Our backyard trailcam caught this cat wandering into the bed of yarrow where our resident little cottontail kit hangs out.
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
A dashing squirrel
A cottontail cooling off.
A red bellied woodpecker getting a snack
Little cottontail “Bugsy” helping out with the weeding.
A spying squirrel
A Rocking Robin
Mr. Grackle checking it out
A peaceful dove
Another squirrel
I’m helping out a biology professor doing research on native pollinators
Tagging the take
Bugsy getting a drink!
Mr. Kodi the Pomeranian getting possessive about his stick.
Check out some more of God’s creatures at Saturday’s Critters.
I find Swallowtail Butterflies a challenge to photograph. Unlike monarchs, swallowtails are here there and everywhere. We had one in the front yard the other day that wasn’t so active so I was able to capture an image with my phone camera.
And a short video, even though I lost it for a second.
And here is Lizzie, she sits still.
Our little pomeranian, Kodi never sits still, he is here there and everywhere.
I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters. Check them out.
The family went on a little mini vacay this week down to Beavers Bend State Park in southeast Oklahoma.
We stayed in a nice cabin
Went on one big hike and a smaller hike.
Kayaking for me and Logan, and Standup Paddleboard for Heather on Broken Bow Lake.
Kodi went with us on the shorter hike along the Mountain Fork River.
He got a little intro into swimming in a river.
Some fire pit time for everybody.
Checking out a partial moon.
We had a great time. More to come.
I went on a bike ride the other day. I saw this bald eagle. Very far away almost past the limit of my camera. Two years ago I was quite sure that I had never seen a bald eagle in the wild. Since then I have seen lots of them.
And nearby a brief of White Pelicans. They are beautiful and comical at the same time.
And one of the big loners of the world, a Great Blue Heron. In some places, like on a beach, they are almost social with people but usually they keep their distance.
And I focused on a random pile of rocks and sure enough there were some basking turtles. They use up all the rocks and dead trees in the river.
And switching gears, our little Kodi, the Pomeranian graduated from puppy school!!
Here is what he was best at, the thirty foot treat run. He’s really been a good dog and we love him.
That’s about it this week. I am linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.
I was flying the drone the other evening. When I was bringing it back home our Pom Kodi showed up on the back patio in his capacity of manager of backyard security wanting to know what the intruder was.
I went on a bike ride on the Osage Prairie Trail north of Tulsa. It is a Rails to Trails project done years ago where an railroad is converted to trails. I love it because it goes through a lot of back country including ranches. I saw this Hereford cow looking happy in some tall green grass. Don’t see too many white faces like this any more.
And some of his friends, Angus cattle also grazing.
And in a different pasture I found some horses with their heads down.
And I found this little turtle crossing the road. Why did the turtle cross the road? (To get to the shell station!)
And a few miles away another, bigger turtle getting across the road.
And on a different outing on my first hike on Tulsa’s brand spanking new Mooser Greenway trail system I found myself a deer.
I love seeing deer.
Later on I found this feather. Google lens says it is from a red tailed hawk. I left it near where I found it.
And this might be the Shell Station. Just so happens I worked for Shell Oill for a short time and I learned that nothing makes a die hard Shell Oil employee madder than calling their logo a clam. It’s a pecten they will say in a heartbeat. So of course I doubled down on calling it a clam. Alrighty, sorry, I’ll get back to Saturday’s Critters.
I found this fresh cut disk cut out of a tree blocking the trail. I tried to count the rings and I came up with a 102 years old.
And speaking of red tailed hawks, this dude was up- on power pole looking for his lunch. He was a long ways away. At the very limit of my ancient Canon Superzoom camera. How far away you ask?
He was on top of the rightmost power pole as seen from our back yard. I love my DSLR with all the various lens but it is hard to be beat a superzoom for lightweight and usefulness in a wide variety of situations.
Here’s another photo of the hawk.
And here is the mandatory pic of Kodi the Pomeranian in a pensive mood. He’s the same color as our floor so he is Kamo Kodi in dim light inside.
I”m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out. Lots of talented bloggers link up with her.
On a guided hike on Turkey Mountain, I was lagging behind the group (I like to lag) and found this butterfly. Google lens tells me that it is a Red Spotted Purple butterfly. Other resources say Red Spotted Purple Admiral. I don’t know, I just thought it was different.
An overhead view of the same butterfly.
I visited Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum and took a walk around the gardens. I saw this little pollinator working away, doing its thing.
And then a wasp looking critter working on these blooms.
And yet another pollinator, pollinating.
And a duck on the museum grounds. Do you suppose he snuck in without paying?
And they had sheep. I loved these sheep. They were on a secluded part of the grounds up until 2014 and then disappeared. They are back now in a more visible part of the grounds. There were lots of teenagers visiting the museum the day I was there and the sheep were a hit. Up to six or seven kids were sitting on them at a time. I just bided my time until they left to get this shot.
And then shift to our backyard. I was sitting on a bench reading and this downy woodpecker landed on a nearby branch and stayed for a little bit.
And going inside the house, Lizzie the cat spent a big part of a recent day with her tongue sticking out. Silly cat!!
And here’s the Kodi the Pomeranian puppy showing a little bit attitude during a training session.
And here he is at puppy school doing everything my wife asks of him. He’s a rock star at puppy school. When it is not his turn to do something he watches the other dogs and people closely. He’s taking it all in. I’m learning what it is like to have a dog smarter than I am.
And that’s a wrap this week for critters. I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.
I went on a hike last week on Turkey Mountain starting from the YMCA on the northwest side of the mountain. Best deal ever for Y members, free parking, not crowded, restrooms, water and everything else you need.
I went on my hike and as I got back to the Y I saw some wild turkeys. A tom and two hens. I posted it on instagram and facebook and a person I know with Y said the strutting tom was named Gilbert by the staff.
I only had my phone with me and he was keeping his distance so these are the best photos I could get.
In other news, our Pomeranian puppy, Kodi, is really doing well at puppy school. He’s fearless and will try anything, eager to please and scary smart. I don’t know who is training who sometimes.
As you can tell, he’s our baby now.
I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters by Eileeen.
I went on another bike ride the other day on the Arkansas River Trails here in Tulsa and saw this bird way out on the River. INaturalist is not certain but they think it is a bald eagle. Is it a teenage bald eagle maybe. Help me out fellow bloggers, please!
I saw these birds snoozing. I think they are tired white pelicans.
I took my camera with a macro lens to a nearby park to take pictures of tulips. While there I saw this little guy and took his photo with the macro lens.
I found a Koi Pond. I love Koi ponds talk about chill. Nothing like watching koi swim around makes me very chill.
And here is our little chocolate Pomeranian Kodi at puppy class. He’s a regular champ. So smart, he spends the downtime watching the other dogs and when it is his turn to do things he does great. He’s six pounds of fearlessness and smarts.
I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Lots of great posts from bloggers all over the place. Check it out.