Archives for category: Nature

Views from the hills…Oakland, California

June 26, 2015 //

This month, I returned to Oakland, California, to visit an elderly aunt and cousins of a friend of mine. As an Okie, California is the land where people from my state went in hopes of a better life when the seemingly never-ending days of dust storms and depression wore them down. Today, I survey the crazy state of California with love and wonder and, always, a shake of my head. What a place of natural wonders, bountiful harvests, oceans, mountains, deserts and total craziness. That’s just the Okie in me speaking, of course.

Oakland is across the bay from San Francisco and my friends live high above the city, up curvy, narrow streets, in the Piedmont Hills area, maybe beyond that. These Okies moved here after the war, World War II, and purchased the place for $15,000. They also purchased the lot next door and planted the giant redwoods that tower above them today. The lots seem to go straight down. I guess all the coastal people who live on the sides of hills want to be there, even though it’s a long drive up, not to mention bike ride or hike, to the nearest store or, coming up the hills, for help to arrive in case of emergency. But Californians are outdoors people. They ride horses, bikes and hike everywhere. I’m digressing because I really want to share this fun trip with you. I got to do so many interesting things that it will take a few blogs to do it justice, things that aren’t always on the top of the tourist list. This was more about exploring.

First, I want to share the beauty of the home we stayed in. When you drive up, all you see is the garage. When you look out the front door, here is the view…where is the street? Just keep going up the stairs…maybe 30 of them. Imagine getting your groceries down there – or furniture or anything else. The other side of the house shows the three levels. There is an apartment 10 steps down and then the main level another 15 steps down. You can get to the bedroom level down another staircase and then to the rest of the yard, which then goes down, down, down into thick growth. Here are the stairs that I walked up over and over in the dark and rain from the main level to the apartment to the street. You do adjust…You know what? It’s a magical place. The trees alone are incredible, planted by arborists when these hills were first populated. Before then, the hills, these steep hills were clear. I can tell you that planning a house on a steep hill is something that doesn’t appeal to me, no matter how many beautiful homes I’ve seen in the Hollywood Hills, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Oregon. I’m not enough of a mountain goat. But, then there are these signs we passed every day, curving up the road to the house… And the wonder of hearing a rustle beside you as a mother and fawn wander into the patch of yard…And, the best part of this place is the incredible view, the view that mesmerizes you every minute of the day as it changes and changes and changes. I couldn’t walk anywhere without my camera, trying to capture any of its beauty. My hostess said she has never tired of this view she grew up with. You look over Oakland, over to San Francisco, with Oakland Bay bridge and the Golden Gate bridge in the distance. And, sometimes, this was the view…I’ve been to Muir Woods and heard my hosts talk of the big Redwoods right up the hill from their home. For some reason, we didn’t realize that there is a park, a beautiful regional park, a few blocks from this home where these now middle aged Californians, born of Oklahoma parents, grew up, riding their horses and hiking all the day long. In this park are the remnants of some of the largest California Redwoods, once so tall that they were seen from the sea and used by the sailors to navigate the area. The trees were logged after the San Francisco fire and after the quakes, but are now protected. This was a hidden gem during our stay, a place to walk where the big trees once stood and where their offspring shoot up around the former stumps, forming circles of trees, called “Fairy Rings.” Once you understand why the trees are in circles, you can stand inside the ring and envision the size of these giants. You can look up to see the light and stand in the forest, imagining the forest as it once was.
And so the latest California adventure began…with the view and in the trees. Hope you’ll share the rest of the trip with me.

Tags California, California Redwoods, Oakland, Oakland Bay, Piedmont Hills

Categories Friends, Nature, Photography, Places, Reflections, Travel

The Birds

June 18, 2015 //

In 1963, the year I graduated from high school and left for college, Alfred Hitchcock scared us all to pieces when he released the now classic film, “The Birds.” If you saw it back then, you remember. At the Delman Theatre in Tulsa, birds (parakeets) were released in the balcony while we watched, adding to the horror. I’ve seen it since and it makes me flinch, even when I see the special effects.

Several years later, I was home with a toddler, pregnant again, when two Chimney Swifts flew down our chimney, landing in our family room. All I could think to do was call my husband home from work to get them out of there. Remember that scene with the birds coming down the chimney?

I’m a big fan of birds and still have the bird handbook I had as a kid. The back pages are full of the birds I spotted, listed in my precise printing. I like birds. Really.

Last year, I wrote a blog on the baby Mockingbirds who were flopping around my yard. I actually formed kind of a bond with the parents, standing in the yard and talking to them while they watched over their babies. I kept the cats away as much as I could and the babies flourished. I also wrote a blog on the eagles nest this year – more proof that I really do like birds.

