KOMO Takes Us To Beaver Marsh Road Roozengarde Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Tulips

I saw that which you see above, on Facebook, this morning. A photo collage from Seattle's KOMO ABC TV, showing some of the Roozengarde tulips currently blooming on the Skagit Flats in the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

Various locations on the Skagit Flats are designated Tulip festival centers, such as the Roozengarde complex, and Tulip Town, and more.

Roozengarde is on Beaver Marsh Road. 

The Slotemaker-Jones Family Complex is also on Beaver Marsh Road. That is where my Great Nephew, Hank Frank, Hank Frank's dad, my Nephew Joey, his first wife Monique, and my little brother, Hank Frank's Grandpa Jake, reside.

I have not heard any complaints from the Hank Frankers regarding being jammed by Tulip Traffic.

I remember way back in the last century, when the Skagit Tulip Festival first began, I was living in West Mount Vernon. I did not even know a new festival had begun. What I did know was the first weekend of it I found traffic stalled crossing the Skagit River bridge between west and east Mount Vernon and continuing to be stalled, or moving slow, as the line of cars moved west.

Such is no longer the case as, over the years, measures went into place directing traffic off I-5 to all the various exits which lead to the tulip fields.

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival goes on the entire month of April. By the year 2025 the festival, and the tulips, have become world renowned, showing up on various lists listing things like the world's best festivals, or America's most scenic landscapes.

I have seen a tulip or two blooming since I have been in Texas. And I have seen wildflowers adding color to the usually drab Texas landscape, but I have never seen anything coloring up the Texas landscape to the degree done by the Skagit Valley tulips...

Microsoft OneDrive Remembers Nephews Jason & Joey In Texas

Sometimes these emails from Microsoft billing themselves as Microsoft OneDrive Memories From This Day are a bit unsettling. 

Such as is the case today.

I am assuming it is correct that these memories are from a day in April. I am also assuming that the year is 2005.

20 years ago.

As in two decades ago.

Two of my favorite nephews, Jason and Joey, and their girlfriends, at that point in time, had been on a cruise, sailing out of Florida, if I am remembering correctly.

If I am additionally remembering correctly, and sometimes I do, Jason and Joey's mother, she being my favorite ex-sister-in-law, Cindy, had let me know when the boys would be landing at D/FW. And that she'd told the boys that she was letting their uncle know they'd be landing.

So, I made it to park at whatever terminal the landing was taking place, somehow found my way to the right gate. Which I know sounds like no big deal. But you would only think that if you've never been to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

It is HUGE.

I have thrice gotten lost just trying to find where I'd parked in a D/FW parking garage.

Anyway, I stood at what I hoped was the right location, and after a few minutes my nephews showed up. I coaxed them out of the gate, which I did not expect to succeed at, but I did.

I then drove the boys and their girlfriends to Lake Grapevine, crossing the dam, going into the park which was the location of the trailhead of my favorite mountain bike trail.

At Lake Grapevine Jason and Jenny had a big announcement.

 I was told I was the first to know, but later learned I was not, that being that Jason had proposed, and Jenny had accepted. 

And little did I know, that day at Lake Grapevine, that a year later I'd be heading north for a wedding, and two years after that I would be flying up to Washington again, this time getting to meet Jason and Jenny's Spencer Jack offspring.

Now, I must leave you for a moment to see if I can find the photo at Lake Grapevine I took that day two decades ago.

No luck. But the search had me seeing hundreds of photos I had not seen in a long time.

Back To Sikes Lake Under A Clear Blue Cloud-Free Sky

A cloud-free, clear blue sky has returned to my Wichita Falls location in Texas. After several days in a row, overcast, cold, windy and raining.

As you can see, via today's look at Sikes Lake, the lack of wind rendering waves has turned the lake into a giant mirror.

Methinks today was the most pleasant outdoor day yet this year. Multiple others were enjoying the return of the blue-sky norm.

Last night, as warned, the temperature dipped below freezing, as evidenced by the frost covering roofs for a short while after the sun arrived for its daily heating duty.

There is no apparent damage done by last night's likely extremely short freeze, which was barely below 32 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method.

I would think it highly likely that last night marks the last time the outer world freezes at my location, til the exit of Summer's chilly arrival of Fall.

It felt good to be outside endorphin-ing today, after several days of wandering Walmart being my aerobic outlet.

I think I may be addicted to endorphins and suffer withdrawal symptoms when I do not get my adequate daily dose...

Wichita Falls Saturday Anti-Trump Rally With New Stoplight

This Monday morning's Wichita Falls Times Record News, that being this town's one and only local newspaper, of sorts, a newspaper which mainly focuses on local sports, crime and the weather, had an article, with photo documentation, of Saturday's downtown Wichita Falls anti-Trump protest.

This was not much of an article of the reporting variety, reporting what was said, in speeches, or any interviewing of attendees. 

