Oklahoma City Metro Daily Photo

Hope

2009-02-13T14:12:00.001-08:00

This is the "Survivor Tree" at the OKC National Memorial. It's a living reminder of of hope, life and improbable survival in times of tragedy and hardship.

Storm skies

2009-02-12T20:50:00.000-08:00

This is what the skies looked like in my front yard the day the tornado hit in Edmond. I love clouds like this. On a serious note, the same line of storms hit 90 miles south of OKC in a little town called Lone Grove, right at sundown and killed eight people in a trailer park. The town has been devastated but Oklahomans have a seemingly unending ability to dig deep, pull together and help each other again, again, and again. In Edmond, a mini market in the neighborhood, when they got their power back, provided free hot food to the first responders or anyone who had been displaced by the storm. The Red Cross set up a shelter the night of the tornado but by the 10 p.m. news, they had shut it down because everyone had been provided a home in which to go stay.

Early storm

2009-02-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

This is the storm that's just hitting my house right now. The little bit of red just above the fence line is a lightning strike. A line of thunderstorms from Texas to Kansas hit this afternoon that spawned tornadoes in metro OKC, including one that was on the ground for ten minutes. There were no deaths reported so far and only three minor injuries, even though one man in a trailer was sucked through a window and thrown outside. The line has finally hit my little town, thankfully after dark where tornado activity is much less prone. I do have a storm shelter, but I don't think it will be necessary. However, with all the lightening, I think I will post this as quickly as possible and shut off my computer. The "storm season" is a month away.

Colorful OK

2009-02-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

Downtown OKC has some very colorful areas. This was taken from the Bricktown canal boat in the summer.

Winter baby

2009-02-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

I almost missed this little guy as I was driving past. He lives just around the block from me and looks like he's pretty new in town.

Conductor

2009-02-06T14:05:00.001-08:00

In front of the Civic Music Center, this statue is dedicated to the conductors. And there he stands, wistfully conducting to the day.

Bricktown

2009-02-03T22:26:00.001-08:00

A one-time view of Bricktown for me, from this height, and still under ice.

A bird's eye view

2009-02-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

This shot was taken from the 34th floor of the Chase building in downtown. The edge of Bricktown is just off to the very bottom left. There are still remnants of the sleet storm on the ground and tops of the buildings.

Hall of Mirrors

2009-01-31T22:07:00.000-08:00

This is one lamp in the Hall of Mirrors inside the Civic Music Center in downtown OKC, reflected in the mirror. I love the art deco style.

Checking out the inside

2009-01-31T01:58:00.001-08:00

This is the inside of the Skirvin Hilton Hotel. The front door is ahead and a little to the left. The view that's straight ahead is a cozy sitting area just between the restaurant and the entryway that looks out onto the street. The check in desk is just beyond the first pillars and to the left. The restaurant is to the extreme left, up at the front of the hotel. I think you can barely see the beginning of the top of the ceiling but I don't think I could capture the feeling of how spacious, yet intimate the room feels, due to the rugs and the large pillars.

Skirvin Hilton

2009-01-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

This is the Skirvin Hilton, One Park Ave (isn't that a great address), recently renovated and my favorite hotel. Until last night I had never been in it but I just love the unique look and feel of it. I hope some day to try the restaurant and maybe the piano bar, Park, that are housed there.

Downtown OKC

2009-01-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma City has a particularly pretty downtown area. I haven't posted enough pictures of it because I don't really live very close but we were out today looking at wedding venues for my son and his fiancé, so I will have some interesting pictures to post in the next few days.

OU phone booth

2009-01-26T22:31:00.001-08:00

I visited the University of Oklahoma campus last week. It's a very beautiful campus, scattered with sculptures and trees, and oddly enough, red phone booths. When was the last time you saw a phone booth?

With eyes on the horizon...

2009-01-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

Not being able to be in Washington D.C. with the two million people watching in person, I watched history in my living room with my dog, Ozzy, on my knee.

