Tag Archives: Oxley Nature Center

Skywatch Friday – Hiking Oxley Nature Center

A couple weeks ago I felt like moving around so I ventured off to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center on an overcast day to wander around and see what I could see.

Oxley during the week is great. Nobody is there!! I didn’t see too many critters though. Oh well.

They have great flat trails there. Hardly a rock to trip over anywhere. Don’t worry I trip over roots, stubs, branches, and my own feet.

A repurposed major highway cuts through Oxley as a big wide, sustainable trail. I’ve seen lots of critters from this over the years when the trails are really too muddy to walk on.

I found me a big mess of fungi. Google lens tells me that this could be turkey tail. They gave several other possibilities and I picked Turkey Tail cuz I liked the name.

I come across a bridge with its own poem. It’s called “This Drop” by Sasha A. Martin. She was the “Artist in Residence” at Oxley a few years ago. I never met her but I would like to do so.

When she left they posted her poems all over Oxley. I always love seeing them. She is on instagram and her handle is @thatsashamartin. She is super talented.

The birds were out chirping away but I couldn’t get more than a glimpse of any of them except for the cardinals. They are hard to miss but they don’t wait long enough for me to focus and get a photo. Still it was nice having the Merlin App so I could figure out what they are.

Another nice surprise was the lakes, creeks, and marshes being full of water. I couldn’t quite figure it out until I said something on social media about it and then several people piped up and said that the low water dam holding water on the park had failed in the last year or two and they finally got it repaired and working again a few months ago. I was like, ohh. I pride myself on knowing what is going with stuff like that and everyone but me knew.

My pride will recover, in the meantime I am happy with the water being restored to Oxley.

I love boardwalks across marshes.

Here is the Nature Center at the Nature Center. Very well informed volunteers hang out there. I usually bypass it because I know where I am going. If I had stopped and asked why the low water, I am sure they would have told me.

Here is my wibble wobbling route on my hike. About 2.7 miles or so I think.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday and Galeria Himmelsblick

Saturday’s Critters – White Tailed Deer

A couple of legacy photographs of deer at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center.

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A lone deer on one of the water pipeline rights of way that run through the park. Oxley is my go to place for finding deer.

Another legacy photo that I had on the default setting of private that indicates that I have never published this photo before. A group of three deer including one looking at me right in the eye.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Shadow Shot Sunday – Park Shadows

Photographer blind shadows at Oxley Nature Center

Boardwalk Shadows also at Oxley Nature Center.

A tree with premature balding Manion Park in Tulsa. You can see the photographer’s selfie at the bottom. He had premature balding starting about 55 years ago! He tells everyone that he doesn’t waste his hormones growing hair.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Saturday’s Critters – White Tailed Deer of Oxley Nature Center

During a hike at Oxley Nature Center last Sunday I saw a few deer out and about. They were not in the open they were in brush and trees. So I got to practice simultaneously manual focusing, and aperture. Not that good at it but I got a few decent photos.

I love seeing deer out in the wild.

It is always so unexpected.

Saturday’s Critters

Skywatch Friday – A Fall Outing at Oxley Nature Center

Last Sunday morning, I attended Church of the Trees at Oxley Nature Center.

I saw the light right after I started. I loved the sun in the forest and I love the poem that a former “Artist in Residence” at Oxley wrote.

I love short poems. I really like the title of this one, “Sunfall.” There is a reason we need to have poets. They know what to call things, and how to describe them.

Found me a new favorite tree.

And instead of stained glass we had the light filtering through these leaves.

I loved the light on the trees bordering a water pipeline right of way in the park.

And another long boardwalk.

And a maple leaf near the end of my walk.

And bonus video content, only 71 seconds long.

I am linking with Skywatch Friday

Saturday’s Critters – Oxley Nature Center

Last Sunday morning I grabbed my camera, bug spray, and sunblock and headed to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center to see what I could see.

Right at the visitor center entrance I found this bush quivering with all sorts of butterflies. Can’t really see all of them in the photo so check out the short video below.

It was a good start to my outing.

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I went a little ways into the trails and found this guy, a red spotted purple butterfly from what google lens tells me.

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And later on I found a great blue heron looking for their lunch. A bonus turtle is in the background.

