Critter Update from the Backyard and Beyond

From the Backyard TrailCam

male cardinal

A male cardinal coming in for a landing

female cardinal

And his lady friend a minute or two later

Squirrel

This squirrel is walking with purpose

rabbit night

This guy freezes

Out and About

Some turtle basking action at Hunter Park
Ducks paddling away
https://flic.kr/p/2okDjnS
Geese and Ducks say hello at Swan Lake (No swans around)
Kodi is very distracted, all the time.
https://flic.kr/p/2okon5Q

At Woodward Park in the Daffodils, Kodi with my wife and son on a family outing last week.

At Home

Lizzie catching a nap in the front room.

From the Air

Kodi is not sure that he likes drones.

That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters.

Skywatch Friday – First Ride of the Year

Toward the last of February we had a warm spell here in Tulsa so I decided to forego the gerbil activity at the gym and get the old bike, air up the tires and head out on the Riverparks trails.

Downtown Tulsa

I went from the south end clear to the north end without stopping so the Bear Fountain pic above was where I started and this pic of downtown Tulsa is at the north end.

IMG_2917

I turned 90 degrees from the above pic. We have lots and lots of homeless people here in Tulsa. It is sad and getting worse.

And then I headed back south. I stopped at lots of these sculptures to check them off my warmarking list. Check out waymarking.com. It’s a gps enabled hobby kind of like geocaching.

Anyway, 14+ miles down!!

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

Bonus Content

BFDDA54C-BB31-49A4-99F6-73C40861D983

Another jigsaw puzzle I did on my Ipad.

Critter Update

DSCF0170

A crow in our backyard. I alternate the trailcam from the ground to a bird bath.

DSCF0150

A couple doves visited.

DSCF0126

And a rabbit late in the evening.

DSCF0195

House finches

DSCF0189

Robins

DSCF0176

A female cardinal

DSCF0171

A thirsty squirrel

And Kodi, after a grooming appointment.

I went on a hike at a local lake and found lots of evidence of beaver activity. Looks like they were getting a little artsy with this tree.

I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Check it out.

Gray Days on Turkey Mountain

Went on another hike on Turkey Mountain. Right at the trailhead I saw this handsome bad boy. A Toyota Tacoma pickup heavy duty everything including a snorkel for the engine, beefed up bumper up front with extra lighting, tires that cost a mint. A very nice rig. And look the tires have a little dirt on them. Most overlanders I see are spotless.

The skies were gray on Sunday afternoon. That’s okay, I’ll take whatever kind of sky there is as long as the trails are not muddy.

Turkey Mountain has lots and lots of rocks!!

And lots of ponds. I learned something last year during a wildlife tour. The ponds are stocked every year with fish, which is great. Also, there is an active beaver population on the mountain but they are not spread out to all the ponds. They pretty much stay at one pond until they eat all the fish and then they travel overland to another pond to eat its fish. For some reason I think that is hilarious.

I used a combination of the new fancy trails and the some of the smaller, less known legacy trails. I was kind of hoping that I would see some deer but I did not.

Here is a smaller trail with some heavy duty rock armoring to prevent erosion. I think the people that run Turkey Mountain are shifting over to some smaller trails to accommodate those of us who like to travel on foot.

The trees are wild without their leaves. I love the trees in any of the season.

Here is a new windy trail that I encountered while heading back to the parking lot. I got a ways then oops, I found out it was not open yet. My bad. I try and follow all the rules.

Back at the parking lot at the trail head. Everybody had gone home and it started misting. I love weather like this.

Here is my route. The inner loop is where I hoped to find deer. I’ve learned that when there are not too many people, the deer will move north along the center of the circle. Not that day though!!

Alan

All told, despite the gray skies, I had a lovely time.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday.

Shadow Shot Sunday – Bird, Squirrel, and Gym

DSCF0046

My trailcam captured this house finch in our backyard feeder one late afternoon.

DSCF0088

This squirrel’s flamboyant tail was captured early one recent morning.

Upload

And I was at the gym, cooling down after my workout and the afternoon sun was leaving warm shadows on a cold day.

I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday 2 by the Magical Mystery Teacher.

Backyard Critters – Trailcam Energized

DSCF0087

I got my trailcam going lately. On windy days I aim it at stationary objects like this bird squirrel bath.

DSCF0828

iNaturalist tells me this is a house finch.

DSCF0687

A Blue Jay showing up for the party.

DSCF0666

And here we have birds coming and going!!

DSCF0876

INaturalist says this is a downy woodpecker.

And a goose whom I encountered on a walk at a local park.

(If you disagree with any ID’s please say something!!)

Upload

And a selfie with our Pomeranian puppy, Kodi.

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters

Skywatch Friday – A Presidents Day Walk in the Park

Went for a walk on Presidents Day around Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. It is a little over 3 miles around so it is perfect for a walk or a run or whatever you want to do. The trail winds around two golf courses, a tennis center, a library, a playground, and some little league baseball fields so there is a lot going on.

It has several ponds which make for great reflections when the sky is decent.

The trees near water make for great reflections.

Trees in the winter can be spectacular.

Ditto

The library has a hip modern design, but it was closed. You can get their wifi in the parking lot though. They started that during covid. That was handy.

Upload

And a Bonus!!

Upload

I got a new cell phone that I am still “messing with.” I took this shot the other day in my front yard. A crescent moon, with Jupiter nearby, and Venus underneath. The moon is kind of fuzzy but I am still okay with it.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday