Sadie the Terrier and Kodi the Pomeranian love their “Turkey Tenderloins.” They immediately run to a dog bed we have in the living room and get to work on them. They will do anything the treats.
From the camera feeder. Two grackles getting irritated with each other.
And Lizzy the Cat looking at me all irritated and everything.
And from earlier this summer. I rigged a trailcam up to look at the camera feeder and caught a squirrel running away with a peanut.
Also from May I caught the colorful plumage of a dove as a grackle chased it off. I had never seen this view of a dove before.
And from a recent hike I saw this birdhouse somebody put up. I don’t know who Evie is but I love her birdhouse.
That’s it for this week. I hope everyone is enjoying the weather. We have a had a streak of over 100F days and it is expected to continue until at least next week. I sure do enjoy reading the blog posts from Australia and New Zealand. I am really liking them describing how cold the winter is down there. I’m looking forward to our own winter.
I went on a bike ride on the River Parks Trails along the Arkansas River here in Tulsa and took along my “good” camera.
I found this pod of American White Pelicans. I think a couple of them are sleeping.
I am thinking these are female mallard ducks but I am not sure. If I am wrong let me know!
I love Great Blue Herons. They are a bird that no matter where I go, I see them. And those pose beautifully for inept picture takers like me.
And a Great Egret snoozing away in the river. Google lens says this is an American White Pelican. I don’t think that is right!! Maybe AI’s takeover of the world is not going well.
And from the backyard. I love cardinals, so bright chirpy.
I love the Brown Thrashers that visit the camera feeder. They are such beautiful birds.
And we get lots of house sparrows. It’s not their fault they are non-native. I’m also non-native.
This poor bird looks a little strange because it is standing kind of close to the camera plus I think it’s just a teenager. I looked a little strange when I was a teenager as well. Of course some people I think I still look strange, but that is getting off topic.
We went on vacation for a week or so at the very end of June. Sorry to say I did not get very many “live critters” but I had my handy Merlin app so I was able to identify the little birds that I could not see but could here.
At a bar in Santa Fe I spotted this Desert Dogs sign painted on the walls. I thought it was cool.
Pagosa Springs, Colorado was dry as a bone. The San Juan river was way down and there was a burn ban in the area. We walked by the US Forest Service Ranger Station and they had Smokey Bear out.
We did find one live critter. A young mule deer was wandering around the river bottom grazing.
There were lots of birds in Pagosa Springs.
On the way back to Tulsa we stopped in Guymon, Oklahoma in the panhandle. They had this cow sculpture out in honor of the local cattle and meatpacking industry.
Last week I posted photos of various animals at the Beavers Bend Safari Park that were on the walk through part of the facility. This week I am showing you some of the animals that we saw in the drive through part.
Whitetail Deer
Sable Antelope – Native of Southern Africa
Fallow Deer – From Europe
Banteng – Southeast Asia
Red Stag – – originated in Europe
Female Blackbuck – Indian and Nepal
Female Blackbuck and a Wildebeest (aka Gnu) – The Wildebeest is originally from Eastern and Southern Africa
More Blackbucks
And yet another Blackbuck
Pere David’s Deer – Originally from China. Now extinct in the wild.
Another Pere David’s Deer
A Llama chewing its cud on a hill.
An Elk resting in a grove of trees.
It took us quite a while to do the drive through part of the Safari Park. A good time was had by all. I am linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters
As part of our trip to southeast Oklahoma’s Hochatown we visited the Beavers Bend Safari Park. They have quite a collection of animals. Many in enclosures and others out in the woods confined by fences but otherwise roaming around. I’ll post about the roaming animals next week.
Common Emu
A vervet monkey. Sorry about the camera focusing on the cage instead of the animal.
At the end of May we took a little trip down to southeast Oklahoma and stayed in a cabin close to the Beavers Bend State Park. A favorite place to go for us that is not too far. It was a combination getaway and birthday celebration for our son, Logan.
Driving around we came across this deer in the middle of nowhere. Deer are prevalent in the area.
I am not sure if this was the same deer or not.
We went on a hike on the Lakeview Lodge Trail at Beavers Bend State Park. We love the trail. Not many people, it is not too technical nor does it have huge elevation changes. We saw this far away deer and several of its friends. They all stayed away from us and disappeared eventually.
The woods were full of birds. We could hear them and spot small birds here and there. Thank goodness for the Merlin App to listen to the bird chatter and id them for us.
At the cabin we spotted this tree frog late one evening. Sorry about the grainy fuzziness of it. It didn’t stay long.
The State Park has its Woodland Heritage Center where they cover all sorts of things about life in the woods. The logging, the history of the area, woodland firefighting. They have this large piece with Smokey Bear. My dad was a Forest Ranger for the US Forest Service in the West. We went through the museum with him years ago and he kind of brought the exhibits to life with his knowledge, experience, and insights. He is gone now but I feel close to him every time I go through the museum. Lots of happy memories there.
And we celebrated son, Logan’s birthday while were down there. Lots of family memories down there.
I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Check them out. Lots of animal lovers who are also good photographers.