An enoooormous head

2009-01-19T23:52:00.001-08:00

This caught my eye as I drove through a beautiful tree-lined neighborhood two blocks from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, in the yard of the Firehouse Art Center, but I didn't know that then. I just saw a house with a huge head in the front yard. I love college towns.

Sculpture

2009-01-19T13:32:00.001-08:00

This sculpture is in the courtyard of the Firehouse Art Center in Norman, OK. The building is right next door to the park where the art is displayed that was posted yesterday.

Norman park

2009-01-18T14:35:00.000-08:00

This park is close to the OU campus in Norman, 15 miles south of OKC. There is an Art Center adjacent to the park with several interesting pieces which I will be posting in the next few days. Check out the two eyes in the back, just above the park sign.

Windmill

2009-01-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

Great sky, windmill - seems like Oklahoma to me.

Fire

2009-01-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

I took a roundabout route to get breakfast this morning so was surprised to find my regular way home on fire in not one but two places. There were fires in the grassy area between the freeway and the service road. Emerging from the smoke on the other side I found a police car parked with his lights going, watching. Not a runaway burn then. As I slowed and stopped to take photos I couldn't help but think of the terror of the people who live through wildfires. I can't even imagine. As I drove through, these flames in places were a foot from my car but never over the top of it. The images of last year's firestorms were in my mind on the rest of my drive home. I smelled of smoke for hours.

Long distance

2009-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

The tractor is in a field behind my house, but it's actually about five or six houses away.

A picture of happiness

2009-01-08T00:16:00.000-08:00

This is Ozzy, and he loves his blue baseball coat, as you can tell by the very big grin on his face. That grin just says pure joy to me, cause he know dress up means going outside, and Bye Bye!!!

Too true

2009-01-06T19:34:00.000-08:00

This plaque is on the wall of the Tres Sueños Vineyard. It was just too perfect to pass up.

Where in the world?....

2009-01-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

A pyramid in Egypt?

Nope...

a rooftop in Moore, Oklahoma.

OK vineyard

2009-01-04T14:05:00.001-08:00

This is Tres Sueños Vineyard, in Luther, which is east of OKC, just 14 miles outside the metro area. In the back is a stand of huge pine trees, perfect for outdoor weddings or other occasions. The place is guarded by a pair of extremely friendly house cats.

Wind chime

2009-01-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

I just liked the angles on this shot. This wind chime was handmade in Colorado and has a beautiful tone. Unfortunately it now resides on the ground next to the back door because the wind never stops in Oklahoma! I figured if the wind chime annoyed me then it must really bother my neighbors and I did the thoughtful (and sanity preserving) thing and took it down.

Weeping Jesus

2009-01-02T22:44:00.000-08:00

I think by far this is the most outstanding image I posted this past year. This statue stands outside the Oklahoma City National Memorial, where the Murrah Building stood. It's across the street, looking away from the memorial, covering his eyes in grief. It's very powerful, as is the memorial itself.

Birds on a pole

2008-12-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

If you notice, there are little black bumps on the pole. They are, in fact, birds. The horizontal poles are nicely filled with birds that are enjoying the view of the traffic below.

2008-12-12T23:19:00.000-08:00

This is the Warren Theater, in Moore, just outside of Oklahoma City. It is an art deco beauty that comes alive at night in bright neon. The interior of the theater, which does not allow cameras inside, is a beautiful art deco homage to cinemas of the twenties and thirties.

Pop's

2008-12-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

This is a great tourist site called Pop's, off of I-40 east of Oklahoma City. It's a gas station, but it has over 100 different flavors of bottled soda pop and a restaurant inside. Its just off Route 66 and the parking lot was packed on this grey, rainy day as we drove past. The giant bottle with the straw sticking out of it that is its trademark lights up in neon at night.

A thing of beauty

2008-12-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

What can I say? It brings a tear to the eye.

