American White Pelicans Joining The Sikes Lake Bird Population

A couple days ago I was walking around Sikes Lake and saw what looked to me to be a pair of White Swans. I was back there this morning, on this final day of the first month of 2024, enjoying the third day in a row of the return of summer, with the temperature today getting into the high 70s.

When I made mention of those Swans a couple days ago renowned ornithologist, Ralph, identified those birds...

Ralph has left a new comment on your post "Saturday Sikes Lake With Swans":

What you're calling swans look like American White Pelicans to me.

Upon arriving at Sikes Lake today I saw the American White Pelicans, which look like White Swans, had ceased floating solo on the lake and had joined the flock of other birds, geese, ducks and seagulls, roosting on the coffer dam that is falling apart and serves no apparent purpose.

I looked at the long range forecast today, well into February. It looks like we may escape the rest of winter without getting in a deep freeze, again.

Lucy Park Visit With Wichita River In Melted Chocolate Mode

I am really enjoying the mid-winter return to summer. This next to last day of the first month of 2024 is being naturally heated into the 70 degree range.

Around noon I had a mighty fine communing with nature at Lucy Park, attired only in shorts and t-shirt. 

As you can see via the look at the Lucy Park suspension bridge, there is nary a cloud in the sky. Totally bright blue.

The recent rain has rendered the Wichita River into a Utah redrock shade of brown. Looks like flowing melted chocolate.

There currently is nothing green visible in Lucy Park, Even the grass has now turned brown.

The current forecast promises many more summer-like days, before the return of winter...

Unexpected Cross Country Skiing In Texas

No. We have not received yet one more Arctic Blast, this time with snow. The snowy scene here is from earlier this century, at my first Texas abode.

I came upon this photo whilst looking for one of my brother attired like Wilma Flintstone, to no avail.

I took up cross country skiing way back in the 1980s.

In a Washington winter logging roads in the Cascade Mountains become cross country ski trails. Along with many other trails designated for cross country skiing.

I got quite good at cross country skiing. That type skiing is a bit more work than the type known as downhill skiing. I think that is what it is known as. The type skiing where you ride a lift up a mountain, and then slide at high speed down the mountain.

Prior to taking up cross country skiing I did the downhill chair lift enabled type skiing. That type skiing is a bit more challenging than cross country skiing.

With cross country skis you can go uphill. That is the heavy duty workout part of the sliding. 

I do not know why I brought my cross country skis with me to Texas. Prior to learning I was wrong, I thought Texas likely got no snow, and was real flat.

Within two weeks of my Texas arrival I experienced my first Ice Storm, along with snow, hence the photos above of me trying to slide on the icy snow.

If I remember right my attempt at cross country skiing on this occasion lasted about 10 minutes. Several years later I had moved to a location in East Fort Worth. A hilly location.

I never cross country skiied on those Fort Worth hills.

But, one winter a storm dropped many inches of snow. The roads were not iced up, so driving was easy, unlike during an Ice Storm.

So, I drove to Veterans Park in Arlington, which is quite hilly. Got there, got out the skiis and started sliding. Went up and down the hills multiple times.

I heard kids yelling, look that man is skiing. I assumed such a sight was quite rare in Texas.

I no longer have my cross country skis. I stupidly stored them in an outdoor closet on my patio. An unheated, uncooled closet. One winter, with another covering of snow, I went to get my cross country skis to find they had delaminated, from the HOT heat, I assumed.

I found the same had happened to my roller blades which I stored in my van. The heat did something bad to the plastic on the boots, rendering them broken. I discovered this soon after my arrival at my current location, after seeing how good the paved trails are here, and how conducive to roller blading they would be.

Maybe I'll do some shopping on Amazon, looking at roller blades and cross country skis...

The Return OF Blue Sky & Warm Air To North Texas

On this final Sunday of the first month of 2024, it was back to Lake Wichita Park I ventured today for some fast-paced endorphin acquisition via aerobic stimulation.

Yesterday, walking around Sikes Lake, I was totally under dressed. I was in shiver mode by the time I made it all the way around the lake.

Today, even knowing the outer world was much warmer than yesterday, I layered on too many layers, some of which I peeled off upon arrival at Mount Wichita.

So, today is short sleeved t-shirt and shorts weather, not two layers of sweatshirts on top of a t-shirt, and lined sweatpants weather, which had me overheated by the time I was done, even after taking off the two sweatshirts upon arrival.

Texas weather is so unstable. Goes from super cold to not super cold and back to super cold, then mixes in some rain, and then returns to a bright blue warm sky, like you see today.

Sadly, the recent day long deluge of rain did not raise the level of Lake Wichita much. The new floating dock, which was installed last summer, has yet to have the opportunity to float.

The day may come when this dock floats. It might not be this year, might not be the next year. Wichita Falls has long droughts.

When the new Lake Wichita dock finally floats methinks there should be a city-wide celebration to celebrate the occasion...

Remembering Princess Nancy Of Burlington's Berry Dairy Days Parade

The Microsoft OneDrive Memories of the Day is a gift that just keeps on giving and giving, causing me to think about things I've long not thought about.

Such as Burlington's Berry Dairy Days Parade.

For several years mom and dad, well, mostly dad, would build a float so me and my siblings could be in the parade.

I think the last float was a giant strawberry, with my little sister, Jackie, on top of the berry, and dad inside the berry, pushing it the length of Burlington's Fairhaven Avenue main drag parade route.

I remember the giant berry got stuck going across railroad tracks. Multiple people watching the parade realized what was happening and helped dad get the berry over the tracks. 

The parade float you see above is one of the earlier ones, with my little brother, Jake, helping me pull big sister, Nancy, sitting regally on her throne, in one of the few documented cases of Nancy wearing a dress.

We were fans of The Flintstones. The year before the giant strawberry dad built a replica of Fred Flintstone's car. I wish I had a photo of that, but, I do not think I do.

We did not ride in Fred's car in the parade. Jake and I pulled it, with me done up like Fred Flintstone and Jake done up like Wilma Flintstone, complete with a red wig.

I am not likely going to be obsessed with finding a photo of the Flintstone car and Jake being Wilma...

Saturday Sikes Lake With Swans

With the temperature in the 40s, with a slightly slow wind blowing, on this final Saturday of the first month of 2024 I ventured to nearby Sikes Lake for some nature communing and endorphin acquisition.

As you can see, blue sky has not yet returned. Rain dripped all day yesterday. 

I only saw two birds on Sikes Lake today. Which you see photo documented above. These birds looked to be a pair of white swans. I do not recollect seeing Swans at Sikes Lake previously.

I think I was not the only person who had grown tired of being cooped up, housebound by bad weather, because there were a lot of people enjoying the semi-brisk air today.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get heated into the 60s. That should render tomorrow a more pleasant outdoor experience than today's...

Final January Friday With Rain Dripping & Thunder Booming

On this final Friday of the first month of 2024, the view out of my computer room window is dripping with precipitation. Along with occasional thunder booming.

This looks to be another day I won't be getting any endorphins via aerobic stimulation at some outdoor venue. 

The forecast is for the outer world to be dripping off and on all day long. And again tomorrow.

This is being like a stereotypical Western Washington winter day. The temperature well above freezing, a total cloud cover and fog. 

I have yet to succumb to being SAD. As in Seasonally Affected Disorder. Two more days of this and I will likely start feeling SAD.

Melancholy Memory From Long Ago

A few minutes ago, on Facebook, I read a posting from the fellow former Skagit Valley-ite, known as Madame McNutt, lamenting the passing of an aunt she held in high regard.

After that I checked email and found the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day.

Today's photos look to be photos of various family reunions of various sizes.

I remember none of these, though I see myself in some of the photos, such as the one above.

That would be me, in the front, on the far right, standing in front of my dad, who looks to be holding my little sister, Jackie, who lately became a grandma for the first time. Standing next to me, wearing what looks like a MAGA hat, is my little brother, Jake. 

Behind Jake is our mom. I cannot tell what mom is holding, or who.

The next person in the lineup, the only one in shirt and tie, I think is Uncle Les, which would make that Cousin Scott, in a white shirt, in front of his dad. Behind Scott is his mom, Aunt Arlene. That may be Uncle Mooch, next to Aunt Arlene. I do not think Uncle Mooch had met Aunt Jane by this point in time.

Back to the front row, that looks to be my eldest sister, Nancy, on one of the rare occasions where Nancy is wearing a dress.

Next to Nancy, in orange pants is Cousin Scott's little sister, Cousin Linda. Cousin Linda has always been my favorite cousin.

