Monday, July 12, 2010

Why Is X Marking Tandy Hills Spots With Apples & Flash Floods?

I had not set foot on the Tandy Hills since several days ago, Friday, I think, when I was caught in and thoroughly drenched by a downpour.

Today at noon I did not see much of a drenching threat, so I returned to the Hills, not alive with the sound of music, unless you consider the out of control noise making of mating cicadas to be music. I don't.

I parked at the top of Tandy Mountain, under the Fort Worth Space Needle. The first thing I noticed was the New Tandy Shrine has hugely expanded.

The Old Tandy Shrine was a tribute to all the various types of litter you could find hiking the Tandy Hills.

The theme of the New Tandy Shrine I have not yet figured out. It consists of dozens of rocks, in a line about 30 feet long. Attempts to get a decent picture of the New Tandy Shrine have not worked out, likely due to my poor photographer skills.

Right from the top of Tandy Mountain, today, I noticed odd little piles of some white substance. Lime maybe?

Where the trail down Tandy Mountain reaches its first junction an X in white had been made to mark the spot. Why? Continuing on, taking north option at the junction, at the next trail junction, near the Tandy Falls sewer manhole, another X marks a spot. That X is the X you see in the picture.

As I continued my hiking I came upon a few more white marks, but no more X's. Why are a couple white X's marking spots on the Tandy Hills, I can't help but wonder?

We have had ourselves some rain of late. This has caused a flash flood. Or two.

Today I was not too shocked to see that the well-engineered bridges that the Fort Worth Water Department had installed across a pair of Tandy Creeks had suffered some major damage from flash flooding.

I have wondered a time or two about the history of the Tandy Hills. As in way back in the late 1800s. Was there a ranch or two on the hills? You see signs of such things. The old remains of what may have been a picket fence, that type thing. Did the Chisholm Trail run through nearby?

Today, as I was walking a trail I have walked dozens upon dozens of times, I looked up to see something I don't think I've ever seen on the Tandy Hills before.

Edible Fruit.

In the form of what appeared to be apples. I was unable to get close enough to ascertain for certain. I had to use my camera's zoom to get a closer look.

The fruit tree is in a semi-flat area of the Tandy Hills. Other trees near the fruit tree looked as if they also might be fruit trees. Was this the orchard of a long gone ranch?

I wonder if there is a history of Fort Worth book, of some sort, in the Fort Worth library. I'd go see, but my library card has expired and right now it seems like way too much bother to go un-expire it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A Hash?

http://dfwh3.org/calendar/2010/07-10.html

Durango said...

Yikes! I missed this event? I am appalled.

Stenotrophomonas said...

The white powder breadcrumb trail appears to have been put down Saturday morning. I hiked Friday afternoon between the rains (surprisingly free of mud, except Sewer Road and a few flat spots) and they weren't there, but they were Saturday afternoon.
It seems that the golf balls at the Tandy tower entrance disappeared after the 4th. There are plenty more in the northeast region, off the trail. Maybe they'll be back.