Wild Skies over Oklahoma

Looking to the west from my office on the 17th floor.

Thursday Challenge - Compressor Station

Natural Gas Compressor Station near Greenfield, Oklahoma. Compressing natural gas from wells drilled in the Cana Woodford Shale Field in Canadian County. From here the gas is sent to a  processing plant to remove water vapor, ethane, propane, butane, and natural gasoline. The  gas is then suitable for domestic, commercial, and industrial uses. The recovered components are liquefied and sold to chemical plants and refineries.

Check out Thursday Challenge. This weeks theme is "Technology."

My Dog Pierre

When I pulled up in the parking lot of the Equestrian Facility where SuperPizzaBoy is taking his Hippotherapy Sessions my dog Pierre ran to greet me.



Pierre is one cool dog. Of course I had never seen this dog before in my life, but he knew that he was my dog and was ready to jump in old 666BOI and go home with me.



Because Pierre knew that he was my dog and he had never seen me before in his life.

Of course we couldn't go home right then and there because we had to watch SPB in the arena.

Are you wondering what I'm talking about? Well let me tell you a story.

Way back when, just before the last of the dinosaurs died out, young Yogi and his family lived in the Ranger Station at Payson, Arizona. We lived in a government issue cinder block house. Here is Yogi with his siblings. (Isn't Yogi's sister cute as a button?)



About every two or three months on a Saturday morning when we were all still in bed, Dad would yell, "Here's Pierre!" and we could hear these dog toenails click clacking down the government linoleum in our hall and run into the bedroom I shared with my brother and jump up onto our bed and just go crazy jumping and licking and barking. It was a magical joyous occasion when Pierre showed up.

Being the little kids that we were we never wondered why or how Pierre got to our house. We just knew that he was there for a little while and then he was gone.

So whenever I see a Basset Hound, I know what his name is and I know that he is mine. And he knows that his name is Pierre and he is mine.



But I have never taken him home.

Hippotherapy

SuperPizzaBoy is doing something new. Hippotherapy, defined in this article as:

"...using the horse as a treatment tool to accomplish therapeutic objectives such as improving balance, strength and motor coordination in providing autism teaching strategies to develop motor and other skills in students with autism. Unlike therapeutic riding, therapists do not focus on teaching riding skills..."



He is taking it at the Rogers State University "Bit by Bit" program. Read more about it here.



Last night was his third class and the only the first I attended. There were about five kids of varying age in the class. Each child had a horse and was attended to by two to four volunteers. The class was led by a therapist who had the kids do various exercises and maneuvers on their horses.

Let me just say, there were lots of smiles.

I'm a fan of Bit by Bit.

My World - Legoland

The family took a trip to Legoland and found ourselves in New York?

Please check out My World Tuesday

Town and Country School,Tulsa

The following is a news report that aired recently about SuperPizzaBoy's school here in Tulsa.



SPB has Asperger's Syndrome a type of autism. The school almost literally saved SPB. He was not flourishing at Union Public Schools. His teachers labored mightily to help him as did the Special Education teachers. The Administration though was totally indifferent.

Anyway, he is a happy bright kid who loves learning and he loves the school where he is doing great. The school is expensive and we are not eligible for the scholarships discussed in the video but that is OK. I don't know of a better use of our money than getting our child educated.

Today's verse is from Proverbs 2:6

"The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." (KJV)

Check out my friend Baloney for more photographs (and videos) and text.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Botanica

From Wichita's beautiful Botanica.

Check out Shadow Shot Sunday

A Day Off #2 and an Adoption Story

I work a 9/80 schedule. In other words I work 80 hours in 9 days over two weeks. So I get every other Friday off. I love it!!!! Sweetie and I generally spend it together and we spend it doing fun stuff.

This Friday, after I took SuperPizzaBoy to school, we had breakfast and puttered around the grocery store for a little while. Then we loaded up the bicycles and headed off for the Arkansas River trails.

The River Parks in Tulsa are beautiful. They are one of the great features of the city.





It was a perfect day, warm, dry, sunny.



I just love cranes, don't you??? A new restaurant is being built over the river. It is going to be way cool when completed.



Sights on the River.



Old Route 66 marks the north end of the River Trails.



I always like to go by the "Bear Fountain."

Afterwards we refueled on Diet Doctor Pepper, dropped the bikes off, picked up our Pomeranian, Rascal, and went to pick SuperPizzaBoy up.



Hey Bud, if you had a better day than we did, you had a great day!



Nope, we are not at the end yet. Sorry, I know that I need to get my story told in 5 seconds, but you have stuck around this long, stick around a little longer. I promised an Adoption Story and that is coming up!

SPB is having his friend Nick over for a sleepover so we went to pick up Nick. I love picking up Nick, he and his family are very nice and they also have critters.



They also have dogs, cats, chickens, peacocks, and Guineafowl. I posted about the helmeted guineafowl last week.

Well, today I got to talking to Nick's Dad. He said one of the peacocks had laid some eggs but they never hatched so he want to a farm supply store and got some guinea eggs and substituted them for the peacock eggs.