An ice blossom

2008-11-24T22:29:00.000-08:00

Just another reminder from last year of what we have to look forward to in this coming ice storm season.

Ice storm season

2008-11-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

They announced this week that its now the start of the ice storm season. We really only had one good one last year, and it was a doozy. We lost a lot of trees and the clean-up went on for months. Since I live in a newer neighborhood, my ice problems were limited to smaller things, like my garden heron.

Interesting lobby display

2008-11-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

This cannon is one of the first things you see when you step into what is one of the biggest, and most awesome Harley Davidson dealers in the country. Fort Thunder Harley Davidson moved into their new digs a few weeks ago, but have been in Moore for years. The new building is a must visit for anyone passing through, Harley rider or not.

Ok tumbleweeds

2008-11-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

These are what I call Oklahoma tumbleweeds, because I have no idea what they really are. Individually, they look like gossamer Christmas trees with a single stem and the shape and structure of a flat tree. In a mass like they are here, they move in the wind like they're underwater. They just blew into my yard one day, in the southwest corner, and stayed there until the wind changed, then they were all in the northwest corner. They all moved as a mass, following the wind until the wind finally blew east and now my yard is finally free again, except for what has stuck to my garden. I live right next to a large open field, my house being the last house at the corner of the fence, and myself and my neighbors on each side are the only ones in my neighborhood who had these delicate visitors in this quantity.

Woody trike

2008-11-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

For being a small town, even one in close proximity to a "big" city, Moore has a lot of cool businesses to offer. This awesome trike is custom made by Trinity Trikes, just up the road from my house. They make some of the coolest three-wheelers I've ever seen.

2008-11-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

The days are getting shorter and cooler, the nights are just plain chilly, we're definitely in fall moving toward winter, but these flowers are blooming in my backyard, keeping the color for as long as possible before the long grey days of winter.

A shot from the Starbucks drive thru line

2008-11-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

I noticed, as I was ordering my venti cafe mocha, that there were cute little Halloween characters in the landscaping on the other side of the driveway at Starbucks (getting it while it's still there and I can still afford it), so I got my camera out. But, when I got to the window I thought the foliage was a much better shot.

Foggy wee hours in Moore

2008-11-11T02:31:00.001-08:00

I took my dog out for his business this morning and was met with my favorite thing, a foggy morning. In my quiet neighborhood, in a very quiet area, the feeling is that you are alone in a very eerie universe.

Nameless little creek

2008-11-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

This creek, which is really rather deep and usually looks placid, can run bank to bank with a good rainy day, like today. I pass over it on my way "to town" unless I take the long way, but I prefer to go this way.

Hornless longhorns

2008-11-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

This totally rural piece of land is about a third of a mile from my home in Moore. I'm not sure what to call this property because it has a ring for working horses, and the area you see past the gates on any given day will either have grazing horses or cows. The two lowly cows that are guarding the gates have not always looked as they stand now. When I first moved in, a little over a year ago, they were two proud longhorns. Slowly, one horn at a time, they have become the sad cows that you see standing before you. It was interesting to see the horns go, one at a time. Sadly though, the property is up for sale.

A little fall color

2008-11-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

My neighborhood is relatively new, so the trees are still fairly small, but the color is still pretty. I took these photos a day or two ago, and the red leaves are already gone. Talk about a small window of opportunity!

OK oil rig

2008-11-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

This oil rig is less than a half mile from my house. They dot the landscape everywhere. Even one of the malls has one, in the parking lot at Macy's.

Fierce rivalry

2008-11-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

College football is huge here since OKC only recently got their first professional basketball team, the OKC Thunder. I was telling a friend about the rivalry with Texas, and how it's expressed, with the upside-down longhorns and she wanted to see it, so here it is. OU is the Sooners, and the upside- down longhorns is the Texas "other guys."

2008-11-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma has the largest remaining amount of the original Route 66 in the nation. It is broken up across country in bits and pieces, but people travel it like searching for a holy grail, perhaps looking for simpler times. When I took this picture, there were two bikers in the area following the route across country who were from Norway.

