Category Archives: Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – End of 2022 Edition

I see this sculpture ever year end. I always pay my real estate taxes at the last of the year and this sits right outside the Tulsa County Courthouse.

A week or two later I went hiking on Turkey Mountain. My outside time had been limited by a medical procedure on my face (I’m fine, really) where I had to stay out of the sun for a week, bad weather, my wife caught the flu, we got a new puppy, and my brother got covid. So things are looking up and I went outside in some sunny but nippy weather.

The trail builders on Turkey Mountain are putting in a long staircase from the top of the mountain down to the lower parking lot (don’t be too impressed, that’s about 335 feet, but still a big deal in Tulsa. I had to wibble wobble my route. The powers that be ask us not to walk on muddy trails, especially new trails, to keep them getting eroded so I kind of had to improvise a route.

On my route was this trail from the lower parking lot to the top of the mountain. It is bidirectional for people on foot and uphill only for mountain bikers. It looks like a hard go for them but hey they are tough.

And then here is a recently opened downhill only trail for intermediate level mountain bikers. No hikers allowed either way. The bikers fly down the hill and it is wise to keep people on foot out is what I think.

Here is the signage warning people of what they are getting into going down the trail. My modest biking skills and my bike with no suspension will not be on this trail or any other trail on Turkey Mountain. Gravity is not my friend!

And I found a cedar tree somebody decorated for Christmas. They are kind of fun especially if they take the decorations down soon after the holidays. Most people do, some don’t and these ornaments do not age well over time. They are not really “Leave No Trace” compatible.

Just a tad shy of 3 miles. A nice little outing after having been inside for weeks.

And guess, what I saw some flagging from the contractor building the trails. They are going to build more trails. More, more, more is my motto. When it comes to trails.

I am taking more skywatch photos from my front porch. Here is a recent one.

And here is another one.

And here is one of our house from the street. Yes I used a filter. I was trying to emphasize the lights.

Skywatch Friday – Santa is Almost Here Edition

Another front porch skywatch photo. I went artsy here by crouching behind our shrubs with some Christmas lights on them. As old as I am crouching down of any kind might be termed as “suffering for my art.”

Kodi the Pom puppy is who I blame for not getting out and taking more pictures. Having a new puppy is kind of like having a kid. They demand constant attention! If we don’t give him positive attention by playing with him, then he gets negative attention by chewing on electrical cords. We’re exhausted!

Another front porch skywatch shot!

My wife bought Kodi a couple of Christmas outfits. He is not a fan but we thought he rocked this elf outfit.

This time I stood on my front porch and pointed the phone to the southeast instead of the southwest like the previous two photos.

I was able to head out to the Arkansas River trails and check on construction of the new pedestrian bridge. It’s looking good but it won’t be done until well into 2023.

And I checked on the PSO power plant across the river. I love stuff like this.

To those who celebrate Christmas I wish you a Merry Christmas, Oklahoma style. To everyone else, I send you greetings and well wishes.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Inside Edition

I call this week’s Skywatch post “Inside Edition” because that is mainly where I have been lately. After some great outings that all came to a halt through a combination of my wife catching the flu and cold rainy weather.

So it was like I went to my backyard and took some sky photos because I didn’t have any recent ones and it was a nice sunny day finally. And of course I used one of my iphone camera apps and edited the photos. I do that a lot. I hope it doesn’t bother you.

And the other thing I do is I am constantly tagging photos. I’ve got 85,642 photos in my flickr account and about 3,000 are untagged starting in November 2015 and going backward. I delete about half of my untagged photos in a given session. I found this one this morning during a tagging session. It’s kind of over the top on editing but hey, I kind of like it. I think I used my distressedfx app.

I also found this untagged photo from November 2015. It is from a run I did along the Arkansas Rivier at night. You know starting in 1992 until 2020 when I retired I ran by myself every Wednesday night after work pretty much regardless of the weather. During the non-Daylight Savings Time months I ran on the river because they had lights. Now I am thinking what was going through my little cotton picking head. Of course the answer is that I worked during the day and I was running longer races back then so I had to run longer in training. I’m retired and now, and don’t run, but I walk and ride my bike a lot. All during daylight hours.

