what I love about Oklahoma

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

I'm so glad to be home.  I was thinking today how blessed we are to be here and just have to put my plug in for my favorite state.

This morning the doorbell rang and outside the front door stood our little neighbor and her 4-year-old brother.  They wanted to know if the kids could come out and play.  The entire 3 years we lived in Wisconsin, we NEVER had a kid ring the doorbell to see if the kids wanted to play.  In fact, when we'd see other kids out and about, part of the time people would tell their kids not to talk to strangers, so the kids were scared of us because they didn't know us.  How do people ever get to know one another in a climate like that?  Anyway, these two kids stayed and played with the girls until lunch time, and best I could tell, fun was had by all.  These are the second bunch of kids who wanted to play, by the way, and very nice and polite kids, too. 

Yesterday, the girls and I went out early in the morning to see if the beans they'd planted last week had sprouted yet.  We didn't see any sign of them, but by evening yesterday, they were already three inches tall!  Several more had sprouted by this morning.  The tomatoes in buckets are setting fruit, even though I got them out late by local standards (Mom has already gotten ripe tomatoes off of her plant.)  The spinach will be ready to eat very soon, though it was also planted late, too. 

All the trees are leafed out and everything is bright green.  The dry Indian grass from last year looks ornamental out in the pastures where it grows in patches among the green new low growth. 

Went to the homeschool conference last weekend and a local lady remembered me from the county fair more than three years ago, and offered any help that her family could give in finding and establishing our homestead.  This is a woman I've talked to once or twice, but don't really know that well, but do know that she lives over in the general vicinity of my family.  Nice folks.

We've only been back in OK for two months (or a little less?) and already run into folks we know when we go out somewhere!

And the number one priceless reason why I love Oklahoma is when I'm listening to my kids saying their prayers each night, my little one (3) has been consistently saying, "And thank you, Lord, that I'm in my favorite place of all!" 

[ScottA]

HG if you keep this up other people will want to move to OK. Some from California might move here and the next thing you know it'll be spoiled just like everywhere else. Shhhh. Besides wait till July and August get here. You'll be cussing the heat and humidity. You know what I'm talking about...dripping sweat before you can walk from the A/C house to the A/C car.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

The August heat and humidity will probably kill us this year, especially after getting somewhat acclimated to WI over the last few years.  I came home a year ago for my great-grandma's funeral, and it was 112 degrees and really high humidity that day... I had to run the car with the AC on for several minutes before I could sit the kids back in their car seats because the seats were dark colored and scorching hot.  But that's OK... I'll probably not have to shovel snow anytime soon!!! 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

FWIW, my husband who used to hate the summer heat here is actually thrilled at the prospect of summer right now.  He's been great... grilling for me nearly every day if I ask, as long as I get stuff marinated and ready for the grill.  He was also saying that he thinks OK is one of the best kept secrets in the US.

[glenn kangiser]

Lucky for you I'm originally an Oregonian.  Do people live in holes in the ground over there?

...and I don't speak the language either -- how would I communicate? hmm

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Water table is too high, generally speaking... most folks don't even have basements... a lot of the time they're hard to keep dry.  I do know some people with earth-sheltered homes built into the side of hills, etc... kind of modern dugouts. 

Now the language is another matter entirely... you have to realize that there are several dialects.  Depends on what part of the state you'd be relocating to... of course, I speak perfect English (had a classmate in college who used to say I sounded just like the "news broadcast lady"),  but I have a little cousin down in the SE corner of the state that is a little difficult to understand sometimes. 

[spiralsands]

I, too, love Oklahoma. I live in Florida (boooooo.....) and own land up in NY that I hope to be moving up to in a year or so but I always loved OK. I have had to travel there frequently with my job to the Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City and always felt right at home there. That "best kept secret" remark is not the first time I've heard that about OK. I thought about retiring there and even looked for land a few years ago when I was shopping around. I'm still a little sorry I didn't pick OK to buy land but I was really concerned with having water and OK just seemed to have a lot of drought problems these days.

Congratulations to you on being in OK!

Frances

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Frances, a few years back we had a pretty good drought (before the three year period we lived in WI) but even so my garden was producing like mad.  One of the good things here is that we have a really high water table, so usually it doesn't get to the point of having to ration water or anything.  However, the last two or three years we have had record rainfall..  New York is really pretty too, but the cost of living is so high, comparatively. 

Funny you should mention the aeronautical center.  My dad built some of their newer buildings out there, and I remember going out to check them out when he was building them. 

Where in NY is your land?  I took a trip one time up from Rochester into Canada and back up and around into Buffalo at Niagara Falls... it was all a really pretty area, and the first and only time I've been there.  I was pleasantly surprised by New York.  I think most folks from the western states view New York as all being like NYC, but it isn't at all, and there are some really gorgeous places and some very nice people, too.

If I had my choices about where in Oklahoma I would like to live, I prefer the southeastern part of the state, but around the Oklahoma City area (which is where we are now) I am hoping to buy in Lincoln county.  I really like the rolling hills there and the great views.  Taxes are way less there too!

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Looks like McCurtain or LeFlore county to me....  pretty part of the state.  I have family down in those parts. 
Felt bad for the Sooners losing to the Longhorns yesterday.  I root for the Sooners anytime they aren't playing the Cowboys, but on Bedlam weekend I admit I sort of bleed orange and black. 

