Multiple New Sikes Lake Hoodoos With McNutty Video Calls

With the temperature a balmy 70 some degrees, with zero wind blowing, I was back in shorts and t-shirt for a walk around Sikes Lake.

And I stupidly wore that hat you see me smiling  below in the photo documentation.

My cheeks are still hurting from smiling so much. 

Multiple new Hoodoo Cairns have sprouted in the Sikes Lake zone, including the three causing me to smile, behind me.

Soon after taking the Hoodoo picture I removed the hat, before it totally overheated me.

A better look at those three Hoodoos without me blocking the view.

And then there were the above two Hoodoos. These sprouted up behind a cyclone fence near the dam which blocks the creek which provides the water which makes Sikes Lake a lake.

Total change of subject.

Anyone else have anyone you know who frequently causes your Facebook to light up with a video chat request? I have this happen fairly regularly. It is always the same perpetrator. And she always claims it to be an accident.

When it happens I have no clue how to answer the call, even if I wanted to. I see the cameral light turn on on the laptop. And then, just as quickly as the call pops up, it goes away.

For identification purposes we will call the perpetrator of these multiple video chat instances McNutty. Because such seems a fitting name for someone who does the same thing over and over and over again, and then claims it was an accident.

I think McNutty just wants to hear my sweet voice and see my sweet smiling face.

And she always seems to make these video chat calls when I am in my yoga attire doing my morning yoga routine...

Cool Walking Sikes Lake With Linda Lou & Hoodoos

Linda Lou went walking around Sikes Lake with me this morning. It has been a month or two since Linda Lou went walking with me.

Winter-like temperature arrived last night, getting into the 30s, with a freeze warning for tonight.

The recent slight bout of rain seems to have caused multiple hoodoo-like cairns to sprout at their usual sprouting location at Sikes Lake.

As you can see, there are three spouting in the foreground, with three more sprouting at the end of that stretch of green grass.

Above are those three aforementioned hoodoos sprouting at the end of that green grass strip. As you can see these are quite delicate rock balancing acts.

Methinks the current conditions have brought the annual return of mountain cedar pollen. I assume such is what is causing my current allergy woes.

It was fun walking and talking with Linda Lou today. It makes the walk seem to go faster when one is also fast talking...

Hoodoo-Like Cairn Leads Us To Circle Trail End

I came to the end of the trail, today. The Circle Trail, that is.

I dropped off an elderly senior citizen for an appointment with one of his doctors, and then drove to the east Circle Trail access to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, unloaded my bike, and rolled its wheels for a few kilometers.

About halfway through the WB Nature Area I came upon the tallest Hoodoo-like Cairn I have yet seen at this location.

I got off the bike to photo document this phenomenon.

Back to the current end of the Circle Trail. I thought the project timeline for this new leg of the Circle Trail was to have been completed, by now, the link from Loop 11 to Lucy Park. I recollect due to a funding shortage the final 1000 feet was going to be a gravel covered trail, until funds could be found to pave it.

But, currently, Circle Trail construction seems to be halted at the location you see at the top, with a metal fence giving this halt a look of some permanence.

I have long looked forward to this connecting link to Lucy Park. This will make for greatly enhanced bike rides...

The Serious Texas Hoodoo Cairn Controversy

Long ago, in the first decade of this century, I regularly hiked the Tandy Hills in Fort Worth.

At some point during that first decade there was a news story out of Utah about a scout master leading his troop of Boy Scouts in toppling over a Hoodoo in Kodachrome State Park. That state park is located right by Bryce Canyon National Park, at a much lower elevation, and features similar rock formations.

Around the time the scout master got in trouble in Utah an artfully stacked pile of rocks appeared next to one of the Tandy Hills trails. I remember seeing this and thinking it to be a remarkable feat of rock balancing. I took a photo and blogged about it, speculating on what created this remarkable feat of rock balancing. And with Utah Hoodoos fresh on my mind, I jokingly speculated about this, wondering something along the line "Was this a natural formation I had not noted before? A Texas version of a Utah Hoodoo".

Upon returning the next day I found the Tandy Hills Hoodoo had been toppled, just like that Utah Hoodoo. And then over and over and over and over again, new Hoodoos would appear on the Tandy Hills, always to be knocked down again.

So, yesterday I made mention of having been erroneous regarding the correct name of the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. This prompted an amusing comment from someone named Cowtown Crude...

