A Mostly Ice Free Walk Around Fosdick Lake Finding A Faux Chrysanthemum

Til today I had not been to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdick Lake since before the Great North Texas Ice Storm of 2013 struck me immobile, motorized transportation-wise, for several days.

As you can see by looking past the Fosdick Fountain, most of the ice cover has melted, reverting the landscape back to a more natural green than the un-natural ultra white ice.

Currently the outer world is being heated to 42 degrees for the first time in about a week. When I left my abode to drive to Fosdick Lake the outer world was only two degrees above freezing.

I was not the only one out and about today enjoying the return to easy, much less slippery, walking. Some of those others who were out and about were having fun feeding the Fosducks. There were a lot of hungry Fosducks on Fosdick Lake today.

Regarding the above fountain. When it began to spout, out of seemingly nowhere, I inquired if anyone had an explanation. So far, all I have learned is that Google satellite imagery, from some point in the 1990s, showed the fountain spouting on Fosdick Lake.

Walking on the mostly ice-free grass I came upon the optimistic big yellow wildflower you see  in the picture, rising, defiantly, above a patch of ice.

That big yellow wildflower looks to me like what a Chrysanthemum looks like.

However, I am almost 100% certain that there is no wildflower version of a Chrysanthemum that would be sprouting colorfully this time of year in North Texas....

Another Freezing Morning Nearing The End Of The Great North Texas Ice Storm Of 2013

I erroneously assumed the worst of the Great North Texas Ice Storm of 2013 was over.

Like I already said, I was erroneous in this assumption.

This morning soon after the sun arrived, under a clear blue sky, I headed to the cool pool and hot tub with the outer world being much colder than I had expected.

19 degrees. With the Wind Chill Factor making that 19 degrees feel like 11 degrees.

11 degrees is getting into the temperature range where I start feeling cold.

So, this morning I had only on brief jump from the hot tub to the deep end of the cool pool, which was much warmer than 11 degrees, then a fast move through the cool pool to the shallow end for a swift entry back in to the hot tub.

Last night I called my Arizona sister on my Google phone which identifies me as Maura Collins. I'd already called my sister, on the Google phone, a couple days ago, with her Caller I.D. telling my sister it was Maura Collins calling, with it taking two attempts before my sister would answer the unknown Maura's call, that first time, but with my sister answering on the third ring last night, because now my sister knows about my new identity.

Anyway, somehow the subject briefly switched to my cool pool dips, with me mentioning that the icy hydrotherapy seems to have abated, totally, for now, my mild arthritis symptoms. My sister opined that this seems to be the opposite of what cold usually does to arthritis symptoms.

I agreed.

But I am quite happy to be an exception to the usual arthritic rule regarding sore joints and the arthritic reaction to cold weather.

With most of the white ice in full retreat I discovered a new peril this morning. With that new peril being small spots of ultra-slippery clear ice.

Be careful out there, fellow North Texans.....

An Escape From The Great North Texas Ice Storm Of 2013 With A Walk With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts

Two People & Their Dog Pony

Today, Day Four (or is it Five?) of the Great North Texas Ice Storm of 2013, the ice retreated enough that I felt like it was a good idea to roll my mechanized wheels some place walkable.

And so I aimed my steering wheel towards Arlington, to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I was half expecting the park to be closed, due to fallen tree limbs, or dangerous slipperiness.

However, entry to the parking lot was not blocked, and so I parked and had myself a mighty fine time walking with the cold Indian ghosts.

I came upon two other people enjoying the invigorating cold, along with an animal that looked like a cross between a small pony and a dog.

Driving-wise, the only icy treachery was on the two over passes I had to pass over on my way, back and forth. The John T. White over pass over I-820 was the more adventurous of the two, with it being a very bumpy, very icy section of road. The Cooks Lane over pass over I-30 was not as iced up, but still, everyone was doing their passover in slow mode.

The ice around my cool pool was mostly in full retreat this morning. Thus I was able to test what it is like to get into a cool pool when the outer world is chilled much cooler than the cool pool. It was one quick dip and then a retreat to the hot tub.

But then I got too hot in the hot tub and so I did two more quick dips in the cool pool. It actually is very invigorating to do so. I think more people should give this form of hydrotherapy a try.

I needed milk and a couple other vittles-type items. And so I made a quick stop at ALDI after walking with the slippery Indian ghosts. Having an ALDI now so conveniently located is very convenient.

I hope this Ice Storm is the last of this type weather event for the year, and into next year, til spring arrives.

But, I suspect this Ice Storm was only the preview of a wicked winter to come....

Watching Four Of Fort Worth's Finest Help A Guy Get Out Of An Icy Predicament

Taking myself on a neighborhood walkabout on Day Three of the Great North Texas Ice Storm of 2013, I was not surprised to once again see a lot of sliding mishaps and stuck vehicles.

Including the guy on the ground, kneeling by his blue car which he slid perpendicular to the curb.

When I first saw this particular perpendicular blue car the driver was still behind the wheel, spinning the rear wheels in a futile effort to get moving.

Then he exited the car about the time one of Fort Worth's finest showed up. I could not hear what the cop in the car was telling the guy on the ground.

Soon another Fort Wort cop car showed up. The cop cars and the stuck car and the other stuck cars were making the road impassable for those vehicles who were not stuck.

After about a minute the cop in the second cop car got on his loudspeaker and said something funny like "Please move your police car, it is blocking traffic."

The cop in the first cop car then turned around and parked perpendicular to the stuck blue car. Both cop cars had two cops onboard.

Soon all the cops were helping the guy in the blue car get moving again, telling him to put it in 1st gear and not to push on the gas pedal.

At one point all four cops were pushing from behind the blue car. After that all four pushed the blue car from the driver's side, with the ice being so slippery they were able to move the car in the direction it needed to go.

I was quite impressed with how nice the cops were whilst dealing with this. I'm sure this was just one of many similar type incidents they've been dealing with the past several days.

I am ready for the Great North Texas Ice Storm of 2013 to fade into history....