I think that must be Aunt Judy I barely see behind Cousin Linda. I think that because next to the one I think to be Aunt Judy is Uncle Mel. Uncle Mel looks to be holding a baby. I would guess that baby to be Cousin Jeff.

Almost half of those in this photo are no longer with us. Mom, Dad, Aunt Arlene, Uncle Les, Cousin Scott and Uncle Mel.

Today's is a Melancholy Microsoft OneDrive Memory....

Grumpy Photo From My Haslet Hamlet Past

The photo you see here showed up in my email this Tuesday afternoon. Every day I get an email from Microsoft allegedly showing me a OneDrive Memory from this Day.

I have no clue what I am supposed to be remembering in the photo. 

But I do remember where this photo was taken, as in this was my living quarters at my first Texas location, that being a 10 acre ranch in a little hamlet called Haslet, a northern suburb of Fort Worth.

My quarters at this location consisted of a bedroom, a bathroom, a computer/TV room, a little kitchenette, and a big walk-in closet.

I am frequently told, by some, that I always look grumpy when photographed. That photo you see here would have been taken by my long gone Casio digital camera, with a rotating lens allowing for the taking of what are now known as selfies, which were a thing not yet invented when this photo was taken.

I spent most of my time at that first Texas location feeling grumpy, so this photo likely is reflecting my mood at that point in time.

Now, back to the present version of Tuesday, the 4th instance of this day in the first month of the new year of 2024.

Today started off with a thick fog of the sort I associate with being near an ocean. I don't know where a thick fog comes from in this ocean-less part of the planet. Rain has been dripping down all day.

So, I have not ventured into the outer world. I may do so later...
 

Rainy Days & Mondays Don't Get Me Down

What you are seeing here is the noonish view from my kitchen window. The forecast for last night and today was for icy temperatures with precipitation precipitating, possibly in the form of sleet, with conditions of the sort which can result in a slippery coating of ice.

Well, that view from my kitchen does look a bit slippery. But it is not, not at all. The precipitation which began arriving before dark, last night, remained unfrozen, even whilst the temperature hovered around freezing.

So, we dodged another Ice Storm.

We are now coming up on 2 on this Monday afternoon. Rain continues to fall and not freeze, due to the temperature currently being a balmy 39 degrees...

Microsoft OneDrive Memory Takes Me Back To Mountain Biking In Texas

Arriving in my email this morning is another Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day that I actually remember.

Though, not on this day, it being a January day. January is not a warm month. 

I appear to be sweating in this selfie photo taken with my antique, long gone, Casio digital camera.

I don't think I have done any sweating in Texas in January, especially at the location of this photo.

With that location being the mountain bike trail that begins in Rockledge Park on Lake Grapevine, in the town of Grapevine.

I have not been on a mountain bike trail since moving to my current Wichita Falls location.

When I moved to Texas I thought my mountain biking days were behind me, what with Texas being a bit scarce in the mountain department.

I soon learned I was once again erroneous.

A couple months after moving to Texas I took a long drive to far east Texas, known as the Piney Woods Region. I was quite surprised to see that the Piney Woods Region looked a lot like the forested zones of Western Washington.

I drove in a park called Tyler State Park. This is a big park. I soon was seeing people on mountain bikes.

And then I came to a big parking lot, located where there were multiple trailheads for multiple mountain bike trails.

I was looking at a big sign with a map of the trails. A couple other guys were also looking at the map. I remarked to them that I was surprised to find mountain bike trails of this quality in Texas, that I thought I was not going to be mountain biking in Texas due to the lack of mountains.

One of the guys asked where I was from. I told him. He then asked where I was located in Texas. Haslet, said I, a tiny suburb of Fort Worth.

Fort Worth? Says the guy. So, you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Well, there are many real good mountain bike trails right in the Metroplex, some of the best you can find anywhere. The guy told me to go to a Bicycle Inc. store where I could get a map showing where all the trails are in D/FW.

I did so, the following week, and was amazed to see the number of mountain bike trails in D/FW. Over the years I think I biked each of them, at least once. And some dozens upon dozens of times, like the Rockledge and Horseshoe Trails on Lake Grapevine.

Another favorite was what are known as the DORBA trails in Cedar Hills State Park. Great biking and hiking trails are in that huge park.

Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association is where that DORBA name comes from. There are three loops to the DORBA trail in Cedar Hills State Park, with the third loop labeled as EXTREME.

