Finally Water Spilling Over Lake Wichita Dam On Mt. St. Helens Eruption Anniversary

It was to Lake Wichita I ventured on this fine May Day.

The third Saturday of the month.

And the anniversary of the day Mount Saint Helens exploded in my old Washington state home zone.

I was taking a bath on the Sunday morning that volcano blew up. I heard three loud concussive booms. Did not know it was the mountain exploding til a few minutes later when the next-door neighbor checked in to see if we knew the volcano had erupted. That turned into one long day of watching the non-stop news.

Anyway, back to Lake Wichita. This was the first time in over a year, maybe way over a year, since water was seen spilling over the Lake Wichita dam's spillway. And spilling in copious amounts it was.

Now we are at the top of the dam, looking through a chain link fence at the water spilling over the spillway.

Walking to the end of the Lake Wichita Boardwalk I saw these two guys fishing amongst the wood piers that are all that remains of the Lake Wichita Pavilion, which burned down way back in the 1950s.

The temperature is heading into the 90s today. The A/C is keeping my interior space cool.

Summer will soon be upon us. Record breaking heat is currently predicated. Not looking forward to that...

The Remains Of The Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda Remain No More

The rain has let up on this third Friday of May.

Since I was in the neighborhood, getting meds from a nearby pharmacy, I opted to continue on to Lucy Park for a bout of nature communing.

A year or two or three ago, time flies, who can keep track, I was surprised to see that the Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda had gone up in flames, leaving only the metal framework upon which it had been built.

That remaining metal framework began to look like an intended work of sculptural art. Some suggested painting the metal before it succumbed to rust.

But, such is no longer an option. 

The metal framework remains of the Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda have been removed, as you can see via the photo documentation above.

I never saw mention made of the Lucy Park Pagoda flameout in what passes for a newspaper in this town, the Wichita Falls Times Record News.

So, I do not expect to see an article about the removal of the Pagoda's remains. Or if a new Pagoda is planned to arise from the ashes.

I have never been able to learn why a Japanese Pagoda was erected in Lucy Park. There must be a reason for it...

Microsoft OneDrive Memories From Today Of Baby Beauty Sister Nancy & Baby Bobcat

Amusing baby pictures today in my email, via Microsoft's OneDrive's Memories from this Day.

No clue how it might have been determined the Memories from this Day were from May, let alone this day in May.

In this photo of myself on the left, my little brother, Jake, on the right, we see what may be the first instance of our eldest sister, Nancy, all dressed up looking like she must be going somewhere real special.

Nancy won a Baby Beauty Contest around this time, sponsored, if I remember correctly, by the Skagit Valley Herald, that being a real newspaper in my old home zone, a newspaper of the quality sort which had me realizing such was not the case when I began reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, widely regarded as a really bad newspaper, but not quite as bad as the newspaper of record in the town I am now in, the Wichita Falls Times Record News, which mainly covers local sports, local crime, and a few other things, once in awhile, such as recently there was an article about a few new restaurants opening in town.

Okay, that was one super long run-on sentence, beginning with 'Nancy' and ending with 'town'. I just could not stop that sentence from running on and on.

Continuing with the baby theme of today's Memories.

Over my years of biking, hiking and roller blading in Arlington's River Legacy Park, I came upon many critters. Many snake encounters of various sorts. And armadillos.

And bobcats.

My first bobcat encounter scared me. At that point in time I did not realize they were harmless.

My most amazing bobcat encounter was on the park's trail bridge across the Trinity River. I was on my bike, heading onto the bridge, when I saw a big bobcat entering the bridge at the other end. I continued on, as did he. We met in the middle, with me saying "Howdy kitty." The bobcat paid no attention to me, just continued ambling across the bridge.

My best bobcat encounter was with the bobcat kitten you see above. I zoomed in with the camera, knowing I did not want to get too close, which would have made the bobcat mama nervous.

I do not see much wildlife of the bobcat, snake, armadillo sort at my current location. I did come upon a cute lizard a couple days ago at Lucy Park...

Another Sleep Disrupting Thunderstorm In The Wichita Falls Disaster Area

Last night, around three in the morning, thunder booming began, after lightning lit up the darkness. This lasted for hours, along with copious amounts of rain hitting the ground.

I was able to sleep through some of it.

The sun has been doing its daily illuminating duty for about an hour, but it still looks dark, rain is still dripping, thunder continues to boom, off and on.

Yesterday we learned, surprisingly, that Wichita County has been declared a Disaster Area due to recent rains doing damage, none of which I have eye witnessed.

I assume the current drenching is amplifying the Disaster Area into being even More Disastrous. 

Walmart will be my venue today for acquiring endorphins via high speed walking and anthropological observations...

