Showing posts with label 4th of July. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th of July. Show all posts
Friday, July 5, 2024
Last Night 4th Of July Fireworks Followed By Friday's 5h Of July Lightning Downpour Fireworks
The 4th of July at my old home zone of Mount Vernon, in the Skagit Valley of Washington, was like being in a war zone. I would sit out on my deck, ready to put out anything burning, landing on my building. The East Thunderbird neighborhood is hilly, hence fireworks going skyward from various elevations.
Such was kind of fun, but also a bit tiresome.
It is easy to buy all sorts of explosive fireworks in Washington, due to there being so many Indian Reservations, where selling such it totally legal.
When I moved to Texas, what with it being known as such a free-spirited gun toting cowboy themed part of America I assumed the 4th of July would be way noisier than I was used to in Washington.
Well, I was wrong. My first 4th in Texas I heard nary a boom from my location in the far north Fort Worth suburb of Haslet. I did see fireworks way in the distance, but so distant I heard no booming.
Each 4th of July since then has been similar. An occasional firecracker, but no actual fireworks of the light up the sky sort, except at official fireworks shows.
Such must be the case because Texas has only a couple Indian Reservations. I do not know if those are allowed to sell fireworks.
Oklahoma has multiple Indian Reservations. Being just a few miles south of Oklahoma may explain why I hear more 4th of July noise in Wichita Falls than I used to in the Fort Worth zone.
And then last night, it was like I was back in Mount Vernon. Someone nearby, as in real close, was launching the type fireworks that light up the sky. With a lot of booming.
That photo at the top is my only attempt which sort of caught the fireworks, as viewed from my bedroom window.
And now the day after the 4th of July.
Overnight the temperature plummeted.
Friday morning of the day after the 4th, I headed to Lucy Park, intending to commune with nature before going to a nearby pharmacy for an inoculation and to pick up a prescription.
But, as I arrived at the Lucy Park entry, rain began to drip. I'd been seeing lightning strikes in the southwest direction. The sky looked threatening.
So, I aborted going to Lucy Park, drove on to the pharmacy, completed that task and then continued on to the nearest Walmart to do my nature communing.
On the way to Walmart the rain switched to downpour mode, then added hail to the mix. The photo documentation you see above is the wet view from my vehicle's window as I sat pondering if I really wanted to make a run for it through the downpour.
I opted to go for it. Running as fast as I can run, the water puddled several inches deep. By the time I got the short distance to entering Walmart I was soaking wet.
But, not too cold. I was glad Walmart had turned off the air conditioning.
Hours later rain continues to drip. Such a nice change from the recent multi-day heat wave. My A/C has not cycled on today, not once....
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Hot Wichita Falls 4th Of July Tomorrow Followed By Big Chill
104 on the day before the 4th.
104 on the 4th.
And then a cold front arrives the day after the 4th, with the Big Chill shivering us down into the 80s.
I am looking forward to this break from the extreme HEAT.
I think my air conditioner would like a break, as well.
I have not been to the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade since before COVID.
It is a fun parade, starting tomorrow at 9 in the morning.
One can find shade along the parade route, courtesy of tall buildings blocking the sun.
But.
Currently I do not much feel like being patriotic at a 4th of July Parade, all things considered.
The local military, from Shepperd Air Force Base, takes part in this parade, in the form of a marching band and marching airmen representing each of the Nato nations training at Shepperd, carrying the flags of the various nations.
Driving to ALDI this morning I saw the red, white and blue is already out in large numbers, in front of many houses.
I'll be making the traditional 4th of July feast of spaghetti...
104 on the 4th.
And then a cold front arrives the day after the 4th, with the Big Chill shivering us down into the 80s.
I am looking forward to this break from the extreme HEAT.
I think my air conditioner would like a break, as well.
I have not been to the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade since before COVID.
It is a fun parade, starting tomorrow at 9 in the morning.
One can find shade along the parade route, courtesy of tall buildings blocking the sun.
But.
Currently I do not much feel like being patriotic at a 4th of July Parade, all things considered.
The local military, from Shepperd Air Force Base, takes part in this parade, in the form of a marching band and marching airmen representing each of the Nato nations training at Shepperd, carrying the flags of the various nations.
Driving to ALDI this morning I saw the red, white and blue is already out in large numbers, in front of many houses.
I'll be making the traditional 4th of July feast of spaghetti...
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
At Sikes Lake With No Parade Or 4th of July Firecrackers Cracking Yet
I did not get horizontal til way too late on 4th of July Eve.
So, I got up this 4th of July morning too late to make it to downtown Wichita Falls for the 4th of July parade.
With the temperature barely 90, at 11 am, with a cooling breeze busy blowing, I drove the short distance to Sikes Lake for some 4th of July nature communing.
This was my first return to Sikes Lake since learning that 343 Sikes Lake geese had been exterminated, with a small population of around 40 geese left alive by the executioners.
Some of those survivors of the goose holocaust are what you see above, peacefully lounging in the shade of a gazebo and a couple trees.
This 4th of July I have yet to hear a single firecracker crack.
When I moved to Texas I figured Texans would be way more gungho exploding things than I was used to in Washington. My Mount Vernon location turned into a war zone on the 4th of July.
Fireworks stands are plentiful in Washington, mostly on the Indian Reservations. Texas only has a couple Indian Reservations. And thus, few fireworks stands.
And thus Texas is not nearly as loud on the 4th of July as my old Washington home zone.
I suspect, though, before today is done, I will have heard at least one firecracker cracking...
Monday, July 4, 2022
4th Of July Sikes Lake Cactus Chow Mein & Barbecued Ribs
Sunday night I was carousing way too late, which had me waking up way too late, 4th of July morning, to make it to downtown Wichita Falls for the Independence Day Parade.
