Wichita Falls Wienerfest On National Dachshund Day

I learned via this Sunday morning's Wichita Falls Times Record News that this past Friday was National Dachshund Day.

And that to celebrate this National Dachshund Day the first annual Wienerfest was held at a dog park in Wichita Falls.

The only dog park I know of in this town is located at Lake Wichita Park. As is often the case with the local newspaper, the article is a bit weak on details, such as being specific about the location of the dog park where Wienerfest took place.

I know an elderly lady, currently living in the east coast state of Virginia, who is obsessed with dachshunds, and has adopted many wiener dogs over her many years on the planet. 

The Virginian wiener dog lover currently is the mother of a cute little dachshund named Rocky.

 The Virginian's house is decorated in a wiener dog motif, with wiener dog pillows, wiener dog wall art, wiener dog window curtains, wiener dog door mat and other wiener dog stuff I am not remembering right now.

On Friday the Virginian made no mention of celebrating National Dachshund Day, with Rocky. She is a bit of a shut-in, so likely the event passed by without Rocky's parent having any awareness of the special day...

Tomorrow We Begin Being Heated Above 100 Degrees Day After Day After Day

Starting tomorrow, the day known as Sunday, the temperature is scheduled to hit the century mark at my location, and then continue getting HOTTER day after day after day, til reaching 106 on the first Friday of July.

I was only able to screen cap four day's worth of 100 degree plus temperature predictions, given you a good sampling of our HOT forecast.

In addition to the temperature the forecast also warns of the danger of dehydration and heatstroke.

I was in no danger of either of those particular calamities due to being out in the HEAT today.

My exposure was limited to the distance between my front door and my vehicle's entry door, and then exiting that door to quickly walk into the air-conditioned comfort of Walmart, where I walked my 32 Google Fit minutes.

I am hoping the high heat kills off the population of biting bugs. I am ready for the bug bite nightmare to come to an end...

Incoming Washington Scenery From Favorite Nephew Jason

Incoming email this second morning of Summer 2024 from FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason) with the photo you see here and the following text...

FUD – Thought you'd enjoy this picture of the am fog and the raspberry patch.

The photo was taken by your little brother at 4 am this morning. This is an east view of his back yard. The field being prepped for haying is Jones family-owned turf. You can spot Mt. Baker in the background.  

The days are long here right now (well over 16 hours) in the PNW, and the weather couldn't be better.

Stay cool in TX.   We miss you,  - FNJ

People who have only lived in the south part of the United States have no experience with daylight lasting til a couple hours before midnight, which is what you experience in my old home zone of Washington. 

My one and only time in Alaska, in Summer, daylight lasted til midnight, which really was a bit weird.

I sure do miss living in an agricultural zone. Where raspberries grow. Where blackberries grow wild, free for the picking. Where roadside stands sell corn, paying with the honor system, where all sorts of fruits and vegetables and flowers grow.

Seeing mountains in any direction one looks is something I also miss, if I think about it. No matter which direction I look at my current location I see nothing but a flat horizon.

I probably should make plans for a visit to the Pacific Northwest. I was last at that location in August of 2017...

Sikes Lake Summer Solstice Heat

 It was to Sikes Lake I ventured this morning on the longest day of the year, also known as the start of Summer, or the Summer Solstice.

As you can sort of see via looking above the patch of prickly pear cactus clouds are blocking the sun at my location on this first day of Summer.

But, the sun was able to get through the cloud clover enough to heat the ground level into the 80s.

And then there was that vexing humidity making that temperature in the 80s feel way hotter, as in a real feel in the 90s, according to AccuWeather.

The current temperature forecast for my location has us getting heated to over 100, day after day after day, starting next week.

I hope the heat kills off the swarms of biting bugs...

HOT June Walk In Humid Lucy Park Jungle

It has been a few days since I have ventured north to Lucy Park to commune with nature. Since my last visit the Lucy Park backwoods zone has totally gone into jungle mode, as you can see via the photo documentation above.

With the backwoods in jungle mode I am more vigilant in being on the lookout for anything slithering.

But, I have not seen a single snake slithering this slithering season of the year.

