Sunday Bridges - US 66 / I 40

To retrace historic Highway 66 takes some doing.  From Oklahoma City through New Mexico US 66 roughly parallels Interstate 40.   Except that I 40 runs straight while US 66 wanders just north of I 40, then south.  Where it is still in use for local traffic that means US 66 frequently crosses I 40 back and forth through a pair of underpasses.  The temptation is to bypass the old road and stay on the 4 lane, but that would be cheating.  We passed through a number of these little crossunders when we retraced Route 66 from Tulsa to Santa Fe in October of 2009.

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Black and White Reflections - Pottery Object

Seen in a shop window in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The name of the shop is REFLECTIONS.

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Skywatch Friday - The Setting Sun

Here is another view of the sun going down behind the Arkansas River.  But then since I live just east of the river it is hard to see a sunset any other way.

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Thursday Challenge (Metal) - Southwood Nursery

The arched roof of Southwood Nursery is part greenhouse and part showroom.  The metal framework supporting glass panels and shady screens give this a bright open look that is inside and outside at the same time.

Thursday Challenge collection

Wordless Wednesday - Doors with Dogs

A fine modern home near Westhope with front doors flanked by handsome bronze Greyhounds.

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Ruby Tuesday - Japonica, Flowering Quince

A relative of the apple, the quince is admired for its bright red spring flowers and sharp thorns.  The thorns make this a good choice for a barrier hedge.  It does set some fruit which are very sour and can be used to make a fine jelly.

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Macro Monday - Pansies

Pansies are a winter hardy flower in more  temperate zones and will even tolerate snow cover for short periods.  They are the result of cross breeding and hybridization of common violets.  In Oklahoma they are often planted in the fall and will winter over to bloom vigorously in the early spring. Pansies come in a wide cariety of colors and sizes.  These are a few of the pansies available at Southwood Nursery in Tulsa

They are the subject of a superstition held by American pioneers. It was thought by many that “a handful of violets taken into the farmhouse in the spring ensured prosperity, and to neglect this ceremony brought harm to baby chicks and ducklings.

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Sunday Bridges - Highway 51 Bridge

Oklahoma State Highway 51 bridge over Lake Fort Gibson, 6 miles east of Wagoner, Oklahoma. Fort Gibson Lake is located on the Grand (Neosho) River about 5 miles northwest of historic Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, from which it draws its name. It is about 7.7 miles above the confluence of the Grand (Neosho) and Arkansas Rivers. The lake lies in Wagoner, Cherokee, and Mayes Counties and extends upriver to the Markham Ferry Dam (Lake Hudson). 

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Weekend Reflections - Lake Fort Gibson

Lake Fort Gibson east of Wagoner, Oklahoma.

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Skywatch Friday - Sky Across the River

The western sky from 47th and Riverside.  One block west of my house.  I like the way the trees are silhouetted against the sky.

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Thursday Challange - Many (Cars)

Many cars in the parking lot, in the reflection.  Citiplex Towers, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Thursday Challenge collection

Wordless Wednesday - Doors to Westhope

The front entrance to "Westhope", a Frank Lloyd Wright home built in 1929.  This is the only Frank Lloyd Wright structure in Tulsa and one of only 3 in Oklahoma. 

"Westhope" 3704 South Birmingham Avenue, Tulsa, OK.  Built in 1929 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Richard Lloyd Jones

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Ruby Tuesday - Saucer Magnolia

The Saucer Magnolia, (Magnolia Soulangeana), is one of the earliest blooming of the ornamental trees.  It holds its blooms for a week or two then drops its petals to form a pink carpet under the tree.

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I am 70 and we had a party

Tuesday March 1 was my birthday but we waited until Sunday to have a gathering.  We had over 30 friends and relatives show up to eat and greet.  There were kids and grandkids, friends from our church, and friends from the Kairos Prison Ministry that both Sue and I are part of.  I spent much of my time holding my newest granddaughter Wren and talking with my other two granddaughters Sarah and Hannah.  

 
Sarah Alston Miller is 16 and my oldest grandaughter.  Wren Alston Miller is my youngest granddaughter and is one month old.  Alston is an treasured family name.

Sunday Bridges - Old Frisco Bridge

The old Frisco Railroad bridge over North Denver Avenue.  The year 1930 is embossed in the center of the span.

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Black and White Reflections - Great Blue Heron

This fellow stood very still at the edge of a small pond up in Mohawk Park.  I watched him as he stepped very slowly out into the water.  He leaned forward intently then snapped his head forward and down and came up out of the water with a small fish wiggling in his beak.

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Skywatch Friday - Signs of Spring

After a record snowfall and a soaking rain we have enjoyed several weeks of warm sunny days.  Buds are swelling in the trees and the early grasses are greening up.  Although it would not be unusual for us to get a late snow we are sliding surely into spring. 

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Sepia Scenes - Refinery View of the Tulsa Skyline

Tulsa's familiar skyline is put in another context here.  We are on the west side and and looking across the Arkansas River at downtown Tulsa through part of the large oil refinery on the immediate west side of the river.  This facility works 24/7 cracking the crude oil which is pumped out of the ground from a number active oil wells in the Tulsa area and much more piped in from the surrounding area.  Tulsa is still an oil town.

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Wordless Wednesday - And I am 70

My sons David and Luke treated me to lunch at the White River Fish Market.  March 1 is my birthday.  When I was 58 I suffered stage 3 colon cancer and was given about 2 years.  I wondered if I would make 60. Now I am 70 and doing pretty darned good thank you.  Over the past 12 years I have met and married a fine sweet lady and to the best of my ability have made the most out of my life.  Every day is a gift.

We told our server that this was a birthday lunch and she treated me to a lovely slice of cherry cheesecake which we shared. It's all good.

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Ruby Tuesday - Cardinal

Nothing brightens a bird feeder like a male Cardinal.  When I was a kid we called them Redbirds and understood that they were off limits to BB guns.

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