Well, the eggs hatched and the peacock acts like the mother of the guinea chicks and the chicks think the peacock is mom. It is hilarious. I got a little close to the chicks and Mom was hollering at me, she was not happy at all. Sorry about the blurry photo. It was the best I could do without totally stressing her out.



What do you like to do on your days off?

Skywatch Friday - Sky River

Back in August, I was geocaching in Wichita, Kansas' beautiful Pawnee Praire Park walking down the trail shown above. When I turned around the sky looked like a blue river winding through the trees.

Versatile Bloggers

I'm so happy my friend Baloney has given me an award!!!

Isn't it pretty I love it. But in typical Baloney fashion she has given me some homework. (That's the former school teacher in her you see)  I have to reveal seven truths about myself and then give the award to seven other bloggers. So lets get to it.

The Seven Truths

I hate science. Just cannot stand it all. You see science is all about facts, data, analysis, and theories, and you actually have to show your data and analysis. Worst of all before you can publish your data and theories you have to let other scientist review your work. How dreadful! Its just a lot easier to have Glenn Beck tell me what to think about stuff like Global Warming.

And besides what matters is my feelings about things, just ask Oprah, she's on at 4!



I hate Sports - I really do. What's the point? Point me to a good quilting show instead.



These girls tried to tell me about something called the Dallas Cowboys.



They don't look like boys to me. What do you think?

For some reason I ended up being the team blogger. I even have my own locker.



I hate going out into the woods. There is this thing called Geocaching that is just so lame. Why on earth?





Gardens, They are just so dreadful.



The allergies kick in just thinking about it.

I hate art. I just don't understand why people like it. I mean anybody can paint. Just go to Hobby Lobby and get one of those paint by number kits. Same thing.



I hate eating at nice places



I mean, what's the point? Meat and potatoes for me, preferably fried. Yep that's me.

I hate running!!



Hey look there is SuperPizzaBoy in a race



And look there is Baloney, and my wife Sweetie, Go Ladies Go!!



I especially hate trail running, you never see anything good!





And many runs have this horrid practice of serving beer to the runners.



I just cannot believe anybody would drink beer at 9 in the morning after running several miles. Runners are just awful, don't you think?

And I"ll add an eighth truth. I do this with trepidation. Baloney is a stickler for the rules and she is liable to jerk that award away from me and then where would I be? Awardless and alone that's where. But I'm going to risk it.

My eight truth is that I am very positive person.

Now, I get to inflict this on seven unsuspecting bloggers. Lets see, who has made me mad lately? Hmmm.

The Real Housewives of Oklahoma - They are awesome. Check it out. Baloney is one of them (Mrs. Priss is her handle there.) - So right back atcha Baloney!

Bill at Tulsa Gentleman - Bill is a very creative blogger and a great photographer and genuine all around nice guy. He, SuperPizzaBoy and I are trying to get a disk golf game going soon.

Dawn's Diversions - Dawn is another RHOK star. She has turned into media superstar lately. She is a champion commenter.

My Sister Ellen of News of the "Pole Yard" I know that its nepotism but she really has a nice blog describing the life of her and her family out on the Colorado prairie.

An Oklahoma Granny - Check Granny out, she blogs about her life. She is a good and interesting writer and a great commenter.

Ken at ...Miles to go before I sleep - He is a running blogger with a great sense of humor and big heart. Ken is an ultra runner which means distances over a marathon. He has run 100 mile races!! A genuine nice guy.

Sarah at Brit Gal in the USA. Describing the adventures of a Brit married to "Hubster" in northwest Oklahoma. She is a US citizen now!! Great photographer, great sense of humor. And she and I have a mutual acquaintance it turns out.

There are just so many bloggers to choose from.

Watery Wednesday - Centennial Park #3

Another shot of Centennial Park adjacent to downtown Tulsa.

Check out Watery Wednesday

Mellow Yellow Monday - Sunflowers

Check out Mellow Yellow Monday.

Isaiah 12:2

"Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation."

Check out my friend Baloney for more pairings of image and scripture.

The Best American Short Stories 2009 Edited by Alice Sebold

I bought this book last Fall but didn't read it until recently. You know how it goes, so many books, so little time. I love short stories and I have been reading this series since the mid 8's. The 2010 edition should be coming out in October or so.

This year's edition has some great stories.

"The Idiot President" by Daniel Alarcon -(No, it is not about W!)

"Rubiaux Raising" by Steve de Jarnatt - A story that incorporates the war in Iraq and hurricane Katrina.

"Hurricanes" by Adam Johnson - (One guess which hurricane it refers to .)

"Modulation" by Richard Powers - This story about music and viruses, and musica piracy is brilliant.

"Them Old Cowboy Songs" by Annie Proulx - Another story of the how hard life in the west was. This story is set back in the 1800's. Annie Proulx may be my favorite author. Many people don't realize that "Brokeback Mountain" was a short story by Proulx.

"Into the Gorge" by Ron Rash.

"The Peripatetic Coffin" by Ethan Rutherford. - A story incorporating the confederates submarine , the H.L. Hunley, used in the Civil War.

