Chris & Sheila's Seattle Seahawk Las Vegas Raiders Air Traffic Debacle

Saturday night, on Facebook, saw the above post, by which I learned two of my favorite Washingtonians, Chris and Sheila, are currently caught up in the AIR TRAFFIC DEBACLE. Apparently, Chris and Sheila are hoping to make it to Las Vegas to watch a Seattle Seahawk football game.

I did not know Vegas had an NFL team.

Must go Google right now to fill in that info gap.

Las Vegas Raiders. Did Vegas somehow get the Oakland Raiders to move to Nevada?

Chilly Saturday Wichita Bluff Nature Area Nature Communing

On this second Saturday of the 2026 version of November, it was back to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area I ventured to commune with nature and acquire some endorphins.

Whilst bundled up in sweatpants and a couple top layers, needed to try and not get cold with a strong breeze blowing air chilled to barely 50 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method.

As you can see, via the photo documentation, with the view looking north, the sky is not blue today. Thick clouds are blocking the sun. Rain is on the weather menu for later today.

I was not alone, nature communing today. Multiple fellow hikers, and a couple bikers. 

Microsoft OneDrive Memories Remembers Horses & Hortense

The photo you see above arrived in my email this morning, part of the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

Usually, I do not remember the memories Microsoft is telling me are a memory from this day.

But, I do remember this particular memory. This was at my first Texas abode, a couple decades ago. We had three horses. I only remember the name of one. That being the horse named Caution. Caution and I did not get along well, which I guess is why I remember the name.

Til I found myself living with horses, I did not know horses can be quite smart. The trio you see above were particularly smart. They somehow knew how to unlock the gate which blocked them from the backyard. 

The trio liked to get in the swimming pool, which you see a glimpse of in the background. They'd open the gate, slowly walk in, come over for a visit, pose for a photo, and then take a dip in the pool.

I do not know what the usual life span is of horses. I suspect the trio above has long gone from living status. 

My cat, Hortense, who made the move to Texas a few weeks before I did, died a couple years later, at 22 years old. At least that was the estimated age. Hortense is buried in the pasture the horses resided in when they were not breaking into the backyard.

I shall go see if I can find a photo of Hortense.

Well, that was easy. That is Hortense on my back. This is at my house in Mount Vernon, not Texas, Mount Vernon, Washington. Hortense liked to get on my back and read the morning Seattle Post-Intelligencer, while I drank coffee.

I miss having a real newspaper to read in the morning. Such is not available at my current location.

Friday The 13th Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle Hike

My go to location for Friday the 13th nature communing is always Lucy Park. And this Friday the 13th was no exception.

The outer world was chilled to being barely in the 50s.

With a strong wind blowing.

I was glad I opted for sweatpants, and eventually warmed up, after wishing I'd opted for a sweatshirt, instead of the t-shirt I opted for.

We are almost halfway through Fall, with the vegetation still green, with the leaves in the trees not yet turning into their regular fall color scheme.

The photo documentation is one of the views in the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle, which is where I nature communed and acquired my daily dose of endorphins.

Rain is on the weather menu for tomorrow, with more rain forecast for the days to follow. So, today may have been the last time, for a while, hiking the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle was doable, free of mud.

Remembering My Date With Hillary In The Fort Worth Stockyards

Yesterday I found myself in a conversation which somehow brought up the last time I saw Hillary Clinton. I said I thought this was in 2016, when Hillary was campaigning against Trump in that year's presidential election. 

The person with whom I was conversing told me I was wrong, that it was not in 2016, that it was in 2008, when Hillary was campaigning to try and win the nomination for that year's presidential election.

I remembered that I did a blog post about that memorable day. I looked at the blog posts from 2016 and found none about Hillary.

Then I went back 8 years to 2008, and eventually found a blog post from March 1, 2008, titled "My Date With Hillary".

Almost 20 years ago. 

My blog posts back then were way longer than the current norm. With way more photos. My date with Hillary took place in the Fort Worth Stockyards. The "My Date With Hillary" post details that unique experience. 

The crowd was huge, filling the main street of the Stockyards. We entered the area from the actual Stockyards, a huge wooden structure with a walkway above the pens in which cattle used to be housed. That walkway led to an opening which brought us directly to the stage from which Hillary would soon speak. We got a closeup seat on the bleachers which had been erected for the event.

Security was tight for this, but somehow security missed the way we easily got in. 

Soon we saw Hillary making her way to the stage. A photo of that moment is the first photo in the "My Date With Hillary" post.

