Signs of Summer

I logged on to the Interwebs this morning to see Irritated Tulsan's feature of the QuikTrip 49-cent fountain drink. What a lovely way to start the morning - a towering cup of frosty, sweaty, perfectly sweet Dr Pepper.


Boy howdy. Those QT folks just know how to pour 'em. And Irritated Tulsan knows how to shoot a drink to make my eyes and my ears and my very pores salivate.

Carly Rush (of 92.9 KBEZ fame) saw Irritated Tulsan's post, too, and commented that when she saw on her drive to work this morning that QT's 49-cent drink billboards are up, she knew that summer must be upon us.

It's true. Though summer doesn't get its official start until late next month, we Tulsans start reaping the benefits of 9 o'clock sunsets, 92 percent humidity and scorching temperatures a good 30 days beforehand. When the ads for the SofPools come out, most of us have been swimming for a month already. When the sun is shining and the days are hot, we don't waste any time here in T-Town.

Not that we don't have until mid-October to wear shorts and bathing suit tops while we mow the grass, but still, when time's a wastin', we don't mess around. And not that we wear bathing suit tops while we mow (cough, cough - no, not at all). I'm just trying to make a point here.

I used to have a bearded dragon lizard that, once summer came, loved to eat these flowers. Well, not these. These are at Utica Square. I bet my mom asked three dozen times that summer if I knew what had happened to her hibiscus. How am I supposed to know? I'd ask her. I'm not your garden boy.


I was a somewhat unruly teenager. Sorry, Mom.

My favorite things to do during summer in Tulsa? Watch the fireworks at a Friday night Tulsa Drillers Game (and get my beer on at Thirsty Thursdays, when beer and soft drinks are just $1). Eat every meal on the patio, even breakfast and especially coffee. Hang out at the farmers' markets. Stroll along Cherry Street or at River Parks, stopping to climb on the animal sculptures and to watch the flow of the Arkansas. This year I'm going to read books with my kid for the summer reading program at Tulsa City-County Library.

What do you like doing during summer in Tulsa? What tells you summer is here? I'd love to hear about what you all get up to during the long days ahead.

No, Seriously. Spring has Sprung

A LOT is going on in the food and gardening world here in Tulsa over the next few days. Not one, but three - three! - events are rocking this weekend, and it'd behoove us all, health-wise and pocketbook-wise and community-wise, to get our green (and not-so-green, depending on who we're talkin' about here) thumbs to all of them. 

SpringFest Garden & Market Festival, April 10th-11th, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Spring is here! Are you ready to plant your garden? Let Tulsa Garden Center help you get ready. Head over to 2435 S. Peoria this weekend for hundreds of plants, gardening information, garden art, arts & crafts, food and fun for the whole family, including the kids. Get more information here. Proceeds from the festival benefit Tulsa Garden Center. 

Cherry Street Farmers Market, April 11th, 7-11 a.m.

It's time for the largest and most colorful farmers' market in the Tulsa area to come alive. I wait all winter for this day. Perhaps too eagerly - perhaps too often getting that far-away look in my eye. Oh, well. Just give me my asparagus and swiss chard and I'll walk away quietly, without hugging and kissing and pinching the cheeks of too many people. 

This is the twelfth season of the Cherry Street Farmers Market, and according to the CSFM newsletter, numerous new vendors are joining in this year - so many, in fact, that the market will expand into Quaker Street, just south of 15th. New vendors require new customers, so be sure to start your grocery shopping at CSFM this week. 

After you do your shopping and as long as you didn't snag anything super-perishable, be sure to swing by Coffeehouse on Cherry Street and grab some treats and some Topeca Coffee. I know I will. 

Herb Day in Brookside, April 11th, 9 a.m.

Fill those pretty, new green bags you snagged for these spring herb and farmers markets events at 41st Street and Peoria this Saturday with Oklahoma-produced herbs, flowers, wine, pottery and more at Herb Day in Brookside. It's easy to chat with vendors at this event, so count on making a new friends or two while you're at it.  