If you don't want to buy the book, get a copy from your local library to read any of the above stories.

I give this book a solid four stars out of five. It is great.

The Switch with Jennifer Aniston

(All images from imdb.com)

Sweetie and I went to see "The Switch" with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. It's kind of a romantic comedy. Let me see, what's it about? Kate (Anniston) is 40, single, childless. The only man in her life is Wally (Bateman) who plays her friend, except he loves her, but won't tell her. Kate's throws an insemination party. The donor and his wife show up (he needs the money) and the donor makes his donation. Before Kate can do the turkey baster thing Wally tosses the donor's donation and substitutes his own (fantasizing about Diane Sawyer!!!). Kate doesn't know that, goes ahead with the turkey baster and we move seven years later and you know that's when we have more fun.

I'm just going to tell you that I would give this movie a rating of 1.5 stars out of 4. Aniston and Bateman have exactly zero chemistry together. She comes across as distracted and basically calls her performance in. He is small, mean, cruel, and pathetic. Jeff Goldblum is in the movie but I am not quite sure why.

The best part of this movie is the cute little boy played by Bryce Robinson,

and Juliette Lewis, whose character is Anniston's fun, crazy, out of control, but keeps everything going, friend Debbie. She provides some much needed comic relief to this film. In fact, if you are going to see the movie, go see it for her performance. Everybody knows a Debbie. I know several. They are the people who make life interesting.

The official trailer




Check out the web site.

Camera Critters - Helmeted Guineafowl

SuperPizzaBoy has a friend who lives on the ouskirts of town. His family has a wide range of critters including many different types of fowl including chickens, ducks, and peacocks. The ones I like the most are the Guineafowl.

According to Wikipedia. Guinea's eat ticks. I love all of God's creatures but anything that eats ticks is a friend of mine.

Please check out Camera Critters.

Geocaching - with a few thoughts on Homeless People

Recently, I went into such woods here in Tulsa in search of geocache. I parked at a lumber store and found a trail along a flood control creek. I knew that I would have to walk about a quarter mile up the paved trail before I had to get off of it.



When I get close and my GPS tells me that I got to start looking to go "off trail" I start looking for a little "crease" in the woods. For what park administrators call a "social trail" which they hate. People are supposed to stay on the designated trails. Here in Tulsa on the Riverparks, you have to get a permit to hide a geocache and you agree if your cache results in a "social trail" you are in trouble. Oh, sorry, I'm off topic, this evening I found my crease in the woods:



I know, its kind of hard to see, its easier to see from the other side once you go through it.



You have to keep in mind, that when people hide geocaches they rarely just blindly blunder through the woods. Almost all caches are hidden with 25 feet of a trail. They key is finding the trail. They are often social trails.

Once I got through the crease its a matter of following the trail.



I know that it is hard to see but there is definitely a trail there.

And about 20 feet off the trail I found the cache. Actually I stubbed my toe on it so I heard it before I saw it.



Nearby was an old homeless person's camp.



I've blundered into lots of homeless people's camps over the years while pursuing my geocaching hobby. Many have been abandoned like this one, others you could tell are current, and more than once I have found them complete with the resident(s).

Sometimes they will have a tent but it seems lots of them sleep in the open. Lots of plastic gallon water jugs. I don't see too many fire rings. I think fires attract too much attention. All in all, it looks to me like a miserable way to live.

Geocachers and homeless people have a lot in common. We both spend lots of time walking around looking at what is going on. Cachers are looking for places to hide caches. Homeless folks look for places to hide themselves and their belongings. In urban areas both groups gravitate to the "squalor zones" away from the nice, neat, and tidy buildings. Those usually have security cameras and guards.

There are homeless people all over Tulsa but I think the biggest concentration for various reasons is in the downtown area. I mean you have the Day Center for the Homeless, the Salvation Army Shelter and a bunch of other organizations that specialize in serving the homeless. (Sometimes, forgive me, I think some regard the homeless as a commodity, but that is another subject.)

Here is a geocaching.com map of downtown Tulsa.

This map is from my own account. So the smiley faces are caches hidden by others that I have found. The stars are caches that I have hidden myself. You can see that I have several downtown. Now what you don't see are caches that I've had to abandon downtown because they are repeatedly vandalized. Also if you look at the star at the bottom of the photo you will see that it has a grey background instead of white. That is because I have temporarily suspended it. In fact I am going to delete it. Why? Because it is a nice little secluded area that I found that was perfect for a cache but has now been taken over that a homeless person as living quarters.

What the photo doesn't show is that I have hidden over twice as many other caches downtown that I have had to abandon, almost all due to homeless people.

Nobody is more observant than homeless people. They live hand to mouth and they live in nature and they see everything.  I have found all sorts of nooks and crannies downtown in my wanderings looking for spots to hide tuppwerware and I have found places big enough to hide a small car in but they are all previously occupied. I have found people sleeping soundly in a safe little nook maybe 25 feet from the busiest intersection downtown.

So do you run into homeless people regularly? Do they scare you? What do you think of them?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Review: The Joy of Geocaching (wired.com)