Apparently Rain Has Turned Wichita County Into A Disaster Area

Saw that which you see here, this morning, on the front page of the online version of the local newspaper called the Wichita Falls Times Record News.

Wichita County has seen a lot of rain fall the past couple weeks. But enough to have made the county a disaster area? Apparently there has been some road damage. I have not seen any road damage.

I have been in an area where a disaster has struck a time or two or three, with, if I am remembering correctly, the area not declared a disaster area.

Like when downtown Fort Worth was struck by a tornado, early in this century, killing several and doing a lot of property damage. I do not recollect a disaster area being called.

When Fort Worth and Tarrant County were hit with deadly flash floods, again earlier this century, drowning some, including a little girl named Ally Collins, and leaving Elsie Hotpepper's home teetering on the brink of falling into a raging creek, I do not recollect a disaster area being declared.

In my old home zone I think I recollect when the Mount St. Helens volcano erupted, killing dozens and doing an incredible amount of damage, I do not recollect a disaster area being declared. Maybe because it was so obviously a disaster no one needed to declare it as such.

I remember the valley I lived in before moving to Texas, the Skagit Valley, being hit by destructive flooding due to the Skagit River breeching dikes intended to contain the river during floods. Was a disaster area declared? I do not recollect it, if it was.

Anyway, more heavy rain is on the way at my current location, arriving later today, compounding the situation in this area, which is already, apparently, a disaster...

In Lucy Park With High Wichita River Water & No Bug Bites

It was back to Lucy Park on this HOT humid Tuesday, for some nature communing and a walk to the center of the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge over the Wichita River.

As you can see, the Wichita River is running high. What you can not see is the river is moving fast.

Usually this river lumbers along in real slow motion.

Today's fast-moving river, barely below the suspension bridge deck, a deck which sways at the slightest movement, made for a sort of dizzying effect when looking down through the wooden planks which make up the bridge deck.

I like the color scheme of the river's redrock red, and the blue of the sky. I think I'll paint my house that shade of red, with the trim blue. With a little tree shade of green thrown in, here and there.

Day two of wearing anti-bug-bite bracelets on my wrist and ankles, with no new bug bites. Lucy Park is usually my most bug-bite prone park.

Hot Humid Sikes Lake Walk With Ankle Wrist Bracelet Bug Protection

Yesterday, the day known as Mother's Day, Mother Nature opted to unleash an almost all-day long downpour temper tantrum at my North Texas location.

Including many lightning strikes and thunder booms.

By today, as in Monday, the sky has somewhat cleared, rain is not on the weather menu for today. But all that rain, the past couple days, combined with a lot of sun HEAT, is making both outdoors and indoors super humid.

Yesterday my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation took place in Walmart, due to that aforementioned excessive drippage.

Today I opted to drive to nearby Sikes Lake for some fast humid walking with my fellow fast humid walkers.

This marked the first opportunity I had to make use of the wrist and ankle citronella bracelets I got upon advice from the Skagit Valley's favorite Linda Lou nurse.

That is what you see photo documented above. My left wrist, bug bracelet protected, with my pointing finger attempting to point at the Sikes Lake dam spillway, which is spilling some water today.

So far I make note of no new bug bites. The biting bugs should be out in force today, what with all the rain, the heat and the humidity.

I hope Linda Lou's anti-bug bite prescription works.

I have grown weary of having so many bug bites.

Why I have become attractive bug biting material, this year, after never being attractive bug bite material my previous years in Texas, is a mystery, with no current apparent explanation readily available...

Happy Mother's Day To All You Moms Including Mine

It has been five years since I have made a Happy Mother's Day call to my mom. Hard to believe it has been that long.

The photo you see here is of me wheeling mom towards the restaurant at Tortilla Flats, in Arizona. With mom providing directions I drove myself, mom, Big Ed and Linda Lou on a treacherous twisty road to our final Tortilla Flats destination.

This was in October of 2018.

The next year, 2019, I was back in Arizona in March and July.

Both times being the worst flights I have experienced. Almost half a day stuck in DFW International, waiting to fly to Phoenix. And the other incident having flights out of Wichita Falls cancelled due to weather so bad planes could not land at DFW. So, I had to book a new flight for the next day.

Both incidents had me out of my usual window seat, stuck in the dreaded middle seat.

I have not flown since 2019. COVID put an end to doing such for a year or two. Or was it three? All I know is I really do not have much desire to fly anywhere.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day!!!

Seeing The Northern Lights With David, Theo & Ruby At Dune Peninsula Park In Tacoma

At some point in time yesterday I was told that the Northern Lights Auroa Borrelis light show was going to be visible all the way to the southern United States.

I erroneously opined that this was erroneous, that it is rare for the Northern Lights even to be seen in the northern states, like my old home zone of Washington.