This year, the Mockingbirds were out again. I never saw the babies, but the parents were out there watching the cats every time they left the house. I think those birds were fine with me. They were soon replaced with another set of Mockingbirds. I’m assuming this is a different couple because too much time had passed for the first couple to still be worrying about their babies.

The current couple is loud and aggressive, possessing a lot of attitude. I can hear them outside, see them conferring while they sit on the telephone lines. It started with one of my cats trying to nap on the glider on the deck. I give him credit for not backing down. He is determined to have his naps despite the harassment. The birds wait for him to come through the door and immediately begin. It doesn’t matter what time I let him out or how dark it gets, I see or hear them out there. They take turns. You can see them changing positions. Sometimes the bird on duty swoops down and follows the cat so closely that I have to slam the door so the bird doesn’t come in the house. Yikes!

I walked outside the other day to take pictures…notice the bird squawking above and the cat’s ears down. The bird has actually flown down to sit within a foot of the cat. Gutsy.

I didn’t think the cat was reacting until I took photos and noticed he was hissing, mostly in annoyance.My other, bigger cat, the brother of this one, won’t even go out the back door. He shrinks and looks around for the birds. The other day, I returned from errands and pulled into my driveway. As I was getting out of the car, the bird was in the tree, watching me. Really creepy. A couple of days later, I was at the kitchen sink and the bird flew towards the window at me, swooping up as it realized there was glass there.

I wonder if this would be as creepy if I hadn’t seen that movie? Dang you, Alfred Hitchcock! I’m ready for this little drama to be over!

Tags Alfred Hitchcock, Mockingbird, The Birds

Categories Nature, Photography, Reflections

Spring

May 3, 2015 //

Winter evolves into Spring with the most dramatic and the most hopeful of changes. In the city, there are beautiful flowers and trees, but most of them have been specifically planted for the effect. Not that I don’t love seeing the gorgeous azaleas and flowering trees and popping flowers. I love them!

I’ve been through some long sad winters in my life, life changing seasons when I had to trudge through loss and hope I could make it into the next phase. But Spring always comes along to brighten my outlook. Always.

This year, I’ve had the lovely experience of driving a state highway at least once a week, making the changes in the countryside even more dramatic. One week there was snow, the first week in March. A couple of weeks later, I noticed the trees were fuzzy, small leaves pushing their way out. By the end of the month, we were having warm days, punctuated with the kind of clouds we watch explode in the sky, the ones that show the atmosphere is in turmoil and we have to watch carefully. The beauty of the massive clouds can easily turn into dark skies with swirling tornadoes dropping towards earth. A week after I see the leaves pushing at the ends of branches, I’m overwhelmed by the sense of the baby green colors of the trees around me as plant after plant shows its new colors.

Then the redbuds bloom in the forests, our state tree showing its colors, fuchsia and white, wild along the roadways.

The ground is turning from brown to green for the babies, calves and colts, that arrive. I drive into a mass of young green…the lacy profile of the branches from winter is filling in…

We still have wild skies and are enjoying a rainy season, needed for all that grows from the earth…The Cimarron River is filling and the trees along its bluffs are softer…I call this the “Sky Barn,” a place I see from the road at a country intersection.

And then, there was color along the roadsides, Indian Paintbrush starting to bloom.

Over the past two weeks, the flowers are spreading and growing brighter as I suddenly see fields of the wildflowers…

And other flowers are coming, purples and whites and yellows along the way.

The baby greens of early spring are now lush shades of deep green, the trees full. And my heart is full of hopeful new feelings. Welcome Spring!

Tags Cimarron River, Indian Paintbrush, Oklahoma, spring

Categories Nature, Photography, Places, Reflections, Seasons

Earth Day Every Day

April 22, 2015 //

Celebrating Earth Day makes me remember all the beauty of our own country that I’ve seen throughout my life. In the darkest of times, standing in nature has restored my soul so that I had the strength to go on, not knowing what would come next. I can’t imagine the future for our/my children and grandchildren and great-grandchilren and all who are to come if we cannot preserve the natural beauty that has us as it’s greatest threat.

Recently, I was sad to read that this has become a political issue in our already divided government houses. A majority of our senators voted to sell our national forests. The fact that they could vote for this, even if they think it could never happen, shows a decided ignorance of what can happen if we don’t all speak out. A development is threatening the rim of the Grand Canyon, a place that should be sacred to all of us. There’s a list of the senators who have voted against our forests in this article: http://unofficialnetworks.com/2015/04/republican-senators-just-voted-to-sell-off-your-national-forests

There’s not much I can say, but I can share some of the photos I’ve taken through the years, photos of places I simply never want to forget, places that touched me in my heart and all my senses.