I was wary of watching that parade, anyway. I'm still not liking being in a crowd. And there has been a breakout of Monkey Pox infections in Wichita County.
So, instead of watching a parade I paraded myself around Sikes Lake this 4th of July morning. Which is the location of the cactus you see above, sprouting near the trail which surrounds the lake.
My totally traditional 4th of July vittles are ready for consumption.
Along with a rack of BBQed ribs.
I have not heard any firecrackers cracking, so far, today. Last night I heard a few booms, along with some thunder that came with a surprise rainstorm.
Sunday, July 4, 2021
Have A Mighty Fine 4th Of July Grilling Filet Of Alligator
Yesterday, as in Saturday, the day before today, Sunday, the 4th of July, I was in Walmart collecting the vittles needed for my annual 4th of July Grilling.
I was in the seafood section looking for salmon, when I saw that which you see above, which I had my phone take a picture of for documentation purposes.
Filet of Alligator.
I have no idea how one cooks Alligator.
I need to consult the Southern Belle, Elsie Hotpepper, with whom I consult when I am dumbfounded trying to figure out some Southern cuisine confusion.
Elsie is a gourmet level chef specializing in the complicated cuisine of the South.
From the Hotpepper I learned how to make perfect grits, hush puppies and fried green tomatoes.
You reading this in Washington, and other locations not in the South, does your Walmart seafood section stock Alligator?
Speaking of Alligator, of late that particular reptile has been in the local news due to there being way above the norm number of Gator sightings in Fort Worth's Lake Worth.
Lake Worth is an impoundment of the Trinity River, a few miles upstream from the downtown Fort Worth location of the Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in the polluted Trinity River.
I have seen no coverage, this river floating season, of Rockin' the River. Has this been cancelled again, like last year, due to COVID?
Or is this increase in the Alligator population the new reason not to be Rockin' the River?
Monday, July 3, 2017
Early Morning Mount Wichita Volcano Ride With No Firecrackers
Soon after the first July Monday morning sun arrived, after being fueled by coffee, I opted to roll my wheels, and my handlebars, for a few miles to the west, to get myself an up close look at the Mount Wichita pseudo semi-volcano, which appears, here, to be erupting, with lava spewing from the volcano's crater, flowing down the south side of the volcano.
Or that may be an eroded trail to the top of the volcano, and not a lava spew.
For well over a year I have looked out my kitchen window whilst brewing my morning coffee to see a lot of Wichita Fallers out on the Circle Trail, with the majority in rolling their bike wheels mode, along with some joggers, skateboarders, stroller pushers and walkers.
With me back in bike riding mode this seemed like a good morning to join the throng on the Circle Trail.
Tomorrow, what with it being the 4th of July, the only thing I sort of know I am doing for sure, is going to downtown Wichita Falls to watch the 4th of July Parade.
I have been asked to go to Charlie in the afternoon for that little town's 4th of July celebration. Charlie is about 20 miles northeast of Wichita Falls, slightly south of the Red River, and Oklahoma. All I know about the Charlie 4th is it involves listening to music and consuming watermelon.
I have yet to hear a single firecracker cracking.
My old home zone in Washington was always like being in a war zone during the 4th of July period. Not that I have actually ever been in a war zone, but I imagine such to be like the explosiveness I used to experience this time of year at my location in Mount Vernon.
From my very first 4th of July in Texas, late in the last century, til the present, I have found Texas to be surprisingly quiet during the 4th of July period. I had expected Texas to be extremely noisy. I suppose a lot of the lack of Texas 4th of July noise is due to the lack of easy access to buying fireworks, what with there being only a couple Indian Reservations in Texas, where Washington has dozens of Indian Reservations selling fireworks.
And tobacco.
And operating casinos...
Or that may be an eroded trail to the top of the volcano, and not a lava spew.
For well over a year I have looked out my kitchen window whilst brewing my morning coffee to see a lot of Wichita Fallers out on the Circle Trail, with the majority in rolling their bike wheels mode, along with some joggers, skateboarders, stroller pushers and walkers.
With me back in bike riding mode this seemed like a good morning to join the throng on the Circle Trail.
Tomorrow, what with it being the 4th of July, the only thing I sort of know I am doing for sure, is going to downtown Wichita Falls to watch the 4th of July Parade.
I have been asked to go to Charlie in the afternoon for that little town's 4th of July celebration. Charlie is about 20 miles northeast of Wichita Falls, slightly south of the Red River, and Oklahoma. All I know about the Charlie 4th is it involves listening to music and consuming watermelon.
I have yet to hear a single firecracker cracking.
My old home zone in Washington was always like being in a war zone during the 4th of July period. Not that I have actually ever been in a war zone, but I imagine such to be like the explosiveness I used to experience this time of year at my location in Mount Vernon.
From my very first 4th of July in Texas, late in the last century, til the present, I have found Texas to be surprisingly quiet during the 4th of July period. I had expected Texas to be extremely noisy. I suppose a lot of the lack of Texas 4th of July noise is due to the lack of easy access to buying fireworks, what with there being only a couple Indian Reservations in Texas, where Washington has dozens of Indian Reservations selling fireworks.
And tobacco.
And operating casinos...
Saturday, July 4, 2015
The 4th Of July Is A Good Day To Ponder Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
On July 4, 1776, the day the Continental Congress finally voted for Independence from Great Britain, future president, John Adams, wrote his wife, telling Mrs. Adams that today "ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore..."
In 1776 how did John Adams know that America would one day span the continent? It was over a quarter century later that Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase from France and sent Lewis and Clark to check out the new land, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Those Founding Fathers, including John Adams, were very smart, very forward thinking, coming up with a democratic republic that was the first on earth.
