Liz's Latest

Where Did the Oklahoma Bison Go?

5/10/2025

I tried to tell a friend where to find the bison. I promise they were there when I went.

I can be pretty sure that if I tell someone that they'll see dinosaur tracks at Clayton Lake, New Mexico, they'll see Dino tracks. I mean, those tracks have been there for my whole life so...

Wait, they have been there my whole life but they weren't visible until construction work uncovered them in 1982. So technically they were there, you just wouldn't have known because you'd have been walking over a layer of dirt that had them concealed and protected.

Even telling someone about dinosaur tracks doesn't mean they'll actually get to see them. One little mistake in the directions can alter the success of an expedition considerably.

The problem isn't the dinosaur tracks. Those are protected and they're in stone. But the problem is locating live animals.

I told someone whose wife had never seen an American bison that we had a herd nearby. He went, but unfortunately the bison live on a large acreage and the day he visited they'd decided to move away from the road.

Do you think the bison get blamed or do you think I get the side-eye?

Of course, it didn't end the friendship, but it didn't do a great deal for my credibility.

On any given trip to the wildlife casino, you might come home with a sighting you never expected, or just an empty picnic basket.

They say gambling is more addictive because you don't always win. You win a little, and that keeps you coming back. Of course, there are a few jackpots here and there. Enough to keep the wheels turning.

And that may be what wildlife watching is like. So, I really should be thankful. If I saw a fox every time I looked out, seeing a fox would be diminished. It would become like seeing the neighbor's dog. (Not the neighbor's adorable dog, Maple.)

So, in the future I'm going to try not to tell anyone my favorite wildlife places. It won't be because I'm keeping them secret, but because I know the odds are that they'll be disappointed because they might not be willing to get up at 4:00 am. in order to be at the spot when the sun rises. Plus, can you imagine how upset someone would be to get up at 4 am., drive several hours, and only see a prairie?

I sometimes see a critter repeatedly in one spot and then never see them again.

People who find animals will also be crafty enough to weasel a good location out of me. Or, more likely, they will have already found it on their own.

The dinosaur tracks are only about a 1/4 mile from the parking lot. Instead of elbow-to-elbow tourists, only a few people were there.

Track Photos from Clayton Lake, New Mexico. Bison photos from Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

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Longhorn Cattle

4/22/2025

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This place still exists. The longhorns are really enclosed, but not so much that if you got out of your car and angered one that you'd have a fence to protect you. Nope. You'd be on your own.

In fact, I don't think I ever even found longhorn cattle interesting until I saw these in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. They acted peaceable enough while I was there, and I think the area is a better place for having them. They meander about and I've never even seen them notice a tourist.

Wichita Wildlife Refuge near Lawton, Oklahoma.

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Thistle While You Work

1/26/2025

I've written other blogs on thistle, but this really isn't about thistle. It's about what you can find when you study the plant. But watch out, thistle is rather like a large thorn bush. Or a large city with a lot of inhabitants.

Don't keep reading if spiders scare you.

I prefer green snakes over all others, I believe. They tend to leave as quickly as possible when I find them...which I often do when I see any other snake.

Writing 101 - Get Help For the First Book

10/19/2024

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It's possible today to publish a first book on Amazon without anyone else reading it. What's possible isn't the same as a good plan.

Get an editor for your first book before you do online publishing. A good one. It needs to be someone who has published a book or who has been in the industry a long time.

Talk to some other people you trust who've self-published a book. Ask them privately about the pitfalls and rewards. If you don't know any people who've done that, start trying to find online groups.

Think back to the past. Have you ever seen a friend wearing something you thought wasn't right, but you kept your mouth shut? Have you ever agreed that something was lovely but inside you didn't think it was as awesome as the person who owned it.

It is possible that your dear friends who read your work and say they can't wait to see it in print....can wait.

Getting published isn't the dream now. Writing the best book you can have is the dream.

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Something's Always Lurking

9/14/2024

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I didn't realize how many photos I had of things lurking.

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Meteor Showers

8/13/2024

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Meteor showers fascinate me which really isn't surprising. A lot of things catch my attention.

Last night, I wanted to see the Perseid meteor shower. It wasn't even dark, but nothing else was on my agenda, so I went outside, got a large cushion and put it on top of a picnic table so I could recline and watch the sky, and I settled in for a long wait...because it wasn't even dusk yet.

At roughly 8:45 pm, a large meteor streaked across the sky overhead and it appeared to shatter into bursts of light.

Even though I did see some smaller meteors after the sky darkened and the dew settled around me—that first meteorite was the most amazing. It really was the only incredible one I saw. And it wasn't even dark.

Since I'd seen a big meteor, I really could have returned inside before nightfall, but I didn't know what else I might see, so I had to stay longer.

