So lately our plain jane skies have spiced up a little bit, especially at sunset. So I have been flying my drone quite a bit.
There are even interesting skies on our dog walks.
One day we had a spectacular sunset to the west and…
to the East we got a nearly full Wolf Moon rising.
And a big thank you to Klara. Her excellent moon shots reminded me of my humble Wolf Moon shot for this month. Go check the link and see what she did with the Wolf Moon. Truly Spectacular.
Happy Skywatching to you! I am linking up at Skywatch Friday.
Last Sunday morning I went hiking at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center. I ventured first to their North Woods area where there is almost always no one but me.
And I lucked out I took off and saw no one. Suits me. Can’t do any better social distancing than that!
Didnt see any deer which was a disappointment but lots of birds and squirrels.
And lots of sky. All the trees have been stripped of their leaves so I lots of blue sky.
When I finished I drove to the main part of Oxley Nature Center and asked where the otters might be found. They told me where to go and said that it is best to get there around 5 am to 6 am. So I don’t know if I’ll ever see the otters or not.
They said head to the big beaver lodge in the lake and they hang out from there to the waterway. So I did, you never know, maybe the otters would be feeling bored on a Sunday morning. I didn’t see any otters but I saw lots of ducks and geese.
And some deer. I didn’t have a long lens so this very cropped shot is the best I could do with what I had. It was cool though. I was on a trail walking in parallel with their path so we stayed together for a couple hundred yards or so.
And I found this cool bridge.
The otters will have to wait for later. I’ve never seen an otter in the wild and I would love to see these guys.
How about you? You ever have a wild otter sighting?
Not to toot my own horn, but I guess I will. I helped to plan and implement a scavenger hunt on Turkey Mountain this past weekend. It was originally supposed to be New Year’s but it got postponed because of weather.
The RiverParks Authority gave me thirty items to give away. Small stuff like stickers (people go nuts over stickers these days) and key chains. I conceived the idea of using repurposed cd jewelboxes and designed new covers and “liner notes” for containers for the giveaway items.
So late last Friday I loaded up my jewel boxes and headed to Turkey Mountain. My friend Laurie from the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition helped me place them on different parts of the mountain. It turned out to be a good workout with about 5 miles of hiking involved.
We didn’t really hide them because we wanted people to find them. The RiverParks Authority also had people out and about placing bigger items like water bottles and tshirts on the mountain. They also had people adding new stuff during the day.
We hid one in the famous washing machine at a crossroads on Turkey Mountain. (It’s actually a drier but I get dirty looks when I bring up that fact. Ever notice that anybody who says “actually” gets dirty looks.?
I was busy but I always take time for photos.
Especially when the sun is setting.
Here’s a screen shot of the facebook invite for the event.
Channel Six here in Tulsa showed up and did a story on the event.
A good time was had by all. I was proud to be a part of it.
My wife and I went to Tulsa’s swanky Utica Square shopping center the other day. She really likes the Athleta store there. As an exercise instructor she lives in workout gear and Athleta’s stuff is great. So while she was shopping for her Christmas gifts from me to her I took my phone out and did some exploring.
I found this cool clock. Who uses a clock to tell time any more? We all have phones and stare at them all day long.
Found this sculpture of a little girl reading. I love to see young people reading. I volunteer with Reading Partners and tutor a girl in reading for an hour a week. She’s really a hard worker and stays engaged the whole hour. Unlike some of my generation, I see lots of hope in the future generations. If you are interested check the link see if they have a program in your area.
Right across the street from Utica Square is the Temple Israel Synagogue. I have long loved their bas relief of the Ten Commandments. I shot the photo from the shopping center’s parking garage to get a little elevation.
I also love their 3D Menorah. For the longest time I thought it was just a cool modern sculpture. Well duh, it’s a Menorah I found out on their web site.
Also across the street from the center is this cool office building. I love it’s design including the arches on the ground floor and all the balconies. It looks like it belongs on a coast somewhere.
Found this dolled up wooden sculpture next to a day spa.
So that’s it for the shopping center. You get the picture. I went drone flying earlier.
