Tag Archives: New Years Eve

Skywatch Friday – A Busy December

December was hard, we buried my brother in Colorado and that was sad. He was a good guy. But we also got to visit my sister and her husband, and two of my top three nieces were there, one of whom had her husband and daughter with her.

We got to see our greatniece, Miss G, skate. A vivacious young lady who although very young is an accomplished skater and we got to see her perform with her ice skating team. That was a thrill for us because they live a long ways from us and we had never seen her ice skate live before. They competed at an event in a Denver suburb. The emphasis is on the team rather than individuals and I was very impressed with the team. They were great. Miss G is a very smart and a natural born athlete.

Back in Tulsa, we had a nice backyard sunrise one morning.

And a strange sign at one of our local water supply lakes.

Stopped by Oral Roberts University to check out the giant healing hands sculpture. The legend is that it you toss a silver dollar up between the hands, then they clasp shut. That was mean wasn’t it. I still like the legend though.

And our small family visited the Tulsa Botanic Gardens for their annual light show. It was wonderful.

I Love Tulsa

I heart Tulsa as well!

And we started going back to church. We hadn’t been since before Covid. Everything was new. I guess that is the way it is.

And part of our Christmas meal. I smoked chicken quarters and pork ribs. Heather cooked a bunch of sides and we had quite a feast.

We went on a family New Years Eve Hike on Turkey Mountain. This is one of my favorite spots. The Lookout Hub on the very highest point overlooking the Arkansas River and south Tulsa. It is ridiculous that NYE was a shorts and tshirt day.

And I went on a few hikes of my own. I’ve found three improvised cedar Christmas Trees. Most people that put them up show up soon after New Year’s and dismantle them. Those that don’t, I dismantle them. I like to have fun but these things don’t age well. Am I getting grumpy in my old age? Probably.

Here is a bicycle flyover on one of the trails. I’ve never taken a bike on Turkey Mountain and I never will. Gravity at my age is not my friend. Can I get an amen??!!

Beach Scene Jigsaw Puzzle
I don’t own the copyright to this.

I’ve done a couple more jigsaw puzzles on my ipad. I love this beach scene.

Teton sunset jigsaw puzzle
I don’t own the copyright to this.

And I love this scene of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming.

So that closes out 2025. The New Year so far is looking great! More to come.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday.

Happy New Year Skywatch

Tulsa County Courthouse
(Older photograph)

New Year’s eve I had to go downtown and pay our real estate taxes, after I took advice from Denver wills law firm. Yep, I hold on to the money until the very last minute. I actually dreamt like owning a house from buy houses syracuse ny and going to the courthouse of our company and seeing how functionaries function. The assessor’s office is very efficient. All hands on deck there New Year’s eve to take care of people like me. Some sad faces close by though. They are on the same floor as the family court and there were tears there. I have a very blessed life is what I can say. My prayers go out to those having difficulties.

I’ll be going back though at the end of the month. Got a stern looking letter from the very same courthouse telling me to report for jury duty!! I haven’t done jury duty since about 1983 in Panorama Village, Texas north of Houston. We had a trial for a guy accused of speeding. Found him guilty, by gum. The town needed the cash!! Especially from non-residents.

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I left downtown and ventured to East Tulsa. I came upon this new gateway sign going in on US 66. I think it is beautiful. They are almost done with construction. So that is looking roughly south of north west.

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I turned to the south and took this photo. We had decent skies on New Year’s eve.

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This is what I was looking for in that area of town. A geocache. In my quest to get 2000 caches by the end of 2019 I try and find ore two every day. I’m at about 1632 or so. I have a tracker on the right sidebar to this page. This cache was cool because it was in the owners front yard and wasn’t hidden at all. I love those that are easy to find.

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As far as Skies are concerned, New Years Day was a bust. I went on a five mile or so hike on Turkey Mountain and it was gray and cold the whole time. I have to tell you that I loved it anyway. I’ve got the gear and clothes to stay warm and comfortable in most kinds of weather.

I have to tell you about my new toy for Christmas. I got a drone, one with a camera. An inexpensive one to learn on. A Zeraxa Pro. I finally took it out for a spin in a park hardly anybody ever visits and I loved it. It is very stable and responds well to the controls. So I am just learning the basics of flying and trying to smooth my movements out. Later on maybe I can get one with a lot better camera. As you can tell, Oklahoma is very brown right now.

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I think it is kind of pretty. And don’t worry I wasn’t drinking and flying!!

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Our World – New Year’s Eve at Oxley Nature Center

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New Year’s Eve morning I decided I wanted to go on a little hike. I’m in recovery for an injury and my doctor told me to walk or run on level surfaces. Running is not happening right now but I am walking more and it doesn’t get any more level than Oxley Nature Center in north Tulsa. It was cold, in the low twenties, and there was a stiff breeze. Look at the flags standing at attention. Notice the empty parking lot! I had the whole place to myself.

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I am not afraid of the cold. After years of running in the winter in all kinds of weather, I have the right gear to wear in cold weather. It is a balancing act dressing for the cold. Too little clothes and you die from the cold. Too many clothes and you overheat and sweat and possibly freeze. Also, avoid cotton!! Cotton kills in cold weather. Wear tech fabrics close to your skin. They wick the moisture away and breathe. The other thing about cold windy weather is I like to hike in the woods. It cuts the wind a lot. There are some parts of Oxley where you can hear the wind howling in the tree tops but it is calm at ground level.

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Another reason to hike at Oxley, in the woods is the deer. They have deer there and I see at least one almost every time I go. I saw this dude when I walked into a water pipeline right of way. He had a group of four or so does he was bossing. So he stood and kept watch giving me the stinkeye while his harem left.

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Then he gave me one last glare and left.

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I walked on and had to backtrack when I came upon a frozen over trail. Hadn’t seen that at Oxley before.

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Lots and lots of deer tracks.

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I got to Lake Yahola and observed this dude from one of the blinds they have set up. Does anybody know what this guy is? I am wondering if it is an American White Pelican.

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Hiking further on I found these deer. There were about four of them. I had a devil of a time being the newbie, picture taker that I am. I had to take the lens of autofocus and focus manually but there was a lot of glare so I had to shield the viewfinder while focusing. I’m sure it looked pretty hilarious. As you can see, I didn’t quite get the focus right.

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And then yet another group. There was the big dude letting me know he was watching me and then he left and then mom and a teenager showed up.  They kind of strolled past. In the background you can see another deer grazing. It was part of another group of four or five.

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And got to the other side. This was pretty close to my car. I got in the car and while I was messing around with my gear and getting a drink a security car came by and checked me out.

Time to stop for some hot chocolate at Quik Trip, head home and check on the Dallas Cowboys in the game against Philidelphia. Dallas won but it was very ugly.

I’m linking with Our World Tuesday