Dreaming Out Loud: Laura Griffin’s Blog

Blackberry Lodge - Day 2 (cont'd)

August 21st, 2007

During my walk around the cabin grounds, I snapped a few shots I thought I’d share.

…some simple wildflowers on the side of the road:

… a local berry plant (apparently the berries & roots of this plant are poisonous, but many people actually make salads from the leaves. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I’d be willing to take the risk on that one!)

…a wonderfully shaped weed growing out of the surrounding stones. (Isn’t nature’s geometry fascinating?!)

…and some beautiful rock ground cover

When I took a closer look at the rocks all around the cabin, I actually began noticing that many of the stones had quartz stripes running through them. I was amazed….I’ve been collecting those stones for years, but have only been able to find them previously on the shores of Ireland & Costa Rica. To think there are thousands in Oklahoma is bizarre! I even have art prints in my house of this type of stone. I collected about 10 of them and am hoping to do some still-life photography with them soon, so I’ll post pics when I do.

My sister-in-law cooked a great dinner for us of grilled burgers, sweet potato souffle, asian slaw salad, & corn on the cob. After we had our fill, we put the kids to bed & pulled out the poker chips.

Now I have to preface this by saying…I’ve only played poker a handful of times in my life. I’m by no means a real poker player. In fact, I don’t even really know the rules because I always forget what makes a good hand & what beats what.

What I soon found out, though, was that not knowing what I had in my hand actually helped. Well - that and a dash of luck, of course! No one could read if I was bluffing or not because I didn’t even know what I was holding half the time. *LOL* Slowly my chips started accumulating. I thought it was a fluke. And for some reason, I kept getting more and more winning cards. Mike started commenting that we needed to go buy a lottery ticket…my odds were so uncanny. When it finally got down to only my brother and I left at the table and we were on the final hand (winner takes all), I was pretty sure that I had nothing. As he revealed his cards, I laid mine down and realized I had a flush. I said, “I think I have a flush thing!” We ended up doubling over in laughter because he totally didn’t see it coming & neither did I. I might have to take up this poker thing after all!

Hard to believe this was my chip pile!

Entry Filed under: Photography, Travel