Okie Sister

O - K - L - A - H - O - M - A

"Where the waving wheat can sure smell sweet."

 

Oklahoma is absolutely beautiful right now with miles and miles of fertile wheat fields, as far as the eye can see.

 
This year’s crop looks mighty bountiful.

 
Weather conditions last year were less than favorable for area farmers, so this season’s dry heat was a welcome blessing.

The harvesters or “Wheaties” are starting their summer journey. Beginning in Frederick, Oklahoma, they cut their way north across our glorious state’s farmland.

 

This field is still a little green.

 

Almost there.

   

 Perfection.

 

 After the harvest.

 

"We know we belong to the land.
And the land we belong to is grand."
"Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay!"

Tales From A Neglected Flowerbed

Here’s what to plant for those of you that have grand ideas of gardening, but in all actuality, hardly ever water or take care of your plants.

Dianthus, or “Pinks” as my momma used to call them. These hardly little beauties are drought tolerant and come back every year.

As do these Columbines. Aren’t they pretty. I just love the blue color.

Lambs ear are soft to the touch. You do have to trim these back, because they can take over an area. I like their gray color against the other green plants.

Surprisingly, my Peonies have flowered the past  few years. These have to be staked up or they will fall over and break because they are top heavy.

 
My Iris plants were so heavy this year that they fell over on the ground. They need to be thinned out.

My Clematis is blooming in spite of being all bunched up. It’s a climber and needs more trellis to stretch out on.

So, that’s just a few extremely hardy plants that can stand up to the Oklahoma heat and my neglect.

When The Bough Breaks...

Things To Do This Spring

1. Trim trees in front yard  

 

Tree next to house falls at 2:30. 

One hour later the tree out by the street starts losing branches.

This is what the back yard looks like.

In the middle of these branches is my power line.

You know those videos about icebergs, where a large chunk of it breaks off into the ocean and makes a catastrophic crashing sound as it falls? Well, that's what it sounds like outside right now.

Snow expected later...

 

White Christmas

I picked a good day to take off work. However, I had things I wanted to do today that involved leaving my home. That's not going to happen. Too bad I didn't get to the grocery store when I was out yesterday afternoon.

 

I'm sitting here watching the worst winter storm I've experience in a very long time... maybe ever! I don't recall being in a Blizzard Warning before. The wind is absolutely howling, 47mph gusting to 62. First it rained, then there was sleet, and now it's a blowing snow storm. It's 26 degrees and dropping fast. Wind chill 7.

If I still have electricity at the end of the day, this Christmas Eve, it will be a "Christmas miracle." Good thing there's Nog!

November what?

Several years ago I planted a climbing rose bush outside my bedroom window. First I cut back the two honeysuckle vines on either side of it. I thought eventually these would intermingle and form a lovely spring landscape. Who knew the temperature would be in the seventies in November?  My rose bush has never been lovelier even without the honeysuckle.

 

Yesterday was the perfect day for an outdoor concert and chili cook-off in Medicine Park, OK. The weather was perfection. The chili was not bad either. 

Blueprint

 

Take A Hike!

After I had hip surgery, I told everyone that I planned on hiking in the Wichita Mountians Wildlife Refuge during the summer. They all thought that sounded rather ambitious. Well the summer was too dang hot, but today was the day.

Here's the trail I followed.

I'm glad this rock face didn't get me.
Get it, it's a rock that looks like a face.

At the top was a spectacular view of the lake below.

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I'm glad I cut the first peony of the season and brought it inside to enjoy.

Afterward, the torrential rains arrived in Oklahoma and spent the past two days beating every living plant and flower into the ground.

It's been a long time since I've seen so much water.

Included in this was about two inches in the corner of my den that Hubby was trying to get up with the wet-vac about 1 a.m. this morning.

It's never a dull moment at our house.

Five Weeks

Tomorrow marks five weeks since my hip replacement surgery. I’m posting this today because I will be out of town Wednesday.

This past week has been a difficult one for me emotionally. I was so tired. I finally took some medication and slept most of Friday night and well into Saturday morning. Then I didn’t get dressed or do anything all weekend. Plus, I drank a chocolate milkshake one day and ate apple pie the next. I know, dreadful... I must have been hormonal.