Cowtown Crude has left a new comment on your post "Learned To Remove S Biking Wichita Bluff Nature Area With Thunder Cracked Window":

"...that I have been erroneously adding an 's' to Bluff.".

You also incorrectly refer to cairns as hoodoos.

Cairns - a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark, typically on a hilltop or skyline. Man-made

Hoodoos - shafts of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. Naturally occurring.

A recent episode of Jeopardy! included a clue with cairns as the answer.

_____________________

I knew those piles of rocks were not really Hoodoos, and that such piles were often manmade trail markers known as Cairns. But, I think I will stick with wrongly calling these remarkable feats of rock balancing Hoodoos.

Scroll down past the below Cairns and you will see my all time favorite photo, and some Washington Cairns

At some point in time during the 1990s, my nephews Christopher and Jeremy took me to the Mount Baker Ski Area on a warm September day.

That is my Favorite Nephew Jeremy on the left, which would make that my Favorite Nephew Christopher on the right. If you regularly read this blog, a few days ago you saw a photo of Jeremy and Christopher kissing their mother during Christopher's wedding weekend in Cabo San Lucas.

Jeremy and Christopher are sitting on top of Tabletop Mountain. Behind them is Mount Shuksan. The Mount Baker volcano is in the direction Christopher is looking.

And behind Jeremy and Christopher, between the nephews and Mount Shuksan, you can see a row of Cairns. I am just about 100% at the point in time I saw these I did not refer to them as Hoodoos. I don't think I knew of Hoodoos then. I don't remember if I knew they were known as Cairns at that point in time.

Looking at that photo of JR and CJ it causes me that homesick feeling. I was looking forward to seeing such scenery this summer. I doubt the hike up Tabletop would have happened. That would be fun though. It's an easy hike with a long series of switchbacks taking you to the top.

I do not plan on visiting the Wichita Bluff Nature Area Hoodoo Cairns today. But, my current plans may change as the hours of the day roll on by...

Wichita Bluff Hoodoos Survive Softball Size Hail

This Sunday before the 2020 version of Memorial Day I opted out of attending a church service in one of the few churches in Wichita Falls open for regular business, and instead joined the morning throngs communing with nature in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area zone.

Yesterday, via Facebook, I saw a photo of a gigantic chunk of hail the size of a small watermelon which allegedly crashed into a home in the town of Burkburnett, a town due south of the Oklahoma border, about 15 miles north of Wichita Falls.

I heard nothing else about hail cannon balls in the neighborhood, til this morning whilst checking on the online version of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's front page and saw this...

The storm happened Friday night, well into Saturday morning. I heard no hail hitting my Wichita Falls location. I am guessing by "near Wichita Falls" the Star-Telegram must be referring to the aforementioned Burkburnett.

When I last saw the Wichita Bluff Nature Area's Hoodoo installation the installation was totally discombobulated, as in something or someone had totally obliterated the stand of Hoodoos.

I think that was Friday morning, before the thunderstorm which produced giant hail. So, I really do not think Mother Nature can be blamed for the Hoodoo leveling. I suspect it was an act of human destruction which discombobulated the Hoodoos.

And now this morning, 24 hours, or longer, after giant hail pummeled some locations, the Wichita Bluff Nature Area Hoodoo installation has once again risen, this time with more Hoodoos than ever previously counted, as in I almost had to use all my fingers to count all the Hoodoos.

So, that has been my Memorial Day Weekend, so far...

The Serious Problem With Stone Stacking Pebble Piling Gravel Gathering Hoodoos

I saw that which you see above on Facebook via a posting by Miss Mildred's paternal parental unit, who asked that which you see at the top...

 "Are you a stone picker? A pebble piler? A gravel gatherer? Yeah, it's fun, but it also can leave a mark".

I had zero idea that that which I have long referred to as "Hoodoos" was any sort of problem.

Years ago, back when I lived in the DFW zone of Texas, I regularly hiked the Tandy Hills, located a couple miles west of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

After a few years of hiking the Tandy Hills the phenomenon I took to referring to as being "Hoodoos" began to appear at multiple locations along the trails which traverse the hills.

In all those years I never saw anyone actually building one of the Hoodoos. Some of those rock pile structures were quite elaborate feats of engineering and balancing, and likely took a bit of time to construct.

And yet I never caught anyone in the act of piling rocks into a tower.

A few months ago I was surprised to see a Hoodoo alongside the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. Since that Hoodoo first appeared it has gone through multiple iterations, with the most recent being a complex of six Hoodoos. I have only seen Hoodoos at that one location on the Circle Trail.