So here’s a sunset from 40 meters over my back yard. Somebody in one of my drone groups on facebook said that they were tired of sunset photos. Suck it up buddy, here’s another one is my response.
A new trail is being built on Turkey Mountain. Designed and constructected by the firm Progressive Trail Design out of Bentonville, Arkansas, it is the first professionally designed trail on Turkey Mountain. The rest were built by the users and followed old game trails, jeep tracks, oilfield roads, and the builders’ whims. This new trail is designed to last and be low maintenance and sustainable. They finally got started a couple weeks ago and have been making good progress. I went out there recently to check it out.
It looks very nice and “flowy.” People, especially mountain bikers like the smooth back and forth and up and downs. It’s apparent that it will primarily be a mountainbike trail and I’m just going to have faith that it will work out for non bikers as well.
It’s not open yet they have blazed a trail but the surface is still unfinished. They don’t want anybody on it until they are done and the surface is suitable for sustained use. (I stayed off the trail except at designated crossing points where it crosses existing trail.)
A banked turn. Lots of work before this is finished.
I paralleled the new trail on existing trails until I heard the sound of the trackhoe they were using to move the rocks and other heavy work involved. I went a little further until I saw the crew through the trees and that is as close as I got.
So I am very excited about all this.
About as excited as this tree I found while scouting out the trail.
Any you know it’s getting to be Christmas song. I love this new song my Carrie Underwood, “The Stretchy Pants Song.” My wife, who is also an exercise instructor, has been using it in some of her classes and her students love it.
I was at Tulsa Philbrook Museum Gardens checking out the fall foliage when I noticed some crystal balls hanging in one of the trees. So I went to check them out.l
They had hung all these balls in the lower branches. I loved them. I think they are for the Christmas holidays.
I had my lensball with me so I made a crystal photo of a crystal. I love garden decorations.
Friday, my wife and I were in a parking lot and came across this bright spot. I was like, What!!
Somebody had an Arkansas Razorbacks plate and it reflected perfectly on the ground. I love it.
I’m helping take care of a monarch way station on Turkey mountain. The stake fence makes for some nice shadows.
I get bored while watering so I made a time lapse video of it.
And the other day while hiking on Turkey Mountain I came across a family of deer grazing including this one coming out of the shadows. I am glad the deer are returning. The mountain has become really popular but the hub bub has died down a little bit and the deer are coming back.
Saturday afternoon, Heather and I ventured downtown to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center and watched “Escape to Margaritaville” a touring Broadway production featuring the music of Jimmy Buffett in a musical with a romantic comedy production. It was a lot of fun listening the tunes. It turns out that other people can sing Buffett tunes besides Jimmy.
It was a lot of fun. Here is the schedule. They are going all over the country. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is next.
The Performing Arts Center in Tulsa required all attendees to wear masks and it looked to me like everybody was complying.
The other day I went for a hike on Tulsa’s Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area. Last time I was out I followed trails on the east side overlooking the Arkansas River. This time I took the west side trails.
I checked out the new trail segment that I helped build in early April along with a bunch of other people.
I got down close to the YMCA and turned back. I got along a segment paralleling 61st street thinking that that was the place to see deer. I looked up and there were two of them. I hardly ever see them in broad daylight.
We stayed there looking at each other for a couple minutes and they had enough and went on. Seeing deer on Turkey Mountain is a rare thing since the area became popular after a dipweed shopping center developer proposed an outlet mall on the mountain. (They dropped the project after overwhelming community opposition.)
Our skies have gone from looking like this every day.
To about as blue as you can get. I’ve taken a couple of bike rides and they have been grueling in the heat.
Even on Flag Day. Not too many people celebrate Flag Day any longer.
While going to the library the other day I checked out this installation nearby.
I love fun stuff like this.
I don’t know who made or who paid for it but I’ll take it.
And a shot from the past,
From the past!! This is (was) the the River West Amphitheater on the west bank of the Arkansas River in Tulsa. Back in the day there were all sorts of concerts, local and touring bands and orchestras, rock, country, anything. It is now all gone. I never saw an event there but the performers were on this stage out floating in the water and everybody else was on the bank. I took lots of photos of it on my after work runs.