Well, I was wrong. Such happens so rarely it is an unsettling sensation.

All my years in Washington I only saw the Northern Lights once, in the early 1990s, from the roof deck of my house in Mount Vernon, looking at the lights through the wall of trees. I had never seen anything like it before, like a fireworks display on steroids.

When my little sister, Michele, flew the family to Paris earlier this year, or was it late last year. I don't remember. Time flies. Well, the route to Paris had a stop in Iceland on the way. Favorite Nephew Theo was hoping he'd get to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. But, that did not happen.

So, I emailed Michele yesterday, in the oft chance she was not aware that the Northern Lights would be appearing in Washington last night, and tonight. I suggested a better chance might be had by driving over the Cascades to Eastern Washington where cloudiness is much rarer than it is in Western Washington.

Well, Michele emailed back that going to Eastern Washington was not doable due to other plans, something to do with Theo and Ruby and soccer.

But, they'd been told that a new Tacoma park, Dune Peninsula Park, between Point Ruston and Point Defiance, was expected to provide excellent Northern Light viewing, if the clouds cooperated.

Well, the clouds did cooperate, as evidenced by the photo above, sent to my phone, this morning, from Michele.

Last night I totally forgot about the Northern Lighs and did not look outside to see if I could see them. This morning I saw photos of the light show taken in Austin, a Texas town a couple hundred miles south of my North Texas location.

I will try and remember to look outside tonight. Currently the sky is cloud covered....

Lake Wichita Finally Full Floating Former Dry Docks

Went walking at Lake Wichita Park for the first time since the downpours of the past week have raised the lake level to just about full pool for the first time in well over a year.

Thus, for the first time in a long time, the lake is now deep enough for speedboats to zip across the lake. Today I saw two doing so.

And the new kayak launching dock is fully floating for the first time, something I had started to think I would never see.

More rain is on the menu for the coming week.

Meanwhile, if I was up north in my old Washington home zone, tonight I would be seeking a clear sky so as to see the Northern Lights light up the night. I have only seen this once, from my house in Mount Vernon. It was spectacular.

I just learned from sister Michele that she has been told the new Dune Peninsula Park at Point Defiance is a recommended viewing location. I'd suggested heading over to Eastern Washington, which regularly has way fewer clouds than Western Washington, but that is not doable due to the twins, Theo and Ruby, have soccer games on Saturday.

I do not know if Theo and Ruby play on the same team. I suspect not...

Floating With Mr. B Seeing The Mount Baker Volcano

 

The past couple weeks, on Facebook, the entity known as Mr. B, the Forrester, has been documenting something I did not know was something someone could do.

As in fly from Seattle to Sydney, Australia, to get on a cruise ship, to float to New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and then back to Seattle.

This morning's view from the boat is from Puget Sound, looking east at what looks to be the Mount Baker volcano.

That is a view of Mount Baker I do not recollect myself previously seeing, even though I have been on boats in Puget Sound many times.

Bug-Free Muddy Lucy Park Nature Communing

 It was back to Lucy Park I ventured for the first time since last month, on this second Wednesday of May.

Recent rain has the Wichita River running slightly higher than the norm, as you can see via the look across the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge.

The area I call the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle apparently was flooded by the recent rain. The grassy undergrowth appeared to be covered in mud, thus not accessible for easy walking.

So, it was on the bug-free paved trails I stayed today. And so far I have made no note of any new bug bites.

The temperature seemed perfect today. Not HOT. Not cold. Simply pleasant with a gentle breeze blowing.

Summer is rapidly approaching, in a little over a month.

I fear this is going to be a record-breaking Summer, heat-wise.

I need to shed some more pounds to rid myself of any extra insulative adipose tissue rendering me cooler than if I still had that extra insulation heating me up...

Tuesday Sikes Lake Walk With Monarch Waystation

It was to nearby Sikes Lake I ventured on this first Tuesday of the 2024 version of May. 

A HOT and humid Tuesday in May. 

I'd previously walked near the sign you see here, but had never, til today, walked up close enough to see that the sign was signaling that this location is something called a Monarch Waystation.

A butterfly protection zone.

I saw plenty of flowers, but no butterflies.

Of late I have made note of the fact that there seems to be an uptick in the number of people I see out and about in the various parks I visit.

Methinks that, perhaps, a lot of people are finally getting around to doing something about the weight they gained during the long COVID nightmare.

I know I am finally shedding all that weight I gained during the long COVID nightmare...

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge & Mount Rainier & The Imaginary Panther Island

I saw that which you see here on Facebook, yesterday. The Tacoma Narrows Bridges, with Mount Rainier hovering on the horizon.

Unlike those zoomed photos of the Seattle skyline which make it look like Mount Rainier is way closer than it really is, this Tacoma photo of Mount Rainier is pretty much how it actually looks.