Above is that six Hoodoo formation mentioned in the previous paragraph. I really do not see how this particular Hoodoo iteration causes any sort of problem.

Seeing this post from Miss Mildred's paternal parental unit got me remembering the first time I came across Hoodoos. Years ago, with my favorite nephews, Christopher and Jeremy. We all lived in Washington at that point in time. Christopher and Jeremy now live in Arizona.

The above is a photo of that first Hoodoo encounter I mentioned in the previous paragraph. That is Jeremy on the left, Christopher on the right. That big mountain in the background is Mount Shuksan. To the right, in the direction Christopher is looking, is the Mount Baker volcano.

A line of Hoodoos is behind the boys.

I had no idea, til reading so on Facebook, that piling rocks in Hoodoo type formations was any sort of bad thing.

I suppose it all depends on the location of the rock piling.

Probably not so okay in any sort of actual scenic wonder, but probably totally okay in a location like the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, even though the Hoodoos there are not natural...

Cold Wet Hoodoo Trio Rises In Wichita Bluff Nature Area

With the temperature a few degrees above freezing, with snow falling a few miles northwest in Amarillo, with cold rain dripping at my current Wichita Falls location, it seemed like a mighty fine time to go on a cold walk on the Circle Trail at the Wichita Bluff Nature Area location.

Last week I got a new phone, which has a better camera than the one I was used to using on the old phone.

But, I still have trouble doing that selfie thing.

Somehow I got the camera into video mode. And then when I got that to stop I could not figure out why the screen was black, til I realized one of my misbehaving fingers was blocking the lens.

About a mile into the bluff hiking I came upon something I regularly used to come up whilst hiking the Tandy Hills in Fort Worth.

Hoodoos.

Hence the selfie with a hoodoo over my left shoulder.

This was a collection of three well constructed hoodoos, rising a few feet from the Circle Trail. The middle hoodoo looks particularly precarious.

Soon after photo documenting the hoodoo trio I took a side spur off the Circle Trail and saw this bucolic bench scene you see here.

I do not know if anyone keeps such a statistic, but I suspect Wichita Falls has more rocking benches per capita than any other town in America.

It will likely be a few days before warmth returns to the outer world at my location, rendering a bike ride once again a pleasant experience. In the meantime, events beyond my immediate control may require a drive to DFW in a day or two or three.

This Morning I Found Hoodoo Wannabes Showing Up On Facebook

It has been fairly well documented that I am a fan of Hoodoos, particularly those Hoodoos which mysteriously appear on the Tandy Hills.

I've not seen a Tandy Hills Hoodoo since last Saturday.

This morning on Facebook I was reminded of the Tandy Hills Hoodoos.

The first Hoodoo-like entry I saw today was from Miss Alice, also known as Tootsie Tonasket.

I have seen a Tandy Hills Hoodoo, a  time or two or three or more, which have been amazing acts of balancing and engineering, but none quite as adventurous as those pictured above.

And then there is the Hoodoo Facebook post from Mr. Halbert.

This one does not look manmade to me. It looks like the type of rock formations I have seen in the Hoodoo home state, Utah.

That rock looks a little dangerous.

Is it a balancing rock?

Apparently this picture was taken way back in 1968, so I don't think there is any chance Child Protective Services would take issue with parental units allowing a little kid to play under a big rock, what with 1968 being 46 years ago.

What this big rock picture is actually making me wonder is how long has it been since I've seen the redrock zone of Utah? That being my favorite location on the planet. I was on the ground in Utah in July of 2001, but I was not in the redrock zone. I have flown over the redrock zone of Utah a few times this century, but that does not count because you do not get the scenic wonderland effect from thousands of feet in the air.

I'd go check on the Tandy Hills Hoodoos today, but recent wetness might have left some mud in its wake, so I'll let a few days of drying out take place before I go Hoodoo hunting....

Solo Tandy Hill Hiking Hoodoos Before Town Talking Cabbage

That Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man was back on Fort Worth's best hills on this first day of November. Last Saturday I sort of overheated running up the Tandy Hills. This Saturday I was almost underdressed.

This morning we were colder here in the D/FW zone, at 39 degrees, than the balmy 50 something in my old home zone in the Skagit Valley of Washington.

I did not last long in the pool this morning. It was too cool and the hot tub was in  malfunction mode, as in it was not hot, not even warm.

Oodles of footprints on the new Tandy Hills trail seemed to indicate it is getting well traveled. I hope the trail blazers return to blaze some more trails.

On a perfect weather Saturday like today it is always a great puzzlement to me why there were no other hill hikers hiking hills today.

The Tandy Hills is pretty much at the center of a city with around 800,000 people, the majority of whom would benefit from more exercise. That city with around 800,000 people is part of a metropolitan area with around 6 million people, the majority of whom would also benefit from more exercise.

I've opined before that if something like the Tandy Hills existed a couple miles from the downtown's of Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, San Francisco, and many other towns, the hills would be alive with the sound of people on a day like today.

There is plenty of evidence that there are some people hiking the Tandy Hills.

Evidence such as the aforementioned footprints.

And there is also the Hoodoo evidence of humans on the hills. The Hoodoos don't build themselves.

Today's Hoodoo was shorter than the norm, but no less a feat of Hoodoo engineering.

After I'd had enough of the Hoodoos and the Hills I was off to Town Talk.

It's been a couple Saturdays since I've been to Town Talk on its busiest day.

Today I got another big chunk of Italian sausage, two big bags of russet spuds, strawberries, red kidney beans, two cases of soy yogurt, one lemon, one raspberry. I've not had soy yogurt before. I suspect I will like it. I also got a huge bag of already shredded cabbage.

Cabbage is currently my favorite vegetable. I think I will have some for lunch, as in right now....

A Mexican Hat Hoodoo Has Sprouted On The Tandy Hills Along With Yellow Daisies

Today I was back on the Tandy Hills for the first time in weeks. I don't think I've done any hill hiking on the Tandy Hills in October.

I expected to see a lot of wind damage on the Tandy Hills today, what with how badly damaged nearby Oakland Lake Park and how many piles of fallen tree debris still lined the side of the road which leads to the summit of Mount Tandy.

However, I saw only a few downed trees on the Tandy Hills today. The microburst of high speed wind must have started super speeding when it got past the hills on that windy Thursday, several Thursdays ago.

What with all the wind of late I did not expect to see the tallest, most precarious Tandy Hills Hoodoo I've seen to date.

Let alone two tall Hoodoos.

The Hoodoo you see above I think may be an homage to the Mexican Hat rock formation near Mexican Hat, Utah. Mexican Hat is so-named because it looks like a sombrero. I don't know why that Utah rock formation was not named Mexican Sombrero. The top of the above Hoodoo looks like a sombrero, to me.

The Mexican Hat Hoodoo was at Hoodoo Central, at the north end of the trail which leads on to the Tandy Hills from View Street. The below Hoodoo is located part way up the trail which leads to the summit of Mount Tandy.

The above Hoodoo is built on a very solid base and appears to be less precarious than the Mexican Hat Hoodoo.

This hills were not alive with the sound of music today, but they were alive with a surprising amount of color, such as the yellow beauty you see below.

I don't know if these yellow beauties are daisies or sunflowers. I do know that there are multiple patches of these yellow flowers coloring up the Tandy Hills.

I had some time constraints constraining me today, so I did not make my regular Saturday visit to Town Talk. I will likely make up for that this coming Wednesday.

A Walk Through The Tandy Hills Jungle With Multiple Hoodoos & No Cicadas

Due to the Hoodoo, well, actually, Hoodoos, you can likely guess that I was back on the Tandy Hills on this 13th day of August.

Have I been on the Tandy Hills already in August? I don't remember.

I headed to the hills today because the relatively chilly temperature in the low 80s had the concept of getting some endorphins via aerobic stimulation sound appealing.

Early this morning I had already had some endorphin acquisition via a long bout in the pool, starting soon after the sun arrived to share illumination duty with a very big  moon.

As you can see there were duo Hoodoos at Hoodoo Central today on the Tandy Hills.

One short stubby Hoodoo with a taller Hoodoo tower towering over the stubby Hoodoo.

I prefer my Hoodoos to be tall, rather than stubby.

The last time I was on the Tandy Hills I was surprised by a new Hoodoo erection on the east side of the hills.

That east side Hoodoo still stands, as you can see above. Have we not had any Hoodoo toppling winds of late?

One thing I noticed today was no cicada noise.

Cicada noise is a good sound effect for a jungle, which had me missing the cicada insect symphony in the video below of today's hike through the Tandy Hills jungle zone.

Not A New Tandy Hills Hoodoo Honey Posing Like Kim Kardashian

I'm sure you're thinking that which you see on the left is a new iteration of the Tandy Hills Hoodoos, a horizontal version of the usual vertical Hoodoo, which we might describe as a Tandy Hills Hoodoo Honey.