Denali Highway in Alaska…

Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park

A beach in Naples, Florida

Ross Creek Cedars in Montana

Talimena Drive in Oklahoma

Yosemite National Park in California

Butterfly on wildflower in Montana

Sweet Creek in Oregon

Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Oklahoma

May we celebrate Earth Day today and always…

Categories Family, Friends, Nature, Reflections

An Eagle Family

March 28, 2015 //

We love to see eagles soar, but I love watching them nest even more. I’ve watched eagle cams, cameras placed by eagles’ nests, before, sometimes with tragic storylines, and am always fascinated. It’s reassuring to watch the parental instincts kick in and know that we share some of those traits with other species. And baby eagles are cute, like all babies.

This year, I’ve been watching the eagle cam in Hanover, Pennsylvania. All of my screen shots have this credit:

Image courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission, HDOnTap and Comcast Business)

The eagle cam website is: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1592549&mode=2

When I was in high school, our team mascot was the Eagle and our publication of student works was titled Eyrie, which is the name for an eagle (or other large bird of prey) nest. So I’ve been watching this Pennsylvania eyrie from the comfort of my home office on my computer or iPad for the past few weeks. It started with the eagle on the nest being covered up to her neck in snow as she sat patiently waiting for her two eggs to hatch. This week they both hatched and today I started my day with the treat of both parents in the nest with the babies.

When I first tuned in, the mother (the larger of the two birds) was sitting there, looking around with her eagle eye, and watching snow start to fall again. I’m sure her thoughts (because I’m relating her to my experiences as a mother) are “Snow!!! Again??? Dang!” At one point, she peeked under herself like she was telling the babies to stay still. Later she actually snapped at the snow, catching some for a drink, I suppose. And the wind began to blow her feathers. They’ve fixed the nest up pretty nicely, as I watched them rearrange the grasses before the eggs hatched. And they’ve been stocking up on fish. There’s a wing there, too, so I’m guessing they got a smaller bird. Anyway, there’s plenty of food around.I didn’t have to watch long before the father showed up. The expression on eagles’ faces is always stern, so it’s hard to tell if the mother was happy or not. I have to go with their body language, I guess. He hung around, looking like he didn’t know what to do and then picked up a stick, a large one. And then he moved it to the other side, getting in the mother’s face to do it. Not hard to interpret what she was thinking here…She got up at that point. I mean what else is she going to do with wiggly eaglets underneath her and him rearranging her nest right in her face?The eaglets turned to the mother for food, of course. I’m not up on my eagle parenting and I had a husband who helped me with babies, so I’m not sure if this father is the norm, but he stood around looking like he didn’t know what to do while the mother started feeding them. He had picked up the fish and brought them home, to his credit. Big fish! He was walking around, watching the mother feed them when the camera stopped, which it does every once in awhile. I just checked again and he’s gone and the mother is back on the nest. I love to watch her settle down on the babies because she rocks side to side while she gets in position, appearing to be rocking them to sleep. That’s my interpretation, again based on my own motherhood.

What a unique experience it is to be able to watch a live feed of these mighty birds as they raise their babies. I know it can get seriously sad because there are so many things that can happen to babies before they leave the nest, but it is so very engaging to watch them go through it. The eagles stare towards the camera sometimes and I wonder if they sense they are being watched. Their expression is the same mine would be if I saw a camera there, but that’s always their expression.

Please take time to visit the website and watch this family – soon!!! The babies are growing. I guarantee it beats what’s on television most of the time! Really!

Tags Eagle nest, eaglets, eyrie, Hanover Eagle Cam, Pennsylvania Game Commission

Categories Entertainment, Family, Nature, Reflections

Fuzzy trees and other signs…

March 13, 2015 //

A week ago I drove through the countryside which was accented by stark snow-covered branches against the sky. A week later, just a week, I drove through the countryside on a cloudy, rainy day and noticed a difference. The tree branches looked fuzzy on the ends. I realized that the leaves were starting to bud.

And then the week brought more signs. There were wildflowers in a patch by the road, a little color. Suddenly, cows were standing on green patches. When the sun came out, it was warmer. I got a sunburn watching a grandson play baseball.

There may be more winter to come, but, for right now, Spring is definitely beginning to push Winter aside. The cycles of nature are a continual source of hope for us all.

Tags spring

Categories Nature, Reflections, Seasons

Frosty Day

March 3, 2015 //

The nice thing about Oklahoma is that you never know what the weather’s going to be, so we get to experience a little bit of everything, short of hurricanes. We opt for tornadoes instead. We’ve had a mild winter, especially compared to the east coast, so when we get a little snow, it’s mainly an annoyance.

