Tag Archives: monarchs on the mountain

Saturday’s Critters – Kodi Goes Swimming and Other Fun Stuff

Our little Pomeranian Kodi loves to go swimming but his enthusiasm and joy are greater than his skill so when we take him swimming Heather has to hold on to him. Our rescue Terrier, Sadie, is not into swimming at all.

Great Blue Herons Flying Over the Arkansas River

On another bike ride on the Arkansas RiverParks Trails here in Tulsa I captured these two great blue herons flying low over the water below Zink Dam.

Great Egret in the Arkansas River

A great egret fishing

Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons Fishing At Zink Dam

And a bunch of great egrets and great blue herons trying to catch their breakfast.

Geese Sculpture on the Arkansas River

I stopped at a bench on the trail to rest up adjacent to this sculpture of geese.

Monarchs on the Mountain Banner

A couple weeks ago I worked “Monarchs on the Mountain” representing the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. TUWC was deeply embedded in the event. We are a co-sponsor. A couple of our board members were on the organizing committee, and another was the MC of the event. Another board member takes care of the online part of the event using our website. Monarchs on the mountain is festival celebrating Monarch Butterflies and all other pollinators and the monarch migration which is happening now.

TUWC's Monarchs on the Mountain Booth

My role (that’s not me in the photo) was to man the booth and tell people who TUWC is and what we do.

TUWC Leave No Trace Diorama

This is a diorama that another board member made a couple years ago where we illustrate Leave No Trace principles for kids. We have a little story about Hans and Hilda going on a hike with their dogs. So we talk about leashing animals, staying on the trails, don’t throw your apple cores and banana peels out into the woods in the mistaken belief that you are helping feed the animals. Those little brown round things at the bottom of the photo are dog poops, not cinnamon rolls, so we throw them out and ask, “What do you do when your dog poops in the woods?” Answer is of course that you bag it and dispose of properly.

Working the booth is a lot of fun. I’ll tell you one thing, we get lots of Girl Scouts come by and they have the life cycle of monarch butterflies and Leave No Trace principles down. I’m very impressed with them and their adult leadership.

I am linking up with Saturday’s Critters

Saturday’s Critters – Butterflies! – Monarchs on the Mountain

A female monarch butterfly in our backyard recently.

And a Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly on our patio.

And if you live anywhere near Northeast Oklahoma come to Chandler Park in Tulsa for Monarchs on the Mountain. It’s a yearly event about everything butterflies and the environment in general. It is very educational, bring your kids and it is free! No admission fee, free parking, just free. Lots of organizations will have booths and there will be presentations. Check this link for more details including the lineup of speakers and some of the ancillary events associated with Monarchs on the Mountain. If you go, come by the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition booth and say hello. I’ll be there.

(1) Monarchs on the Mountain | Facebook

I am linking with Saturday’s Critters.

Saturday’s Critters – Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Maybe?

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Saturday afternoon my wife and I were sitting on our back patio when we noticed this bird in one of our trees. It was quite a ways away and I was only able to get this photo of the back of his head. INaturalist gives a tentative ID as a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I had never heard of such a thing. Any help would be much appreciated.

Saturday was Monarchs on the Mountain on Turkey Mountain. A festival honoring butterflies and nature in general. I didn’t see any Monarchs but this giant caterpillar made an appearance. I was working a booth for the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition so I talked to a few people and I also planted a few new plants in our Monarch Waystation on the Mountain.

I’ve been watering the way station once or twice a week for months and have seen maybe two or three monarchs but a bunch of swallowtails. Those little buggers are shifty and hard to photograph. Lately the fritillaries have been all over the place. They like to hang out on a nearby tree.

Our veterinarian has an office cat. It is used to all the hub bub in the office. It just snoozes away and ignores everybody.

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This is from our backyard trailcam earlier this month. A cardinal eating from a feeder.

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