[Sony A700 | CZ 135/1.8 | 1/6400 @ f3.5 | ISO 640]

Col. Hannibal Smith, played by George Peppard in the TV series “The A-Team”, would often say, “I love it when a plan comes together!”  I can’t claim that yesterday evening was planned, but everything sure came together making for a very nice experience.

It all began when I walked through the door of the “Winery of the Wichitas”, a unique small business, located off Hwy. 49, atop a hill overlooking Medicine Park and just a mile, or so, from the eastern entrance to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  It’s a winery, and as such they offer up glasses of the wines they craft; it’s an art gallery where local artists can show their work; it’s a restaurant called “Buffalo Bistro” and Mark and Randy Reeves play smooth jazz on Saturday night from 7:00 to 10:00.  Now, you must admit, that’s a combination that holds promise.

I go there often for the food, art, and music, in that order.  It’s not a place where “everyone knows my name”, but enough do to make it homey.  The  “Buffalo Bistro’s” menu is small but unique.  It was designed by executive chef, Anna Banda, who earned her credentials at Coach House.  Everything I have eaten, has been excellent, and the portions plentiful; most times, I leave food on my plate.  On this evening, the inside dining area was full, so I followed the path across the floor and through the door leading to the large split-level deck outside.  I was delighted to see the table with the brightly colored ceramic tile top empty; it’s my favorite even though it wobbles at least a half inch (I swear I’m going to fix that someday).  Located on the upper deck, in an out of the way corner, and only a table for two, it suits me perfectly.

The first thing I noticed, after taking a seat, was how pleasant an evening it was.  The temperature was just right, and there was only a mild breeze:  just enough to keep the insects away, but not enough to even lift a napkin laying unweighted on the tabletop.  The lights of Medicine Park were visible in the valley below, and to the east, the magnificent home of Muriel and Michael Fahrion is silhouetted against the sky.  Muriel is an American illustrator and created the original design for the doll, “Strawberry Shortcake” and her cat “Custard”, in 1977.  Following very successful careers, she and her husband, Michael, entered semi-retirement, designing this beautiful home that sits atop a tall hill facing the west and overlooking the Medicine Creek Valley.  Today, they are busy with their graphic arts and web design business, “Big Rock Works”, and many Medicine Park community projects.  In the distance behind their home were these magnificent thunderheads.  At the moment I first sat down, the light was not quite right, but I knew it would get better in a short time, if only the thunderheads didn’t move away too quickly.

Ah, another sign things were going my way tonight!  The light I was wanting s0on arrived and the thunderheads had not yet departed.  My camera, resting on the table, was an easy reach.  My tripod, still in my truck, was not.  However, seemingly with everything coming together, I was willing to stretch possibilities a little.  The Fahrion’s house is a good half mile away, as the crow flies, and steadiness is critical.  I cradled the camera in my hands allowing my fingers to play among the dials and buttons, making the adjustments I hoped would capture my vision.  When ready, I rested the lens barrel on top of the steel railing surrounding the deck and breathed deeply, consciously relaxing, letting all tension ease away.  Setting the focus, exhaling slowly, willing the  button to descend ever so slowly, anticipating the gentle rhythm of the mirror rising and falling, I was nowhere if not right there, right then.  Release, all cares evaporate into the gentle breeze, I am happy!  All to soon, the light changed and with it the magic of the moment. My thoughts returned along with the awareness of present surroundings and I began to scan the faces of my fellow diners on the deck.

It didn’t take long to spot Doug Kemper, a scientist and engineer.  Doug is nationally known for designing several zoo aquariums.  He lived in Lawton for some time during his youth and has returned to design, obtain funding, and oversee the construction of the “Medicine Park Museum of Natural Science”.  He’s traveled all over the world, even to Antarctica, so he has wonderful stories to tell in seemingly endless supply.  He seemed to be preparing to leave, but I caught his attention and asked if he’d like to join me for a time.  I was delighted when he accepted.

You should never be in a hurry when you visit “The Winery”; it’s just not a “rush through” place.  It was only after Doug joined my table that I placed the order for my meal:  “Everything Salad” and “Molten Lava Chocolate Cake” for dessert.  The salad fit well with my nutritional goals, while the Lava Chocolate Cake did not.  Oh well, we must have balance!  Right?  Over the next two hours, or so, while I enjoyed the deliciousness of my meal, we talked, laughed, and told stories.  The topics ran the gamut of everything from progress on Natural Science Museum and Doug’s plans for a sky lift connecting the museum to the center of Medicine park, to birds and wild flowers on the Refuge, his expedition to Antarctica, and Al Gore’s myth of Global Warming, to include the fact that the glaciers on Kilimanjaro are receding, not due to melting, but due to sublimation; A huge difference, by the way!  The only thing that shortened our evening was Tammy, a wonderful waitress, asking, “Do you guys plan on leaving from the deck or would you like to come through the Winery?  We’re locked up and going home.”