Less than a century after those Founding Fathers founded America the world's first democratic republic was in dire straits, due to rebellious Southern states thinking they could leave the Union to start up their own new nation so as to preserve their odious practice of making slaves of fellow human beings.
Four months after the most deadly battle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln journeyed to the battle site to participate in the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg.
The principle orator at that Gettysburg dedication was not Mr. Lincoln. It was a guy few remember today named Edward Everett, a politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, senator and governor, known for his stirring orations.
Well, Edward Everett's Gettysburg oration lasted over two hours. And was not memorable.
And then it was President Lincoln's turn to speak, a three minute address in which Lincoln predicted "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here."
Mr. Lincoln was wrong. His Gettysburg Address is the most quoted speech in American history. And is known by democracy loving people the world over.
Most of us know the Gettysburg Address by heart, with its iconic opening line of "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal", so I won't repeat the entire three minute speech here.
The Wikipedia article about Abraham Lincoln has a real good summing up of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address that I will repeat here....
In 272 words, and three minutes, Lincoln asserted the nation was born not in 1789, but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". He defined the war as an effort dedicated to these principles of liberty and equality for all. The emancipation of slaves was now part of the national war effort. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that slavery would end as a result of the losses, and the future of democracy in the world would be assured, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth". Lincoln concluded that the Civil War had a profound objective: a new birth of freedom in the nation.
A new birth of freedom, with actual freedom for all the people living in America. A war to preserve what was then the world's one and only democratic republic.
Now I am wondering if people in the states which were part of the Confederacy actually do grow up knowing Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?
Lately I think we have learned the majority of the people who live in the states which made up the Confederacy now realize those state's rebellion against the Union, to preserve slavery, was not a noble cause, not then, and certainly not now, a century and a half later.
Anyway, have a safe and fun 4th of July doing what President John Adams suggested a long time ago, with hot dogs added, because I am sure if John Adams knew hot dogs were in America's future, he would have mentioned that in his 4th of July suggestions to his wife....
In 1776 how did John Adams know that America would one day span the continent? It was over a quarter century later that Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase from France and sent Lewis and Clark to check out the new land, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Those Founding Fathers, including John Adams, were very smart, very forward thinking, coming up with a democratic republic that was the first on earth.
Less than a century after those Founding Fathers founded America the world's first democratic republic was in dire straits, due to rebellious Southern states thinking they could leave the Union to start up their own new nation so as to preserve their odious practice of making slaves of fellow human beings.
Four months after the most deadly battle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln journeyed to the battle site to participate in the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg.
The principle orator at that Gettysburg dedication was not Mr. Lincoln. It was a guy few remember today named Edward Everett, a politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, senator and governor, known for his stirring orations.
Well, Edward Everett's Gettysburg oration lasted over two hours. And was not memorable.
And then it was President Lincoln's turn to speak, a three minute address in which Lincoln predicted "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here."
Mr. Lincoln was wrong. His Gettysburg Address is the most quoted speech in American history. And is known by democracy loving people the world over.
Most of us know the Gettysburg Address by heart, with its iconic opening line of "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal", so I won't repeat the entire three minute speech here.
The Wikipedia article about Abraham Lincoln has a real good summing up of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address that I will repeat here....
In 272 words, and three minutes, Lincoln asserted the nation was born not in 1789, but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". He defined the war as an effort dedicated to these principles of liberty and equality for all. The emancipation of slaves was now part of the national war effort. He declared that the deaths of so many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that slavery would end as a result of the losses, and the future of democracy in the world would be assured, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth". Lincoln concluded that the Civil War had a profound objective: a new birth of freedom in the nation.
A new birth of freedom, with actual freedom for all the people living in America. A war to preserve what was then the world's one and only democratic republic.
Now I am wondering if people in the states which were part of the Confederacy actually do grow up knowing Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?
Lately I think we have learned the majority of the people who live in the states which made up the Confederacy now realize those state's rebellion against the Union, to preserve slavery, was not a noble cause, not then, and certainly not now, a century and a half later.
Anyway, have a safe and fun 4th of July doing what President John Adams suggested a long time ago, with hot dogs added, because I am sure if John Adams knew hot dogs were in America's future, he would have mentioned that in his 4th of July suggestions to his wife....
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Drought & Wenatchee Wildfire Brings Calls For Washington 4th Fireworks Ban While In Texas This Is Not A Problem
I saw that which you see here a few minutes ago via Tacoma's Queen V on Facebook.
I do not believe it to be true that the Sleepy Hollow fire is still burning, right now, like you see in the picture.
Sleepy Hollow is a neighborhood in Wenatchee. When you live in Western Washington you refer to Wenatchee's location as East of the Mountains.
A couple dozen homes and other property was totally obliterated by the wildfire.
Tonasket is also East of the Mountains. Tootsie Tonasket has been reporting day after day of temperatures well over 100, as in one day the HEAT hit 112. Tootsie's A/C went kaput overnight.
Currently there are a lot of people in Washington suggesting it would be a good idea for a total ban on fireworks this year, what with the entire state in emergency drought mode.
Yesterday a pair of hoodlums drove up I-5 in Western Washington setting off fires by launching flares as they drove along.
At my old home location in the East Thunderbird neighborhood of Mount Vernon the 4th of July was like a war zone. This is an extremely hilly, heavily wooded area. I would sit on my rooftop deck watching the explosions, ready to put out anything burning that landed on the roof. The launching area for my immediate neighbors was from the top of the cul-de-sac. A barrage would be launched and then another cul-de-sac would try and top it. After a few years of this it went from entertaining to annoying.