Hubby and I finally got caught up on about two years worth of Heroes episodes. I’m convinced shows like this are better when watched in a shorter period of time. Wish, I would have done this with Battlestar Galactica and Lost.

I’m wanting to just get up and walk already. It’s been so long since I’ve walked correctly that I’m having to practice now by chanting “heel, toe, heel, toe.” It’s easier when performed the proper way. I’m still using the cane for support. I’m just so anxious to have my life back. Slowly but surely. I’m sure this will all be a distant memory very soon. At least I’m driving now.

I need some new tennis shoes; ones that don’t have to be tied. I didn’t even think about this before surgery.

Went to a birthday lunch for a friend of ours at El Chico. Hubby and I rarely frequent the eateries in the mall, which is weird since it’s right by our work. I think it has to do with parking. We had a good time with these folks; shared lots of laughs. They brought the honoree a sopapilla after dinner, minus honey. Where was the honey, you ask? They were out of it. I never have understood this at restaurants. Don’t you know where a grocery store is? Last week Hubby went to Subway and they were out of ham. Out of ham, can you believe it! Why were they even still open. Luckily, I had ordered chicken.

Yesterday afternoon, I ventured out into the back yard. I missed the blooming of my hyacinths this year. They were spent and sad looking. Rain or watering might have helped their journey. I was pleased to see that my rose bushes and the clematis both had new leaves. (Although, I had to look up a past blog post to remember the name Clematis. All I could remember was what Hubby calls it, Chlamydia. Not exactly the same thing.)

 

Clematis - 2008

There is so much work to do out there. Inside too, as everything is covered in a layer of dust. Dusting has not been a priority; too many other things to tend to. Hubby and I discussed what we were going to do about flooring in the family room this spring. I’m so wanting to get to all my unfinished projects. At least that four foot stack of magazines I had saved for my recovery has diminished. Anytime I can clear a stack of junk around here, it’s good news.

With the words from a poet...

Look who came back this morning.
I thought they were wintering in Texas.

Two doves meeting in the sky
Two loves hand in hand, eye to eye
Two parts of a loving whole
Two hearts and a single soul
Two stars shining big and bright
Two fires bringing warmth and light
Two songs played in perfect tune
Two flowers growing into bloom
Two doves gliding in the air
Two loves free without a care
Two parts of a loving whole
Two hearts and a single soul

Ice Day

What is it about being stuck at home that makes you want to snack all day? So far I’ve had my morning coffee and French toast for breakfast. Several minutes later I was back in the kitchen nosing around the cabinets and sticking my head in the fridge. I came out of the kitchen with a banana. Several minutes later, back in the kitchen for a repeat performance. This time I have a bite of peach cobbler. It’s only 10:30. Am I really hungry or just bored? Why do I keep picking up that package of chocolate chips and dreaming of hot cookies appearing from the oven?

The oven... the warm oven on a very cold day. Hubby talked of cleaning it last night. I never smelled anything burning, so he probably ran out of time. If I turned on the self cleaning feature now, my house would stay toasty warm for the next three hours. Too bad it will stink like heck.

Speaking of stink... today is the first day I've thought about making a fire in the fireplace. If it weren’t for the smell of smoke and the burning ashes to clean up later, I would want to light one. Oh yeah, and the trip into the cold for firewood is a turn off too. It is raining ice outside. Looks like snow, sounds like rain, but it is ice. I would love to have one of those electrical fireplace inserts in this brick wall instead of this wood burning fireplace. Just press a button and you have a warm smoke-free fire. Sounds romantic too, doesn’t it?

You know what else sounds romantic? Baking your Sweetie chocolate chip cookies. I’m just saying...

 

Sister Sightings (12)

Tech Stuff: I’m loving me some Google Reader these days. I finally discovered enough blogs that I enjoy reading, that I had to get them all organized on one page. I was very jealous of Bloggers feature of updating their blogrolls. “Don’t know if this here TypePad has that ability or not. If it does, I reckon I ain’t figured out how.” I picked this particular reader because Hubby and I already have a shared calendar on Google.

