Saturday’s Critters – Exploring Oxley Nature Center

I headed out recently to Oxley Nature Center in north Tulsa to hike the trails and see what kind of animals were out and about.

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During the middle of the day I didn’t expect to find any deer but I found a small family of three resting in the woods. They didn’t seem too bothered by me.

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This young one was browsing then laid down with its back to me. Go Away!!

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I found this cool butterfly resting on a trail. Google Lens tells me that it is a Gorgone Checkerspot. I have never heard of such a thing.

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This turtle was catching a few rays.

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Two grown and two baby geese (goslings). I’ve done my research and apparently you can’t call a group of geese less than five in number a gaggle of geese. A group of swimming geese is called a plump. So here is plump of geese. I find the names of groups of animals fascinating. My favorite is a Murder of Crows. So I can truthfully say that I have seen a few murders.

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A raft of ducks. I think this raft is blue wing teals according to google lens.

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And a solitary great blue heron.

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Too blurry of a photo for an ID but these birds were swooping all over the place. I got a new word maybe. A group of unidentified blurry birds flying really fast is called a Swoop. You heard it first here. You better check in often to keep up to date.

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I found this funky looking dragonfly on a trail. Not good enough of a photo to get google lens to give me results that I am happy with.

And on the home front.

Our six pound Pomeranian puppy Kodi is a bundle of energy. He hates to be separated from my wife. If she is outside he pogos at the door to join her. When she’s inside he wants in. I guess that he has separation anxiety.

That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out, lots of great animalcentric posts by some very talented photobloggers.

The Week in Critters

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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.

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An overhead view of the same butterfly.

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I visited Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum and took a walk around the gardens. I saw this little pollinator working away, doing its thing.

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And then a wasp looking critter working on these blooms.

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And yet another pollinator, pollinating.

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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.

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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.

Lizzy sticking her tongue out at us

And going inside the house, Lizzie the cat spent a big part of a recent day with her tongue sticking out. Silly cat!!

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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.

Skywatch Friday – Springtime in Oklahoma

Spring is really getting going now. The leaves are almost electric green. I take photos and when I look at them afterwards they look almost unnatural.

Sometimes the skies are incredibly blue.

The air is light. The temperature may so 39F outside when I wake up but it doesn’t feel near that cold.

It’s a great time to be in Oklahoma.

I took a walk with a young friend and former coworker. One of the legions of people I know leaving the hydrocarbon industry for renewables like wind and solar power. Amazing the things he told me, the innovations that are occurring right now. He’s telling me about the hydrogen economy and the role ammonia could play. I am falling behind. I have to do my homework.

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You hear the phrase, there is nothing new under the sun. I have never believed it. There is plenty new under the sun and the moon.

In celebration of Spring in Oklahoma, here is “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.”

And you know, if you play one Oklahoma song you have to play the ultimate Oklahoma song. In this state everyone knows the songs and the correct arm and hand motions for “lazy hawks circling in the sky.”

Nobody else has as great a state song as Oklahoma does.

That’s enough for now. I’m linking with Skywatch Friday and also with Music Move Me.

Getting the Word Out

I’m on the Advisory Board of the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition, (“TUWC”). I am also retired so although I am pretty busy I have a lot of flexibility with my time so lately I have been working some informational type functions for the TUWC.

Back in mid April we had a work day on Turkey Mountain. The manly men and strong women do the heavy duty lifting, digging, shoveling and such on the trails. I worked a table with another guy doing user surveys for the River Parks Authority tallying information and asking people about their outing.

On April 19, again a day event hard for working people to man, I worked a table with others at Tulsa’s Guthrie Green during the Enviro Expo. There were all sorts of environmental organizations present. It was kind of cool.

Double cool because my former employer was a sponsor of the event and they had a bunch of people I knew there. I stole this photo off their instagram feed so I hope they don’t get too mad with me. It was fun catching up.

And then that Friday I worked a table with fellow board member Marci at an Earth Day event for school children at Tulsa’s Chandler Park. Marci knows all sorts of things about the natural world including butterflies, plants, critters, all sorts of stuff. She is also a long time educator and she knows how to talk with school kids and their teachers and parents. She was amazing to watch in action. She has a way of leading people to come up with answers on their own. It was a fun event. The kids were all excited about the topic. I love it when kids are enthusiastic about learning.

I have worked with TUWC the past several years and love it. If you want to get involved or volunteer check out their website at TulsaUrbanWildernessCoalition.org. We have a work day coming up in June and in May we raise money for the group by volunteering at the Tulsa IronMan competition. Check the TUWC web site above for the details.

And this week ended my school year work as a Reading Partners volunteer tutor at a local school. So I said goodbye to a student I have been working with for the school year. The kid was a hard worker and very enthusiastic all year and showed tremendous improvement in their reading ability this year.

This is my fourth year of volunteering for the group and the most satisfying. The previous two years were virtual and that was tough. It is very difficult to form bonds with students over a computer. I felt bad for the kids because they spent a big part of their day online. If you want to learn more check out their website.

So what do you do for fun in your spare time?

Saturday’s Critters – Gilbert, the Man, the Legend

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.

Dungeons & Dragons – Honor Among Thieves – the Movie

Thursday night my wife was having bookgroup at our house. Happens about once a year and they have been together for about 30 years or so. Son and I have to vacate the premises. We call it “Boys Night Out.” This year for BNO we had dinner and a movie.

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The movie was Dungeons and Dragons – Honor Among Thieves, with Chris Pine, Hugh Grant and others.

I thought it was pretty good, the plot was beyond me. but I don’t think people care about plots in these kinds of movies. It’s all about the action and the action was great. The movie had some really funny parts as well. Nothing really gruesome and best of all, everybody kept all their clothes on.

I highly recommend this movie. I give it five stars!