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And a female cardinal with her lunch in her beak already.

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Another view of the same bird.

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And a very fuzzy view of an indigo bunting. Those little guys are active flitting here and then there. I am still learning how to spot the little ones and take photos of them. Sometimes I just have to be happy with spotting a glimpse of them.

Matrix of Merlin ID's

So I heard a lot more birds than I got photos of them. It is nice hearing them and the Merlin app is wonderful deciphering what kind of birds there are.

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Sometimes I see a lot of deer at Oxley. The Oxley staff says they are overpopulated with deer. There is lots of food for them now, not so much in the winter. Below is a short video of the fawn.

I looked all over for their mom and didn’t see it. They are generally protective of their babies.

So I wibble wobbled around the preserve for a little less than three miles and enjoyed myself thoroughly. And to part, a poem from the former Artist in Residence at Oxley, Sasha. I thought it was pretty cool. And short, I love short poems.

Thank you for visiting. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.

My Corner of the World – Hiking Oxley Nature Center

One day late in October it was very windy. Windy days I like to go to Oxley Nature Center, especially their Sierra Club Trail. You can hear the wind howling in the treetops but it is calm down on the ground.

And I hardly ever see anybody. This trip I encountered only one person. A guy headed towards me looking kind of angry and upset. I had my spidey senses going but he passed me without looking up. I could hear him walking past in the leaves, crunch, crunch, crunch. Any change in the pattern and I would have looked around. But nothing happened. I’m not going to begrudge anybody needing a little solace in the woods.

I took a small garbage bag and my grabbers with me. The places I go hike there is hardly ever any trash. This day I found just a few cans and wrappers and that was it. Put the trash in the trashcan at the trailhead at the end of my hike.

It was a feast of Oklahoma style fall color. We don’t have a whole lot of color in the fall besides some yellows and browns. I’m okay with it.

Oxley Nature Center's Sierra Club Trail

Here’s a little reddish color for you. My Merlin ID app was going crazy with all the birds in the area. I was going crazy with inability to see such birds, except as small specs when they took off. I saw lots of squirrels and a glimpse of a deer. Kind of a zero day for photographing animals.

And a short video of the wind in the treetops.

And at the end, I see where a city surveyor had set up shot. I hope that they are not putting a new freeway in!!

A little shy of 3 miles, a nice walk in the woods is what I thought.

I’m linking with My Corner of the World.

Tulsa Weekend Critters – 9 March 2024 Edition

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I was at Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center and came across this bee hive in a downed tree and the bees were active. So I stood off a ways with my camera and took a bunch of photos but I couldn’t tell at the time if they were any good. I got home and I got this bee coming in for a landing. I was pretty happy with the photo.

More backyard bunnies at the house.

Lizzie chilling at home

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At Lafortune Park I found this guy and his girl testing out the pond.

And the moose is loose!!

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A squirrel getting a snack

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A couple of geese getting their feet wet.

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A sure sign of spring.

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And another great blue heron. They are all over town this spring.

I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters

Skies – Here, There, and Everywhere

I went walking a couple times at Tulsa’s Lafortune Park. Treated to the sunset one time.

I noticed this brush with beautiful coral flowers. Google lens tells me that it is Chinese Quince.

The redbud trees are starting to bud out. The Eastern Redbud is Oklahoma’s State Tree. I love them.

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Fuzzy pic of people playing golf at one of the golf courses there.

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Memorial High School has a baseball field that they were using.

I also went geocaching at Expo Square. I didn’t find the one here but I love this locomotive. It is retired now but pulled logging trains in southeast Oklahoma for years.

And checked out the Golden Driller there. It is dressed up in honor of City Year Tulsa’s tenth anniversary. They are the sponsor the people I tutor for. City Year is under attack for pushing a “woke ideology.” I’ve been tutoring grade school kids for five years now and the only ideology I have been trained to push on the kids is learning how to read.

Another geocaching stop. I didn’t find this one either but I loved the windmill in the stiff Oklahoma breeze.

Another time I went to Tulsa’s Oxley Nature Center and walked the trails.

And enjoyed the views.

As you can I have been busy.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday. and My Corner of the World