Okiedoke is hosting the annual Okie Blog Awards. Oklahoma bloggers can nominate and vote on their favorite Oklahoma blogs. The site has links to many fellow Okie bloggers.

TV Alert: What could possibly make me watch Barbara Walters? The Swayze. Yep, Patrick Swayze in his first interview since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Wednesday night ABC will air “Barbara Walters Special - Patrick Swayze: The Truth.”
I wonder if she will ask him important questions like, “What kind of tree would you be?” Can you tell I’m not a big fan of the Ba-Ba Wa-Wa? I used to be. I think it has something to do with that awful The View show. I’ve never been able to watch that mess. A major pet peeve of mine is over-talking, which these ladies do all the time. If everyone talks at once, nobody can be heard. Which, for them, is no great loss. The show's concept was supposed to be different women with different points of view. In reality, it’s Elizabeth’s point of view against everyone else’s collective liberal point of view and one airhead that doesn’t have a point of view. Basically, I don’t relate to any of these women. They don’t represent me or anyone I know in lifestyle, morals or values. The end.

Racy News: Indy driver Danica Patrick ended the year as she began it, receiving another speeding ticket in Scottsdale, Arizona. Danica was clocked doing 54 in a 35 mph zone. She paid the $196 fine on Wednesday. The last ticket, for doing a whopping 57 in a 40 mph zone, sent the race car driver to traffic school, which Okie Sister finds extremely amusing. Wouldn’t a better punishment be to have her do community service and teach the defensive driving course? Or here’s another idea, maybe the Scottsdale police could stop targeting her Mercedes. Jealous much? Granted Danica shouldn’t be breaking any traffic laws, but don’t you think every cop in town knows who she is. She wouldn’t be a danger driving through your town at three times those speeds. Which she is NOT doing by the way. Maybe they just like pulling her over to talk to her.

 

Field Trip: The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge will conduct “In Search of Eagles” interpretive programs for the general public during January and February 2009. Participants will be taken by bus into the Special Use Area, where they will search for bald and golden eagles. Bring your binoculars. Call the Visitor Center, (580) 429-2151, for dates and time.

 

In Memoriam: It was tragic news this week to hear of the passing of Kelly Preston and John Travolta’s son Jett. No parent should ever have to bury their child. I’m sure there will be a worldwide outpouring of love and condolences to this family. May that bring them some comfort at this time.

What do you possibly say to a grieving parent? No words come to mind that don’t sound like clichés. What about all the parents out there that don’t have adoring fans? How do they cope?

Locally, another sixteen year-old child died this week. Cache, OK high school student Paige Bivans was thrown from the pick-up truck she was traveling in when the seventeen year-old driver lost control while speeding down a rural road. Paige was the only one not wearing a seatbelt. Paige was an honor student, active in many school clubs, sports teams, and her local church group. She had worked this holiday season at the mall in Lawton as one of Santa’s elf. She was a beautiful young woman. Such a tragedy.

'Twas The Night After Christmas

2:25 a.m. Loud crashing sound from another part of the house. I bolt upright in bed. “What was that?” I ask very loudly. Hubby investigates and then announces, “Ansel Adams fell off the wall.” “Did it break?” I ask. “No.”

This is the addition the previous owners built.

This is the brick wall that used to be the back of the house before the addition the previous owners built.

This is the brick hook that was attached to the brick wall that used to be the back of the house before the addition the previous owners built.

This is the Ansel Adams picture that hung on the brick hook that was attached to the brick wall that used to be the back of the house before the addition the previous owners built.

Personally I would have covered this brick wall with sheetrock and made it look less like an addition. That is one of the items on our to do list; along with painting over this room’s white walls. How long have we lived here now?

What made this picture jump off the wall? Did we have an earthquake? Why are you laughing? You didn’t know that there is a fault line running through Oklahoma. Yep, it’s called the Meers Fault and it’s located somewhere out there in the Wichita Mountains. I felt the big one on April 28, 1998. The seismograph located inside the Meers Store recorded it as a magnitude 4.2. It felt like my house was doing the wave.

Here’s a very weird coincidence, the picture hanging next to the Ansel Adams picture that hung on the brick hook that was attached to the brick wall that used to be the back of the house before the addition the previous owners built, is a drawing of the Meers Store. Spooky.