The Skagit Valley has several Indian Reservations where one could buy just about any firework type explosive made. There are dozens of Indian Reservations in Washington. Such as the Tulalip Reservation, which is where Boom City is located. Boom City has a website. The Tulalip Tribe also has a casino, nautical themed, with a giant Orca soaring out of the sea at the entry. Washington has dozens of casinos.
I don't like gambling, but I enjoy a good casino buffet.
I think Texas has only two Indian Reservations. And they are very small, with few Indians. I don't know if the Texas Indians sell fireworks on their reservations.
My first 4th of July in Texas came as a big surprise due to it being so un-explosive. I figured Texas would be much more explosive, firecracker-wise, than my old home zone, what with that whole cowboy western gun thing that much of Texas embraces.
Is it because there are no Indian Reservations selling fireworks that Texas is so quiet on the 4th of July?
I know the quiet has nothing to do with Texans not being as patriotic in their 4th of July celebrating as my old home zone. Best 4th of July parades I've ever seen have been in Texas, such as the Arlington 4th of July Parade and Granbury's.
I read yesterday the Confederate Battle Flag will not be in this year's Arlington 4th of July Parade. What if a Rebel shows up with the banned flag, despite the ban? I suspect booing would ensue. America can sure change fast when well motivated. Even the Texas part of America....
I do not believe it to be true that the Sleepy Hollow fire is still burning, right now, like you see in the picture.
Sleepy Hollow is a neighborhood in Wenatchee. When you live in Western Washington you refer to Wenatchee's location as East of the Mountains.
A couple dozen homes and other property was totally obliterated by the wildfire.
Tonasket is also East of the Mountains. Tootsie Tonasket has been reporting day after day of temperatures well over 100, as in one day the HEAT hit 112. Tootsie's A/C went kaput overnight.
Currently there are a lot of people in Washington suggesting it would be a good idea for a total ban on fireworks this year, what with the entire state in emergency drought mode.
Yesterday a pair of hoodlums drove up I-5 in Western Washington setting off fires by launching flares as they drove along.
At my old home location in the East Thunderbird neighborhood of Mount Vernon the 4th of July was like a war zone. This is an extremely hilly, heavily wooded area. I would sit on my rooftop deck watching the explosions, ready to put out anything burning that landed on the roof. The launching area for my immediate neighbors was from the top of the cul-de-sac. A barrage would be launched and then another cul-de-sac would try and top it. After a few years of this it went from entertaining to annoying.
The Skagit Valley has several Indian Reservations where one could buy just about any firework type explosive made. There are dozens of Indian Reservations in Washington. Such as the Tulalip Reservation, which is where Boom City is located. Boom City has a website. The Tulalip Tribe also has a casino, nautical themed, with a giant Orca soaring out of the sea at the entry. Washington has dozens of casinos.
I don't like gambling, but I enjoy a good casino buffet.
I think Texas has only two Indian Reservations. And they are very small, with few Indians. I don't know if the Texas Indians sell fireworks on their reservations.
My first 4th of July in Texas came as a big surprise due to it being so un-explosive. I figured Texas would be much more explosive, firecracker-wise, than my old home zone, what with that whole cowboy western gun thing that much of Texas embraces.
Is it because there are no Indian Reservations selling fireworks that Texas is so quiet on the 4th of July?
I know the quiet has nothing to do with Texans not being as patriotic in their 4th of July celebrating as my old home zone. Best 4th of July parades I've ever seen have been in Texas, such as the Arlington 4th of July Parade and Granbury's.
I read yesterday the Confederate Battle Flag will not be in this year's Arlington 4th of July Parade. What if a Rebel shows up with the banned flag, despite the ban? I suspect booing would ensue. America can sure change fast when well motivated. Even the Texas part of America....
Monday, June 29, 2015
Jumpin Rudy Wants You To Check Out The VIP Bathroom Amenities At Fort Worth's Fourth
Incoming email this morning from the entity who goes by the name of Jumpin Rudy.
Subject line: FORT WORTH'S FOURTH
Text in email: In Sunday's paper. Sorry for the potato quality pic. Check out the VIP amenities: VIP BATHROOMS!
I am not sure I know what a potato quality pic is, but I cropped the pic Jumpin Rudy included in the email and ran it through a photo filter to render it less potato-ish.
I blogged about those VIP bathrooms a week or two ago in a blogging titled Fort Worth's Fourth Has Five VIP Levels With Some Having Private Bathrooms & Cash Bars.
Now, here is what I am thinking.
With my perspective tainted by being from way up north and the west coast, where modern restroom facilities are the norm, not the exception, it strikes me as really embarrassing that a city would have an event where it is advertised as a VIP extra that you get access to a bathroom.
The advertisement in the Star-Telegram made it clear this embarrassment is yet one more product of America's Biggest Boondoggle. I ran the proud "PRODUCED BY TRINITY RIVER VISION AUTHORITY" part of the ad through the potato filter, with below being the barely legible result.
Does it only seem odd to me that America's Biggest Boondoggle goes by so many different names? Trinity River Vision Authority. Trinity Uptown. Central City. Panther Island. Why not just settle on calling it America's Biggest Boondoggle, which is an accurate name?
Subject line: FORT WORTH'S FOURTH
Text in email: In Sunday's paper. Sorry for the potato quality pic. Check out the VIP amenities: VIP BATHROOMS!
I am not sure I know what a potato quality pic is, but I cropped the pic Jumpin Rudy included in the email and ran it through a photo filter to render it less potato-ish.
I blogged about those VIP bathrooms a week or two ago in a blogging titled Fort Worth's Fourth Has Five VIP Levels With Some Having Private Bathrooms & Cash Bars.
Now, here is what I am thinking.
