Oklahoma!
Boy, have we got some big news. We’ve moved to Sand Springs, Oklahoma!! Surprise!!
FYI, it’s so hot and humid here that our glasses fog up when we walk
outside. There are so many bugs I didn’t
go outside for a couple weeks. The first
night here, Mollie found a Lone Star tick and a brown recluse in her room. Another recluse the next night, too. Awesome!!
We found a small property outside Sand Springs
(closer to Mannford). A little blue
house with a barn on about 11.5 acres.
Most of the property has trees, mostly oaks. We have so many birds – chickadees,
nuthatches, cardinals, blue jays, Indigo and Painted buntings, four different
types of woodpeckers. Everyday we get a
chorus of birdsong! It’s beautiful. Brian and I sit on the porch with our
binoculars and watch as they flit from feeder to feeder. We also have a couple deer who visit us every
day, though they are shy and sneak about.
Mollie is the queen of spotting them in the trees!
Next year we plan to get chickens, goats and
maybe a piggy. The barn has three stalls
and an office. It’s difficult to drag
Brian out of there. Lots of projects
going on. We also plan to put in raised
garden beds in the spring.
We are down a winding country road and most of
our neighbors have goats or pigs or cows or chickens. We’re surrounded by a tangle of winding roads
and rolling hills. I’ve gotten lost
repeatedly, but gotten pretty good and finding my way around. Tulsa highways are a horrifying mess. You know what it’s like when a bunch of
necklaces get knotted. It’s like
that! And, of course, the requisite road
work. So much road work. That said, we’re in “Green Country,” the
northwestern corner of Oklahoma. It is lush
and green with lots of deciduous forests.
It’s so beautiful. The only issue
is that everything is 30 minutes away at a minimum.
Everything, that is, but my job. I got a job at Mannford Upper Elementary
School helping 4th and 5th graders improve their math and
reading skills. It’s 10 minutes
away! Brian got a job in Tulsa with the
National Center for Wellness and Recovery (associated with Oklahoma State
University). It is, however,
about a 30-minute drive. Though no real
traffic until the last 10 minutes. No
traffic here. It’s awesome!
Brian’s family are close by, Tulsa and Oklahoma
City. His mom is in Perry, which is
about 45-50 minutes away. And, of
course, a beautiful drive.
Maddie will do her senior year here at Charles
Page High School, which boasts an award-winning theatre program. Maddie is excited to join the program. Mollie is mulling over her options, school or
work. She loves working, but may decide
to go to school. Time will tell. Both girls love the farm and go out looking
for critters, like turtles, tarantulas, scorpions, and then our deer,
squirrels, bunnies, birds. It’s a
wonderland!
You may have heard Oklahoma has severe
weather. Well, it really does. The week before we arrived a huge storm hit
and brought down a lot of tree limbs.
Brian is still working on the clean-up.
We get a lot of thunder and lightning storms. A lot!
Lots of rain here, too. Keeps it
green (and humid).
This is a huge change from southern California
and we will certainly miss our friends and our ocean. The culture here is entirely different, (I’ve
never seen so many Walmart’s and BBQ joints) but we are excited to lay down
roots! Life is an adventure!
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