Later in the morning I checked and there were no reports of quakes in the area. The last earthquake was December 1 in OKC. So what happened? Did we have a nocturnal visitor? What? I meant the Ghost of Christmas Past or some other spirit trying to get our attention. Maybe someone wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas.

Or maybe this is just a case of delayed vibration from someone’s big o’ Fred Flintstone feet stomping through the house one too many times. Anyway, I should be used to banging in the middle of the night. Huh?

At least once a week, I’m startled awake by the sound of the newspaper smacking up against the front storm door. When the dogs hear it, they run to the front door barking. Oh good times! But what am I going to do? Call and complain? I don’t think so.

"Hello newspaper office. Yes, when the carrier diligently delivers the newspaper three hundred sixty four days a year no matter what the weather conditions directly to my front door at 3:00 a.m. so that I don’t have to walk down my driveway in the morning to retrieve it wearing my housecoat and slippers like Barry Switzer does in Norman; instead all I have to do is open the door and reach down. Yeah, could the carrier do that more quietly please?"

Obviously, that phone conversation will never take place. Some things you just don’t want to complain about. Like when your husband comes home from Sam’s Club with a new microwave because your old microwave’s door no longer opened with the push of a button and you really needed a new microwave that works well and doesn’t omit a high pitched humming sound all the time. But this new microwave is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and barely fits underneath the cabinets while it’s sitting on top of the countertop/workspace that you now have very precious little of remaining. So you just say, “Thanks. Wow, honey, that’s really something.” Knowing that you will pay him back when you finally get around to remodeling the kitchen (also on the to do list), because you now get to add on an addition to accommodate said microwave. Something like that.

3:00 a.m. I’m listening to the sound of the wind chimes blowing on the front porch. Obviously the weather is changing from the balmy mid 70’s of the previous day. I seriously thought I was going to have to turn the ac on before bedtime. It was 69° when I turned in at 12:30.

I realize that my hip is feeling achy. I’ve learned this year that cold temperatures make arthritis feel worse. This discomfort should all be gone with my upcoming surgery. The last two days were warm and pleasant. I was able to move freely and accomplish a lot around my house. I didn’t make the connection between the two until I was laying there unable to go back to sleep.

3:06 a.m. Cricket’s paws hit the side of the bed. She ducks under the covers.

3:07 a.m. Howling winds begin, followed by lightening and torrential rain. Is that hail I hear?

3:08 a.m. Cricket tries to crawl inside my body. Reminds me of the scene at the beginning of Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker crawls inside the belly of the Tauntaun he had been riding to keep from freezing to death on the ice planet Hoth.

So then I’m thinking about Star Wars and I start to chuckle remembering a conversation Hubby and I had a few weeks back. We were eating lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Julio’s. He commented that if he owned the place, he would paint a giant mural on the wall. A mural of the inside of a cantina.

Cantina? Who says cantina? The only cantina my geeky mind could think of was the one from Star Wars where Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi go to hire Han Solo and Chewbacca to transport them off the planet Tatooine. It’s called the Chalmun’s Cantina and is located in the pirate city of Mos Eisley. It’s famous for these crazy musicians named Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes. They look like this.

 

So Hubby and I are discussing how funny it would be to have the Star Wars Cantina Band painted on the wall morphed into a Mariachi Band wearing big sombreros. I about blew salsa out my nose thinking how hysterical that would look. Only at the time I was also having a Sela Ward moment and couldn’t for the live of me actually remember the name of the Star Wars cantina where Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi go to hire Han Solo and Chewbacca to transport them off the planet Tatooine. That recollection came a week or so later after reading a reference to a Jawa in my brother’s blog. Yes, this really is how my mind works. Frightening isn’t it? But what else are you going to do at 3:15 a.m.?

3:25 a.m. It’s storming so bad at this point that I feel the urge to turn on the local news to see if I need to DUCK. That’s what our local weather guys here in tornado alley say during storms. D for Downstairs. U for Underneath something. C for Center part of house. K for Keep away from windows. Or just follow little Cricket’s lead.

Dish network has lost the satellite feed. That’s helpful.

