhope here in Tulsa. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I think it is one of only three of his designs in Oklahoma. I knew of it but had never chased it down until last week when I did a geocaching AdventureLab focusing on oil millionaires houses in Tulsa.
And this is from a bike ride I did earlier this week in Tulsa. The river is the Arkansas River and the hill across the river is Turkey Mountain. An Urban Wilderness in the middle of Tulsa.
And here is the monarch waystation I help take care of on Turkey Mountain.
And a couple of sky photos from a hike at Oxley Nature Center.
And a shot of a prairie at Oxley.
And a drone shot from our backyard in south Tulsa looking west toward the sunset.
That’s all I got this week. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Come check it out!!
Friday morning I talked son Logan into going on a hike with me to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center.
In the parking lot we spotted a swallowtail butterfly. Swallowtails move around a lot so I just kept taking photos hoping one would be okay.
Later on in our hike we found a doe and her fawn in the woods. They were kind of skittish and the woods were thick so it was hard to get a good photo.
And later came upon this armadillo rooting around for something to eat. It pretty ignored us. I don’t think they see or hear very well. Years ago when I lived in south Texas they got hit a lot on the roads.
And as we were leaving we saw this doe and her two offspring. I think one might be a yearling and the other a pretty new fawn. They ignored as well.
Here’s my hiking companion, son Logan who has started a couple classes in the local community college’s Paralegal Program.
I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Come check out it!!
Yesterday it was 104F but later in the day clouds started forming up and about a half hour before sunset they were looking dramatic. So I got the drone ready and synched it with my phone and went outside about the time a huge gust of wind came through. I’m glad I didn’t have my little lightweight drone in the air cuz it would have been headed to the land of Oz.
So I brought it back inside and took a photo of the clouds from the ground and yep they looked great.
A little while later the winds subsided some so I launched the drone from my back yard. I could only get about 30 meters in the air before it started barking at me to lower it or I would lose it. So most of these shots are at about 25 to 27 meters off the ground.
There were several rain fronts that moved the area last night. We got no rain at the house.
But hey I got to take some photos. We had some drizzly rain Wednesday most of the day. That’s fine with me. A little bit of drizzly rain seems to be better than hours of running of running the sprinkler sysetem.
My friend, and former coworker, Josh, sent me this photo from the Bakken Field of North Dakota of a drilling rig set up in a corn field. Yep, they are still drilling up there. See all the trailers and such. There are all sorts of people involved in drilling a well. Most of the time they will drill at least four wells from one location.
That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday, go check it out!
About a month ago I checked out the Greenwood Rising Museum in the Greenwood District of Tulsa just north of downtown.
The museum opened to visitors in August 2021 a little over a 100 years after the Greenwood Massacre in the same area.
The museum has a lot to about the massacre but the emphasis is on the Greenwood community. It also has a lot about the forces of repression against people of color that has been occurring from the early days of Oklahoma right up to the present.
This isn’t the type of museum that has a lot of relics or art to look at. It’s more of a story telling museum using photographs, videos, and displays.
Greenwood was known as the “Black Wall Street” because of its prosperity. Cut off from the white part of town, Greenwood prospered and that was a problem for many in the white community.
The massacre itself lasted less than 24 hours from May 31 to June 1, 1921. A white mob attacked the district and killed several hundred people and burned much of the area to the ground.
No white person was ever brought to justice. The blame was placed squarely on the residents. Although many had insurance nothing was paid under the provisions of riots exemptions.
Afterwards as the community struggled to rebuild, the City of Tulsa responded by requiring brick homes and other things meant to encourage the residents to sell out to white people.
Eventually, the community rebuilt itself and then faced another destructive force. Urban Renewal led to the demolition of many homes and businesses and the construction of a freeway running right through the neighborhood. The white areas south of downtown got below grade freeways to minimze the impact the effect of the highway on the residents. The Greenwood area did not get the same consideration. To this day, there are vast areas just west of Greenwood that are still barren.
The community is resilient and is thriving.
The museum is about a lot more than the massacre.
There is still a fight going on. The Oklahoma legislature has passed laws making it hader to register and vote, aimed squarely at minority voters. The fragile white legislature have also passed laws that inhibit the teaching of the injustices of the past. It might be illegal to bring students to this museum.
I went through the museum, and I did not feel that white people are attacked or disparaged at all. The facility is telling a story in an even handed manner. They are telling the story of their community in a factual manner.
I highly recommend visiting Greenwood Rising. It is well done.
Note that they are closed for the month of August as they refresh the facility. They announced an interesting thing, you can get a preview of the museum for free on the smartphone app “Bloomberg Connects.” I downloaded it and it is a great app. You can tour lots of museums all across the world not just Greenwood Rising.
So, I recommend check Greenwood Rising out if you happen to be in the Tulsa area. Check the link for hours and other info.
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