Yellow Pseudo Roses of Texas and Safe Fishing at Oakland Lake Park

My sad case of SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder) caused by last week's non-stop gray, cold, wet weather has totally gone away, cured by several days of blue sky and today's return to borderline, open the windows or turn on the A/C, HOT.

Sadly, but not the SAD type of sad, we've not had enough of the HOT stuff for my pool water to turn pleasant. In other words I was in it for a very short time this morning before I sought refuge and warmth in the hot tub.

I went walking at Oakland Lake Park today to enjoy the pre-Spring, Spring-like weather. I came across a beautiful field of yellow Texas wildflowers. Previously, kind observers of my confusions have informed me, (after seeing and photographing this same wildflower at the Tandy Hills and previously blogging about that wildflower sighting), that this particular Texas Wildflower is called a Dandelion.

Apparently the Dandelion is not exclusively a Texas Wildflower.

In modern French the Dandelion is named pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed", apparently referring to its diuretic properties. Likewise, "pissabeds" is an English folk-name for this plant, as is piscialletto in Italian and the Spanish meacamas. In various north-eastern Italian dialects the flower is known as pisacan ("dog pisses"), referring to how common they are found at the side of pavements, while in many other northern Italian dialects it is known as soffione ("blowing") referring to the blowing the seeds from the stalk. The same is true for German, where Pusteblume ("blowing flower") is a popular designation. Likewise, in Polish it is called "dmuchawiec", deriving from dmuchać ("to blow"). Whilst in its flowering form the Poles know it as Mlecz, a word derived from "milk", due to the plant's milky sap.

The other thing I saw interesting at Oakland Lake Park today was an older gentleman fly fishing. I don't know if he was having any luck, but he was doing a lot of casting.

The Texas Department of State Health Services warning sign about fish caught in the lake has been changed to sound less dire. Previously it said, "WARNING: The Possession of Fish from this Lake is Prohibited Due to Contamination. Punishable by up to $2,000. Fine."

Now the fine warning has been dropped, as well as the prohibition of fish, with the warning signs now saying, "A Fish Consumption Advisory Exists for the Water Body or Adjacent Areas."

The no swimming or boating signs were no longer there too, I just realized. Not that I would want to go swimming in Oakland Lake. Too many turtles. The turtles and all the ducks and geese, seeming to live without dying on the lake, has long seemed a bit odd, what with that previous warning about the dire nature of the fish in the lake.