3:27 a.m. Stomach is making growling sounds now, so I head to the kitchen for a bowl of delicious Kellogg’s Fruit Harvest. This cereal has strawberries and blueberries and turns the milk an interesting lavender color. It's Smurf-tastic!

 

3:30 a.m. Internet connection is still up, so I check the local weather map. This storm will pass within the hour. I head back to bed. Next, I’m out finding treasures at garage sales ...zzzz... bought some lamps, and then I did other stuff ...zzzz... I don’t remember now.

7:36 a.m. I’m awakened by the sound of Hubby opening the front door to retrieve the newspaper. As I hear him immediately remove the rubber band from the roll, I know all is as it should be. “Wake up, sweet Cricket. It’s morning.”

You're Hot, Then You're Cold

Today was some kind of “freak of nature” day. Well, maybe not for here in SW OK. We Okies do have a favorite saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” Hubby was outside raking leaves this afternoon. He was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. I saw that the temperature had reached 78°. I filled a large mug with ice water and took it to him. “Hydrate... or...diiiie,” I said in my scariest TV villain voice. Well, actually now that I’m repeating it, it sounds more like someone from the WWF. “Prepare to be… annihilated.” I’m pretty goofy like this, and heavily influenced by my television.

Anyway one hour after I was sitting at my desk with the patio door open listening to a gentle breeze blow leaves across the back deck, I started shivering. I closed the door and checked the temperature again. It was 50 and falling fast. The sky was gray and the wind was howling like a wild banshee. Little Cricket was stuck to my side like glue. Tonight’s low will be around 20° and tomorrow’s high will only reach about 30 with a wind chill making it feel 15 or so. That’s Oklahoma folks. Get out the Kleenex.

Brrrr

Baby, it's cold outside...

 

 

Catchin' some rays...

 

Dogs as far as the eye can see

Endangered? Protection sought for black-tailed prairie dog

That was yesterday’s headline in the morning newspaper. It seems a wildlife protection group wants a review of the Cynomys ludovicainus to see if their status has changed in the past four years.

The only change here in Lawton is that there are more and more of the little critters running around Elmer Thomas Park. They have no natural predators like wolves and fox in the city, so they are multiplying like crazy. If measures hadn't been taken in the past to control them, they would have taken over the city by now.

So please, if they are scarce were you live, come collect some of ours. And no, don’t ask the citizens to pay for capturing and shipping them to you. They’ve already checked into that and found out it costs a fortune. So if you want them, I’m sure the city would be happy for you to have them. But only if you are going to take good care of them, because look how cute these rodents are.

 

Oh Dear!

So Hubby has been coveting a $1000 zoom lens for his camera for some time now. That’s a lot of bucks. Or should I say doe?

Why the deer analogies? Because this occurred while driving in the country this week.

 

Click photos to enlarge.

The sight of that deer flying through the air was just magnificent. Now even I want the zoom lens.

Any ideas on how to turn his love of photography into a paying gig?

Click here for samples of his work.

More shameless bragging: A photo he shot made the cover of the city's Art Council magazine. Here's the before and after.

   

 

Walking in High Cotton

Hubby and I drove over to neighboring Cotton County. Wonder why it’s called that? Could be this stuff….as far as the eye can see.

White fluffy balls of cotton ready to be harvested.

Really picturesque against an adjoining wheat field.

This cotton is ready to be loaded on the truck and shipped to the gin.

Yes, that really is a mountain of cotton.

What a beautiful state I live in.

 

 

As life went on and years went by
I saw the light in daddy's eyes
And felt the love in mama's hands
They kept us warm and kept us fed
Taught us how to look ahead
Now lookin' back, I understand

We were walkin' in high cotton
Old times there are not forgotten
Those fertile fields are never far away

- excerpt from "High Cotton" by Alabama

He's Back

Old Man Winter, that is. My sister’s favorite time of the year.

Thursday the wind was blowing about 50mph. We are talking about garden planter, metal yard furniture toppling wind. I sat in my office shivering all day with my fingernails turning purple.