Canal mosaic

2008-10-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

This mosaic is on a wall at a turnaround point on the canal ride in Bricktown. Devon is an Oklahoma energy company.

2008-10-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

This fountain is in the heart of Bricktown, and shows a little more in the background some of the renovated buildings and the area. It really is a great destination and one of the best draws for OKC. Sonic has its corporate headquarters there, Toby Keith has his restaurant in Bricktown, and the Women's World Series of Softball is played there, also.

OK lawn ornament

2008-10-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

This buckboard is at the end of the driveway of a house that is on the the border of OKC and Moore. This is about a block of houses that are not mansions, just large homes with large, beautifully kept lots, and a buckboard.

Beautiful gate

2008-10-28T20:34:00.001-07:00

This wrought iron gate with the rose bush iron work is the most beautiful gate and fence I've ever seen. It's at the outside of a housing development between my house, on the south end of Moore (south of OKC) just a few miles from Norman, by the rural route. Norman is the home of the University of Oklahoma, the Sooners.

Bricktown Canal

2008-10-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is what I think is the best part of the Brickyard - the canal system. You can see the yellow boats at the top of the picture. They run a circular route with a captain giving interesting facts about the area. It's not a short ride, it's nice and long and gives you a good feel for the area, and at the halfway point, where the turn around it, is the bronze sculpture that is at the top of this page, although there is much more to it. It is well worth the ride. I'll have more pictures of this area and parts of the canal ride, cause it's a great thing to see in OKC.

Fountain in Bricktown

2008-10-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

This fountain is located in Bricktown, the former industrial area of downtown OKC that has been renovated beautifully and is a big tourist draw. The buildings have been left in their original red brick but have been taken over by restaurants, small shops, clubs and galleries. There is also a baseball field and a canal system with boat rides.

Working away

2008-10-25T18:15:00.001-07:00

This web was actually a perfect circle as I ran to get my camera, but the activity of people around the web destroyed the bottom half, but the spider stayed put. This beautiful web was actually made in a doorway of a garage going to the backyard, obviously not one used a lot that day.

The littlest victim

2008-10-24T22:28:00.001-07:00

Before we leave the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum, which could have pages and pages of photos, I wanted to post this one. Who could forget the Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the fireman carrying the tiny little girl wrapped up in his arms, bloody and limp, his eyes on her as he carries her to safety, only to learn later it was already too late. We all found out later that her name was Baylee Almon. One portion of the memorial, on the actual grounds where the building stood, now holds 168 chairs, lit at night, each with a name of a victim. The children' chairs are smaller, sized for the little ones. This one, as you can see, is for "Miss Baylee Almon." It's a beautiful, peaceful memorial and gives the families a wonderful place to come and visit, day or night, and reflect and to never forget.

What words can express?

2008-10-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

On April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in OKC was bombed in an act of domestic terrorism. The 3.3 acre site has been turned into a Memorial and Museum. This Weeping Jesus statue stands across the street with its back to the Memorial in heartbreaking silence.

a rose is a rose

2008-10-22T23:54:00.000-07:00

This rose is next to my mailbox. It is of particular interest to my dog, who loves to check it out at least once a day. They like to grow the roses tall here, which I'm not used to. Some of the ones on my block are taller than their windows. I thought this one was particularly pretty.

Downtown park

2008-10-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

This park is in downtown OKC. At the very left you can see the bridge that crosses the water and ends up on the streets of downtown. There is so much more to this park that I will probably make this several days worth of pictures. This park is where the annual Arts Festival takes place.

Lake Hefner

2008-10-20T11:49:00.001-07:00

Here was my first surprise. Right in the middle of OKC is Lake Hefner. The buildings in the background are the downtown area. I'm taking the picture from the farside of the lake. There is actually a very nice jogging track all the way around the lake and a one way road, and sailboats, but no motorboats. It's a beautiful lake, right off the freeway.