Earlier this week it was Heather’s birthday. She recovered from the flu and we had a great time going out for breakfast, going to a movie (Spirited, see my previous post, a wonderful movie) opening gifts, going out for dinner, and then birthday cake!!

Son Logan joined us. We all had a great time.

And we are all decorated for Christmas.

04D1331A-D9D5-4F03-BE77-6072E2953064 — Jigsaw puzzle

I completed another jigsaw puzzle. This one of an old barn. This one about killed me. All that wood was hard to piece together. I’m doing one now of the Grand Canyon. It’s hard also. That’s okay. I love ipad jigsaw puzzles.

That’s about it for this week. Check back soon. After losing all three of our dogs in about a year’s time to illness we are picking up our new pomeranian Kodi. I’ll have a few photos of him to post. Here is a preview from several weeks ago.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday.

Oxley Nature Center – Land Between Water and Sky

The other day I ventured out to Oxley Nature Center. It’s not as popular as Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness but Oxley has its charms. No mountain bikes for one thing, flat trails for another. And lots of water, even during a drought like we are having now.

To me Oxley is defined by the water in its lakes, streams, rivers, marshland and ponds.

So if you like the sky and reflections, you are in the right place. Even if the skies are gray and overcast like they were the day of my visit.

I actually came looking for otters. The staff tells me that the otters have taken over an old beaver lodge and the best time to see them is around 6 am. Well, that isn’t happening. So I take my chances during the day every once in a while.

I love Oxley’s woods and water and proximity to town and its many trails.

And opportunities to take photos.

I even found a geocache on my visit. Finding it was easy but you have to sign the paper log for it to count. This one had a “field puzzle” to solve. They had nine bottles of scents and the combination to the log involved identifying three of the scents and putting them in the correct order. That took a lot of time, for me. But I eventually figured it out even though my sniffer got worn out. Good thing it wasn’t summer when I would be wearing scented bug spray. I loved it, such an original concept for a geocache.

So I had a good time in what seems sometimes like my own private forest preserve. Do you have a secluded place you can go to to get away?

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

An Afternoon at Oxley Nature Center

Wednesday here in Oklahoma started cold, about 29F but it was clear and it warmed up nicely and the skies were clear in the afternoon into the 40’s so I bundled up and drove to north Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center to get some trail time and sunlight.

I took the trail called the North Woods Loop. I have been on this trail dozens of times over the years and hardly ever see anybody. Today there was nobody at all.

The air was crisp and the skies were blue. It was late afternoon and the lowering sun illuminated everything perfectly.

There were lots of dead leaves on the trail which made it hard to walk stealthily.

The sun was brilliant shining through the remaining leaves leaving an impression almost like stained glass.

It was a great day to be out in the woods.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday

2022 Thanksgiving Skywatch

DSCF0495 — RiverParks painted the storage container at Turkey Mountain. I love it.

It’s Thanksgiving today. This day always brings back floods of memories going back decades.

DSCF0502 — Crooked Trees on Turkey Mountain

When I was a kid we would travel frequently to southeastern Idaho. I think my mother was related to half the people there. We would gather at a family member’s ranch near Dubois, Idaho. All sorts of aunts, uncles, cousins and such would be there. Lots of fun for the kids, lots of rest for the men and a huge amount of work for the women.

I’m glad that I have those memories. My parents and everybody in that generation is now gone on my mother’s side of the family.

Over the years since, the Thanksgiving’s have grown and shrunk and changed considerably. Not as much food, not as much work the guys are expected to help out with the cleanup. It’s all good.

Thanksgiving is a time to remember people who are no long with us.

IMAG1601 — Our crew from 2016. Sorry for the glare from the window. One of the many reasons I call myself a “picture taker” and not a photographer.

I’ve been married for a long time now and many of my in-laws traditions are now ours. For example I smoke the turkeys and other meats instead of roasting them in the oven.

Also, the moderate weather in Oklahoma compared to Idaho means that there have been some Thanksgiving dinners have been eaten outside.

AI Thanksgiving — Artificial Intelligence generated photo of a Thanksgiving feast.

We’ve all gotten older and cannot eat as much. I confess we use disposable plates to speed up the cleanup.