Well, I did not find this Hoodoo Honey on the Tandy Hills, I found this Hoodoo Honey on Facebook, via Tootsie Tonasket.

Comments regarding the Hoodoo Honey work of art debated whether it was depicting Kim Kardashian or Nicki Minaj.

I sided with the Kim Kardashian side of this important debate.

I'm thinking this Hoodoo Honey might inspire the Tandy Hills Hoodoo builders to branch out in a new direction, including horizontal Hoodoos along with the vertical.

Horizontal Tandy Hills Hoodoos would not be as easily toppled over by a brisk gust of wind.

It might be a bit challenging to find rounded rocks on the Tandy Hills, so the Tandy Hills Hoodoo Honeys would likely not be quite as voluptuous as the Hoodoo Honey above, but more angular and rough around the edges, which is fitting for a Fort Worth Hoodoo Honey....

A HOT Tandy Hills Hike With Twin Hoodoos & No Flooding

With rain in the forecast I decided today was a good day to return to the Tandy Hills for the first time since rain muddied my local world earlier in the month.

A breeze blew providing some wind chilling, but not a lot of wind chilling. In other words I got hot, real HOT.

Both the North and South Forks of Tandy Creek were dry today, with no flooding due to a broken pipeline like I had to ford on my last visit.

However, it appeared the South Fork crossing has been pretty much wiped out by flash flooding, either of the Mother Nature sort, or the broken pipeline sort. You can see video of the current Tandy Creek South Fork crossing below.

Above those are not Twin Hoodoos sitting on a Big Rock at Tandy Hills Hoodoo Central at the north end of the View Street Trail. I came upon the Twin Hoodoos slightly northeast of the area known as the Bamboo Tepee Grove.

As usual, there was a new Hoodoo at Hoodoo Central, a much plumper, stubbier Hoodoo than the tall, skinny Hoodoo I saw on the first day of July.

Today's Hoodoo at Hoodoo Central sort of looks like a sculpture of a fat human with a big round head wearing a cowboy hat.

I have known a human or two, sans the cowboy hat part, who could have been the sculptor's model.

I used  my old camera to take video and photos today. The new camera is vexing me. Very complicated. These things really should be designed for those of us with simple minds and short attention spans.

Months ago I got a new oven, with all digital controls. Even ovens have been rendered difficult with digital controls. Though, once I got used to it I like the digital oven controls.

Way back in February I finally got a smart phone. The smart phone made me feel real stupid for a few days. And then that feeling faded. Now I'm a texting maniac and watch TV on the phone. Watching TV on the smart phone seems sort of stupid, but it actually works quite well.

Anyway, below is video where you walk with me across the washed out crossing of the South Fork of Tandy Creek...

Stenotrophomonas Pointed Me To A Formerly Rusty New Tandy Hills Mystery

Late Friday Stenotrophomonas emailed me after he'd hiked the Tandy Hills for the first time since the recent rains.

This is what Stenotrophomonas had to say....

I went in there (Tandy Hills) for the first time since the rains around 5pm. Reasonably dry, only a little mud on the jungle trail and other low-lying areas. The mundane thing: a hoodoo. Looked kinda rickety, so it may be horizontal by morning. The other thing: I saw a rusty exhaust pipe and some other piece of metal by the green sewer obelisk approaching the escarpment. Then I looked to my left and saw that the car that had been parked there for decades had vanished. I didn't see any obvious ground scrapings where metal had been dragged through, nor did I find any car carcasses nearby. Heard anything?

I returned to the Tandy Hills today, this last Sunday of June, for the first time since the recent rains, to find the Hoodoo just as Stenotrophomonas described it, rickety, but still vertical.

Below is the green sewer obelisk to which Stenotrophomonas referred, with the rusty exhaust pipe and piece of metal, looking to me like a pair of snakes in confrontation mode.

The next picture documents the now empty location of the rusty car which had sat rusting for decades, unmolested, except for an occasional snake infestation, which I never saw, but was told about.

Just as Stenotrophomonas indicated, there was no sign of anything rusty being dragged. No tire track marks of any sort of vehicle which would have been needed to haul away the rusty mess.

Then, later in my Tandy Hills tour I saw that the recent rains had flash flooded across the Tandy Highway, washing out the crossing over Tandy Creek, blocking the only way in or out for someone wanting to haul something large, like a rusty old car.