This event begins with the nonsensical changing of the clocks every fall. Suddenly you are driving home from work at the end of the day, trying to beat the setting sun. You can’t understand why you are sweating, but it’s because you had the car heater on that morning. You switch it over to a/c. Of course, the next morning you are freezing because you are half way to work before you realize you still have the a/c on. It’s a vicious cycle. Until it becomes freezing cold every day.

Then you have to turn on the home heater. At our house, this is followed by the smoke alarm going off. And no, the dogs did not run outside to safety. That disgusting “first heater smell” takes about a day to wear off. Next your skin dries out from the lack of humidity in the house. The dogs cringe when you go to pet them because they don’t know if you are going to “shock” them with the static electricity that’s built up.

You rush to the salon to stock up on hair products (for fly-a-ways) and the pharmacy for lip balm, lotion, tissues, and cold products. You sit around sniffling all day, waiting for your nose to start peeling from blowing it all the time. You get that little dangling piece of skin at the opening of your nostril that makes you look like you have a permanent booger.

Yes, winter….such good times.

The grass is dead, all the flowers are dead, the trees are bare. It’s too cold to get outside with the dogs. You think twice about every event outside the home, weighing how much you want to go against how much you enjoy staying warm. Also you have to consider the time and energy it takes to de-ice your car prior to any outing.

You see how far you can drive on empty before completely running out of gas, because you don’t want to stand outside in the wind to fill up. Plus I get shocked every time I get out of my car, so I also get to worry about exploding at the gas pump. Whoopee! (while writing this post, I found a gadget to eliminate this.)

I especially love those days when the wind is so strong you can’t get out of your car because it keeps blowing the door shut…sometimes on your leg. Carrying anything, like a bucket of mail into the post office, also become a challenge.

Some folks like the winter because of the holidays I guess. The dreaded holidays….when you spend all day cooking for a houseful of people, who spend all of five minutes eating, and then you are left with two day’s worth of dishes to wash. Or you spend money you don’t really have, at crowded store you don’t want to be in, for present you don’t know if the recipient will like. What’s not to love about all that? Look, I know some people love this “most joyous” time of the year….I’m just not one of them.

Here’s the five things I do like about winter:

• Days off work
• Soups, stews, chili, and other hot foods
• Hot chocolate with tons of marshmallows
• More days off work

And the number one reason I like winter:

Wearing gloves everywhere, so the Monk in me doesn’t have to touch anything

.

This blog post brought to you by SAD. I proud member since 1990.

Sister Sightings (10)

In Memoriam: Oklahoman Tony Hillerman passed away Sunday October 26th in an Albuquerque hospital. He was born May 27, 1925 in Sacred Heart, OK in Pottawatomie County. He was a decorated WWII veteran, returning from France with two shattered legs that never stopped causing him pain. He was a journalist, educator, and author, best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels.
“The teacher at Sacred Heart’s one-room school house was rumored to be a member of the KKK, so Tony and his brother were sent to St. Mary’s Academy, a school for Indian girls. It was there that he developed a lifelong respect for Indian culture and an appreciation of what it meant to be an outsider in your own land.”
He and his wife Marie raised six children, five of them adopted. Hillerman worked at one time as the city editor for our local paper, The Lawton Constitution. He was inducted into the OK Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993.

 

Randy Stotler passed away September 29, 2008. Randy was an award winning photo journalist for The Lawton Constitution newspaper.
“He had the ability to capture the essence of life through his still photography. He was proud of his Animal Shelter photos, which led to the adoption of many pets. He was a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.”
(For another sample of Stotler's work, see the photo on my About page. Yes, Randy took that shot of me and my husband in Elmer Thomas Park.)
Yesterday a memorial was held at the park by his friends and colleges from the paper. Next to Lake Helen, they remembered their friend and planted an oak tree in his honor.

 

 

TV: The Discovery Channel's show "Storm Chasers" is back for another season. Look for the TIV (tornado intercept vehicle) that was built right here in Lawton, OK. The TIV looks like something right out of Mad Max and certainly turns heads when it's parked on a city street.

Fine Living Channel has a new series called "Whatever, Martha!" The premise of the show is Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis and her friend Jennifer Koppelman Hutt watch old segments of Martha Stewart Living and make wise cracks at Martha’s expense. It’s pretty funny. It airs on Tuesday nights.

