Today It Was Not Too HOT To Have Myself A Fine Mountain Biking Time In Gateway Park With A Giant Turtle

With the temperature predicted to hit a high of 105 with possibly a record breaking high of one degree more and with the humidity causing the air to feel 5 degrees HOTTER, I thought going on a bike ride sounded like a good idea.

Over an hour in the pool, starting at the crack of dawn, really does not give as good an endorphin boost as one might hope it would.

Even though the outer world is a little HOT, the Gateway Park mountain bike trails are mostly under the cover of big shading trees, thus making for a not too HOT time.

Til one stops to get oneself some hydration.

The last time I pedaled the Gateway Park mountain bike trails I noticed that at a point where the trail sign pointed right, bike tire tracks continued left.

And so today I ignored the sign pointing right and went left to discover new trail has been punched through the underbrush to get around an area of trail which had been damaged by the flooding remnants of Hurricane Hermine, rendering what remained of the old trail to be a bit treacherous, with not enough treachery to make hiking the damaged trail dangerous, but with enough treachery to render biking it an invite to take a flying leap off the side of a cliff  into a green river.

In the picture above those are my handlebars looking at the damaged trail which runs along side the top of a cliff with the Trinity River flowing slowly below. The new bypass trail is to the right of my handlebars.

Looking over the edge of the cliff I saw a HUGE turtle floating on the surface, with its head stuck out of the water. I was able to make one snap of the camera before the turtle dived.

Speaking of critters floating in the Trinity River,  I believe tomorrow, Thursday, August 8, marks the end of this year's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Music Extravaganzas.

The extremely HOT temperature and the extremely inviting crystal clear water of the Trinity River should make for a possibly record breaking crowd tomorrow, floating around a non-existent island, listening to music emanating from a non-existent pavilion.

With beer.

Late In The Afternoon View In Texas From My Patio Thinking About My New Nephew JD & Old Nephew Joey

Of late I take a picture in the morning of the view from my patio or bedroom window and then blog about the view from my patio or bedroom window. This serves to wake up my dormant brain cells.

But, this morning I decided to opt for doing something wildly different and not blog about the morning view from my patio or bedroom window.

Instead, you are looking at the late afternoon, as in about a quarter before 5 view from my patio. I had to shield my camera from a few incoming wet droplets, but other than that, it is fairly nice out there.

I rather enjoyed my morning swim, this morning. I aborted the morning swim yesterday due to torrential rains making the trek to the pool too treacherous.

This morning I flipped open my phone to see that nephew Joey had called last night. I called Joey back, but on the first try I hit "Joely" rather than "Joey". Then I was unsure if it was "Joey" or "Joely" whose call I had missed. It was Joey. But I got Joey's voice mail. I'm guessing Joey was calling to see if I survived Hurricane Hermine and her tornadoes and floods.

If I talk to Joey I must remember to tell him he has a new cousin. And I have a new nephew. Today Jay David Jones officially became a member of the Jones clan. Jay David will be called JD, I am sure. There is no notoriety attached to being called JD up in Washington, unlike these parts of Texas I am currently settled in.

Hurricane Hermine's Remnants Continue To Drop Rain, Now With Possible Tornado Action

A few minutes ago Hurricane Hermine dropped another downpour. I tried to step out on my patio to take a picture, but an umbrella was needed, so I got my handy dandy Popabrella device.

It's been a few years since I made the Popabrella website. The Popabrella people should have been in Seattle over Labor Day Weekend, at Bumbershoot. They'd likely sell a lot of Popabrellas at Bumbershoot.

As you can see via my Popabrella enabled picture, it is being quite stormy.

This stormy stuff may get worse. While the most recent downpour was pouring down at its hardest WeatherBug started chirping with a Weather Alert. The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch until 8pm this evening.

Hermine has brought no Thunderstorm with it, so far. In previous Tornado Alert times in Texas it seems as if lightning is usually involved. And a lot of wind. It has not been at all windy today.

Was Hermine a boy or a girl hurricane? I'd not heard the name Hermine before.

Looking At Hurricane Hermine Hanging Over Fort Worth & Thinking About Braunschweiger

In the picture I am on top of Mount Tandy, in the Tandy Hills Natural Area, looking west at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, with remnants of Hurricane Hermine hanging overhead.

I was on my way to Oakland Lake Park to dodge drops of rain while I walked around Fosdic Lake, when the view of the sky over downtown Fort Worth, as I drove west on I-30, made me think a detour to the top of Mount Tandy might make for an interesting photo.

I got a bit wet getting to a good photo spot. There are these tall weeds, many of them over 6 feet tall, currently sprouted in various locations on the Tandy Hills. These particular weeds are skinny with branches sticking out from the main stem. Due to being tall and skinny, like me, these weeds get whipped easily by the wind. Today, making my way past the tall, skinny weeds, the weeds got me all wet.

I dried out during my walk around Oakland Lake Park. More about that later. Not the drying out part, the Oakland Lake Park part of that sentence is what there will be more about later.

After I walked around Fosdic Lake I went to Town Talk. I got a great big round thing called Braunschweiger, among other stuff. I don't know what Braunschweiger is, for sure, other than being some sort of German meat product.

The rain I mentioned earlier today, courtesy of Hurricane Hermine, went into downpour mode when I was in the pool. Swimming in a downpour is not as much fun as you might think it would be. I usually do not get wet above the neck when I go swimming. This morning I was totally wet above the neck and none of it was water from the pool.

Well, it is time for lunch. I think I'll try and figure out what one does with Braunschweiger.

Incoming Hurricane Hermine Brings Rain While Fried Frito Pie Wins Big Tex Choice Award As Best Taste At The State Fair of Texas

I stepped outside to take a picture on this, the first Tuesday of September, and was surprised to find myself being hit by falling blobs of water.

Hurricane Hermine crossed into Texas yesterday. We are under a Flash Flood Alert through Thursday due to the expected big dose of rain from Hermine. But, I did not expect it to arrive already.

Maybe this morning's drops are not courtesy of Hermine, but a Hermine pre-cursor.

Meanwhile, over in Dallas, at the State Fair of Texas Fair Park Fairgrounds the Big Tex Choice Award winners were announced yesterday.

Texas Fried Frito Pie won the coveted top award of Best Taste. While Fried Beer was picked as Most Creative.