I suspect the disappearance of the Tandy Hills Rusty Car Landmark will just be added to the ever growing list of the Mysteries of the Tandy Hills.

Mysteries such as what is the name of this big purple wildflower I saw today coloring up the Tandy Hills?

Saturday On The Tandy Hills Finding Cauli Flowers With No Hoodoos Plus Mysterious Fort Worth Police Behavior

Today I was back on the Tandy Hills for the first time in weeks. The Tandy Hills wildflowers seem to have gotten a blooming boost from the rains which rained down during May.

All over the hills today I was seeing the white flowers you see in the picture to the left of the trail.

I am dubbing these white wildflowers Cauli Flowers, due to the blooms slight resemblance to the white cruciferous vegetable.

I was looking forward to seeing the latest iteration of the infamous Tandy Hills Hoodoo today.

But, when I got to Hoodoo Central, at the north end of the View Street Trail, I was saddened to find a totally deconstructed Hoodoo laying on the ground where usually a Hoodoo rises vertical to impressive heights.

I saw no other Hoodoos today in locations where Hoodoos previously were located.

A few weeks ago fellow Tandy Hills aficionado, Stenotrophomonas, asked me if I'd seen the new Tandy Hills Shrine which had been growing on the summit of Mount Tandy. At the point in time when Stenotrophomonas asked me about the new shrine, I had not seen it. But, today I saw what I think may be that to which Stenotrophomonas referred.

Is the above a Tandy Hills guerrilla artist's abstract sculptural art? I have no idea.

For months I have been seeing something when I drive to the summit of Mount Tandy which perplexes me, but which I've not mentioned.

Til now.

Adjacent to Mount Tandy is Broadcast Hill. Broadcast Hill was the location of a NBC broadcast operation. Months ago the NBC broadcast operation moved to a new location.  Ever since the Broadcast Hill NBC broadcast operation closed there has been a Fort Worth police car on the property, with a policeman inside the car.

The Fort Worth police car has been spotted parked at various locations behind the security fence which surrounds the site. Any day of the week, including Sunday, that I have driven to the summit of Mount Tandy, ever since the NBC broadcast operation moved, I have seen a Fort Worth police car.

Months ago I saw trucks arriving to pack off material. At that point I thought maybe the Fort Worth police had been hired to oversee the packing off of material.

So, I can not help but wonder why there is a constant presence by the Fort Worth police at this location? Who is paying for this? And why are they paying for this?

Today I Found A Hoodoo Fertility Symbol On Fort Worth's Tandy Hills

 I was back on the Tandy Hills today for the first time since last Sunday's downpours.

I found a couple new Hoodoos today, along with finding that the Hoodoo at Hoodoo Central, located at the north end of the trail which leads to the Tandy Hills from the park on View Street, is still standing.

One of the new Hoodoos is a different style Hoodoo than the other Tandy Hills Hoodoos.

One of those new Hoodoos, which you are looking at in the photo, may be some sort of symbolic celebration of spring type thing.

The reason I think this new Hoodoo may be some sort of symbolic celebration of spring type thing is due to the fact that this new Hoodoo erection appears to be some sort of primitive, rock-based, phallic fertility symbol.

Fertility symbols are common in many primitive, and not so primitive, cultures, being representative of the renewal represented by the arrival of spring, what with the return of green to the landscape, along with a plethora, in Texas, of colorful wildflowers and critter babies being born.

With just over two weeks to go before the annual Prairie Fest, this coming Saturday, April 26, the Tandy Hills have amped up the wildflower production and have ratcheted down the brown, with the greening of the Tandy Hills' trees, as you can see photo documented below, a view south, viewed today, by me, high atop one of the unnamed Tandy Hills.

Just a short time ago the primary color one saw at this location was brown. Now green dominates the landscape.

The last couple times I was hill hiking on the Tandy Hills I was bugged by a lot of bugs. Today's hill hiking was pretty much bug-free. Did that storm on Sunday blow the bugs out of town? I hope so. I prefer my Tandy Hills hiking to be bug-free.

What with the outer world being heated yesterday well into the 80s and only slightly chilling overnight, early this morning I had myself a mighty fine time getting much needed hydrotherapy in the no longer too cool pool, without needing to resort to the hot tub for shiver prevention.

I had my windows open this morning. This afternoon the outer world is again being heated into the 80s. I am resisting resorting to turning on the air-conditioning. I suspect my resistance may not last long...