I just love it when everything comes together!

On Solid Rock

It isn’t usual to have rain on the Fourth of July in Southwest Oklahoma but the past two have been soggy.  This year we received an abundance of rain as a result of hurricane Alex in the Gulf of Mexico.  Erin brought a friend, Christin, home with her over the Fourth.  Erin loves fireworks and hiking in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.  This time she wanted to trek to the “Forty Foot Hole” to see how much water was rushing through the area via West Cache Creek.  Normally, there would be very little rain, but since we’ve had so much in the past few days, we were all eager to visit the rapids.

I left before home before Sherry, Erin, and Christin this morning because I wanted to be prepared for taking pictures as they came down the trail.  It began raining heavily on the trip from Lawton to the Refuge and rained throughout my hike to the “Forty Foot Hole”.  I was dressed for it with my Redwing boots, Tilley hat, and poncho.  My camera gear was protected in a Lowepro 300 AW camera bag.  By the time I reached the area the rain had stopped so I unpacked my Sony A700 and 70-200 mm f/2.8, and waited for ladies to arrive.  I know the above picture is a little soft on the focus, but I wanted to use it anyway.  In order to get the rushing water to look this way, it was necessary to shoot at 1/4 sec., f22, and ISO 200.  I’m hand holding the camera and zoomed all the way to 200mm.  Taking this into consideration, I’m pretty satisfied with the result.  Being able to do this, at all, is a tribute to Sony’s anti-shake (image stabilization) being built into the body of their cameras.  It really makes hand holding workable in a pinch at some ridiculously slow shutter speeds.

Icy Sycamore Fruit Balls

The severe winter storm meteorologists had been forecasting for five days finally arrived in Southwest Oklahoma in full force Thursday morning.  People leaving home for work Thursday morning were greeted by wind, rain, and dropping temperatures.  Ice began forming on everything off the ground by 10:00 AM.  People going to lunch at noon found a thickening layer of ice on their windshields and north side of their autos.  The office where I work began the day on reduced services to prevent staff from facing the perils that only increased throughout the day.  By 2:00 PM, our office was closed.   However, I stayed because I was able to get so much done due to the lack of distractions.  I could here the ice pelting the roof and the wind rumbling across it.  Finally, about 4:00 PM, I decided to give it up and go home.  By then I had a good 5/16″ layer of ice on my windshield and north facing windows.  There was even a thicker layer on the north side.  I was unable to open the passenger door because it was frozen shut. I had already started the engine of my 1993 Toyota XCab DLX 4×2 pickup truck and had the defroster blowing high and hot.  Thirty-five years ago I had been given a piece of aircraft windshield plastic measuring 3″x5″x1/2″ and it has proven to be the best tool ever for chipping and chiseling ice.  I retrieved it from the glove box that’s been its home for the past 17 years, along with a can of de-icer.  I learned sometime ago that de-icer doesn’t work well on thick in freezing temperatures.  I planned on spraying it on the glass surfaces after the ice had been removed.  Well, once again that old piece of aircraft plastic was up to the task and in no time the ice had succumbed to its pressure and was fragmented in small pieces littering the parking lot surface.

Standing in the freezing rain and gusting wind, I could hear sirens wailing in all directions.  I only live two miles from where I work in Lawton, Oklahoma, so I was never really worried about getting home safely.  I was hoping most people would be off the streets at that time so I wouldn’t have to drive too defensively.  The five 50lb. sacks of sand distributed in the bed of my truck would make traction better, but actually the streets were still mostly liquid from the bountiful rain we received before it began to freeze.  For several days prior to this cold front, we had enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures so the ground was still warm enough to melt everything, at this point.  What I wasn’t prepared for was the damage to the trees that was already taking place.

I was correct that traffic would be light and I was sure thankful, too.  Broken tree limbs were littering the streets in several place requiring me to swerve into other lanes to get past.  I would do the same whenever I could avoid passing under large limbs sagging under their icy burden.  We’ve lived in Lawton for 12 years, and I’ve never seen this before.  Having grown up in Southwest Oklahoma, I’m become used to winter ice storms; it seems we have more of them than we do snow storms.  The drive home was without mishap, but not without an element of suspense.  In just that two miles, I saw two ambulances, two fire trucks, and three LPD units, sirens blaring and lights flashing, rushing to, what appeared to be unrelated, assistance to someone in distress.  I couldn’t help but offer up a prayers for safety and comfort.