I did see a pair of deer leaping through the grass. Other than flying biting type bugs, the only other wildlife I saw today, in addition to the disc golfers, were a lot of fire ants.

The temperature was in the 80s when I did my endorphin acquisitioning. With high humidity making it feel HOT. Too HOT.

If tomorrow is another HOT one, methinks my endorphin acquisition will happen in the air-conditioned comfort of Walmart...

Remembering Prohibition Porter With Grandma, Grandpa, Loretta & Nancy

If I remember correctly, and sometimes I do, I previously shared the photo, well, part of the photo, you see here.

It arrived in my email this afternoon, from Microsoft, with today's OneDrive Memories from this Day.

But, clearly this can not be a memory of mine, what with me not being around during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s.

Also in today's memory were the two at the lower right. The entity on the left, known by some as my ex-wife, Loretta, with the entity on the right my big sister, Nancy.

It the photo from the Roaring 20s that group includes my grandma and grandpa, also known as my dad's parental units. Some, if not all of my grandpa's brothers, and their wives.

They are off the grid, somewhere in Whatcom County, enjoying bootleg beer, rumored to be of the Porter variety of beer. Though all info on this subject is highly questionable.

In the long-standing family tradition, Loretta and Nancy are also drinking beer, with Prohibition ancient history, imbibing at the outdoor patio of a saloon in Winthrop Washington. 

I used Microsoft's Image Compose to have Loretta and Nancy join the party.

I was also in Winthrop, that day, hence the photo.

I still practice Prohibition, hence me not in the picture drinking beer...

Happy Father's Day Photo From Nephew Jason

Incoming email this Father's Day morning, with a photo from long ago, with the source not being Microsoft's OneDrive Memory from this Day.

The source of this photo is my Favorite Nephew Jason.

Explanatory text in the email from Jason...

I recently stumbled across this photo of your parents and myself with your 3 beautiful sisters.   Circa 1979.  Thought you'd enjoy this.

That would be my mom holding Baby Jason. With my dad behind mom. You likely were able to figure that out without me explaining.

The big sister on the left is known as Nancy, the middle sister is Jackie, with littlest sister, Michele on the right.

The year being 1979 would have my dad being 49, if I am doing the arithmetic correctly. That is way younger than my current age. Mom would be 46, again, if I am doing the arithmetic correctly.

The fact that dad is wearing a tie, and mom and two-thirds of my sisters are wearing dresses, indicates to me this photo must have been taken at some sort of church event. I do not recognize the location. 

And apparently I was not there when this photo was taken. By that point in time, 1979, I tended to shy away from any church type events, a tendency which continues to this day in 2024...

Going To Tulalip Casino In Marysville Via Microsoft & Fort Worth

This showed up in my email Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day. I think it was August of 2004, so clearly not a memory from this current June day.

I do not remember when last I was in Washington in June, since moving to Texas. Likely I have not been in Washington, in June, since moving to Texas.

The above is part of the large Pacific Northwest Native American themed installation in front of the Tulalip Casino in Marysville, Washington. Including a large statue of a Tulalip Indian, trying to catch salmon. Not visible in the photo is an oversized Orca leaping out of the water.

The entire Tulalip Casino is ocean themed, inside and out. Inside the decor makes one feel as if you are under water.

Near to the Tulalip Casino is the Tulalip Cabela's sporting goods store.

Long time readers of this blog may remember way back when Fort Worth became the first Texas town to get a Cabela's. Much fuss was made in the local purveyor of misinformation, known as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, touting that this Cabela's was to be the top tourist attraction in all of Texas. This was repeated repeatedly.

It was not long after the Fort Worth Cabela's opened that it was no longer the only Cabela's in Texas. One opened to the south, near Austin. And then another opened in Texas, on the Dallas side of the DFW Metroplex.

Cabela's used the con job touting that their store would become a top tourist attraction to extract tax concessions from the city it was wanting to open in. Apparently Cabela's was known for using this con on towns susceptible to being rubes. Thus Fort Worth was an easy mark.