What do you call it when you get a couple of inches of snow and it’s more than a dusting and less than a blanket?

I drove from Tulsa to Stillwater on Highway 51, the old highway I used when I was in college with a few improvements to make it a little safer. I like the turnpike, but this road has so much nostalgia for me. I like it. The roads were clear, but the views were snowy. I was taken with the tree limbs covered with snow early in the morning.

On the old two lane highway between the Arkansas River and Chandler Park, I drove through snow covered rocks and hills of snow covered trees on one side and an icy river on the other. I didn’t have my camera, but I had my iPhone, so I would pull over and take pictures as I drove along. So much for getting to my meeting on time. I was mesmerized with the beauty of the winter landscape.

Eventually, I pulled into a drive, turned around and was struck by the sun trying to break through the icy sky…

I wish I were the kind of writer who could take you there with wonderful words, but I also believe in the power of photographs. I’m a fan of both. Here are some beautiful trees…

And that wonderful sun was still trying to break through…

I turned down a few country roads…just because… Wonder what critter walked under the barbed wire gate?

The ghost town of Ingalls in the snow…

Something about the tiny general store gets me…

Some unexpected views from the road…A landmark ruin…And black cattle on the white snow.That sun never broke through so the drive back home was cold and frosty, with fog at the end. I did stop on the bridge to get a shot of the beauty of the Cimarron River. What can I say? Sometimes the dreariest days have their own beauty to lift your spirits…

Tags Cimarron River, Ingalls Oklahoma, rural Oklahoma

Categories Nature, Photography, Reflections, Seasons

Pillar of Strength

February 21, 2015 //

My family has gone through some pretty scary illnesses, the kind that bring an outpouring of responses from the people around you. During this most recent episode, there were lots of people who prayed and kept us in their thoughts. Having been through it before, I have strong feelings and have kind of come to terms with my feelings about it.

I never pray for someone to be healed or for miracles, although I do believe miracles can happen. The reason I don’t do that is because it puts God or whichever power you pray to in the position of making decisions on who gets a disease or gets hurt and who gets healed or spared. If you and all the people you know pray and it doesn’t work, does that mean you deserved it or didn’t pray hard enough or what? Why would I think that my family deserves to be damned or saved any more than anyone else, that we would be the chosen ones today or flicked away tomorrow? Why would I want to feel like my God let me down if it doesn’t work out? I can guarantee you are mad and scared and floundering and wishing there were someone to blame or yell at and I really don’t think it needs to be God. You are shaking your fist at nature and all the variables it brings to our lives.

What I’ve learned is that the power of prayer and wonderful thoughts is very, very strong because there is no way you can’t feel the energy from all the good vibes that are being sent your way. You and your family are wrapped in love and it sends a strength that makes it possible to deal and live with the challenges you are facing. That is something you can’t underestimate.

When you face something that challenges everything you hold dear, you need every bit of inner strength you can muster. We have reserves built through years of learning and loving and being loved that need to be reenforced with the knowledge that you have others who will pick you up when you feel like falling down. It’s important.

You also build up these reserves by sending love and concern to others when you feel strong and they feel weak. They will return it to you when your positions are reversed. I don’t care if someone says they pray for me or have me in their thoughts or light candles or send a card. It all helps.

If you’re going to live a life of faith or strive to be a good person, you are going nowhere unless you learn to love others, even those who aren’t so obviously lovable. I think that’s what all the great religions, writers, thinkers, songwriters, poets and artists tell us.

Thanks for all the good vibes, prayers, thoughts and messages that have come our way through the years. I look forward to being able to send the love right back to you.

Tags prayer, Strength

Categories Family, Friends, Nature, Reflections

Sun to Sun

February 8, 2015 //

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears
Fiddler on the Roof

My heart captures the sunrises and sunsets my camera can’t. They fill my memories with beauty as the years go by, framing each day I’m here to enjoy. Stunning beginnings and endings to days of our lives. Spectacular because each one is different, no matter where you are. Memorable because we don’t have them every day. They stop you in your tracks.

The sunrise in the first picture greeted me this morning through the trees.

This sunset lit up the sky recently. Sharing an Oklahoma sunrise and sunset…

Enjoy the overwhelming beauty wherever you live or travel.