[muldoon]

I love swimming in the public oklahoma lakes. 

[apaknad]

OMG,

i thought my 6lb. largemouth was big. i don't know if i would swim in a lake with that. are they aggressive towards human? we have gars in MI. with long pointy snouts but they don't get anywhere near that size!

[considerations]

I think it is a record.

[ScottA]

I saw some catfish that big come out of our lake when I was a kid. The giant ones are long gone now though. The biggest Gar I've seen around here was about 100 lbs.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Muldoon, what on earth did you catch that thing with??  I've seen some pretty big ones, but not quite like that.  When I was a kid, I remember my grandpa and grandma pulling catfish out of Eufala and Tenkiller that were enormous, 70-80 lbs, bigger than me at the time.

As for Broken Bow, that's one of the prettiest places in OK.  My husband always complains that it is overrun with Texans on the weekends though.   Ever eat at Dank's Home Cookin' there in Broken Bow?  Best onion rings I've ever had.  DH and I spent part of our honeymoon at Beaver's Bend.

[glenn kangiser]

 

[Whitlock]

That's a bigg'n are they good eating?

[muldoon]

Muldoon, what on earth did you catch that thing with??  I've seen some pretty big ones, but not quite like that.  When I was a kid, I remember my grandpa and grandma pulling catfish out of Eufala and Tenkiller that were enormous, 70-80 lbs, bigger than me at the time.

I didn't catch it, I was sent those pictures in an email with a warning about swimming in Oklahoma lakes, which made me think of this post.  I remember seeing one big gar like that when I was a kid, or really the remains of it on the banks near a place we fished in Lake Livingston.  yikes.  I routinely catch them now when crappy and bass fishing, they like the goldfish I sometimes use for bait.  Most are much smaller though, 15-28 inches or so, still those needle teeth can be a handful to unhook, especially in a kayak! 

DH and I spent part of our honeymoon at Beaver's Bend.

Yeah, I'm with Glen on this, 

are they good eating?

I'v always discarded them as trash fish, if I was hungry enough I would try it I guess.  For now, I'll skip carp, bowfin and gar. 

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

That's a good boy Glenn. After all even a fool is thought wise if he keeps his peace.     Should have known you would be tempted to say something that can only serve to get you in trouble.

[glenn kangiser]

You should have seen what I wrote earlier then censored myself and erased it. 

Lead me not into temptation, Homey...

[cmsilvay]

After gtowing up and spending my first 30 years in NJ ,I could not believe I could build my little house here in eastern OK with no permits or problems with build as you go plan weve been working on our place for 2 years with no problem.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

Welcome to the forums Cmsilvay.   And welcome to OK.  What part of eastern OK are you in?  For the most part, I love the fact that there's not a lot of regulation as to building, etc.  We lived in Tryon, OK for a while and our neighbor in behind us moved in this trashed trailer house and parked it in the alley behind our house for several months before moving it (the roof was caved in and it attracted a bunch of stray cats who took up residence  , and it blocked our view of the sunset).  Even though it was an eyesore, I guess it is the same right to do that that allowed us to have all sorts of critters on three city lots in town, and to build our chicken house, etc, without any permits.  (Our neighbors across the street had a pet goat for a while that they would let in their house... never forget walking down the street and there's a goat sticking his head out through the screen and jeering at me.  )

[spiralsands]

Where in NY is your land?  I took a trip one time up from Rochester into Canada and back up and around into Buffalo at Niagara Falls... it was all a really pretty area, and the first and only time I've been there.  I was pleasantly surprised by New York.  I think most folks from the western states view New York as all being like NYC, but it isn't at all, and there are some really gorgeous places and some very nice people, too.

Hi again! In 2006, I bought 23 1/2 acres of rolling pasture and forest in Fulton County. It's about 3 miles as the crow flies from the Adirondack Mountain Park. It's about 900 or so feet high and considered the mountain foothills. I looked all over this country for land including Washington State but I picked this property in particular because it was very affordable and incredibly cozy and it has water. I'm hoping to log my own trees for the cabin I'm planning to build. I just wish I could be up there now surveying for my foundation and collecting my supplies. I wanted to go up this summer and plant a few fruit trees to get them started but gas prices discouraged me. My daughter (my one and only) is graduating from college this December and that was supposed to be the event that triggered my Florida home sale and migration to the hills. But home sales are really bad right now. I would have to practically give up any and all equity to sell it and I just can't walk away from a house with empty hands after paying for it for twelve years.

I remember you had some problems selling your won house, but it all worked out okay, right? 

Frances

[spiralsands]

After gtowing up and spending my first 30 years in NJ ,I could not believe I could build my little house here in eastern OK with no permits or problems with build as you go plan weve been working on our place for 2 years with no problem.

I have some friends outside Salpulka who are almost finished building their cabin on a scrubby 6 acres. I visited them there last time I was up in OK. I was amazed that there is no problems with permitting. Others in our association have told tales of permitting fees up to almost 30K in California. YIKES!!!

Frances

[glenn kangiser]

$21K for my buddy in CA mountains - I took the check in to the parasites.

[cordwood]

$21K for my buddy in CA mountains - I took the check in to the parasites.

Ok now give the Paul Harvey part and tell what his taxes are a year after 21 grand just to get on the payment plan, Or is it called Arnold's Great Kalifornia Bailout Plan?!