Because it was not easy. I only biked the EXTREME trail once. On that EXTREME trail I had my one and only in the wild rattlesnake encounter in Texas. A big rattler, off the side of the trail. I heard it shaking its rattle before I saw the snake curled up, ready to strike.

The week previous to that rattlesnake encounter I'd been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, so the rattle noise was fresh in my memory. I think I almost overdosed on adrenalin when I passed that snake, and soon thereafter the trail entered a sort of marsh-like, tall grass section, which greatly heightened my snake anxiety.

But, I saw no additional reptiles that day.

Fort Worth has a couple mountain bike trails. The Gateway Park mountain bike trail was close to my abode, so I biked that one frequently. The Gateway Park trail is a fun one. It has a sort of roller coaster feel to it, in places.

Arlington's River Legacy Park has miles upon miles of mountain bike trails, some marked difficult, which were too difficult for me to master.

In River Legacy Park I had multiple snake encounters, but never with a rattlesnake. Several copperheads, though. And bobcats. Lots of bobcats. And armadillos. Including baby armadillos, If memory serves me accurately I think I put at least one photo of baby armadillos on the River Legacy Park webpage I made years ago.

All this mountain bike talk and remembering how much fun I had in those various D/FW parks, it is making me a bit nostalgic. 

There is a mountain bike trail here in Wichita Falls. I have hiked part of it, accessed by crossing the suspension bridge in Lucy Park. Soon after crossing that suspension bridge one comes to a section of the mountain bike trail called Alligator Alley.

When one Googles Wee-Chi-Tah Mountain Bike Trail in Wichita Falls one finds a lot of websites with information about this trail, including a Facebook page.

A short description of the Wee-Chi-Tah Trail from one of those aforementioned webpages...

"Explore this 12-mile loop in Wichita Falls along the Wichita River. Generally considered a moderately challenging route. This is a popular trail for mountain biking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime".

I think when Spring arrives I may take up bike riding again, maybe even braving Alligator Alley and the rest of the Wee-Chi-Tah Mountain Bike Trail...

Frozen Icebound Washington Weather Report From Nephew Jason

 My old home zone of the Skagit Valley, and Whatcom County, have been iced over of late, making vehicular travel treacherous. 

Incoming email from my Favorite Jason Nephew, that I did not see til this Saturday morning, but arrived in my email inbox on Thursday. I do not know why I did not see this email til this morning. 

The explanatory text in the email...

FUD -

I took this shot off the TV yesterday afternoon.    

And then checked on our above ground living Lynden relative.

She reported 7 inches of snow in the front yard and 3-to-4-foot drifts between her apartment and the garage.    Jeff came by and cleared her front steps and walkway.

Back here in the valley the ground and air are still frozen. Schools were cancelled yesterday as well as today.  I kept my restaurant closed both days as very few people are out and about.   And as I type this, it is currently snowing in Mount Vernon.  We only have a few inches—but enough to virtually shut down the city.

Temps have been below freezing for a week now.

-FNJ

_________________________

FUD is the abbreviation of Favorite Uncle D. FNJ is the abbreviation of Favorite Nephew Jason. Lynden is a Dutch dominated town a few miles south of the Canadian border.

At my North Texas location we are also freezing, with the arrival of a new Arctic Blast, yesterday. The current forecast for my location predicts possible frozen precipitation precipitating on Monday... 

Green Free Lucy Park Walk With Icy River & Frozen Waterfall

This third Thursday of the new 2024 year I was back in Lucy Park for, I think, the first time this year.

With the temperature in the upper 40s, and little wind blowing, it made for a pleasant bout of communing with nature.

As you can see, what I used to refer to as the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle, is now totally deprived of anything green, making for a forlorn looking barren landscape.

That is the Wichita River you see above, as it passes through the former Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle. The patch of white you see on both sides of the river is ice. 

That ice ought not last long, what with the temperature this afternoon getting into the 50s.

No, that is not frozen Wichita Falls you see above. The manmade Wichita Falls is a short walk from Lucy Park. When the temperature drops to near zero I assum Wichita Falls is turned off, thus not having the opportunity to freeze over.

The frozen waterfall you see above is Snoqualmie Falls, located a few miles east of Seattle. If you were a Twin Peaks fan, Snoqualmie Falls was the waterfall you saw on that TV shows opening credits.