With my perspective tainted by being from way up north and the west coast, where modern restroom facilities are the norm, not the exception, it strikes me as really embarrassing that a city would have an event where it is advertised as a VIP extra that you get access to a bathroom.
The advertisement in the Star-Telegram made it clear this embarrassment is yet one more product of America's Biggest Boondoggle. I ran the proud "PRODUCED BY TRINITY RIVER VISION AUTHORITY" part of the ad through the potato filter, with below being the barely legible result.
Does it only seem odd to me that America's Biggest Boondoggle goes by so many different names? Trinity River Vision Authority. Trinity Uptown. Central City. Panther Island. Why not just settle on calling it America's Biggest Boondoggle, which is an accurate name?
Friday, July 4, 2014
A 4th Of July Mountain Bike Ride In Arlington's River Legacy Park With No Bobcats
A year ago today I drove to downtown Arlington to watch Arlington's 4th of July Parade.
A year ago seems so recent I really could not muster the desire to drive to downtown Arlington to stand in the sweltering heat to watch a parade roll by today.
Instead I drove to Arlington to River Legacy Park and rolled my wheels, along with a lot of other wheel rollers, on a multiple miles of mountain bike trails.
In the noon time frame most of the River Legacy Park picnic tables were in 4th of July picnic mode. Multiple smoke sources had the air smelling mighty fine.
In the picture above my handlebars are stopped at the location where years ago I had my first bobcat encounter. I can not remember when last I had a bobcat encounter in River Legacy Park. Or any D/FW park.
Where have all the bobcats gone? That sounds like the start to a folk song.
I am being very traditional with my 4th of July vittles today. Hotdogs on the grill, pizza in the oven, beer in the refrigerator.
And mangoes.....
A year ago seems so recent I really could not muster the desire to drive to downtown Arlington to stand in the sweltering heat to watch a parade roll by today.
Instead I drove to Arlington to River Legacy Park and rolled my wheels, along with a lot of other wheel rollers, on a multiple miles of mountain bike trails.
In the noon time frame most of the River Legacy Park picnic tables were in 4th of July picnic mode. Multiple smoke sources had the air smelling mighty fine.
In the picture above my handlebars are stopped at the location where years ago I had my first bobcat encounter. I can not remember when last I had a bobcat encounter in River Legacy Park. Or any D/FW park.
Where have all the bobcats gone? That sounds like the start to a folk song.
I am being very traditional with my 4th of July vittles today. Hotdogs on the grill, pizza in the oven, beer in the refrigerator.
And mangoes.....
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Almost Going Over A Cliff In Gateway Park The Day Before The 4th Of July
Those are my handlebars, once again, high above the Trinity River in Fort Worth's Gateway Park, not quite going over a cliff, on this Wednesday day before the 4th day of July.
Tomorrow, for the 4th of July, all I am certain that I am doing is making chicken tacos.
There has been some talk, today, about me attending the FW 4th, viewing the festivities from the air-conditioned VIP tent.
How do you air-condition a tent, I can not help but wonder?
Twice, since I have been in Texas, I have watched a 4th of July parade. Those being the Arlington 4th of July Parade and the Granbury 4th of July Parade.
Texas small towns put on parades the likes of which I never saw when I lived in Washington. In both the Arlington and Granbury 4th of July Parades the town's high schools participated. The high school bands marched, the cheerleaders cheered, the football teams rode floats.
Unless it has changed since I last saw Sedro-Woolley, Washington's 4th of July Parade, there will be little involvement by the local schools.
The biggest problem I have had with watching a Texas 4th of July Parade has been the fact that the temperature is a bit warm. With little shade.
Tomorrow, for the 4th of July, all I am certain that I am doing is making chicken tacos.
There has been some talk, today, about me attending the FW 4th, viewing the festivities from the air-conditioned VIP tent.
How do you air-condition a tent, I can not help but wonder?
Twice, since I have been in Texas, I have watched a 4th of July parade. Those being the Arlington 4th of July Parade and the Granbury 4th of July Parade.
Texas small towns put on parades the likes of which I never saw when I lived in Washington. In both the Arlington and Granbury 4th of July Parades the town's high schools participated. The high school bands marched, the cheerleaders cheered, the football teams rode floats.
Unless it has changed since I last saw Sedro-Woolley, Washington's 4th of July Parade, there will be little involvement by the local schools.
The biggest problem I have had with watching a Texas 4th of July Parade has been the fact that the temperature is a bit warm. With little shade.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Walking Carefully Past Live Ordnance In Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area
Earlier today I mentioned that I heard no 4th of July explosions of the firecracker sort, either on the actual Independence Day, or the days prior, or, so far, the day after.
After today's walking with the Village Creek Natural Historical Area Indian Ghosts I've decided I may be hard of hearing, due to the fact that I saw evidence today of massive explosive power, having been exploded, plus unexploded ordnance left on the ground, deep inside the Village Creek Natural Historical Area area.
The Village Creek Natural Historical Area is only a couple mile from my abode. I would think I would hear TNT Ground Blasters blasting.
Or the ground shaking.
At some point in time during the 4th of July evening I did hear military jets zipping overhead. I assumed this had something to do with whatever was going on at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, or the Ballpark in Arlington, or both.
In the second picture you are looking at a wider view of the dozens upon dozens of unexploded firecrackers laying uncracked on the ground.
Were the firecrackers duds?
Or did something or someone scare the firecracker crackers, causing them to run away in fright, tossing their unexploded explosives to the ground?
Did they see a Ghost? Or maybe a Host of Ghosts?
I imagine the Indian Ghosts who haunt Village Creek do not take kindly to what sounds like gunfire. It would likely remind them of the noise made by the Texans when they came to evict them from their land.
