Oklahoma Beauty

After living in Oklahoma now for 7 months I have come to find the beauty in the wide open spaces -kind of like the Dixie Chicks song. Once you see the vast open-ness like there is here in Oklahoma, 'wide open spaces' takes on a whole new meaning. It was absolutely crazy to me the first months being here knowing we could drive and see for miles and miles. We could see a big thunderstorm building up in Kansas. The "rivers" are dried up sandy areas and the "lakes" are all man-made reservoirs that are few and far between and also very dry.  Everything was brown and dead. We moved here and I thought we found the most boring, ugliest state. And in many ways, that might be partially true. Compared to other states and mostly our beloved Michigan, Oklahoma pales in comparison. BUT that doesn't mean there aren't beautiful things here.

We've seemed to have quite a decent amount of rain in the past few weeks and things have really come to life. Flowers are blooming, trees are filling out and things have turned green - mostly. But the most amazing beauty I've seen here so far have been the expansive canola fields. Don't ask me what the fields actually are or what they are for. I can only assume canola oil...but I won't lie, I haven't researched it. All I know is that they are this vibrant yellow plants that take over fields and mixed in with the growing bright green fields, make this flat landscape come alive and look beautiful. The flat-ness has its advantages when you can see yellow fields for miles and miles. It really is breathtaking.

And because I love taking pictures, I had to put Evelyn in a cute little outfit and let her go play in the flowers! We had a great time playing and I got some great pictures.

One of the best parts of this Oklahoma landscape are the sunsets. Because of the flat-ness its like the sun is setting over the open water every night. There have been so many nights that I stop in my tracks and watch the sun peek out from the clouds on its way down past the horizon. Mixed with a  few trees here and there, and those oil horses, it makes for a peaceful ending to the day. I haven't been able to capture a sunset and do it justice, but trust me - its perfect. 

This landscape here in Oklahoma is vastly different than Michigan, but I am enjoying it while we are here. Michigan's lush land and variety of landscapes can't be topped in my book, but Oklahoma has made a dent and I've found calm and comfort in the open spaces. I still can't believe we live in such a wide open state in a completely different part of the country than what we knew, but I am glad to get the chance to know this part of the country. 

America really is beautiful from sea to shining sea.