Did anyone catch the episode of "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader" with guest John Tyler Hammons? Remember, I told you about Hammons when he became the 19 year-old Mayor of Muskogee, OK.

 

All I Got Is A Photograph: I snapped this photo somewhere west of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refugee. I say “somewhere” because I actually had no idea where I was driving at the time, much to my husband’s chagrin. We had a lot of laughs though, wondering aimlessly through the countryside. The white flowers are actually a weed, but they look pretty when there is a whole field full of them.

 

 

Update: Thank you Tammy for the plant identification: Euphorbia marginata or Snow on the Mountain. Here is a close up picture.

Silver Lining

A cold front moved across the state yesterday. I know because I saw it for myself, just before sunset.

 

 

 

The winds began to howl and the sky quickly turned from brilliant blue to menacing gray.

 

 

And just when it looked bleakest, a break in the clouds for a blinding last peak at the setting sun. Glorious!

Ducking Out

No random musings or pearls of wisdom today. 

I've been busying working on my family tree.

So, I leave you with ducks. Why? I don't know.

I just thought this picture turned out good.

 

If you don't like the weather, wait a minute

When I left work this afternoon the sky was starting to look a little ominous. We Okies know when "a storms a brewin". My first thought was of Cricket dog, who is afraid of bad weather. Well, maybe that was my second thought, because I saw these clouds and immediately sang out, “The Simpsons….!”

Half way home it started pouring, and the streets were flooding, and people were creeping along doing almost 20.

Three blocks from my house the sky broke loose its fury in the form of hailstones. It was so loud I could no longer hear my radio.

Some idiot passed me on the left and sprayed a wall of water over all the cars in my lane. Of course they now all slam on their brakes because everyone is blinded. Fifteen minutes later, I arrive safely home just as the sky clears and the sun reappears. A rainbow peaks out and disappears before I can even park my car and grab my camera.

 

Inside, the dogs are happy to see me as usual. Cricket attaches herself to me. Like I said, she doesn’t like storms and usually hides under the covers.

The rain is welcomed. The leaves were already starting to fall from the trees in my back yard. The balloon flowers are backlit by the break in the storm.

The trumpet vine casts his shadow on the trellised fence.

"Raindrops on roses and …..these are a few of my favorite things."

Lola peers out from beneath a chair on the deck as if to ask, “Is it safe to come out now?"

"I think I left my toys out in the rain.”

“You think?” Their favorite game is to empty the toy basket inside and drag each toy outside, one by one. It is a very rare sight to see one going back the other direction.

I love the clouds and the blue, blue sky.

I thought the patch of sky in this shot looked like the outline of the United States.

 Seeee…right there.

Oh look a bird!

Look A Tree!

I’ve said before that sometimes I see things a little differently than other people. While driving through the Wildlife Refuge recently, I had to stop and snap a shot of this tree for my younger brother.

While some of you may just see a tree, I’m sure he will agree with me when I visualize one of these guys:

   

Crow T Robot and Tom Servo from MST3K.

No Class

Watching the coverage recently of hurricane Ike down in the Gulf, made we wonder yet again about the sanity of the news media. I still don't understand why these programs make their reporters stand out in the rain and swirling debris to give us the storm story. It seems really stupid.

I was searching my blog for a favorite video clip and realized that I had put it in an email and not online. Does anyone remember the show "The Class"? It was a terrific comedy program that used to air right after "How I Met Your Mother". I still can’t believe it was cancelled after only one season. Again, nobody asked me. Those Hollywood nimrods wouldn’t know a good show if it ... well, you know. Anyway, watch and enjoy. Repeat.

What's Her Name

Happy Birthday, Sela Ward.
Around our house we say "Sela Ward" a lot. You know how sometimes you have a word on the tip of your tongue, but just can’t quite remember it. That happened in our house several years ago when one of us was trying to recall the name of an actress. Hours or days later (I don’t remember which now) it finally popped out of the blue..."Sela Ward!" We both laughed. So now whenever we can’t place a name or a word, we just replace the real answer with "Sela Ward" until we can think of the correct one.
Sela was fantastic in the TV series Sisters and Once and Again. Most recently she was seen on House.
I’m sure what she is most proud of is creating an emergency shelter in her home town of Meridian, Mississippi for abused and neglected children awaiting placement in foster homes. Talk about using your celebrity for good.

