None Of Today's Predicted Rain Got Me Wet While Biking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts

That is me and my bike in front of the mysterious glass orb which hovers over this particular section of Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area's curvy paved trail.

The picture sort of captures how steamy HOT the outer world is at this location on the planet on this particular day in August.

August 9 to be precise. Happy Birthday, Miss Sampson.

The air is so humid what appear to be drops of rain seem to appear out of what seems to be nowhere.

Such as when I was in the pool early this morning.

There was no apparent rain cloud hovering over head. Yet I found myself, for a short duration, to be being pummeled by big drops of what appeared to be rain. I did not know, at the point in time when I was being pummeled, by wet from above, that the weather predictors are predicting rain for the majority of the next 7 days.

20% does not seem like all that great a chance for rain. But it is better than zero chance.

Not that I wish a hurricane on anyone, but if one should happen to happen, we could use the aftermath of one like Hurricane Hermine to drop a lot of water and fill the reservoirs.

The water situation is getting dire.

We  may have to cut back on wasting millions of gallons of the scarce stuff fracking gas wells if something wet does not fall from above soon...

My Whacking Stick Saves Me From A Vicious Tandy Hills Dog Attack

In the picture you are looking north, on top of Lost Sunglasses Ridge, on one of the Tandy Hills, today in the noon time frame.

Last year, at this point in time, the Tandy Hills were showing signs of stress to the vegetation, due to the Great North Texas Drought.

This year, at this point in time, the Tandy Hills are showing signs of a prairie being well provided with a sufficient supply of water.

It is getting to the point that there is some vegetative encroachment at some locations on the trails. I do not like vegetative encroachment. I've been avoiding the rain forest like zone one reaches on the north side of Tandy Falls, due to the claustrophobic tunnel-like effect of all the greenery.

Changing the subject from healthy vegetation to an unhealthy canine encounter.

One is supposed to keep ones dog on a leash whilst hiking the Tandy Hills.

Some people do not keep their dog leashed, due to the fact that their dog is well behaved, like Olive the Prairie Dog.

But some people let their dog off leash, even though they know the dog is not well-behaved.

Today, a semi-elderly gentleman was hiking the Tandy Hills with two dogs. Two un-leashed dogs. One of the dogs rushed at me in attack mode, with the semi-elderly gentleman trying to get the vicious dog to return to his control.

I am always armed with a whacking stick when I am out and about in the wild. As the dog took a lunge at me I gave it a sound whack with my whacking stick and it ceased its vicious attack.

When the dog ran back to the semi-elderly gentleman he put the vicious dog on a leash, and also leashed the non-attacking dog.

I can not imagine how a semi-elderly gentleman can feel okay about hiking in a place like this with a dog whose behavior is bad. What if I'd been a little kid the dog tried to attack?

I hope the whacking I gave the dog was sound enough to discourage it from any future vicious attack attempts.

Downpouring Rain Aborts A Fosdic Lake Walk

Heading East On Wet Randol Mill Road

On my way to walk around Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park I called one of my few relatives who remain in Washington to suggest this relative make a surprise appearance at next week's BBQ in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler.

Before I got as far as Fosdic Lake, downpouring rain caused me to abort the walking plan and head to Town Talk instead.

I did not get too wet walking into a very busy Town Talk.

Exiting Town Talk I got wetter than entering. And thunder had been added to the weather mix.

As you can see, in the above picture, the noontime weather conditions had turned dark and dire enough to require headlights in the on position and windshield wipers set to wipe at their highest speed.

By the time I made it back inside my abode I was not completely saturated with water. Almost, but not completely.

Have those who determine such things determined yet that the Great North Texas Drought is over?

The Village Creek Natural Historic Area's Water Level Is At An Historic Low

Dried Up Village Creek Bayou

I'd not been to the Village Creek Natural Historic Area for a few days. I went there today on my way to Pantego, before heading back here to go with Elsie Hotpepper for lunch at In-N-Out on West 7th in Fort Worth.

Which did not happen. More on Elsie Hotpepper in a separate blogging.

There is still green foliage around the now dried up Village Creek Bayou, but the brown/dead area is growing. We need rain soon. The surviving greenery is really starting to look very stressed.

I saw some stranded, trapped fish in the ponds that remain of the dried up Village Creek.

What did the enormous Indian Village on the banks of Village Creek do when the creek dried up? Move down to the Trinity River? I imagine back then there was very little litter or chemical pollution in the Trinity River.

A Dam New Walkway

Today at Village Creek I went off the paved trail, walking on the peninsula that is between the water that is supposed to be flowing through the Village Creek Bayou and Village Creek. Usually this terminates where water flows over an Interlochen dam, joining Village Creek, preventing walking any further.

As you can see in the picture, no water is flowing over the dam. I had not seen this before. The Interlochen Canals must be being very low on water.

I was able to use the dried spillway as a walkway and re-enter the Village Creek Natural Historic Area from its east entry. Something I'd never been able to do before. What a thrill.

If we don't get some rain in these parched parts of the planet we may need to form a posse and to cross the Red River and purloin some Oklahoma water. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Village Creek Natural Historic Area Tree Limbs Crash While Flowers Bloom Spiting The Great North Texas Drought

A Natural Pecan Tree Loses A Limb

It is being another clear blue sky HOT day in North Texas, currently heated, according to the Weather Underground, to 100 degrees.

It was not that HOT when I left air-conditioned comfort and headed to Village Creek Historic Natural Area around noon to walk under the shade of giant oak trees.

We have had no high winds blowing through North Texas since the last time I walked under the Village Creek giant oak trees. And yet, since I last walked among them, several have lost limbs.

I suspect the Great Texas Drought of 2011 is causing trees to lose limbs. It's tragic.

Village Creek is no longer flowing. Pools of water remain. I don't know what's happened to the fish and water snakes. The turtles seem to be adjusting, though a bit extra skittish.

The Drought Clematis

The Village Creek Bayou is now totally dried up with large swatches of brown vegetation. And yet, somehow, since I was last in that location, flowers are blooming.

The flowers are growing from vines growing beside the dried up bayou. I'm not much of a flower identifier, but these looked like clematis. I tried to grow clematis a time or two on my Washington rooftop garden. Never successfully.

Obviously, whatever this flower and vine is, it is very resistant to the Great North Texas Drought.