The Cabela's top tourist attraction con was attempted when Cabela's built a store in Lacey, a town near Olympia, or after that when they built the Tulalip store.

Cabela's tried the con in Lacey, but was told if it did not make economic sense to build the store without concessions, then do not build it. Same with the Tulalip Cabela's.

Clearly not a Fort Worth level of rubes in Washington.

Fort Worth has such a long history of getting conned into doing dumb things.

Ever heard of the Trinity River Vision? An embarrassing boondoggle which has been limping along since the start of this century, with the Vision's main accomplishment, so far, being the building of three little bridges over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

One day it is hoped  a cement lined ditch will be built under those three little bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, creating the imaginary island.

You can only have imaginary islands in a town where the majority of the people are rubes. Seems clearly obvious...

Looking For Texas Rainforest Whilst Looking At Hoh Rainforest In Olympic National Park

With rather regular frequency I see something somewhere, like Facebook, which triggers what I guess is a bit of a homesick feeling.

I saw that which you see here, yesterday, on Facebook. A scene from the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park in my old home state of Washington.

The Hoh Rainforest is the most well-known of the Washington rainforests. But, it is not the only one. It is not even the only rainforest in Olympic National Park.

Upriver in the Skagit Valley, the location where I lived in Washington before moving to Texas, there are rainforest zones.

But, the best, by far, is the Hoh Rainforest. Walking the trails in the Hoh Rainforest is a sort of otherworldly experience.

I do not know if there are any rainforests in Texas. I suspect not, though the vegetation can get a bit lush in Texas, in some locations, I've seen nothing which comes close to looking like a rainforest.

My most recent time walking in the Hoh Rainforest was in the middle of winter, back late in the previous century. Rain dripped, with fog making the rainforest look even more eerie than it usually does. Raincoats and umbrellas made the rain tolerable.

False Accusations Of Going Against Facebook Community Standards

 Earlier today I wrote a blog post titled Remembering Rodeo Grandmas From Ellensburg In Fort Worth.

As I often do, I posted the link to this blog post on Facebook. Seconds after doing so, that which you see above popped up.

I followed the steps to challenge this, indicating there was nothing nefarious about this post that violated supposed Community Standards.

Apparently, this gets reviewed, I assume by a human.

What is totally perplexing is, of late, as in for weeks now, Facebook has been allowing fake posts that trigger a malware warning locking up your computer til you fall for the scam. Or know how to kill it.

Apparently that does not go against Facebook Community Standards. Despite many people complaining.

I shall post this blog post on Facebook and see what happens...

Remembering Rodeo Grandmas From Ellensburg In Fort Worth

That which you see here showed up a day or two ago in my email, via Microsoft's OneDrive Memories from this Day.

You are looking at a parade float in a parade celebrating the opening of Fort Worth's National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

Seeing this float was a bit of a surprise, what with it being the Rodeo Grandmas of Ellensburg.

Ellensburg is a college town in Eastern Washington, home of Central Washington State University, a location where I once matriculated.

I webpaged the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

That parade had many memorable moments.

Drippy Texas Tuesday Downpouring

The drippy early Tuesday afternoon view from my kitchen window.

Rain was not predictably scheduled to arrive in copious amounts today.

But copious amounts of falling water has arrived, currently in downpour mode.

Walmart was my walking venue this morning. At that point in time, that which later became a downpour was in drizzle mode.

Well, drizzle mode on the drive to Walmart, downpour mode when exiting Walmart a half hour later.

Return To Winter-Like Cool Makes For Pleasant Sikes Lake Walk

Overnight the temperature has plummeted dozens of degrees, chilling the outer world into the 70s.

It's like a return to Winter.

And a nice thick layer of clouds is blocking that annoying sun, keeping it from being able to overheat the part of the planet I currently call home.

I do not know how long this respite from HOT is scheduled to last. I do know rain in on the predicted weather menu for later today.

In the cloudy view above you are standing with me on the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake, looked east across the currently gray lake.

The sudden return to cool had a lot of people enjoying the walk around Sikes Lake today.

The past couple extra HOT days may have toasted the biting bugs. I have not had a new bug bite for two days. 