If you visit the Snoqualmie Falls viewing lookout whilst the Snoqualmie River is in flood mode, Snoqualmie Falls is HUGE, spewing a big wall of mist and shaking the ground like an earthquake.

It is quite a thing to see. And feel...

Microsoft OneDrive Takes Me To A Cool Pool With Uncle Mel, Dad & Grandma

Microsoft OneDrive Memories from the Day, that I do not remember happening on this day, arrived in my email a few minutes ago.

The first memory, that one you see above, I took with my long gone Casio digital camera. That camera had a unique reverse the lens feature that allowed for taking what we now call selfies, nowadays taken with ones phone. 

But those selfie type phones had not yet come to be, early in this century, when the above "selfie" was taken. I know this photo was not a memory from January 17. Because I can see I am standing by the pool that existed at my first abode in Texas.

That pool was not heated. No way was I in that pool, or near it, shirtless, in January. 

Another photo in today's OneDrive memories is a tad poignant.

Uncle Mel, my dad, Jack, and Grandma Slotemaker.

I do not recognize where this photo was taken.

But, it likely was at a location in Lynden, a Dutch themed Washington town near the border with Canada...

Nephew Jason Takes Us To A Sunset Look At Mount Baker Whilst Miss Sheila Takes Us To A Mount Rainier Sunrise

Incoming email this morning from my Favorite Jason Nephew, with one photo, and the following text...

We are thawing up north, very slowly.

My phone indicates that you are freezing some thousand miles to the south and east.

Took this picture on my way home from work tonight of Mount Baker via the same viewpoint of a few days earlier.  Sunset is gradually working back to the 5 p.m. hour.

It was certainly more beautiful in person.

I wish you were here to enjoy the great Pacific Northwest.

__________________

I also wish I was enjoying the great Pacific Northwest. No matter which direction I look at my current Texas location I see no scenery like that which you see above.

And then there was this, from renowned Pacific Northwest photographer, Sheila K, a sunrise look at Mount Rainier from her Lacey backyard.

I do not know how close, miles wise, Miss Sheila and Miss Chris are from Mount Rainier, at their Lacey location. Lacey is a town a few miles east of Olympia.

If Mount Rainier ever decides to go into active volcano mode, Sheila and Chris will have an interesting phenomenon to pay close attention to...

Comparing Temperatures Walking With Linda Lou In Walmart

Saw that which you see here, this Monday morning, on Facebook.

Apparently downtown Seattle accumulated enough snow during the current Arctic Blast to enable cross country skiing to Pike Place.

I do not recollect ever seeing skiing in downtown Seattle before.

The current Arctic Blast at my Texas location did not get the predicted precipitation. Not in snow form. Or ice. Nothing precipitated from the cloudy gray sky.

Walmart was my walking location, again, today. For the sake of variety I went to a different Walmart than the one closest to me. I think the Walmart I went to today is about a half mile further than the closest Walmart.

As I was walking in Walmart Linda Lou text messaged me, asking "Are you all frozen? We are up to 12 degrees this morning."

I texted back, "14 degrees here. Am walking in Walmart. Brrrr."

We are currently scheduled to get heated to something in the 50-degree range on Wednesday.

Driving by Sikes Lake a few minutes ago I was not surprised seeing the lake mostly frozen, with geese floating in a small area that had not frozen over yet...

Wichita Falls Sunday Morning's 8 Degrees Really Feeling Like 2 Below Zero

Saw that which you see above, this Sunday morning, on Facebook. There may be a lot of whining about the current temperature, with the Arctic Blast blasting across Texas, starting yesterday. 

But, the weather whining is well merited, what with just a couple days ago we were being heated into the 70s. It is jarring to go from that pleasant warmth, to how cold it is this Sunday morning, with the wind making 8 degrees above zero really feel like 2 degrees below zero.

The predicted precipitation has not precipitated, yet.

So, no snow or ice.

Yet.

As you can see via the above screen cap, we are at 100% cloud cover currently in Wichita Falls.

Looking out the window that cloud cover looks menacing.

Saturday's walk around Mount Wichita was way too cold.

Any walking outside of my abode today will be taking place in Walmart...

Nephew Jason Takes Us To Frigid Padilla Bay

Incoming email from my Favorite Jason Nephew, with two photos, subject line: Frigid Padilla Bay.

