Category Archives: Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Critters – At the Beach!!

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We went on our family vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama early in September. It was great because the crowds were gone and the weather was pleasant, but the water was still warm. It was perfect.

Pelicans on Patrol

I spotted a squadron of pelicans skimming the waves in the Gulf of Mexico. I presume they were looking for something to eat.

Brown Pelican at Perdido Pass

We saw this lone wolf pelican at a nearby pass begging for food from the fishermen. We see these loners and I sense that most of them are juveniles and don’t quite know how to fend for themselves.

And near the pelican were some great blue herons. (At least I think that is what they are.)

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I was on the balcony of our condo when I spotted this heron. I am thinking that he was looking for lizards.

We walked on the beach a lot. We saw lots of shorebirds standing and flying around.

Had a bunch of these birds

On a bicycle ride in nearby Gulf State Park we saw this alligator. We have been here before and there is almost always an alligator or two here.

And at the swimming pool one evening we spotted this lizard. He would puff his throat up to a bright red color. He’s lucky a heron didn’t see him is what I think.

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters.

Saturday’s Critters – Oxley Nature Center

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In early August I ventured up to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center.

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They have lots of deer up there. Sometimes I find them and sometimes I don’t. This time I found three groups.

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They are wary but not skittish like deer who have been hunted.

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If you stand still long enough, they ignore you.

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I found this mama with a fawn.

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Lots of birds out that day also. They were way off so the photos are a little fuzzy.

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And a dragonfly!!

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Critters – Roadrunner

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I was in Albuquerque last weekend and came across this roadrunner at a local park. It was a little shy and kept a constant distance from me and wouldn’t turn around or give me a profile view for nothing. I lived in New Mexico for years and I don’t think I ever saw one. When I worked summers in the oilfields of west Texas I saw lots of them. Of course back then we didn’t have smart phones snapping away at anything that moved.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Critters – Horse Drawn Wagon Ride

As explained in my last post, recently I traveled up to South Dakota for a family reunion. It kind of goes on for several days with different things at different places. One of the things we did was we convened at a family member’s farm and he had arranged for his neighbors to come and give horse drawn wagon rides to everybody. You can bet that I was in the first group.

The horses are Belgian mares and furthermore they are both pregnant but they did a great job taking everybody on a ride. The neighbor takes his team to different events around the state and you can tell it is a labor of love for him. The wagon and the horses tack were perfect. He doesn’t pull reins to get them to go one way or another, he says “Haaa” and “Geee” and they respond.

Stuff like this is making memories especially for the little ones on the ride. Big smiles from them, and big smiles from everybody!

Last time I was at the reunion, four years ago, the same neighbor came over with a stage coach. Check it out here. That was also lots of fun.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Backyard Critters

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We got to missing our little bunnies and wondered where they were so I put the trailcam on their favorite yarrow patch and one showed up the other day.

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We are worried about our puppy Kodi getting them but so far he just half heartedly chases them.

Every once in a while he goes on the hunt for them and gets one to run but like I said his heart is not in it. WHICH IS FINE BY ME!!

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I captured myself cutting the grass the other day. I am about the only person on the street that still mows their own yard.

And here is Lizzie. She never goes out in the back yard but she likes to check out the action through the window when she is not napping. She naps a lot.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters.

River Critters and More

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I went on a bike ride earlier this week along the RiverParks Trails here in Tulsa and took along my superzoom camera. I captured this flock of great blue herons egrets fishing along a channel in the Arkansas River.

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I always like catching birds in flight.

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Another mixed flock of birds fishing in a different spot.

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This heron was all by himself.

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Upriver were some geese.

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A couple of egrets checking out the action.

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Another shot of an egret with a heron.

And a butterfly flitting around our backyard.

Lizzy the cat checking on the cicada action on the back porch. She likes to watch them. Our pom Kodi likes to eat them. Yuck!!

Hoof prints found during a hike on Turkey Mountain. They have asked for people not to ride horseback on the new trails but some people insist on doing their own thing.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters!!

Saturday’s Critters

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Our backyard trailcam caught this cat wandering into the bed of yarrow where our resident little cottontail kit hangs out.

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It came out a few minutes later. Fortunately the kit is still around as well.

Here is Kodi our chocolate colored fur ball taking a break on his walk.

We try and walk him daily in our neighborhood green belt. It backs up to several backyards with dogs and sometimes they are out and they can bark at each other.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Critters – Turtles and Dogs

A summer heat dome has settled in over Tulsa. Very hot and humid but I am kind of used to it so instead of exercising at a gym I am spending a lot more time outside. I mean you know, it is summer in Oklahoma and that is just the way it is. So I’ve been out in the woods a lot more lately and I am not seeing much in the way of critters. I am sure they are resting during the heat of the day. Well, I came across a little turtle hiding in plain sight.

Kodi on coffee table

Our Pomeranian, Kodi on the other hand is a fluff ball so we only walk him early in the mornings otherwise he gets a little overhead. So we play endless games of fetch in the house. Him being the prince of the house decided to jump over to our coffee table the other day. We tried telling him that it is a coffee table and a dog table but he wasn’t going for it.

That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters, go check it out.

Arizona Critters

I visited Springerville, Arizona for a high school reunion. I had some free time so I went on a hike on a trail built and maintained by the Arizona Wildlife Department along the Little Colorado River as part of the Becker Wildlife Area. I saw lots of birds who were too active and in too much cover for me to get photographs.

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I did capture this fuzzy photo of what might be a swallow of some sort. I got it posted on iNaturalist and they are pretty good about figuring out what the various critters are. Update! The consensus from iNaturalist is that this is a Northern Rough Winged Swallow.

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There was some private land adjacent to the trail. I got this far off shot of what might a longhorn cow. It was in a pasture with some angus cows.

This section of the Little Colorado River is managed for trout fishing and they have done a lot of work to stabilize the banks. Here is a weir put up to divert some of the water for irrigation. Downstream of the weir was a deep pool and it seemed a very popular spot for trout fishing.

The river also has several beaver dams so there are pools above the dams and running water below.

Our family lived in this area back in the late 60’s early 70’s. My brother and I liked to go fishing in the river upstream of this area. We didn’t catch any fish but the ice cold water felt good on our feet on hot summer days.

They didn’t have these cool riverside trails and bridges back then.

The trail out and back was only about a mile long but it was an enjoyable walk. A fellow hiker I encountered said that a rattlesnake was seen on the part of the trail I was headed towards. I thanked him for the information and went on my way. This part of Arizona is thick with rattlesnakes. We saw several on our property when we lived here and my brother and I felt duty bound to kill them all. I leave all snakes alone now. This is where they live and they have their role in nature. Anyway, I didn’t see it. I’m sure it saw me!

I’m linking up with Saturday’s Critters.