Ducky Linda Lou Sikes Lake Gazebo Call

Yesterday I was riding my bike through my Caribbean neighborhood, heading west on Haiti, when my phone made its incoming call noise. I did not stop rolling to see who was calling, since that is inconvenient when rolling, and when I do try to do that I usually do not make it to the phone in time to answer it.

Soon thereafter I left the Caribbean behind and arrived at Sikes Lake. A short distance later I stopped at one of the Sikes Lake gazebos and got my phone out of the phone holder which holds it whilst I am rolling.

The call was from Linda Lou.

Linda Lou is fun to talk to, so I sat at the gazebo and returned Linda Lou's call.

Whilst I was talking to Linda Lou at one point she asked what was that quacking noise she was hearing. Ducks I replied. I am surrounded by ducks.

I told Linda Lou I would take a picture of the ducks when I got off the phone and send it to her. I remembered to take the photo, but forgot about it til this morning when I decided I would just send Linda Lou a duck photo via this means.

It was only a flock of four ducks who were serenading me with their quacking. Only two of the ducks, the ones you see above, under the gazebo table, cooperated in having their picture taken.

During the course of a day a lot of people show up at this location on Sikes Lake bringing food to the flock of ducks and geese. The geese out number the ducks by a large margin. I think the four ducks who quacked at me and Linda Lou were hoping for a handout, as that gazebo is a popular lunching spot with the lunchers tossing tidbits to the birds.

At one point a little boy showed up who instantly got my flock of four duck's attention, with the ducks waddling after the little boy for a few minutes, before giving up on that kid giving them anything to eat, so they returned to me and the gazebo and Linda Lou.

This is the type thing which passes for being an exciting thrill in my current pandemic infested world.

I realized yesterday that it has been a year since I last trekked the few miles to the southeast that takes me to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone. I have had no reason to go there, and now what with the DFW Metroplex turning into a COVID-19 hotspot it seems even less appealing than it usually does to go there.

But, I would sure like to have myself a chile relleno at Esperanza's in Fort Worth. I have had a hankering for that for months now...

Looking Northwest At A Flat Hill Thinking About Seeing Trump & Hillary With A Chile Relleno & Cancer

This last Wednesday of 2016's version of February, from my perch about twenty feet above ground level, looking northwest over the Woodhaven Hills, feeling pensive.

I don't remember how I verbalized it, but in some form my New Years Resolution for 2016 was to end my exile in Texas and return to the Pacific Northwest.

Looking at the Woodhaven Hills is a good representative of the lack of scenic scenery at my current location on the planet. To call the slight rises to the west of my location "hills" seems to be some sort of insult to all the actual hills that elevate other locations on the planet.

Two months in to 2016 and I have made zero progress towards actualizing my New Years Resolution.

The other thing that has me feeling morose is all the people I know who are at various stages of battling cancer. One just started the fight, one is at the terminal end of the fight, two are in the middle of the fight.

I learned this morning via esteemed Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist and connoisseur of good food, Bud Kennedy, that Donald Trump will be holding one of his Nuremberg Rally type events around noon on Friday at the Fort Worth Convention Center. I am thinking that this might be amusing to attend.

It is hard to believe it was so long ago, but around this time, eight years ago, I went to the Fort Worth Stockyards for My Date With Hillary. I successfully got past the gauntlet of security, due to security not realizing the old stockyard pens, and the boardwalk above them, gave direct access to the front of the line of the thousands waiting the see Mrs. Clinton.

That was a memorable day. I think that was the last time I had myself a chile relleno at Esperanza's. I will miss chile rellenos at Esperanza's when I move back to Washington. But, apparently not too much, if it has been eight years since I have enjoyed that delicacy.....

Climbing The Fort Worth Space Needle Atop Mount Tandy & Valentines Day Lunch With Elsie Hotpepper

You are looking at the Fort Worth Space Needle, high atop Mount Tandy on the east side of the Tandy Hills Natural Area, today, about an hour before noon.

When I drove up to the Mount Tandy summit I saw a lot of pickup trucks and men scurrying around the Space Needle.

A thin cable was running from about half way up the tower to a winch on the back of one of the pickups.

I wondered how that thin cable got half way up the tower. I watched for awhile to try and figure out what was being done.

Whatever those guys were doing it had several guys yelling back and forth in a storm of colorful cussing, the likes of which I'd not heard since the last time I talked to Elsie Hotpepper.

I gave up after about 5 minutes and took off hiking. The trails were a bit muddy in places. I prefer trails not to be muddy.

An hour or so later I was back under the Fort Worth Space Needle.

I've got to say, looking up at that thing makes me dizzy. I'm a bit of an acrophobe, even when I'm on the ground.

