Not Swimming With The Village Creek Turtles & Giant Insects

Giant Village Creek Insect

This morning, before the arrival of the sun on the 4th morning of February, some precipitation precipitated at my location, rendering the outer world a bit damp when I exited my abode to see if swimming was doable, what with the temperature being above 50 and nearing 70 on Sunday.

I lasted a couple minutes in the pool and then sought the heat of the hot tub.

I did not know how damp my regular outdoor exercise locations were, so, for my daily mid-day constitutional, I went to a place where dampness is not usually an issue, unless we are in flash flood mode, a mode which usually closes the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I'd walked with the Indian Ghosts who haunt VCNHA yesterday. I don't recollect ever doing this two days in a row before, which makes today some sort of groundbreaking occasion. A groundbreaking occasion with giant insects on the ground, which were somehow rendered mostly non-mobile, which allowed me to get up real close for the picture you see above.

Usually the Village Creek Turtles are the most skittish of any of the turtles I see in any of the places I frequent. Today, for the first time ever, I saw turtles in the Village Creek Blue Bayou. And they were not skittish. They allowed me to take their picture with little protest.

It was me who was feeling a bit skittish today. Last night's Super Bowl Party went on way too long. It was exhausting.

By the time the Super Bowl Party was over some of the people partying had consumed too much cranberry juice, to the point where I, responsible host that I be, could not allow them do drive home.

Having foreseen the possibility that my Super Bowl Party might end up with all the beds in my abode being occupied, yesterday I bought an air bed at Walmart to add a back up to the air bed I already had.

Well, it did not go well when I blew up the new air bed. It has/had a built in pump. That worked fine. But, when the air bed began to approach being full it made a very unseemly popping noise, then a swelling down the length of the middle of the bed, sort of making a divider, with a narrow sleeping zone on either side.

Changing the subject from my air bed issues back to Village Creek.

Now, with the next three photos, taken today at Village Creek, we'll be looking at a wider view than I usually show you.

Above you are looking at the overlook that looks over the Village Creek Blue Bayou. A couple years ago the overlook suffered bad damage from a bad flood. Arlington then totally replaced the overlook with a much more flood resistant structure. Arlington does a very good job of maintaining its parks in peak condition, unlike some towns.

Fort Worth comes to mind as a town a bit weak in the park maintenance department. Fort Worth's Gateway Park's boarded up, flood damaged, boardwalks, come to mind. These have been boarded up eyesores for years.

Above is another view of the Village Creek Blue Bayou zone. That structure you see in the foreground is a picnic table, in the mid ground is the aforementioned Blue Bayou Overlook, looking over the Blue Bayou.

Let's leave the Blue Bayou now and walk the paved trail across Village Creek.

I really don't see the need to have a railing at this location. Is a person going to somehow meander off the trail and fall in the creek without this impediment? The trail here leads to a dam/bridge across Village Creek, one of two in the Natural Historical Area.

This bit of trail is particularly fun whilst on a bike. One can pick up quite a bit of speed and then one must carefully negotiate the sharp turn lest one find oneself swimming with the turtles.