 

We Okies are fascinated with tornadoes. I personally find them very exciting, but I don’t know if I could ever be one of those folks who chase them around the state. That’s pretty brave. Here’s a couple of awesome photos that have arrived in my email recently.
This one came from my father-in-law. Oil Rig - April 3, 2008 Lariat #2 Sandridge Energy south of Ft Stockton, Texas.

My older brother send me this next one. June 10, 2008 9:04 p.m. Orchard, Iowa taken by Lori Mehmen from her front door.

 

On another note, the three day weekend gave me a chance to catch up on my recorded races. Now I can read the sports section of the newspaper and all my favorite NASCAR blogs. Good thing, since there is a lot going on right now with drivers moving to other teams or signing contracts to stay for more years in their present rides. The most exciting news is Mark Martin moving to Hendrix Motorsports next year to drive the #5 car full time. My husband and I are big fans of Martin. I think this will be a good move for him, as it was for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Got to go now, the Nationwide race starts soon.

Cattails

As a little girl, I used to collect cattails when we went on our family outings to Elmer Thomas Park. I would bring them home and display them in my bedroom. You can preserve them by coating each one with hair spray. When I forgot to do that, they would explode their fuzziness like dandelions all over my room and mom would get upset.

Inspirational View

I'm not feeling too inspired to write lately. Maybe I need to go back to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and sit up there on top of Mount Scott again.    (click photo to enlarge)

Neighbors Bug Me

They’re back! These nasty little red bugs are all over my front porch and drive. They come from my neighbor’s tree.

 

This tree is right on the corner of the property. There is no reason whatsoever to have a tree growing there. When it was smaller, I used to hack off the limbs sticking out over my trash cans. Now, it is too enormous. The roots grow up under the fence and the corner of my house and driveway. If a storm should break a branch, it would surely fall through my roof. Plus, it must release some kind of seed, because I'm forever pulling up little trees out of my flowerbeds.

These are the same neighbors that have a giant cottonwood tree in their back yard that I’m allergic to. I get stuffy each year when it starts snowing down the cotton. This crap gets all over my yard and clogs up my air conditioner unit on that side of the house.

These are the neighbors on the other side of the eight foot fence that we built around our back yard; whose boys still manage to bash the side of my house with baseballs.

"Please, won’t you be my neighbor?"

Cow Whisperer

My daughter was in town for the weekend. Saturday afternoon my husband and I took her for a scenic drive in the country. That’s about 10 miles southwest of town. My husband had been wanting to capture some photos of the area wheat harvesters in action. If you’ve never seen this yearly event, I have to tell you, it’s a beautiful sight. We sing about the "amber waves of grain" but not all have experienced their color first hand.

Well, we found mostly fields that had already been cut. Only two farmers had their John Deere’s in action. As our crazy luck would have it, they were both on the west side of the road. So taking a picture meant you were pointing straight into the blinding afternoon Oklahoma sun.

Along the way, we stopped to admire this herd of cattle huddled up in the corner of a pasture. I snapped a couple of photos of the "moo cows." I liked seeing the Wichita Mountains in the background. "For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plains."

I can also see the blue west side water tower. That’s pronounced "water-tire" for all you non-Okies. The cattle of course are kept in with barbed wire fencing. Repeat after me, "bob-wire."

I noticed that all the animals had ear tags with numbers on them. See this one. I’ll call it Bo, because it's a perfect 10.

Then I spotted the obvious "brown cow of the family."

 

"Number 366, could you step forward please," I joked.

Imagine my surprise when it did just that.

"Just one more step forward please. Thank you."

My family cracked up and my husband started calling me "The Cow Whisperer." Who knew I had this bovine calling in me.

I Like Lichen

It was a beautiful 95° day yesterday in SW Oklahoma. The kind of day that makes you want to drive out to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and drive up the winding road to the top of Mount Scott. It was well worth the effort as I was rewarded with beautiful views of prairie grasses and flowers growing amongst the lichen covered granite boulders.