After today's walking with the Village Creek Natural Historical Area Indian Ghosts I've decided I may be hard of hearing, due to the fact that I saw evidence today of massive explosive power, having been exploded, plus unexploded ordnance left on the ground, deep inside the Village Creek Natural Historical Area area.
The Village Creek Natural Historical Area is only a couple mile from my abode. I would think I would hear TNT Ground Blasters blasting.
Or the ground shaking.
At some point in time during the 4th of July evening I did hear military jets zipping overhead. I assumed this had something to do with whatever was going on at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, or the Ballpark in Arlington, or both.
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Dozens Of Unexploded Firecrackers |
Were the firecrackers duds?
Or did something or someone scare the firecracker crackers, causing them to run away in fright, tossing their unexploded explosives to the ground?
Did they see a Ghost? Or maybe a Host of Ghosts?
I imagine the Indian Ghosts who haunt Village Creek do not take kindly to what sounds like gunfire. It would likely remind them of the noise made by the Texans when they came to evict them from their land.
A Firecracker Free 4th In Texas While Spencer Jack Blows Up & Floods His Backyard In Washington
This morning Spencer Jack's dad sent me two 4th of July videos. I'm assuming the videos were shot with a phone. The videos are in Apple Quicktime .mov format, so I was unable to open and view them in Windows Media Player or Windows Movie Maker.
However, I was able to make YouTube videos and thus see Spencer Jack.
In the first video Spencer Jack is demonstrating that currently in Western Washington, particularly the town of Mount Vernon, no Lawn Whisperer is telling anyone to conserve water. Thanks to a phenomenon known as "Two Much Rain" Western Washington is in water surplus mode, thus allowing Spencer Jack to make his own personal flood.
At my location in Texas, in the town "Where the West Began," I heard not a single firecracker this 4th of July or the days before the 4th of July.
When I lived in Spencer Jack's current town, the 4th of July was like a war zone of explosions.
Nearby Indian Reservations supplied the fireworks. This made for a much more festive 4th than I experience in Texas, though I was not a huge fan of having to sit outside on my roof top deck to guard against rockets that had gone astray.
The nearest Indian Reservations, to my location, are not in Texas, but up in Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a lot of Indian Reservations due to the fact that at one point in time, the area that is now the state of Oklahoma, was Indian Territory, that being the area where the U.S. government tried to concentrate the Indian population that was being forced to evacuate the eastern part of America.
That forced evacuation to an Indian Territory really did not work out as planned, but did end up with Oklahoma having a lot of land that is now Indian Reservation land, with casinos, and, I assume, fireworks stands.
I am guessing Spencer Jack likely did his fireworks shopping at the Swinomish Nation, since that is the closest reservation to where Spencer lives.
I suspect, if Spencer's dad took him to the Swinomish Nation, to get fireworks, a stop was likely made at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, maybe to go to the buffet, if the Swinomish is still doing the buffet, it being the best seafood buffet I've ever experienced. They do oysters the way my mama did oysters back when she had oysters to do.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
A Happy 4th Of July Declaration Of Independence From Texas
No, the post title does not mean I am making a Happy 4th of July Declaration of Independence from Texas.
What the blog post title means is, from my location in Texas, I am wishing you all a Happy 4th of July Celebration of the American Declaration of Independence from that miscreant product of inbreeding, King George III and the nation over which George incompetently reigned, Great Britain.
I know some American miscreants prone to political opining, who I know have never read, nor would likely understand, the Declaration of Independence, that being the Declaration which set in motion a Revolution which would result in the United States of America becoming a Democratic Republic of the Republican Democracy sort of federal constitutional republic, the world's oldest, which, in less than 100 years of its founding, would be the most prosperous nation on earth and eventually the most powerful nation in the world, in multiple ways.
Or, as Wikipedia put it in the Wikipedia United States article...
By the 1870s, its national economy was the world's largest. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a military power. It emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole superpower. The country accounts for 41% of global military spending, and is a leading economic, political, and cultural force in the world.
For your reading enjoyment, on the 4th of July, what follows is the American Declaration of Independence from Great Britain......
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
What the blog post title means is, from my location in Texas, I am wishing you all a Happy 4th of July Celebration of the American Declaration of Independence from that miscreant product of inbreeding, King George III and the nation over which George incompetently reigned, Great Britain.
I know some American miscreants prone to political opining, who I know have never read, nor would likely understand, the Declaration of Independence, that being the Declaration which set in motion a Revolution which would result in the United States of America becoming a Democratic Republic of the Republican Democracy sort of federal constitutional republic, the world's oldest, which, in less than 100 years of its founding, would be the most prosperous nation on earth and eventually the most powerful nation in the world, in multiple ways.
Or, as Wikipedia put it in the Wikipedia United States article...
By the 1870s, its national economy was the world's largest. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the country's status as a military power. It emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole superpower. The country accounts for 41% of global military spending, and is a leading economic, political, and cultural force in the world.
For your reading enjoyment, on the 4th of July, what follows is the American Declaration of Independence from Great Britain......
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
- He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
- He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
- He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
- He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
- He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
- He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
- He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
- He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
- He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
- He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
- He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
- He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
- He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
- For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
- For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
- For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
- For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
- For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
- For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
- For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
- For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
- For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
- He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
- He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
- He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
- He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
- He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Will J.D. Granger Be Floating In The Trinity On a 4th Of July Rockin' The River Happy Hour Inner Tube??
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J.D. Granger With Gaggle Of Gals |
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Turn Around To Not Drown While You Are Rockin' The River":
There's a photo at DFW.com of JD Granger rockin' the river. It looks like JD attended the 6-29-2012 event and he is in party pic #114.
When I got to pic #114 I was expecting to see J.D.. Granger in an inner tube, floating in the Trinity River, with a beer cooler.