The air conditioner just cycled on. Why? I do not know. Outdoors is cooler right now than what I have the A/C set to...

Microsoft Memory Of Someone Holding Baby Sister Michele

 A couple days ago I blogged about a Long Ago Microsoft OneDrive Memories I Don't Remember.

In that blogging there was a photo of me holding my little baby sister, Jackie. I then wondered if a photo would show up in my email, from Microsoft, showing me holding my littlest baby sister, Michele.

At the time I said I had no memory of such a photo.

And then, today, in the Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, there is a group photo, including baby sister, Michele, in which I can not quite tell who it is who is holding her.

I don't think it was me.

This photo has all the Slotemaker/Jones/Barry/Hershberger cousins, surrounding Grandma Slotemaker.

From the left, on the ground, that would be Sheryl Slotemaker, then Carol Hershberger, then on Grandma's lap is the brat, Mike Slotemaker, then Steve Hershberger, sitting next to Jeff Slotemaker, with Danny Hershberger behind Steve and Jeff.

Standing up, from the left, is my little brother Jake, then me, with baby sister Michele in front of me, with sister Jackie next to Michele, with sister Nancy behind Jackie, then Linda Barry and her big brother, Scott Barry.

During the time frame in which this photo was taken, back in the previous century, the Hersbbergers visited from Australia once every four years. I do not remember which of those four-year visits would have been the year this photo was taken.

My best guess would be 1979...

Wichita Falls Hotter 'N Hell 100 Degrees First Time in 2024

Today my Wichita Falls location is scheduled to get heated to 100 degrees HOT for the first time this year.

All indications are indicating that this coming Summer is going to be a real HOT one. 

The past two days high speed walking has taken place in Walmart, to escape the heat.

Today Lucy Park will be my walking venue, way earlier than the normal walking time, hoping to beat the heat by a few degrees.

I am hoping the high heat will kill off the biting bugs.

I've grown tired of being mealtime for biting bugs...

Scary Mount Baker Bridge Crossing With Nephew Jeremy 30 Years Ago

It seems, if my faulty memory is serving me at all well, that within the last year or so I previously blogged about the day the photo you see here was taken.

This photo showed up today in my daily email from Microsoft with OneDrive Memories from this Day.

Trouble is, I clearly remember this particular memory is from 30 years ago. In August.

Hard to believe 30 years have gone by since then.

That would be my nephew Jeremy, 30 years ago, on a suspension bridge over a creek on a trail that leads to the Mount Baker volcano.

When Jeremy saw that we were needing to cross the creek on that scary bridge he sort of panicked. It took some coaxing from Aunt Michele to convince Jeremy it was okay to cross the bridge. Jeremy insisted no one could be on the bridge at the same time as him.

So, I was posted at one end of the bridge, someone else at the other end.

With Jeremy triumphantly making the crossing, celebrating in the photo I took from the volcano side of the bridge.

30 years ago. 30 years gone by so fast. I shudder at the realization of how old I will be if I make it another 30 years...

Long Ago Microsoft OneDrive Memories I Don't Remember

Several long-ago photos showed up in my email in this morning's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

I know what I am looking at in these photos. I just do not have any memory of the photos being taken.

In the above photo I would guess we are at Deception Pass State Park. That is my dad holding my eldest sister, Nancy. I am next to dad. And the little guy next to me is my little brother, Jake.

And now we are in the front yard of the house I grew up in, 1027 Washington Avenue in Burlington, Washington.

That would be me holding my little baby sister, Jackie, current mother of nephews Christopher and Jeremy and grandma of Cade.

That would be the aforementioned sister Nancy between me and brother Jake, current of father of nephews Jason and Joey and grandpa of Spencer Jack and Hank Frank.

It would be a few more years for a photo of me holding my youngest baby sister, Michele, mother of nephews David and Theo and niece Ruby.

I actually do not remember if there might be a group photo with me holding baby Michele. We shall see if one shows up in my Microsoft memories on some upcoming day...

Not HOT Walking Around Lake Wichita At Full Pool

Yesterday's temperature got to one degree shy of 100. That HOT day's walking took place at Lucy Park, where the shade from the trees made the HOT heat totally tolerable.