I saw a lot of planes and maybe some satellites and I heard a cacophony of frogs and a few coyotes or dogs howling, and a deer snorted at me, and an opossum was sniffing along the ground in kind of a zigzag motion getting a wet nose.

When I left my perch to return to my doorway, I watched not the stars, but the ground.

I realized how insulated I am inside my house at night. That insulation helps me sleep better, but living for a moment as people might have lived BI (before internet) made me happy I had stepped outside, and yes, when I walked inside, I did watch the ground very carefully for snakes.

I'm so thankful I can see the stars over my house, and I wish the world could always feel as peaceful as it did when I watched the stars.

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Hoover Hogs

7/14/2024

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I heard the phrase Hoover Hogs, and I wondered what it meant...

During the depression era in the USA, right at 100 years ago—people were starving, and President Hoover was blamed for the economic woes.

Armadillos were then called Hoover Hogs. Starvation makes people eat different dishes than they're used to.

Perhaps the slow-moving armadillos disappeared from the south during the depression era. I believe it. I was probably nearing my teens when I saw my first one and it was an oddity to me, and that was long after the end of the Depression.

They're plentiful now in the woods.

Built for their job, they are designed to root and dig. Their shell is protective,

Now when I think of Hoover Hogs, and our history, maybe I'll have a little more respect for them. And maybe, someday, I won't see them as so incredibly ugly, but designed for a purpose. as we all are. Perhaps they were created to remain around in case they were needed.

They're so perfectly designed, but not for beauty. Today, I decided not to post my picture of one.

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The Maybe Do Someday List

6/21/2024

If you have a Maybe Do Someday list, then it can always seem like a road beckoning you that other people get to drive on while you are stuck in the same routine.

The list can be a simple as reading a book you've thought about reading.

Don't let the need for a little sacrifice and discipline keep you from attempting that list.

It's your journey.

Or what if writing a book is on the list? How would you approach it?

If you write every evening after your day job in order to craft that story, you're sacrificing time that you could use in other ways, and it takes discipline. But it can be temporary sacrifice and discipline.

If you write 300 words a day for six months you'll have enough words for a book manuscript. That's about a page and a half if you use a computer, even with good-sized margins. (Tip: Start at the point where the plot starts. Have something happen, and it leads to something else which leads to something else...)

So if you've always thought about writing a book, and you discipline yourself for six months, you can check it off your Maybe Do Someday list, and you can think about another thing on the Maybe Do Someday and spend six months preparing for it. It might take a temporary job to save the money or an agreement with the other people in your life.

Consider the event, and how much closer you would get if you just spent a little bit of time preparing for it or working toward it every day for six months.

Adding a few journeys in your life might lead you somewhere interesting that you can't even see right now. You might be creating a A Fun and Finished! list or even an Ain't Never Going To Do That Again list.

We don't generally hear about other peoples' failed lists, but having a few of those in your memory might mean you're on the right journey.

Watching My Outdoors

5/19/2024

I never know what I'll find in the world around me. But I do know one thing. If I don't open my window, I won't see the colors change, birds flying—or landing.

Sometimes I don't realize it, but the animals can be watching me as much as I watch them.

Once I went outside at night, into the woods, while wearing a strong headlamp. That night, I was surprised at how many eyes were reflecting back at me.

I think I tried it a second time and was pleasantly surprised to be alone.

But during daytime hours, watching nature from a safe distance can be a wonderful way to spend a day.

Bison Babes

4/21/2024

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I don't know why it was so important for me to visit the bison babies, but it was. A lot of nature interests me, and if bison are available almost in my backyard, then I want to see them.

A few months ago, I'd been bison photo hunting and a photographer I didn't know looked behind me...and gave me a warning—which I heeded. In my opinion, the bison below looks a lot more cheerful, happy and peaceful than the one behind me had appeared. I was fortunate! (The photo below was taken from inside a vehicle with a roll bar, and while using a long lens. Luckily the roll bar wasn't needed.)

So when I went in search of baby bison, I remembered my rule of thumb: If a wild animal is dangerous, it's deadly when it has little ones. Or: Make the baby cry—you might die.

This trip, on the only time I stepped out of the car for a photo—I didn't trek beyond the road or even more than a few feet from the vehicle. I also had a spotter to warn me if any bison appeared agitated or closer. Brave I am not. Especially when it is a 1000-pound plus animal behind me almost within spitting distance. Or even a wriggly one that weighs only a few pounds near my feet. Fangs and horns pointed my way override photo ops.

But I am fascinated by the beauty of the bison.

I would have been to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve North of Pawhuska, OK, earlier this year had I not been delayed. And sometimes delays are a good thing because more of the 30 to 70 pound babies were available to see. My earlier anticipation had almost caused me to arrive before most of the babies did. As many as 500 newborns could be on the prairie this year.