Instead I found a photo of J.D. Granger wearing a t-shirt with a slogan that informs us "I DELIVER FOR THE RIVER."
I have absolutely no idea what that slogan means.
I agree with the others, whoever they are, who find it odd that J.D. Granger has not demonstrated his inner tubing skills whilst Rockin' the River at one of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Thursday Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats.
One would think J.D. would do so to demonstrate to all the naysayers that it is perfectly safe to immerse oneself in the Trinity River water, even though testing shows high levels of things you don't want to have at a high level in anything that gets you wet.
Someone, I don't remember who it was, suggested J.D. can't get in an inner tube in the water because he is embarrassed by his beer gut.
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J.D. Granger Demonstrating His Beer Drinking Technique |
Even if J.D. did have a beer gut that he was embarrassed to expose to the general public, there is no river rule prohibiting covering a beer gut with a t-shirt.
Methinks that maybe J.D. has seen secret reports with detailed data about what is actually floating in the Trinity River.
I believe this Thursday's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float takes place a day early, on Wednesday, because Wednesday is the 4th of July.
I am thinking maybe J.D. Granger has been waiting for a special occasion, like the 4th of July, to participate in his first Trinity River Inner Tube Float.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Morning After A Very Quiet 4th Of July In Texas
I am up early this 5th day of July, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at a glowing hot tub and a blue oasis.
It is already semi-HOT this morning. 80 degree. Heading to a predicted high of 103, with the humidity making it feel like it is 106.
Thunderstorms are on the menu for today.
I made it through the 4th of July in Texas without seeing a single firework light up the sky or the crack of even one firecracker.
Sometime in the late afternoon of the 4th I did see and hear a loud flyover of several military jets in formation. I assume this was part of one or more of the D/FW Metroplex's 4th of July celebrations. Maybe they were heading towards the Fort Worth Stockyards to fly over Willie's 4th of July Picnic.
The sun has now lit up the outdoors enough to enable me to find my way to the swimming pool. Which is where I am going right now.
It is already semi-HOT this morning. 80 degree. Heading to a predicted high of 103, with the humidity making it feel like it is 106.
Thunderstorms are on the menu for today.
I made it through the 4th of July in Texas without seeing a single firework light up the sky or the crack of even one firecracker.
Sometime in the late afternoon of the 4th I did see and hear a loud flyover of several military jets in formation. I assume this was part of one or more of the D/FW Metroplex's 4th of July celebrations. Maybe they were heading towards the Fort Worth Stockyards to fly over Willie's 4th of July Picnic.
The sun has now lit up the outdoors enough to enable me to find my way to the swimming pool. Which is where I am going right now.
Monday, July 4, 2011
No 4th Of July Firecrackers Cracking In Texas While I Drink Beet Juice Lemonade
It is almost 4 in the afternoon of the 4th of July in Texas. I have yet to hear the crack of a single firecracker or any other noisemaker.
Those of you reading this in Washington, particularly those reading this in the Skagit Valley, know why I find this 4th of July quiet so strange.
Before moving to Texas and experiencing the reality of Texas, had you asked me what I thought the 4th of July would be like in Texas I would have guessed that the noise level would be greatly louder than Washington.
Instead it is very, very quiet.
The Tandy Hills Bamboo Tepee is still standing. It has been months since this mysterious piece of Guerrilla Art appeared deep inside the Tandy Hills.
Why did someone go to the effort of hauling 14 long bamboo poles, over difficult, rocky trails, up and down hills, to this particular location? And then build a Bamboo Tepee?
I may not be hearing any firecrackers cracking, but I sure am hearing a lot of cicadas cracking.
Speaking of wildlife. I have not seen a single lizard on the Tandy Hills this year. Last year I saw many lizards, including one very big one. Where are the lizards?
Wink has no 4th of July celebration of the city organized sort. But, apparently a group skinny dipping 4th of July party is planned for one of the Wink Sinkholes. I learned this from the Queen of Wink who was thinking of dipping in the Wink Sink today.
I had a tasty 4th of July lunch today. Pizza, pulled BBQ pork, beet onion salad and beet juice lemonade.
You are what you eat...
Those of you reading this in Washington, particularly those reading this in the Skagit Valley, know why I find this 4th of July quiet so strange.
Before moving to Texas and experiencing the reality of Texas, had you asked me what I thought the 4th of July would be like in Texas I would have guessed that the noise level would be greatly louder than Washington.
Instead it is very, very quiet.
The Tandy Hills Bamboo Tepee is still standing. It has been months since this mysterious piece of Guerrilla Art appeared deep inside the Tandy Hills.
Why did someone go to the effort of hauling 14 long bamboo poles, over difficult, rocky trails, up and down hills, to this particular location? And then build a Bamboo Tepee?
I may not be hearing any firecrackers cracking, but I sure am hearing a lot of cicadas cracking.
Speaking of wildlife. I have not seen a single lizard on the Tandy Hills this year. Last year I saw many lizards, including one very big one. Where are the lizards?
Wink has no 4th of July celebration of the city organized sort. But, apparently a group skinny dipping 4th of July party is planned for one of the Wink Sinkholes. I learned this from the Queen of Wink who was thinking of dipping in the Wink Sink today.
I had a tasty 4th of July lunch today. Pizza, pulled BBQ pork, beet onion salad and beet juice lemonade.
You are what you eat...
The Dawn Of The 4th Of July In Texas
It is the 4th of July with me feeling rebellious. So, I am breaking free of my usual habit of taking a picture from one of my viewing portals on the world.
What you are looking at in the picture is a very tall Uncle Sam walking in the 4th of July Parade in Granbury, Texas.
