Wordless Wednesday - Midtown Doors

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Ruby Tuesday - Reds vs. Blues

Youth soccer has become as popular as Little League baseball.  But it is not for the faint of heart as indicated by the grimace on the face of the coach seen wringing his hands from the sidelines.


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Macro Monday - Golden Yellow Rose

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SOOC - Saint Nicholas

Last Sunday was the Sunday closest to December which is Saint Nicholas day for those liturgical churches that keep track of that sort of thing.  As it turns out, because of my white beard and robust figure I have been called upon to represent both Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas on many occasions and have excellent costumes for both characters.  Actually, both costumes represent the same character separated by about 16 centuries.  In any case I was dressed up in my finest Cope and Mitre and played St Nicholas after church while an skilled photographer took photographs of any and all who wished to pose on St Nick's knee.  The lovely woman in the picture above is none other than my dear wife Susan.

Merry Christmas!



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Black & White Weekend - Rail Fence

Booker T. Washington National Park, Virginia


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Skywatch Friday - Las Vegas

Early morning view from the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas Nevada.

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Thursday Challenge: Communication - Djembe Drum

This is a Djembe drum from Ghana, West Africa.  I have several such drums and this one I play every Sunday Morning with the music ministry at my church.  The interesting thing about a djembe is that the tone varies depending on where you strike it.  A sharp slap near the edge gives a high pitched sound while a open palmed stroke at the center gives a much lower sound.  Using the flat of the hand or individual fingers one can produce a surprising variety of sounds.  This is one means of communicating with a drum.

You will notice that the head of this drum has been covered with calligraphy done on the goat skin head with Sharpie pens.  Beginning at the top center and spiraling around the head in a clockwise direction are a number of prayers, scriptures, and blessings whose common element is that they have some personal meaning to me.

The graphic in the center is made of a single red line which loops around and reconnects with itself. The single unending line would remind us of the never ending love of God, or of infinity.   The basic pattern contains four lobes which reminds us of the cross of Christ.  On each arm are 3 loops which remind us of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In a sense when I play the drum, as the sound rises up from the drum head, the prayers rise up with the sound.  So the drum communicates is several ways.  At least that works for me.  If you want to read the writing, start at the top center, and follow around until you arrive at the center.  Please be careful that you do not strain your neck, or drop the monitor while rotating it. ( :-)}  Have a good week.

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Wordless Wednesday - Midtown Doors

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Ruby Tuesday - Crossfire Roadster

Chrysler Crossfire Roadster.

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Macro Monday - The Last Rose

Despite several night time dips just below freezing I still have a few roses.  The summer flowers have turned black and shriveled up but the roses are tougher than that.  It won't be long and everything will go dormant.  Enjoy 'em while you got 'em.

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Happy Birthday to Susan

Today (Friday) was Susan's birthday and we celebrated by going to dinner at Bonefish Grill.  There a lot of Bonefish locations in Florida and on the east coast but only one in Oklahoma.  The food was excellent and our server Nick surprised the birthday girl with a really classy treat.  Thanks for a very nice evening.

Skywatch Friday - Bridges across the Arkansas

Looking northwest up the Arkansas River from the pedestrian bridge we see the bridges which connect downtown Tulsa with the western part of the city.  The red arrows in the images below are pointing to this cluster of bridges.  Click on the images to get a larger view.

While we are talking about bridges, it should be noted that there are no less than 5 spans crossing the river at the same location.  In the sky view on the left are the rail crossing, then the west bound lanes of I244/I75, the east bound lanes of I244/I75, the remains of the US66 bridge known locally as the 11th St bridge, and Southwest Boulevard to West Tulsa.

In the view on the right we see the network of exchanges that comprise the Inner Dispersal Loop.  I must confess to you that I have lived here most all of my life and I still am not confident that I can thread my way through all of these on the first try.  The key is to read the signs carefully and pray that you are in the right lane.

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Thursday Challenge: Doors - Midtown Tulsa

This week's challenge is "doors".  As I often post photos of doors on Wednesday it was easy to move my door photo out a day.  Tulsa is a city of lovely old homes.  The near southeast we refer to as "midtown" and I visit this area often as it is not far from where I live.  I admire brick houses like this and am partial to red doors.

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Oasis in Iraq

My son David brought this photo back from Iraq.

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Macro Monday - Hungry Koi Fish

The Koi in the pond at Philbrook Art Center are quite accustomed to being feed a handful of crumbs tha;t when a visitor stops to look at the fish they hurry over and get into position for a treet.  They look exceptionally well fed but still, one hates to disappoint such a lovely fish..

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SOOC - The King of Beasts

Tulsa has a nice zoo located in Mohawk Park north of the city.   Our big African Lion is looking regal as always.

Straight Out Of the Camera (SOOC) is a meme for photos that have not been tweaked or altered. In other words, straight out of the camera.

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The Indoor Pool at Hearst Castle

In October of 2004 we visited Hearst Castle while in Monterrey visiting out son Paul and his wife Beth.  They took us to the spectacular Hearst Castle, built by newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst.  This is one view of the indoor swimming pool.

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Skywatch Friday - Desert Sunrise

My son David just came home from a visit to Iraq with the Oklahoma Air Guard.  While he was there he took a few photos that he shared with me.  It is very seldom that I post a photo that is not my own but I think this sunrise is exceptional.  Thank you Sgt Miller.

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Thursday Challenge: Soft - Purple Fountain Grass

I really like ornamental grasses, but I have never planted any in my flower beds.  I resolve to remedy that.  These were part of the beautiful Cantigny Gardens in St. Louis.

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Wordless Wednesday - Midtown Doors

What interested me most about this handsome old house was the neatly trimmed ivy around the windows.

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