Today is another HOT one, but not as HOT as yesterday.

So, it was back to Lake Wichita, now at full pool, I ventured today, hoping for a cooling breeze to be blowing across the lake.

And, so it was. 

It was nice seeing the new Lake Wichita kayak launching dock totally floating for the first time, with the walkway to the dock level with the lake.

I have yet to see a kayak get launched from this launching platform.

I'm thinking of maybe getting a kayak. This likely will go no further than the thinking about it stage...

Getting Floored In Fort Worth By Ethan Hawke & His Grandpa

 I first saw the "Why was Ethan Hawke back in Fort Worth? Something to do with a movie starring his daughter" question this morning on the front page of the online version of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and thought to myself, like so many times previous, why is this newspaper so goofy?

And then, later this morning, on Facebook, I saw that which I screen capped above.

The Star-Telegram's #1 opinionator and Fort Worth promoter, Bud Kennedy, goofily saying, in reference to Ethan Hawke, "It always floors me to think that Ethan Hawke is County Judge Howard Green's grandson,"

Why in the world would it floor anyone to think someone was someone's grandson? Does getting floored literally mean you collapsed on the floor upon hearing this?

Is anyone else in the Fort Worth zone feeling floored to think Ethan Hawke's grandpa is a county judge named Howard Green?

I am fairly certain this "news" has not floored me....

Cautionary Flood Advisory From the City of Wichita Falls

A cautionary posting on Facebook from the City of Wichita Falls, Texas Government, advising that it would be wise to not drive on a flooded street without knowing how deep the water is.

Copious amounts of rain drenched Wichita Falls the first Sunday of June, with more drenching on the weather menu for today.

I do not recollect a thunderstorm seeming as violent as what struck yesterday.

The lightning strike and thunder were simultaneous several times. Felt concussive, like an explosion. The first instance startled me so much I fell out of my chair, wrenching my back.

Yesterday's daily walk took place in Walmart, due to the outer world being a bit wet, and dangerous, what with those aforementioned lightning strikes.

Sikes Senter Mall is closer than Walmart. Maybe that will be my walking venue today.

The mall is way more boring to walk in than Walmart, with not nearly the number of oddball types in the mall that one is sure to see in Walmart.

Super Sunday Storm In Wichita Falls

This first Sunday of the 2024 version of June is being dark, stormy and loud.

Nearby lightning strikes are causing ultra thunderous thunderclaps.

So far I have not heard the tornado sirens blaring.

Hearing tornado sirens blaring during a storm is a tad unsettling.

I have not heard the tornado sirens during a storm since I have been in Wichita Falls.

When I lived in the DFW zone three times I experienced the tornado sirens during a storm.

It is so dark now, at two in the afternoon, that the streetlights have switched on.

The scene you see above is from my kitchen window, about 10 minutes ago.

Rain is pouring down in heavy downpour mode, likely about to cause flash flooding.

I think I need to go batten down the hatches now, before the power goes out.

UPDATE:
Same view as the one above, only now with rain and the streetlights on....

Remembering The Scarborough Renaissance Festival

I saw that which you see here, this first day of June morning, in an email from Microsoft's OneDrive Memories of this Day.

A well-fed wench at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival.

This festival takes place every weekend in April and May, so this memory could not have happened on this day, since it is no longer May.

My one and only visit to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival happened early this century, pre 9/11, so maybe a weekend in May of the year 2000.

The visit to Scarborough Renaissance Festival was early on in the making of my massively big Eyes on Texas website. I webpaged that visit to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival.

My description of the Scarborough Renaissance Festival generated the most upset I have ever managed to generate. The people calling themselves Scarbies were downright irate. The reaction was both weird and amusing. 

Then the reactions caused more reactions, or counter-reactions, even weirder and more amusing.

I webpaged much of the reaction and counter-reaction in a webpage called Scarbo Feedback.

Among the irate comments were some complaining that I used the word "Scarbo" instead of their preferred word "Scarbie".

Like I said, weird and amusing.