When you drive around Tacoma it can seem like the mountain is moving. It's a weird optical illusion. 

I was in Tacoma several times during the construction period of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. That would be the span on the right, with more lanes than the original bridge.

I realize it would have been difficult to make the new bridge look just like the much older, original bridge. There seems to have been some attempt to do so, but can't the towers be painted green to match the other bridge?

It was interesting to me to get to see this bridge under construction. Built over deep, fast moving saltwater.

During the same time frame, I marveled at the bizarre spectacle of Fort Worth, Texas struggling for seven years to build three simple little freeway overpass looking bridges, known as the Panther Island Bridges, over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, with the hope that one day a cement lined ditch will be dug under the three bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, creating the imaginary island.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge does not cross from Tacoma to an island. It crosses over the Narrows to the Olympic Peninsula....

Big Bella Fort Worth News With Texas Cowboy Cutting Horses

I saw that which you see here, this Sunday morning on the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram online edition.

Apparently, it is big news that the younger sister of super model, Gigi Hadid, has moved to Fort Worth to cut horses with her Texas cowboy partner.

Years ago, I found myself finding one or two of Bravo TV's Real Housewives shows to be amusing.

Yolanda Hadid was one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. When she was a lot younger Yolanda Hadid was a super model. Eventually becoming the mother of Gigi and Bella.

I do not remember Bella showing up on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I do remember Gigi, and the storyline which had her moving to New York City, to an expensive apartment her uber-wealthy Hadid dad got for her. Soon thereafter Gigi followed her mother's path and became a well known super model.

I think Bella Hadid also does the super model thing, but is not as well known as her older sister.

Why it is front page news that Bella Hadid has moved to Fort Worth to help her Texas cowboy partner cut horses, I have zero clue...

Hot Humid Friday Sikes Lake Walk Around With Coyotes

This first Friday of May it was to Sikes Lake I ventured today for a humid walk around the lake. The temperature was in the upper 70s, but felt way HOTTER due to that annoying humidity.

The Sikes Lake Pack of coyote goose guards seems to grow each time I return to this location.

Some coyotes have now been spotted on the MSU (Midwestern State University) campus.

I have seen a few geese willing to risk being in the presence of the artificial coyotes, but doing so at a coyote-free location, like the coffer dam that crosses Sikes Lake, with a fence making coyote access to the geese impossible.

Thunderstorms and possible tornadoes were on the weather menu yesterday, but there was no booming or twisting. The same thing is on the weather menu for today. So far, nothing has thundered or been excessively windy.

Wichita Falls 2nd Day Of May With Thunderstorms & Possible Tornadoes

This morning Miss Chris, of the duo known as Chris & Sheila, a pair of my favorite Washingtonians, who were often an island of sanity for me, in a sea of madness, whilst I was visiting in Washington, asked me a question last night via Facebook...

"Is the town you live in threatened by a tornado?"

I replied that, yes, the town I live in is currently being threatened by tornadoes. A couple have touched down in recent days slightly to the west of the Wichita Falls city limits.

The above is a screen cap about today's, second day of May, weather prediction for Wichita Falls.

And yes, a tornado is on the menu again today.

Last night, around three in the morning, a thunderstorm arrived, booming, and dropping rain for a couple hours.

I think I will do my daily nature communing in Walmart today, safe from lightning strikes, possibly not so safe from a tornado....

May Day Memory Of Galveston Crawdads & Moody Gardens

No, that is not a throng of people enjoying the first day of May at the newly restored beach at Lake Wichita, restored after recent downpours of lake restoring water, raised the lake's level to almost normal.

It took me a moment or two to remember what this Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day was.

Galveston.

On the Texas Gulf Coast.

Galveston is just about the best tourist type town I've been to in Texas.

As you approach the island, on the bridge connected to the mainland, you see large pyramids of various colors. That was the first surprising thing. Later to be learned the pyramids are part of the Moody Gardens complex.

When I got to the gulf side of the island, I quickly found a place to park. As soon as I exited my vehicle I was hit with two things I had not experienced since I was last in Washington. The smell of saltwater. And the sound of waves.

I think it was soon after smelling that saltwater smell and hearing those crashing waves that I saw the throng of people playing in the water.

The water did not look too inviting, to me. It looked murky, muddy, dirty.

I later that day learned the quality of the water was being affected by the Spring runoff of the Mississippi River draining dirty river water into the gulf.

I had my evening feeding that day in a seafood restaurant on a pier out over the water. This marked the first time since I had been in Texas that I eye witnessed people eating bowls of crawdads, looking to me like they were biting off the heads of the reddish insect looking things and then sucking out the contents.

I have had many opportunities since to avail myself of the crawdad delicacy. I have not succumbed to the temptation...