In the photo I screen capped from the front page we see no umbrellas. Other photos showed most attendees under cover of umbrellas. I opted not to participate due to the cold temperature, strong wind, and off and on rain.

I suspect Saturday's will not be the last of anti-Trump rallies. I likely will get other opportunities to participate. 

And on another note, making note of an example of what is deemed newsworthy in the local Wichita Falls newspaper, on the front page there was headline link to another article, with the headline of that article being...

New stoplight installed in downtown Wichita Falls

April Freezing Snow Weather Prediction For Wichita Falls

This morning of the first Sunday of the fourth month of 2025, it was to ALDI I ventured under a stormy sky.

Which you can see, photo documented above, looking north from the ALDI parking lot.

We have been dripping, downpouring, blowing hard, booming loud and experiencing way too low natural air-conditioning the past couple days.

As in I have had to switch my climate control system from COOL, back to HEAT.

And, as I arrived at the ALDI parking lot my radio informed me that tonight's "Freeze Warning" has been upgraded to "Chance of Snow".

In April.

In Texas.

I remember snow showing up late in March, in the lowlands of Western Washington, during the many years I lived there, but I do not remember snow ever showing up in the Washington lowlands in April.

Yesterday, Interstate 40, west of Amarillo, both lanes, east and west, had to be closed, due to snow.

I doubt anything that dire will be happening at my location, approximately 220 miles southeast of Amarillo.

But, with weather everywhere, of late, seeming a bit abnormal, I guess I should be ready to be snowbound...

April Showers Bring Wichita Falls Flowers Whilst Washington's Skagit Valley Floods With Tulips

I saw that which you see, above, this first Saturday morning of the 2025 version of April. A photo purporting to show May flowers brought about by the April showers we have been getting dripped on since this new month began.

Is that a field of Bluebonnets which are being photo documented representing May flowers? I don't know. I have not seen any bluebonnets, yet, this year, with my own eyes.

Meanwhile, on April 1, in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley, the month-long annual Tulip Festival has begun.

The Skagit Valley is just a bit more scenic, color-wise, and other-wise, than my current mostly flat, mountain free zone of Texas.

 Above and below are examples of what the Skagit Valley Flats look like this time of year.

I have not been up north in Washington, in April, since 2006. I do not recollect that we, at that point in time, ventured out onto the Skagit Flats to see the tulips.

Seeing the Skagit Valley tulips can be a bit challenging, particularly on weekends. There is a lot of traffic control, and attempts to manage the traffic, to some limited success.

There is no need to manage the traffic caused by those seeking to see the May flowers wrought by April Showers, at my current location.

I think the above photo, with the Mount Baker volcano looming on the horizon, is from a location near Beaver Marsh Road, near the Jones Family Compound, where Hank Frank, his dad, also known as my nephew Joey, Hank Frank's mom, also known as Joey's wife, Monique, and my little brother, Hank Frank's Grandpa Jake, have taken up residence.

Whatever Blluebonnets have managed to go into blooming mode likely suffered some damage last night when all hail broke loose. A loud thunderstorm began booming about two in the morning, lasting a couple hours, with one super burst of ultra noisy hail.

By morning it was plain to see the hail had knocked a lot of the leaves out of the trees.

This April 5 Saturday is being windy, rainy and cold. I think I shall forego going downtown this afternoon for the "Hands Off Our Democracy" protest...

Saturday We the People Want Hands Off Our Democracy In Downtown Wichita Falls

I previously made mention of wondering if Wichita Falls will join this coming Saturday's worldwide protests against the Trump Lunacy, in a blog post titled Final 2025 March Saturday At Sikes Lake.

Well, we now know there will be a protest in Wichita Falls on Saturday, with the theme being “We the People Want Hands Off Our Democracy.”

The protest Saturday will take place from 1 til 3 in the afternoon, at the park across the street from the building known as Big Blue, at the intersection of Scott Avenue and 8th Street.

I have not yet decided if I will be joining the protest...

No April Fooling Getting Wind Blown At Lake Wichita Park

It was to Lake Wichita Park I ventured on this first day of the fourth month of 2025.

The first day of April is being blustery at my North Texas location, with a cloud cover growing thicker, heading to predicted strong thunderstorms to begin booming later today.

I was not long out of my vehicle before quickly returning to remove the hat from atop my head, before a gust of wind could perform that service for me.

The Lake Wichita Park Veterans Memorial seemed sad to me, today, what with all the un-American nonsense going on. Arresting people without due process. Shipping the arrested out of the country to what amounts to being a concentration camp in El Salvador.

And as I was walking past the Veterans Memorial, listening to news on NPR, I heard a woman had been arrested in Georgia for not reporting a miscarriage. When will this insanity end?

 It has been quite some time since I have hiked to the summit of Mount Wichita. I had no moment of considering doing such today, what with it being hard to stay vertical whilst getting hit by wind gusts.

I suspect we are going to be having an exceptional stormy Spring, in multiple ways....