A couple weeks ago I felt like moving around so I ventured off to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center on an overcast day to wander around and see what I could see.
Oxley during the week is great. Nobody is there!! I didn’t see too many critters though. Oh well.
They have great flat trails there. Hardly a rock to trip over anywhere. Don’t worry I trip over roots, stubs, branches, and my own feet.
A repurposed major highway cuts through Oxley as a big wide, sustainable trail. I’ve seen lots of critters from this over the years when the trails are really too muddy to walk on.
I found me a big mess of fungi. Google lens tells me that this could be turkey tail. They gave several other possibilities and I picked Turkey Tail cuz I liked the name.
I come across a bridge with its own poem. It’s called “This Drop” by Sasha A. Martin. She was the “Artist in Residence” at Oxley a few years ago. I never met her but I would like to do so.
When she left they posted her poems all over Oxley. I always love seeing them. She is on instagram and her handle is @thatsashamartin. She is super talented.
The birds were out chirping away but I couldn’t get more than a glimpse of any of them except for the cardinals. They are hard to miss but they don’t wait long enough for me to focus and get a photo. Still it was nice having the Merlin App so I could figure out what they are.
Another nice surprise was the lakes, creeks, and marshes being full of water. I couldn’t quite figure it out until I said something on social media about it and then several people piped up and said that the low water dam holding water on the park had failed in the last year or two and they finally got it repaired and working again a few months ago. I was like, ohh. I pride myself on knowing what is going with stuff like that and everyone but me knew.
My pride will recover, in the meantime I am happy with the water being restored to Oxley.
I love boardwalks across marshes.
Here is the Nature Center at the Nature Center. Very well informed volunteers hang out there. I usually bypass it because I know where I am going. If I had stopped and asked why the low water, I am sure they would have told me.
Here is my wibble wobbling route on my hike. About 2.7 miles or so I think.
I am linking with Skywatch Friday and Galeria Himmelsblick
What an adventure!!!!
…I love the fungus amongus!
Wibble wobble hikes are the most fun! And having a private nature center is wonderful. Boy that does not happen here in SW Florida this time of the year. I don’t mind sharing nature up to a point. That point is generally exceeded during the season. It’s great to have water there — makes me realize how much I take that for granted here.
Maybe it’s still a bit cold there for birds to come out and say hi, I recognize that fungi though, i’ve seen it here on bush walks.
Super nice to see poetry among nature’s mix, and anyone who can say that the brilliant Carl Jung was wrong about anything has certainly got my attention. š
The fungi is interesting.
That’s a cool mess of fungi! Nice to have the place to yourself. I’m starting to lose confidence in Google Lens and other AI programs for identifying stuff. I’m finding they are frequently wrong.
Amazing place, Awesome series of photos.
Greetings.
Thanks for sharing your walk. I like boardwalks too.
Great exploration. Nice to see lot of water. Crisp explanation as well
Great photos of the nature center and trails.
You are seeing and hearing the same birds I have here.
It is nice to see the water, I am sure the wildlife likes it too.
Take care, Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!
This is a place I would want to visit if I was in the Tulsa area, especially as it has an accessible paved trail. Your birds are similar to ours except we would have black-capped chickadees instead of Carolina chickadees. Fun fact, the two look similar and interbreed in areas where their territories overlap. Alana ramblinwitham
Such interesting shots,
Interesting Post, I read with great pleasure.
Thank you for sharing and for hosting. Greetings by Heidrun
You go the best places and take the best photos ~ fun! ~ thanks,
Glad to see water around the place ~ I can send some snow ~ lol ~ we got more last night ~ sigh ~ ”
an artist reflects
Looks like a nice, tranquil hike in nature. Iām all about flat, well maintained trails these days. I love the nature center by the pond.
Another benefit of being retired is that you get to enjoy the parks during the week when everyone else is working.
That’s a place for me!! Thanks for taking us with you on your walk, Alan. Nice images.
This trail is totally AWESOME. Nice images.
The tree fungi was a cool find…I’ve seen some of it over here but never on such a mass…no idea what it is called though. the name you found seems appropriate
The sky and surroundings still look quite wintry? Song: Come, dear spring, dear spring, come soon, chase away winter, chase away winter and set life free!