New Year’s Eve morning I decided I wanted to go on a little hike. I’m in recovery for an injury and my doctor told me to walk or run on level surfaces. Running is not happening right now but I am walking more and it doesn’t get any more level than Oxley Nature Center in north Tulsa. It was cold, in the low twenties, and there was a stiff breeze. Look at the flags standing at attention. Notice the empty parking lot! I had the whole place to myself.
I am not afraid of the cold. After years of running in the winter in all kinds of weather, I have the right gear to wear in cold weather. It is a balancing act dressing for the cold. Too little clothes and you die from the cold. Too many clothes and you overheat and sweat and possibly freeze. Also, avoid cotton!! Cotton kills in cold weather. Wear tech fabrics close to your skin. They wick the moisture away and breathe. The other thing about cold windy weather is I like to hike in the woods. It cuts the wind a lot. There are some parts of Oxley where you can hear the wind howling in the tree tops but it is calm at ground level.
Another reason to hike at Oxley, in the woods is the deer. They have deer there and I see at least one almost every time I go. I saw this dude when I walked into a water pipeline right of way. He had a group of four or so does he was bossing. So he stood and kept watch giving me the stinkeye while his harem left.
Then he gave me one last glare and left.
I walked on and had to backtrack when I came upon a frozen over trail. Hadn’t seen that at Oxley before.
Lots and lots of deer tracks.
I got to Lake Yahola and observed this dude from one of the blinds they have set up. Does anybody know what this guy is? I am wondering if it is an American White Pelican.
Hiking further on I found these deer. There were about four of them. I had a devil of a time being the newbie, picture taker that I am. I had to take the lens of autofocus and focus manually but there was a lot of glare so I had to shield the viewfinder while focusing. I’m sure it looked pretty hilarious. As you can see, I didn’t quite get the focus right.
And then yet another group. There was the big dude letting me know he was watching me and then he left and then mom and a teenager showed up. They kind of strolled past. In the background you can see another deer grazing. It was part of another group of four or five.
And got to the other side. This was pretty close to my car. I got in the car and while I was messing around with my gear and getting a drink a security car came by and checked me out.
Time to stop for some hot chocolate at Quik Trip, head home and check on the Dallas Cowboys in the game against Philidelphia. Dallas won but it was very ugly.
A very cold day! Thanks for sharing some beautiful nature shots! Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year!
Apparently I’m not the only one who likes cold hikes. What a treat to come across all those deer on a quiet day in the woods. Love it! Happy New Year!
Nice looking place to hike and see some deer. Have a happy and healthy 2018.
It looks the perfect place for hiking. Lots of wildlife for you to observe.
You were in great company with those beautiful deer and the lovely ambiance of nature ~
Great photos!
Happy New to you!
A ShutterBug Explores
Lovely nature shots!
A beautiful trail to walk!
Happy New Year Yogi.
Beautiful place.
Happy New Year. Best Wishes for 2018.
It sure been cold here in North Idaho and we have about 2 feet of snow. Neither my hubby or I made it up to Midnight. Coffee is on
What a lovely walk!
love the forest and it´s inhabitants 🙂
Hope yoru New Year started off in a great way.
Hello, I love the deer and is that a White Pelican. Cool sightings. I hope you are recovering from your injury!
Happy New Year! I hope you have a great new day and new week of 2018.
All the very best for 2018.
Now I know why I’m not a runner, during winter. I like cotton next to my skin. 😉 Nice treat to get the place to yourself. Well, except for all those four-legged friends.
It appears I followed on your footsteps on New Year’s Eve. I went out there around 1pm and found Oxley empty as well. By the time I left there was one other car in the parking lot though! Managed to find quite a few geocaches I hadn’t found yet so it was all good. Love how close you can get to the deer out there as I found the same family I think, the frozen trail was fairly neat as well.
I think you found every deer in those woods. As for the pelican, he’s white and he’s in America. Yep, auto-focus can be tricky when you have a lot of branches between you and the subject. To auto-focus or not to auto-focus, that is the question.
Lovely to run into the deer…or I guess rather you walked into them. I know you aren’t afraid of the cold like I am, so our current chilly Florida temps would feel positively mild to you…but if you were here you’d definitely find a lot of flat places ! Hope you heal soon…happy new year to you and the family.
I love the little deer! Happy new year!