Category Archives: Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Droning On

As I mentioned before, I got a drone for my birthday. It is a Mavic-Mini. A very small drone with with some big features. Mainly a built in GPS that enables it to hold its position and a nice camera. Click the link above, it has some fun videos and to be honest the drone is as easy to fly as it shows in the link.

I have been experimenting with it in various places. I went to a local freeway interchange that featured a very high overpass. The drone flew right up there and stayed in a pretty good wind. If you run the video you can see it bouncing around.

I took it to a local park and flew it around and it did fine. Got into some conversations about it with people. They thought that I was “very good at flying it.” Not really, its just that it is very easy to fly. This is my third drone, the other two were okay but they had a mind of their mind especially the slightest wind.

I got confident enough to fly it in our back yard where we have lots of trees in a small space.

This is toward the northeast of our house overlooking the greenbelt

More maneuvering around the back yard.

To the west toward the setting sun.

Looking down on our back yard. Abby is one of our three dogs. She loved the drone, barking at it and wagging her tail.

This has nothing to do with Skywatching or Drones or anything. This video of some Irish Dancing at a wedding caught my eye. I hope you don’t mind it. I thought it was cool.

That’s about it for this week. We are still trying to flatten the curve. I hope everybody stays healthy and takes precautions. I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Bike Riding on the RiverParks

I’ve been working from home during this novel coronavirus situation and my wife Heather is out of work as a fitness instructor. We are trying to get our exercise in a legal, ethical, and responsible manner so we have been walking the dog, family hiking, and such. The other day we fired up our bicycles and headed to the RiverParks for a ride.

The RiverParks are popular but I doubt that they have ever seen so many people on a Tuesday afternoon. It wasn’t crowded though. Maintaining separation was easy.

The weather was nice and cool and the skies were spectacular. There was a pretty good breeze from the north that made riding into it challenging but coming back with the wind at our back we were flying.

One thing that helped was the Gathering Place is closed so all the people who are new to the parks and do not yet understand to stay on the right but instead wibble wobble here and there and everywhere were not present. For the most part. There are always wibble wobblers. That’s okay, they just don’t know, I used to be one.

The bike traffic was pretty steady.

We came across friends Jay and Tracy who were walking on the trail. It was funny, we maintained our distance. Jay and I did jokey elbow bumps. We talked for a little bit and then we each went our way.

A great safe time was had by all.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – A New World

A new world was born for me this week.

Heather with Rascal — Heather and Rascal – they leave me behind when I start take photos, I don’t blame them. Nothing more boring than watching other people take photos.

Social distancing, remote working, hunkering down fell down on us in the US quickly as our national leadership finally acknowledged the reality of the Corona Virus and started treating it as a public health problem instead of a public relations issue.

TWo pear trees impression — Yep, I edited this heavily. Topaz Studio is my favorite right now.

Better late than never orders are out to shut down restaurants, schools, gyms, almost any public place. The RiverParks authority has even requested that we maintain six feet of space if come upon somebody while running or bicycling on their trails.

davincihood — It rained heavily this morning and was threatening more is the reason I didn’t go to Turkey Mountain. Yep, this is edited also with Topaz Studio to get an impressionist type feel.

I’m kind of worried about my brother who is in a rehab hospital. I try and visit him every day but I worry about putting his and other patients health at risk. Nobody else visits him though so I show up every day during the restricted visiting hours and visit with him. Phone communication has worked out very well with him.

tree lichen 1 — For some reason I am loving taking photos of lichen lately. And yes, I edited this photo as well. True Confessions.

From what I read, we may be hunkering down for quite a while so figure out a way to survive and thrive. I went on a walk with my wife and one of the dogs in the neighborhood with my camera. I am looking at familiar things in new ways, trying to determine what my new normal is going to be.

So be safe, make sure that you double check your sources of news, wash your hands and lets be kind to one another. We are all each other have.

Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – for Croquet Use Only

Seen at a local park a couple weeks ago.