Text in the email: Took this from March’s Point this morning.

Marsh's Point is a small peninsula one drives by between Mount Vernon and Anacortes. On March's Point Padilla Bay is to the east, Fidalgo Bay to the west. There are a couple oil refineries on March's Point, refining oil which arrives from Alaska in big super tankers.

I do not recollect seeing Western Washington's saltwater in frozen mode, prior to seeing Jason's photo documentation of such.

I am just returned from a frigid walk around Mount Wichita. The strong wind had the 32 degrees feeling way colder. 

I think that bump on the horizon, above Jason's car's hood, is the Mount Baker volcano.

 Another look at frosty Padilla Bay. And that is definitely Mount Baker on the horizon.

The promised Arctic Blast has arrived. Strong wind from the north. So far, no clouds. 

Soon it will be colder at my North Texas location than it currently is at my old Washington home location...

Another Frigid Day In Paradise

I saw this photo yesterday on Facebook. The photo was taken by Miss Carol BD from her home zone on the Skagit Flats. 

The view is looking east at the Mount Baker volcano and the Cascade Mountain's foothills.

As you can clearly see, a coating of snow has dusted the Cascade foothills.

Currently the Skagit Flats are being chilled colder than my North Texas location, at only 9 degrees above zero.

My Wichita Falls location is being chilled to one degree below freezing, at 31.

We are scheduled to get a bit colder as we progress through Saturday, with incoming snow predicted for Sunday, possibly in Ice Storm form.

The governor of Texas is claiming the Texas grid will not collapse, this time, when the temperature nears zero. I don't attach much credence to anything the current governor of Texas claims.

I think I may venture into the outer world today, driving to the only thing remotely resembling a mountain at my current location, that being the mound of congealed lake mud I call Mount Wichita...

Incoming Weather Report From Nephew Jason

Incoming email from my Favorite Jason Nephew, this morning.  With a screenshot from Jason's phone. 

Today I am being a bit warmer than my old home zone of the Skagit Valley, with Mount Vernon chilled to 10 degrees. 

Lynden is around 40 miles north of Mount Vernon, a few miles south of the border with Canada.

Lynden gets way colder and way more snow than my old home zone, due to weather systems flowing south from the Fraser River valley. A mountain range between Lynden and the Skagit Valley usually keeps that cold Canadian weather from making it all the way south to my old home zone.

When I was a kid we thought it great fun to go north from our snow-free zone, to visit the grandmas in Lynden, where there would be deep snow drifts.

This morning I see the forecast for my Wichita Falls home zone is now predicting an Ice Storm, with an inch thick coating of ice, arriving Saturday. 

I never experienced an Ice Storm til moving to Texas. The first one happened about two weeks after I arrived in the Lone Star zone.

I was in the Fort Worth Stockyards, at the now defunct Riscky Rita's Mexican buffet. Upon entering Riscky Rita's the temperature was in the 60s. And hour later, leaving Riscky Rita's a strong wind was blowing from the north, and the temperature had plummeted to below freezing.

That night my first Ice Storm arrived, coating the outer world with thick ice. We did not know how to turn off the water to the pool, or the barn, figuring such should be done to prevent burst pipes. 

By morning it was eerie, quiet, except for the sound of tires squealing on thick ice, trying to get up a slight hill to the east. 

If an Ice Storm does arrive tomorrow, I am not venturing out in it. I do not want a repeat of last winter's bruising fall on ice...

The Predicted Deep Freeze Keeps Getting Colder The Closer The Arctic Blast Gets To North Texas

We are having a heat wave, not a tropical heat wave, a winter Texas heat wave is what we are having, on this second Thursday of the new year.

A heat wave that won't last a full 24 hours, with the high today of 71, before freezing tonight at 24.

The predicted temperatures for the days of the incoming Arctic Blast have been lowered. With the Arctic Blast now arriving on Saturday, with a high of 39, a low of 8, then Sunday we do not get above freezing, with a high of 17, a low of 4, then even colder on Monday, with a high of 16, a low of 3.

We then begin to warm up on Tuesday, with a high of 26, a low of 18.

I saw that which you see below, on Facebook, this morning. Pretty much sums up winter weather in North Texas.

I am hoping the Texas grid does not collapse again, like it did the last time it got as cold as the current prediction...