Of late I have made note of the fact that my memory is not as sharp as it once was. The blog is useful as a sort of diary, when I can't quite remember something. Trouble is, the blog only began back in 2008. A written record of moments before then are a bit more scarce.

Early Tuesday Evening Texas Goat Visit

Yesterday, the day known as Tuesday, Day 10 of the 2026 version of November, early in the evening, an hour before the arrival of darkness, returning from my almost daily visit to Walmart, I parked, walked towards Holliday Creek and the Circle Trail, to soon find myself surprised to see a large herd of goats stationed on the golf course side of Holliday Creek.

That was one long run-on sentence.

This has happened in years past. Both run-on sentences, and goats.

A herd of goats is hired to mow the grass along the banks of Holliday Creek.

Apparently, this is a practice known as Goatscaping.

Chilly Breezy Tuesday Sikes Lake Nature Communing

Leaving my weather-proof abode, this Tuesday morning, day 10 of the 2026 version of November, for my daily nature communing and endorphin acquisition, I had intended to go to either Lake Wichita, or the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

However, stepping out of my weather-proof abode I was quickly chilled by the wind blowing air barely heated into the 60s.

So, I opted to have my motorized means of motion take me to nearby Sikes Lake, where I knew it would not be as breezy as Lake Wichita or the Bluffs.

I have yet to find my interior space cold enough to motivate me to switch my interior climate control device from being in air-condition mode to heat mode. I suspect that that not switching to heat mode will be ending soon.

In the photo documentation, above, of today's nature communing, we are on the rocky eastern shore of Sikes Lake, looking northwest, with the newly installed floating dock visible above the rocks.

Access to that dock is blocked by a locked gate. I've yet to discover the purpose of this newly installed dock.

Betty Jennety Email Posing Potent Texas Political Question

A couple days ago I got an email from one of the people I came to know after I moved to the Dallas Fort Worth zone of Texas.

Betty Jennety.

Betty's email was amusing...

"Howdy D, it's been awhile since I've talked to you. But, Tuesday's election results brought you to the forefront of my mind for the first time in awhile. When I first met you, and asked you what caused you to move to Texas, you told me it was part of a Clinton era program to move progressive liberal sorts to Texas to try and add a helpful voice to the ongoing dialogue. Is that why you started that blog and went after so many things in DFW, like the Trinity River Vision, the Barnett Shale drilling, I forget what all? And now, after so many years, you have helped flip Texas blue? I find this a bit hard to believe."

To which I replied, "So do I."

But then again, for the past many months I have been posting a lot of political type postings on Facebook. Example above.

Some of those have had share numbers in the thousands. It is not possible to track the grand total because some don't click the 'share' option, but instead just copy the image and then post it on their Facebook feed.

Yeah, I'm sure that's it. All my anti-MAGA, anti-Trump postings influenced a lot of Texans to vote BLUE.

Sunday Slightly Chilly Walk Around Sikes Lake With No Burned Pork Chops

On this day 8, also known as the second Sunday of the 2026 version of November, it was back to nearly peaceful, wind-free Sikes Lake my motorized means of motion took me, in sweatpants, for the first time in a long time, due to the temperature being below 60 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method, for some salubrious nature communing and endorphin acquisition.

Yes, the above is one long run-on sentence. A couple days ago, on Facebook, a lady commented that a sentence I apologized for being a run-on sentence, was not a run-on sentence. She asked where I would put a period to end a sentence, if it was a run-on sentence.

So, I thought I'd write a couple run-on sentences, just for the confusing fun of it.

Despite the temperature being below 60, I stayed perfectly comfortable and soon wished I'd opted to wear shorts.

It greatly helps when there is not wind causing that dreaded wind chill factor.

Part way into my walk around Sikes Lake the neurotic worry came upon me that I'd forgotten to turn the oven off when leaving. A couple weeks ago that happened and resulted in several over-cooked pork chops.

It was a relief to open my front door and not be greeted by that over-cooked product smell of a couple weeks ago.

Chilly Saturday Wichita Bluff Nature Area

This first Saturday of the 2026 version of November is the coldest day in a long long time. Soon after arriving to hike the Wichita Bluff Nature Area I regretted being in shorts and a t-shirt, instead of sweat pants and a sweat shirt. 

But, hiking fast I was able to warm up, a little.

Above is the view, looking northwest, from near the highest point on the Wichita Bluffs. That brownish area you see in the middle of the photo is the Wichita River. Currently flowing higher than its usual norm.