I am looking forward to Springtime with its longer days and warmer temperatures. I am a little anxious to get out on the trails with my bicycle.

I am thankful for the four seasons and the opportunities to be outdoors for all of them.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Oklahoma Spring Skies

We have had some strange weather in Oklahoma lately. Except that all the weather in Oklahoma is strange. It makes for some nice sky scenes. The above is from south Tulsa looking north. You can just barely see downtown Tulsa in the left center.

From the same vantage point to the southwest. The high rises just to the right of center is the former Oral Roberts City of Faith Medical Center, now just office buildings.

DSCF9752-Edit — I always say a prayer when I see an ambulance, fire truck, police car, or medevac helicopter.

And a helicopter came buzzing in to the hospital building where I shot these images. The heliport is on the top floor. My brother still has serious medical issues and your thoughts and prayers are appreciated. I am thankful for the dedicated doctors, nurses, nursing techs, therapists, case managers, and others who are in the medical field that work hard to take care of sick people.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Shannon Springs Park

More views from our trip to Chickasha, Oklahoma to see our son who is attending college there.

We spent some time at Shannon Springs Park which started out as a stop on the Chisholm Trail during the post Civil War years. The trail was how cattle got from Texas to railheads in Kansas. Shannon Springs was a major source of water on the trail.

It became a city park and later enhanced by the WPA. The city has continued to add to and maintain the park and it is quite attractive.

It is the site of the Chickasha Festival of Lights held during the Christmas season every year. I’m guessing the tower above is a big Christmas Tree.

I puzzled over this thing for quite a while and don’t know what it is. Do you suppose it represents a Loch Ness monster of some sort only in the park’s lake? Nah, I don’t either.

I loved the stone caretaker’s cottage as it was very similar to the cottages for sale Fairway Holiday Park . I really wanted to buy a holiday cottage so that I can have a place to stay and relax during the holidays. I don’t think the stone caretaker is occupied any more.

To end the post, this is the Wolf Moon, or Snow Moon last week. I love taking moon photographs.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Oxley Nature Center

Oxley Jan 2020 — The boardwalk was closed after the flooding last summer. Lots of dedicated staff and volunteers repaired it and it is now open.

The other day I had some time all to myself and I was thinking that I would go to the boat show, but it was a very nice day so, heck with the boat show, I am going to Oxley Nature Center. A day out in the woods and marshes beats a day at the boat show anytime.

I only had an hour and half before it closed but I have been out there lots of times and knew what I wanted to see so I went on a circumscribed circuit.

The trails were very muddy in places but there are enough trails that one can get around the soggy areas.

There are lots of woods there, and lots of ponds, lakes and marshes to get around. So I finished my outing in plenty of time, all refreshed and ready to go.

Oklahoma since the demise of the Dallas Cowboys is now College Football territory and people don’t talk much about NFL football. I did find this Kansas City Chiefs fan at a gas station. I think he’d make a great defensive lineman. He’s not very fast but nobody is going to move him off the line.

I am strange guy I guess. I love the Superbowl for the football and hardly notice the ads or the halftime show. I hear that there were lots of nearly naked women in it. I am shocked! shocked I tell you. If you missed it, check out the video with 79 million other shocked people here. After you watch be sure and log on to facebook and express your shock, everybody else is, especially those who have not seen it. Above is the one ad I did notice. Bill Murray in a “Groundhog Day” themed commercial. I loved it.

I hope you are having a great week!! I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday – Downtown Sky

A week or two ago I captured this light show from my employer’s parking garage in downtown Tulsa. It was spectacular.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday, come join the fun!!

Skywatch Friday – Winter Sky

It’s been cold here and I’ve been cooped up. Sunday morning I went for a walk around Lafortune Park, a 3 mile trek around a combination golf course, library, playground, tennis complex, and little league ballparks. One of those huge rambling urban parks that I tend to love. I’ve been around it hundreds of times over the years and of course I took my camera and I took this photo just focusing on the water and not paying attention to the sky. I was pretty happy with the result. I got a pretty good walk in also.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.