Tags Oklahoma, sunrise, sunset

Categories Nature, Photography, Reflections

Okie in Oregon #3

October 13, 2014 //

It was hard to leave the central coast of Oregon but time to come back. I never tire of watching the waves crash around me, so we went up the coast to get back to Portland this time. One more look at crashing waves, please. We drove up the coast, leaving Highway 101 to hit the coast drive to Cape Kiwanda… and Cape Lookout, both with their views and beach warning signs. Believe me, I wasn’t planning on going off any cliffs.The final Cape was Cape Meares, which was the most delightful of all. Besides the views…there was the Octopus Tree, a 300 year old Sitka Spruce tree that fits into my memorable trees collection.And the shortest lighthouse, at 38 feet, on the coast.My tour was interesting, giving me insight into the life and work of the lighthouse men of our past. Not an easy job. This one had the original glass for the clear sections, beautiful in the sunshine. We headed back to Highway 101, stopping in Tillamook, where barn quilts decorate buildings all over town. I wasn’t familiar with this until this summer, so now I’m looking for them when I travel. Here are a few I saw. I can’t go to Oregon without getting Tillamook Ice Cream, the creamiest ever. Besides they have wonderful flavors like Marionberry Pie and Huckleberry. Tillamook Cheese is a destination, a farmers’ co-op where you can watch the cheese being made, shop and eat, tasting all the flavors of ice cream, milk and cheese. I can get the cheese at home, but not the ice cream! I always have to stop, joining the crowds who share my passion.Our next stop was at one of the amazing beaches in the world, Cannon Beach, home of Haystack Rock. On this particular day, it was sunny and warm. People were sunbathing in Oregon in October. I had to stop at both ends of the beach for the beautiful views of the rock. Here’s looking from the south to north. And north to south with the rock shining in the late afternoon sun. You can’t imagine how big this thing is. And how big the beach is. Incredibly beautiful. And fun.I got a clear shot of Tillamook Lighthouse, perched on its lonely, dangerous rock, from the beach, looking north.Although I could have dawdled all day on the beach, we were trying to reach Astoria by dark, so we headed north. It was late in the day, but we were able to go to the top of the hill where the Astoria Column, concrete carved with the history of the region, sits. I was too tired to climb the 168 steps to the top, but the views from below were incredible and the column is an incredible piece of art.Looking towards Astoria, you see the bridge that takes you from Oregon to Washington, and you feel chills thinking of the Lewis & Clark expedition charting these waters. Looking to the view, where the mighty Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking in its importance. On the other side of the hill, the Youngs River and the Lewis & Clark River enter Youngs Bay before joining the Columbia. The charming city of Astoria is the oldest settlement in America west of the Rockies. I’ll return for more. I did love the trash cans in Astoria, symbolic of one of the major industries of the area.We headed east to Portland, leaving the coast behind us. The next day, we went into Portland for the underground tour, which was very little underground, but a lot of colorful history of the wild and wooly days of early Portland. Very fun.I’ve been to Portland various times in the past five years, enjoying the diversity and casualness of this beautiful city. We had a wonderful tea and late lunch in one of the few Chinese restaurants left in Chinatown. I really wanted the Hung Farlow to still be open, but they are saving the sign. Portland has the signs saying “Keep Portland Weird,” just as Austin has signs that beg us to “Keep Austin Weird.” I’m thinking “weird” is just a word for being open to everything. There were more homeless than I remembered from my last visit, but just as many colorful people, trying to be as weird as possible or to fit in however they can. It’s part of the charm really. We finished our tour and joined local friends for a fun Thai dinner, watching the sport of Sepak Takraw, a combination of hackey sack and volleyball, on the television. We’d passed the famous Voodoo doughnut place on our tour, but stopped at the second location on the other side of the river to stock up on the notorious doughnuts. We HAD to have this Portland experience and included one Voodoo man doughnut in our box for fun. The next day, our final day in Oregon, we traveled to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. It was a beautiful day, warm even at 6,000 feet, and the views were spectacular.Timberline is an old WPA lodge and everything inside is hand made from local materials, including the furniture, drapes, hand wrought iron, carvings. The building, used in the opening shots of “The Shining,” is a tribute to the craftsmen and women who worked in the program, not only grateful for jobs during the depression but showing deep pride in their creations. It was a total delight. The six-sided fireplace, made of local rocks, runs up through the three stories of the main lobby, with three fireplaces on two levels.I loved the scenes carved in linoleum on the walls of a meeting room.The views of Mt Jefferson and Mt St Helens in the distance were lovely.And the mists over the hills gave us the layers of blue against the clear sky. The top of Mt Hood was rocky, but they continue to manicure the dusty snow for the skiers we passed coming and going up the mountain.Our Oregon trip ended with meals with friends before we headed back to Oklahoma the next day. This Okie left with more lovely Oregon memories to fill my senses. Okie in Oregon. That’s me.