5568BD09-47E3-435A-8FCE-03D9C8293DB0 — Jigsaw puzzle I completed recently.

I wish everyone a great Thanksgiving!!

New Update!! Today’s Thanksgiving Photo

Clockwise from upper left, Me, Logan, brother Bob, wife Heather, and MIL Jeanette

Linking with Skywatch Friday

A Walk Along the River in Tulsa

The other day I went on a geocaching hunt on the Arkansas River. The hunt was fun but I really loved the walk even more.

It was very chilly, windy, and sunny. The sun was getting low and I loved the light on the trees and leaves against the clean blue sky.

It was magical.

So I took my time.

At one point I could look all the way down the river to downtown Tulsa.

A closeup.

Back to the sunlight and trees.

What a nice break in the afternoon! Tulsa has lots of nice winter days like this. Of course Winter is 35 days or so away.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Come join in!

Skywatch Friday – Mid November Edition 2022

It looked like a nice sky was possible at dusk the other day so I launched the drone and captured this image. Looking west from south Tulsa.

I went and voted Tuesday morning along with millions of fellow citizens. The highlight was a lady come in to vote. She was 100 years old and very spry. She said Truman was the first President she ever voted for. I loved it. Saw this tree just off the parking lot of my polling place.

I love the trees at Tulsa’s Lafortune Park.

A view from the Ridge Trail on Turkey Mountain looking east out over the Arkansas River and south Tulsa.

A rainbow in our neighborhood.

Some fall color in my mother-in-law’s neighborhood.

And now an image generated by Artificial Intelligence based on the text string I inputted which is below the image. Go generate your images for free at freeimagegenerator.com.

AI mountain lake with fall colors — “mountain lake in the fall with trees fall colors photorealistic”

I’m still trying to decide whether I like AI images or not.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. Come join in the fun.

Skywatch Friday – Autumn Beach Vacation

Bridge across the Mississippi on the very long drive to the beach, 13 hours or so.

Mississippi State Forestry Service fire tower. I don’t think they use it any longer.

At Orange Beach, we found this treasure dredging sand at Perdido Pass and making more beach by pumping the dredged material ashore. This is as close as they let us go. Isn’t it beauty. I used to use similar barges laying pipelines in south Louisiana.

Isn’t she a beauty?

I got a few decent beach skies.

Lots of pelicans skimming the waves.

We had several decent days on the beach. The water was way too cold for me. My feet got toasted good in the sun. I promise, no more feet pics. At least for a while.

I got up early one fridged morning and got a decent sunrise. Yes, I used a filter if you must know.

We saw a catamaran out on the water one late afternoon. Nothing better than photographs of sailing vessels I think.

We drove to nearby Pensacola and checked out Pensacola Beach. Gorgeous beach and water. We got out on the pier and saw fisherman catch fish. We saw a sea turtle surface briefly and sharks lurking about. Lots of manta rays. I didn’t have the right camera to capture any of that.

Back at Perdido Pass. We have learned that dolphin cruises and fine and good but the fisherman on the beach will tell you where to go see dolphins. We got to the pass late afternoon and there were tons of dolphins going back and forth. Didn’t have to pay a thing and nobody presented us with a tip jar.

I’m fascinated by Artifical Intelligence generated photos. I got on my goto site for that kind of foolishness, freeimagegenerator.com, and entered: “most colorful orange beach alabama skywatch photo hdr realistic detailed concept art ” on the text prompt and a few seconds later it gave me this image. Strangely enough it looks like about half the shirts for sale in the state. The whole concept is freaky to me. Try the link and let me know what you think. You want to try something really disturbing, enter your name and home address in the text prompt.

That’s about all the foolishness for this week. I’m linking to Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday – Cool Beach Vibes

We are still at the beach on our family’s vacation. We had a couple of warm days to wear we could sit on the beach for a few hours. The water was warm enough wade in but not for me to get in. Son got in for a little bit but he is young, right? And then it got cold so we go beach walking and hiking in a nearby State Park. Hey you know, a cold day at the beach is still okay.

I hope everybody is doing well!! I’m linking with Skywatch Friday.

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