Deep Freeze Arriving Sunday Six Degrees Above Zero

Tomorrow, the day called Thursday, the second Thursday of the new 2024 year, the current temperature prediction for my North Texas Wichita Falls location is a relatively balmy 67 degrees.

That hot flash is followed three days later, on the day called Sunday, with a plunge into deep freeze mode, with the high Sunday of 19 degrees, and low 6 degrees above zero. Same on Monday, with the high one degree colder than Sunday, at 18 degrees.

My abode's new heating and cooling system does not handle extreme cold well. The heat pump switches to auxiliary heat mode, which has trouble producing a comfortable level of warmth.

Last winter I resorted to using a space heater to augment the auxiliary heat. I suspect I will be resorting to the same extra heat method on Sunday.

I hope we do not go below zero this winter. Last time that happened the Texas electrical grid collapsed for a couple days. Such is hard on us elderly sorts...

Breezy Freezy Tuesday Walk Around Sikes Lake

With the outer world chilled to 39 degrees, with a steady wind blowing over 20 mph, with gusts over 40 mph, I bundled up under layers of insulative outerwear for my first communing with nature in quite a few days, this morning, walking around breezy Sikes Lake.

The past several days have been overcast, windy, cold, drippy days, not conducive to lengthy outdoor exposure. 

Today, with the return of a clear blue sky, even though I knew it was cold, and that a strong wind has been blowing for hours, I figured I could keep warm under multiple layers.

I figured wrong.

Total brrrrr.

Not to the point of shivering, but almost to that point.

Below you see the Shadow of the Sikes Lake Thin Man, under multiple layers of winter wear, crossing the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake.

Unless the wind dies down, I won't be doing any outdoor nature communing tomorrow, or the next day.

Snow is in the forecast, for later today. I don't see that happening, what with nary a single cloud currently to be seen.

Winter is my least favorite season....

Stormy Monday Morning In Wichita Falls

Stormy view from my computer room window, this second Monday of the new year. Rain began downpouring in the middle of the night. 

Flooding blocks my usual route to my motorized means of motion.

The rain seems to be abating. No longer in downpour mode.

Don't know if enough rain poured down in quantities sufficient to help mitigate the current drought condition. 

It has been many a month since I have seen water flowing in my next-door neighbor known as Holliday Creek.

No, I did not spell Holliday wrong, with an extra l. Holliday Creek is named after early explorer, Captain John Holliday, who carved his name on a tree by the creek. The town of Holliday, Texas, was named after the creek, as was Holliday Street, a major street in Wichita Falls.

I was a couple years at my current location when I ceased thinking the locals did not know how to spell Holiday...

In Washington Saying Humptulips, Lilliwap & Dosewallips Without Giggling

I saw that which you see here, this Saturday afternoon, on Facebook. Three volcanoes. I think the lower volcano is Mount Hood. That is in Oregon, near the border with Washington. Washington has five volcanoes, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Baker and Glacier Peak. 

Glacier Peak takes some effort to see it from the ground. It is not visible from the Western Washington lowlands, like Rainier, Baker and Adams are. I may be wrong about Adams.

Anyway, the text that came with this Only in Washington image was amusing, and so true...

YOU KNOW YOU ARE FROM WASHINGTON STATE WHEN:

You know the Vitamin D deficiency struggle is real.

You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Sammamish, Enumclaw and Issaquah.

You avoid driving through Seattle at all costs.

You know what a Geoduck is.

You consider swimming an indoor sport.

You see a person carrying an umbrella and instantly think tourist.

Your lawn is mostly moss and you don't really care.

Honking your car horn is for absolute emergencies.

You're EXTREMELY picky about your coffee.

“The mountain is out today", isn't a strange statement.

While out of state you just tell people you're from Seattle since that's the only known city in Washington according to the rest of the world.

You remember Almost Live.

You've eaten in the Space Needle, and while it was delicious, you're never paying $50 for a meal in the sky again.

You rarely wash your car because it's just going to get washed by the rain tomorrow.

You're used to the phrase "No, not DC" when telling out of staters where you're from.

Northface is always in fashion.

You take a warm coat and a hat with you for a day at the beach.

You have mastered the art of doing everything in the rain, because, well, Washington.

You play the "no you go" at four-way stop.

You have had both the thought of how beautiful Mount Rainier is, while simultaneously accepting that it will probably kill you someday.

You get a little twitchy if it's been more than a week since it last rained.

