Tulsa

Yesterday the high hit 77 degrees F. I was ready to dig into the duffle with my summer clothing. This morning it had dropped below freezing. Instead I was digging for my down, hat and gloves. I am grateful that the current weather system that is creating havoc in the West and NorthWest is sparing the South, as I will be driving tomorrow.

Today, however, I continued to explore Tulsa. I started with the highly recommended Philbrook museum . Their Rembrandt to Monet exhibit was small, but contained some really interesting pieces, many by artists with which I was unfamiliar. Of the two Monets, one I had never seen. I also very much enjoyed the Human/Nature exhibition by local Tulsa artist Alexandre Hogue . It evolved from his experiences with the Dust Bowl. The emblematic pieces, Erosion N. 2, Mother Earth Laid Bare was, I thought, very evocative.

The Philbrook is known for its gardens , but of course they did not look their best in the middle of winter. By now you should predict a theme: when I am struggling for images, I turn to reflections. Fortunately the garden did have a couple of ponds, from which I eked out a few images.

The Gathering Place had also been recommended by a number of people. This is a private park that is designed to encourage community, engagement and recreation. I had a nice chat with Terry at the welcome desk. She asked me to make sure to mention that the park, and all activities in it, are free. It has a number of very innovative spaces, both inside and out. It is a great place for children of all ages. It was not particularly interesting from a photographic point of view, but it was a pleasant to spend an hour walking through it.

Finally, in search of a short hike, I drove over to Turkey Mountain . This is characterized as an urban wilderness area. It is indeed heavily wooded with many rustic trails. And I did enjoy a short hike. Again, though, I was struggling for photographic content. In this situation, the default solution is, rather than to look down, to look up at the shapes of the denuded trees.

Today’s images are unlikely to knock your socks off, but my goal is to get something, anything, each day, even if it stretches my creative muscles.

Tomorrow I head to Arkansas, another State that I have not yet visited.