Tag Archives: Through My Lens

Through My Lens – Brunch and a Hike on Turkey Mountain

I’m still way behind on my posting. This is about a hike I took on Turkey Mountain on the last Sunday of March.

Turkey Mountain is ultra popular now days especially on the weekends. So on the weekends I generally head to the northwest side of Turkey Mountain. The YMCA has the Herman and Kate Kaiser YMCA there. They have paved parking, flush toilets and their trails interconnect with Turkey Mountains. Plus I am a Y member, so I go there and check in. So I stopped at the lodge and checked in and on the way out one of their people told me that they had a barbecue lunch going on and I was welcome, and I didn’t have to pay. Oh, free food. Sign me up.

Smoked brisket, smoked sausage, corn pudding, potato salad, and a peanut butter cookie.

So I went in and got me a plate and it was delicious. I’m not totally into free food plus I love the Y. My wife teaches classes at two other Y’s in town and I use the Y’s also. Plus the Y on Turkey Mountain holds a special place in my heart. They hosted the first trail race I ran in (and a bunch more besides.) They provided a venue for the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition to host Leave No Trace when they came to Tulsa. Anyway the Herman and Kate Kaiser Y is a special place and they had QR cards around there where one could make a donation so I donated a modest sum. Talk about an unexpected meal, it was great.

So, fortified off I went.

I saw butterflies,

Birds like this robin

And more butterflies

and more, except this might be a moth.

And yet another butterfly. And a bonus wasp hovering over.

Some decent trails

Wildflowers

More Trails.

And a turtle at Pepsi Lake.

So almost four miles

Plus my Merlin App picked up: Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, and Tufted Titmice on my outing.

What a special day. Thank you to the nice people at the Herman and Kate Kaiser YMCA for making the day special.

I am linking to Through My Lens

Gordon Parks’ Photographs at Philbrook

One of the many things I like about museums is that I learn stuff that I didn’t know before. I mean I learn things that I had no clue about. A recent trip to Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum taught me something. It was about a photographer named Gordon Parks. I had never heard of him before, but it turns out he was a major talent. You can read more about the exhibition here.

He was born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1912 and had a rough life. (Check out his Wikipedia page.) He bought his first camera when he was 28 years old and taught himself how to take photographs. He went to work as a fashion photographer at a woman’s clothing store. He eventually opened his own portrait studio

He specialized in portraits of society women. He also photographed the life of African Americans in Chicago. He eventually worked for the government in various capacities. After World War II, he became a freelance fashion photographer for Vogue Magazine. Then later for Life Magazine.

Parks also directed films. He wrote and directed Shaft, a detective film and several others. He had a very productive life and died in 2006.

The thing about photographers is that they have that “eye” for things. They can take great photos regardless of the equipment they are using. I used to work with a woman who had that eye. She would win the company’s photography awards using just her phone for a camera.

That eye is everything. The exhibition at Philbrook lasts until early June.

Through My Lens – The Tulips of the Tulsa Botanic Garden

I have fallen behind on some of my posts. Sorry about that!! Back in March, the family decided we would like to go check out the tulips at the Tulsa Botanic Garden.

We went on a beautiful, sunny, and nearly windless day. The wind always blows in Oklahoma and take photos of Tulips as they sway in the breeze is frustrating! No such problems the day we went.

They had tulips, here, there and everywhere and I took dozens of photos. They were all the colors you can imagine and types.

So I will spare you.

Tulips are very special. They are delicate and come in delicate subtle colors.

And shapes

And some in pots.

I couldn’t figure out which were my favorite. They were all my favorite is what I thought.

In amongst all this someone was doing a photo shoot of a young woman in a beautiful gown. I’m guessing that it is a Quinceanera Dress. Whatever it is. It was beautiful.

Whew, I can breathe easier. I got my tulip post out of the way!

I am linking with Through My Lens.

Daffodils at Tulsa’s Woodward Park and Teaching Garden

This is my second post about the Daffodils at Wooward Park. The first time the flowers were kind of sparse. This second time they were a lot more abundant and filled in looking.

I never get tired of seeing the Daffodils. They are the first sign of spring and seem like they are up sooner than what they should be.

Most of the time they are hard to photograph because the wind is blowing too hard and they end up fuzzy looking. Today though the day was calm.

Used to be people would pick them and take them home, or often just pick them and then leave them.

Or sometimes women would show up with a selfie stick and all dressed up. They would brush their hair and take selfies. Hey, fine with me, they were not picking them. I have never seen guys do that though. Maybe I should except I would have to skip the step of brushing my hair since I don’t have much. I’ll take the matter under advisement for next year.

I liked this group of three, with one hidden

And this group of four with one hidden.

This is a small grouping at the Teaching Garden

Some daffodils along with a Redbud Tree: Oklahoma’s State Tree.

And some lonely tulips to finish off with.

These daffodils are long gone. I’m a little late posting this.

I am linking this with “Through My Lens”

Through My Lens – A Visit to Carmichael’s Pumpkin Patch

Sunday afternoon the family traveled from Tulsa down to the country outside of Bixby to Carmichael’s Pumpkin Patch to pick out the family pumpkins for Fall.

We saw some greedy goats.

And some cute little goats. At what point do they turn into shameless beggars?

We saw a lonely, humiliated chicken sharing its space with a rabbit and a tiny little pumpkin.

And a pot bellied pig looking a little frazzled trying to take care of her youngins. (Youngin is a word in Oklahoma just in case you are wondering. Other words have disappeared. Nobody knows what a Democrat is here any more. Except for some old timers who don’t really want to talk about it too much.

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And we saw brahma cow. aaaa

And a few llamas.

And some youngins making a little selfie nest in the pumpkins. Aren’t they cute. I wasn’t the only one taking pics of them making a selfie. Look at the lady across the way.

Oh yeah, we did find a couple of pumpkins!!!

Linking for the first time with Through My Lens

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