Next weekend is the legendary Sand Springs Herbal Affair, April 18th, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., where more than 100 vendors will bring herbs, perennials, natives and heirloom plants, along with herbal products, gardening supplies and folk art to the heart of historic downtown Sand Springs. Yeah, it's kind of a big deal. To make sure you don't miss it - you know, just in case you miss the crowd of 25,000 headed northwest of T-Town proper - commit it to your calendar now. 

Interview: Katie Does Tulsa

Last month I started a series of interviews with moving-and-shaking, down-to-earth Tulsans. The inaugural edition was with Sindy of Dresden, Germany; this time I caught up with Katie Hughes, blogger at Okiehoma From a Yankee's Eye View.

Katie moved to Tulsa just six months ago. She's from Glenside, a medium-sized suburb of Philadelphia. Katie's blog is about her transition from life in the northeast to learning to get down with T-Town.

"I get the impression they thought I would be living in a teepee, hunting buffalo and dodging tornadoes," she said of friends and family back home. "My blog is my way of letting them know that I do have modern conveniences and don't live in the middle of nowhere. Plus, it gives me a great excuse to try new things so I have something to write about."

What was your first impression of Tulsa?

My first impression was just how green and open the city appears. There are so many parks and little squares in every town. Downtown doesn’t feel overwhelming. The highways don’t feel as congested.

What are some ways Tulsa is different from where you grew up?

I grew up in a metro area of 5.8 million people (not counting that I could be in New York City or Washington D.C.’s metro areas within 2 hours north or south). I’m used to a lot people and a lot of cars in an area the same size as the Tulsa metro area. Tulsa seems so wide open to me! It’s funny when people here complain about traffic when it used to take me 45 minutes to commute 14 miles just 6 months ago. Although, when it comes to traffic, I do find the Broken Arrow Expressway & IDL just as frightening as anything back east.

I was raised Irish Catholic in a very Catholic city. Now, in Tulsa, I have found that there are so many churches a lot bigger than what I grew up with, but I’m happy to have a found a nice small parish I can call home in Sand Springs called St. Patrick’s. I have also found that there are several nice little Irish bars, so that makes me feel home.

Then, there’s the weather! We don’t have tornado warnings in May back home, let alone in February! I can do blizzards and hurricanes because they are big, slow-moving weather systems, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to living in tornado alley.

If you could, what would you change about Tulsa?

I don’t think Tulsans realize the amazing potential of this city. It seems like more people from outside of the area are visiting, moving into the area, and taking advantage of the great opportunities. Tulsa has so many great sports and arts opportunities to see, like live music at the Flytrap Music Hall and Cain’s Ballroom, and I’ve been to Dwelling Spaces, which was so much fun!

I can’t tell you how many people from Tulsa I’ve talked to and mentioned different places like the Gilcrease Museum or the Rose Garden or how I rode my bike down the River Park trails and they had never been to any of those places. I think native Tulsans and those from the outlying communities need to do more to explore and support the city. There are so many cool and inexpensive places to see within such an easy drive! This is definitely a cool, small city.

Oh, and I wish Tulsans would not see all Yankees as yuppy, fast-talking, liberal, Appletini drinkers.  Some of us are white t-shirt & jeans wearing beer drinkers who don’t talk politics and just happen to talk a little fast.

What are your favorite things to do for fun in Tulsa?

I absolutely LOVE the River Parks. There’s an area like it back home in Philadelphia so when I’m homesick, I head down to the river.

I have had a lot of fun exploring Route 66 east and west of the city. I have no problem being a tourist and having my picture taken in front of random things.

One of my absolute favorite things in Tulsa is the Tulsa Drillers. I am a baseball geek and for Valentine’s Day my hubby bought me a 20 ticket voucher package. Having a minor league team in town just makes my heart so happy. I think I’m more excited about the new ballpark than most native Tulsans.

I am surprised that I am really finding a home here in Tulsa. I never in a million years thought I would love it here so fast. I do miss the big cities out east but, I am also having a blast getting to know Tulsa. I feel like I’m getting to know this city more than I ever got to know “my” city of Philadelphia. It is a very cool thing.

Thanks for spreading the word about Green Country, Katie. You can bring your fast-talkin' 'round here anytime.