N.U.T. #4 – I’m involved in the life of my children

Editor’s Note:  If you are just now catching Michael’s Man Cave series on N.U.T.s, please note the guide to all previous posts at the bottom of this essay ~ Thanks.

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What does it mean for a man to be involved in the life of his children? A book I’m reading right now called, “The Heart of a Father,” by Ken Canfield offers a pretty good description:

My friend Paul is an involved father. He works forty hours each week, and in fact chose a job that allows him to be home each night and each weekend. At home, he likes spending time with his daughter Susan. They play Chutes and Ladders on the living room floor, and he reads her a story before bed. Cindy is a bit older. With her, involvement means driving her to gymnastics and cheering at her meets. It means sitting down next to her at the kitchen table when she lays out her math homework.

Sometimes Paul has his own work to do, his own errands to run. “I’m going to the hardware store,” he announces. “Anyone want to come along?” Occasionally Cindy or Susan will join him. The youngest child is Jacob. Among all the things that involvement means for this toddler, it also means changing diapers. Paul participates in the daily activities of his kids.

Call me boring, but I read those two paragraphs and I can’t wait to be able to play Chutes and Ladders on the living room floor with my little Izzy in a few years. Continue reading N.U.T. #4 – I’m involved in the life of my children

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My Little Victory Garden: The Urban Agrarian and One Last Walk Through Grandpa’s Treasure House

Matt Burch (center), founder of the Urban Agrarian, shown here goofing off at their stand with Ryan Conerly (left) and David Drennen (right). The casual attitude is contagious; the mission – also contagious.

I’ve been trying to visit the Urban Agrarian (UA) Sunday food market at N.W. 23rd & Hudson (located in the Cheever’s parking lot) for several weeks.  Today, I finally made it…with five minutes to spare before they closed.  Mick and I had left my grandmother’s farm about forty-five minutes earlier and we were driving our truck eastbound on N.W. 23rd Street, hitting every red light possible. I finally pulled out my cell phone and Tweeted:

@UrbanAgrarian driving back from grandma’s farm in Tuttle. Getting there with maybe 5 min to shop! Eek!”  In less than a minute, I got a notice about this reply to my message: “@RedDirtKelly no worries, we will be here.”

Here, why don’t you enjoy a short introductory video about the Urban Agrarian while I finish driving down 23rd St., okay? Continue reading My Little Victory Garden: The Urban Agrarian and One Last Walk Through Grandpa’s Treasure House

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Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: We’re Growing More Than Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple
This indeterminate tomato variety was said to have originated from the Cherokee over 100 years ago.

Springtime has a way of promoting growth in so many ways.  We see the results of growth in plants as our surroundings turn from brown to green, and we see the growth in people as they try new things.  My friend and co-worker Shannon came to me one day and told me she wanted to plant tomatoes, but she had never grown anything….ever.  I had just found out that our Master Gardener speaker for April was a man known for his fabulous tomatoes.  We made a plan to attend together.

Our speaker, Sputt Garnett of Yum Yum, TN, explained everything we ever wanted to know about tomatoes.  I never really understood the difference between determinate and indeterminate, and I had certainly never seen tomato varieties like Black Prince.  We were especially enthralled with the idea of the heirloom variety tomato, so we each purchased one Cherokee Purple tomato plant at the end of the workshop.

I explained to Shannon that I only had one growing season of tomatoes under my belt.  I had planted them from seed last year during my first garden experience and had good success.  Our excitement over tomatoes surpassed our need for dessert, so we headed next door to Wal-Mart to look at some plants.  We explored the varieties but left the store with a $5.00 purchase: one envelope of Rutgers tomato seeds and one Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse. Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: We’re Growing More Than Tomatoes

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Silent Sunday – The Work of Rachel Apple: Maud, Oklahoma

Our photographer this week is not new to the Red Dirt Chronicles.  When the site rolled out in August of last year, she put together a collection we featured in our header section for several months.  She’s also served as a photographer for a few of our essays, and put this self-portrait together as a fun entry for our “RDC Best Red Dirt Inspired Photograph.”  Rachel is a senior photography major at the University of Oklahoma School of Art and has completed her studies for an Art History Minor.

Are you searching for the perfect photographer to capture your senior portraits? Jen Pisani Photography dos senior portraits Kingwood, Texas. They specialize in creating stunning, personalized senior portraits that celebrate this significant milestone in your life.

During a recent course, she shot a landscape assignment by traveling to Maud and doing a series in black and white using a large format land camera on 4X5 film.  We hope you enjoy your trip through Maud as seen by Rachel’s lens. Continue reading Silent Sunday – The Work of Rachel Apple: Maud, Oklahoma

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Barbershop Theology: Let’s Make A Deal

I suppose it was a Saturday afternoon. It could have easily been a weekday in early summer. Hair clippings clumped around the base of my dad’s barber chair and it was my habit to grab a broom and sweep from time to time. (A habit highly encouraged by my dad).

The barber shop had three, huge store-front windows. They seemed particularly large to an eleven year old who had to clean them. The sunshine across Evans Avenue was long gone. The air was peculiarly static.  Folks outside moved purposefully to their vehicles, casting weary glances at an ominous gathering of clouds.

A storm was coming. It had been a topic of conversation that afternoon in the barber shop.

In Oklahoma, there is often a strange stillness and weightiness to the air before a storm. We have “thunder-boomers” and tornados; it’s not a storm unless it affects you personally. There weren’t sophisticated weather reports and no such things as Doppler radar. We stepped out front to survey the color of the sky, the smell of the air and checked horizons for wall clouds.  It had grown too dark to tell very much, and it was still the middle of the day.

I don’t remember how the storm front arrived; I am very familiar with hundreds of Oklahoma storm fronts since. I do remember looking across the street at the large trees behind the Malone Ford Dealership.  The tops of trees were starting to whip violently. This was turning into the scariest storm of my young life. There was blowing debris, the building creaked, and the windows actually bowed.  I was terrified! Continue reading Barbershop Theology: Let’s Make A Deal

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Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.