Monthly Archives: January 2026

Skywatch Friday – A Busy December

December was hard, we buried my brother in Colorado and that was sad. He was a good guy. But we also got to visit my sister and her husband, and two of my top three nieces were there, one of whom had her husband and daughter with her.

We got to see our greatniece, Miss G, skate. A vivacious young lady who although very young is an accomplished skater and we got to see her perform with her ice skating team. That was a thrill for us because they live a long ways from us and we had never seen her ice skate live before. They competed at an event in a Denver suburb. The emphasis is on the team rather than individuals and I was very impressed with the team. They were great. Miss G is a very smart and a natural born athlete.

Back in Tulsa, we had a nice backyard sunrise one morning.

And a strange sign at one of our local water supply lakes.

Stopped by Oral Roberts University to check out the giant healing hands sculpture. The legend is that it you toss a silver dollar up between the hands, then they clasp shut. That was mean wasn’t it. I still like the legend though.

And our small family visited the Tulsa Botanic Gardens for their annual light show. It was wonderful.

I heart Tulsa as well!

And we started going back to church. We hadn’t been since before Covid. Everything was new. I guess that is the way it is.

And part of our Christmas meal. I smoked chicken quarters and pork ribs. Heather cooked a bunch of sides and we had quite a feast.

We went on a family New Years Eve Hike on Turkey Mountain. This is one of my favorite spots. The Lookout Hub on the very highest point overlooking the Arkansas River and south Tulsa. It is ridiculous that NYE was a shorts and tshirt day.

And I went on a few hikes of my own. I’ve found three improvised cedar Christmas Trees. Most people that put them up show up soon after New Year’s and dismantle them. Those that don’t, I dismantle them. I like to have fun but these things don’t age well. Am I getting grumpy in my old age? Probably.

Here is a bicycle flyover on one of the trails. I’ve never taken a bike on Turkey Mountain and I never will. Gravity at my age is not my friend. Can I get an amen??!!

Beach Scene Jigsaw Puzzle — I don’t own the copyright to this.

I’ve done a couple more jigsaw puzzles on my ipad. I love this beach scene.

Teton sunset jigsaw puzzle — I don’t own the copyright to this.

And I love this scene of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming.

So that closes out 2025. The New Year so far is looking great! More to come.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

Shadow Shot Sunday – Shadowy University Wall

Tree shadows on a wall and the leafy ground at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa during a geocache hunt this weekend.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Saturday’s Critters – White Tailed Deer

A couple of legacy photographs of deer at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center.

A lone deer on one of the water pipeline rights of way that run through the park. Oxley is my go to place for finding deer.

Another legacy photo that I had on the default setting of private that indicates that I have never published this photo before. A group of three deer including one looking at me right in the eye.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Skywatch Friday – Healing on the Trail

On our trip to Colorado Springs last month when we interred my brother Bob. My sister Ellen suggested we go for a short hike at the Fountain Creek Regional Park where she volunteers weekly in their visitor center.

What a great idea that turned out to be. I’ve been escaping to nature my whole life to get rest, comfort, and rejuvenate myself and this was the perfect park for that. What a jewel, El Paso County has in this park. So the five us hiked a one mile or so loop trail.

They pack a lot in that one mile loop to see.

We saw several mule deer. This butt belongs to one of them. Sorry, that was the best photo I could get.

BIL Irv, found this tiny little geocache (called a nanocache). I went ahead and signed the log even though he found it. Please don’t turn me in to the geocaching police.