The 2011 version of the Granbury 4th of July Parade will get underway in a few hours. I do not believe I will be in attendance.
Later today, after the sun sets, fireworks will be lighting up the sky all over the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. I do not know if I will be viewing any of these explosions.
The temperature prediction for today has been revised slightly downward, with the predicted high for today now being only 100 degrees. With the humidity making it feel like 106. A possible late afternoon thunderstorm has been added to the schedule.
A good thunderstorm with a lot of lightning would seem to be an excellent companion piece to a fireworks show.
Currently the sky is void of clouds. Perfect conditions for going swimming, which I think I will do right now.
What you are looking at in the picture is a very tall Uncle Sam walking in the 4th of July Parade in Granbury, Texas.
The 2011 version of the Granbury 4th of July Parade will get underway in a few hours. I do not believe I will be in attendance.
Later today, after the sun sets, fireworks will be lighting up the sky all over the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. I do not know if I will be viewing any of these explosions.
The temperature prediction for today has been revised slightly downward, with the predicted high for today now being only 100 degrees. With the humidity making it feel like 106. A possible late afternoon thunderstorm has been added to the schedule.
A good thunderstorm with a lot of lightning would seem to be an excellent companion piece to a fireworks show.
Currently the sky is void of clouds. Perfect conditions for going swimming, which I think I will do right now.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Thinking About Riding A Texas Longhorn In Granbury & Arlington's 4th Of July Parades
A few 4th of Julys ago I drove down to one of my favorite Texas small towns to view the Granbury 4th of July Parade.
Granbury puts on very good festivals. And parades. General Granbury's Birthday is another fun Granbury event.
The Granbury 4th of July Parade may be the most fun 4th of July Parade I have watched.
With Arlington's 4th of July Parade a close second. Arlington's is about 2 hours long. And it was very HOT the year I watched it.
Granbury's 4th of July Parade does not last as long as Arlington's. And the year I watched it it was cloudy, thus not so HOT. And the Granbury 4th of July Parade had one entry that blasted air-conditioned cold air at the parade watchers which was very refreshing.
I make way too many webpages. And then way too often I forget I made the webpage. For instance, I had my information researcher looking for info about Texas 4th of July Events. Totally forgetting I'd at some point in the past made a web page about Texas 4th of July Events.
I did turn the info my information researcher found about D/FW Metroplex 4th of July Events into a blog post.
I have no idea what I am going to do on the 4th of July this year. Maybe I should fire off some firecrackers with Elsie Hotpepper.
Granbury puts on very good festivals. And parades. General Granbury's Birthday is another fun Granbury event.
The Granbury 4th of July Parade may be the most fun 4th of July Parade I have watched.
With Arlington's 4th of July Parade a close second. Arlington's is about 2 hours long. And it was very HOT the year I watched it.
Granbury's 4th of July Parade does not last as long as Arlington's. And the year I watched it it was cloudy, thus not so HOT. And the Granbury 4th of July Parade had one entry that blasted air-conditioned cold air at the parade watchers which was very refreshing.
I make way too many webpages. And then way too often I forget I made the webpage. For instance, I had my information researcher looking for info about Texas 4th of July Events. Totally forgetting I'd at some point in the past made a web page about Texas 4th of July Events.
I did turn the info my information researcher found about D/FW Metroplex 4th of July Events into a blog post.
I have no idea what I am going to do on the 4th of July this year. Maybe I should fire off some firecrackers with Elsie Hotpepper.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The First Day Of July Dawns With A Texas Drought Disaster & Snow At Lake Tahoe
Looking out my primary viewing portal on the world on the first day of July it appears to be yet one more cloud free morning in Texas.
Currently chilled to a relatively pleasant 77 degrees. Heading to a scheduled high of 101 with the Heat Index making it feel like 106.
I did not realize til reading the news this morning that we are in a very very bad drought here in Texas. The worst in decades.
The Agriculture Department has designated 213 Texas counties as drought disaster areas. 32 counties in Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma were also declared drought disaster areas.
It was a noticeably dry spring this year. And so far summer in Texas has also been dry, for the most part. And HOT.
Meanwhile out west, in locations like the mountains around Lake Tahoe, snow continues to fall, well past the time snow usually ceases. Up in my former zone in Washington, the Skagit Valley, perpetual dampness seems to be the ongoing theme, with 4th of July celebrants anticipating using umbrellas to watch the annual Sedro Woolley 4th of July Loggerodeo Parade.
June zipped by at an unseemly pace. I anticipate July to zip equally fast. With August quickly arriving.
Soon we will be at the cooler time of the year when going swimming is a bit of a chilly challenge, which will not be the case when I go swimming in just a few minutes.
Talk to you later.
Currently chilled to a relatively pleasant 77 degrees. Heading to a scheduled high of 101 with the Heat Index making it feel like 106.
I did not realize til reading the news this morning that we are in a very very bad drought here in Texas. The worst in decades.
The Agriculture Department has designated 213 Texas counties as drought disaster areas. 32 counties in Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma were also declared drought disaster areas.
It was a noticeably dry spring this year. And so far summer in Texas has also been dry, for the most part. And HOT.
Meanwhile out west, in locations like the mountains around Lake Tahoe, snow continues to fall, well past the time snow usually ceases. Up in my former zone in Washington, the Skagit Valley, perpetual dampness seems to be the ongoing theme, with 4th of July celebrants anticipating using umbrellas to watch the annual Sedro Woolley 4th of July Loggerodeo Parade.
June zipped by at an unseemly pace. I anticipate July to zip equally fast. With August quickly arriving.
Soon we will be at the cooler time of the year when going swimming is a bit of a chilly challenge, which will not be the case when I go swimming in just a few minutes.
Talk to you later.
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