You believe Twilight ruined Forks.

You can say Humptulips, Lilliwap and Dosewallips without giggling.

Microsoft OneDrive Memory Takes Me Back To Turner Falls

I quickly recognized the memory in the incoming Microsoft OneDrive "Memories from this Day".

And for once this memory actually did occur within a reasonable time frame of this day in January.

It was early in January, on a day soon after the new century began. I think it was in January of 2002. 

That is the top of Turner Falls you see above, in Turner Falls Park.

The park was flooding due to too much rain, which caused this Winter trip to Turner Falls to have Turner Falls falling way more water than a previous Summer visit to Turner Falls when I took a cooling dip directly under the waterfall. 

The summer visit to Turner Falls was HOT. Hundreds of people were enjoying cooling off, near the falls, and in a swimming hole further down Honey Creek.

Honey Creek is the name of the creek which provides Turner Falls its water.

If you are ever driving Interstate 35 in Oklahoma, and see the exit to Turner Falls, it is well worth it to take that exit.

Turner Falls is a short distance from that exit from I-35. You find yourself in the Arbuckle Mountains. Soon coming to an overlook, looking down at Turner Falls. We were not expecting to see such scenic mountain scenery that first time seeing Turner Falls.

I can't remember when last I saw a real mountain. I guess it would be the last time I was in Arizona, which was in July of 2019...

Dense Fog Grounds Me In My North Texas Location

A dense fog has rolled into town from the ocean, or somewhere, on this 4th morning of the new year of 2024.

In addition to being foggy, the outer world is currently cold. Above freezing, but, still cold.

The foggy view you see above is what I see out my kitchen window as I make an Instant Pot of French Onion Soup.

Hot soup on a cold winter day seemed the thing to do today.

I think I shall forego outer world walking today, perhaps doing so at one of my many Walmart walking venues. Or not.

Currently, in the long-range weather forecast for my location, Saturday, January 13 is the only day with the following in the forecast...

Cloudy and very cold with occasional snow and flurries.

I am not in the mood for either "very cold" or "snow and flurries"...

First Walk Of The New Year Around Sikes Lake With Geese

This third day of the New Year, with the temperature not too chilly, with hardly any wind blowing, I had my first outdoor walk of the New Year of 2024, via a fast walk around Sikes Lake.

Some of the Sikes Lake goose massacre survivors were enjoying the return to being well above freezing, by going into Geese Flotilla mode.

In the photo documentation you are looking north, across the flotilla of geese, from the east side of Sikes Lake.

I have not seen the Goose Massacre protesters for several weeks. Did they give up on protesting the mass murder of 383 Sikes Lake geese?

Did the protests result in an agreement by Midwestern State University to not engage in Geese Genocide, ever again, and instead find a more goose friendly solution to the over population of geese?

Unexpected Happy Holiday Cheer Showed Up In My Mailbox This 2nd Day Of 2024

What with the Holiday Season over, til later this year, I was not expecting to find any additional Holiday related items to show up in my mailbox this Holiday Season cycle.

A little after 5 o'clock this rainy, cold, cloudy second day of 2024, I found that which you see above, or to the left, depending upon what means you are using to access the Internet.

A card from CJ, Carissa and Cade.

I now will remember how to correctly spell Cade's mama's name. I think I have been spelling Carissa with two r's and one s, as in Carrisa. Or maybe it was Carrissa was making my spelling error.

Due to the temperature frigidity Walmart was my walking destination today, for a half hour of high-speed grocery cart pushing. I called Cade's grandma whilst in Walmart, but she was not available.

I have not talked to Cade's grandma yet this year...

Happy New 2024 Year From Alaska

Happy New Year! A new year, a new wall calendar. The theme of the 2023 wall calendar was The West.

As in scenes of the American West.

I'd seen many of those scenes of the American West. Such as Monument Valley, Canyonlands National Park, Badlands National Park, Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast, Glacier National Park and Dead Horse Point.

The theme of the 2024 wall calendar is National Parks. As in American National Parks.

I have been to Alaska, but not to Glacier Bay National Park, which is what you see above.

I think I have been to all the national parks west of the Mississippi. Except for the national parks in Hawaii and Alaska and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

And Texas.

Have yet to make it to either of the Texas national parks. Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 

Maybe I will make a New Year Resolution to finally visit Big Bend National Park...