But, what I now saw, really made me dizzy, well, queasy.

Two guys, more than half way up the tower.

In the photo at the top, you can see where these guys were on the tower, by finding the black spots halfway up the tower. That would be them.

As I drove away I had no clue what these guys were risking life and limb to do. Whatever it was, it sure had them being a bit hot tempered.

Speaking of being a bit hot tempered. My Valentines Day lunch at Esperanza's, with Elsie Hotpepper, was fun. Absolutely no colorful cussing.

When Elsie got back to work she emailed asking how lunch was. I replied that I am out of practice for eating that much. To which Elsie replied, "Me too. And I am sleepy!!"

It's all those tortilla chips. And rice. And beans. That is way too much carbo-loading when you aren't used to it.

The Esperanza's Chile Cheese Relleno was really good today. I'd not had a Chile Cheese Relleno since way back in September of last year when I met the Scrabble Queen of Washington and her husband, JR, at Mercado Juarez for lunch.

When I lived in Washington my favorite Chile Cheese Relleno came from the restaurant closest to where I lived. Los Arcos. So named because it was in a building that shared space with an Arcos gas station. It was at this restaurant I learned to like pico de gallo and cilantro. Later the restaurant expanded to be a night club, with the owner soon indicted for some bad behavior, with Los Arcos being no more.

I Am Sure I Will Be Having Myself A Happy Texas Valentines Day Today With A Chile Relleno

Looking out my viewing portal, this second Monday of the second month of 2011, I can see that Valentines Day in my zone of Texas is looking to be a very nice day.

Blue sky and already 13 degrees above freezing, heading to somewhere in the 70s.

I was very relieved, this morning, to learn that Betty Jo Bouvier made it back home, to find she had not been burglarized while escaping the drippy, gray Western Washington Winter, for the less drippy, less gray Eastern Washington Winter in Leavenworth.

I am going out for lunch with my Valentine today at my favorite Mexican restaurant.

Esperanza's.

In the Fort Worth Stockyards zone.

Esperanza's is owned and operated by the Joe T. Garcia family. Chile Relleno is my favorite Mexican food. It is via a Chile Relleno I judge how much I like a Mexican restaurant. Joe T. Garcia's and Esperanza's are my favorite Chile Relleno locations.

Wikipedia's info about my favorite Mexican food...

The chile relleno, literally "stuffed chile," is a dish of Mexican cuisine that originated in the city of Puebla. It consists of a roasted fresh poblano pepper (a mild chili pepper named after the city of Puebla), sometimes substituted with non-traditional Hatch green chile, Anaheim, pasilla or even jalapeño chili pepper. It is stuffed with melted cheese, such as queso Chihuahua or queso Oaxaca (traditionally), or picadillo meat made of diced pork, raisins and nuts, seasoned with canella; covered in an egg batter or simply corn masa flour and fried. Although it is often served in a tomato sauce, the sauces can vary. There are versions in Mexico using rehydrated dry chiles such as anchos or pasillas.

The sun has now completely lit up the outdoors. So, it is time to go swimming now. Talk to you later.

The Fort Worth Space Needle Is Closed For Lunch So I Went To Esperanza's In The Fort Worth Stockyards Zone

We are standing on View Mountain, looking east at the Fort Worth Space Needle that points skyward from the top of Mount Tandy, today, in the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

I was late hiking the Tandy Hills today due to going out for lunch.

No, I did not have lunch at the revolving restaurant at the top of the Fort Worth Space Needle. It has no revolving restaurant. There isn't even an observation deck. Or an elevator to the top. You have to climb a ladder to get to the top of the Fort Worth Space Needle. And even that involves negotiating a chain link fence or two.

Since a high elevation revolving restaurant is not available in Fort Worth I went to the next best thing. Esperanza's in the Fort Worth Stockyards zone.

Esperanza's makes my favorite chili relleno. I'd not been to Esperanza's in awhile. Was the last time when I listened to Hillary Clinton in the Stockyards? That's a long time ago.

Today's reason to be at Esperanza's was it was Molly Magpie's birthday. So, Big Ed, Molly, me and Delores de Luca had ourselves some birthday Tex-Mex.

You know, people tell me not to use their real names on my blog. Why? I don't know. I would think they'd prefer their real names to the ones I come up with. Then again, Molly Magpie has a nice ring to it.

The only person who insists I use her real name is Elsie Hotpepper. But who can blame her? That is one cool name.

There was a good breeze blowing on the hills today. But. It was in the 90s. And humid. I sort of over ate a bit at Esperanza's. I hill hiked for an hour and a half. I hiked til I felt I'd sufficiently purged the Esperanza's excess.

And then I went home. Which is where I am now.