Today Finding Some Possible Interlochen Indian Ghosts Protesting Columbus Day

After extensive tutoring by renowned selfie photo taker, Elsie Hotpepper, my selfie photo taking has not improved one iota.

My photographer skills also continue to be severely limited.

In this photo, in addition to doing the requisite selfie thing, I was trying to show the long expanse of a narrow greenway which one accesses from near the formerly blue Village Creek Blue Bayou, or from the east, via a dam crossing from Arlington's Interlochen neighborhood.

This morning I woke up feeling real good, for no apparent reason, soon found myself having a mighty fine swim in the increasingly cool pool. Then a few hours later, again for no apparent reason, I developed a rare mild headache.

I figured the rare mild headache would be helped by a not so rare Sunday walk with the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's resident Indian Ghosts.

A few days ago I  found the Indian Ghosts to be in a cranky mood due to tomorrow's most nefarious American holiday.

Columbus Day.

The day we celebrate a murderous genocide purveying, rape condoning, racist, property thieving European who stumbled on some Caribbean islands while looking for India. Hence America's native population being known as Indians.

If I were President, and if it were within my Executive Order powers, I would issue an Executive Order ending Columbus Day, replacing that disgraceful holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day, or Native American Day or some other such thing.

Anyway, today whilst walking along Village Creek I did not sense the usual presence of the Indian Ghosts.

However, when I left the Village Creek Natural Historical  Area, to briefly cross into the Interlochen neighborhood, from whence I quickly re-enter the Natural Historical Area, I saw what may have been some sort of Indian Ghosts Columbus Day Protest around a big tree.

Spooky, don't you think?

Currently the temperature is only 7 degrees shy of 100. When I walked with the Indian Ghosts the temperature was a relatively chilly 80, and windy. We are not yet quite at that needing to wear sweatpants time of the year, but close. I think we are past the needing to be shirtless to survive the heat part of the year.

Soon I will be searching to find where I put my long underwear.

On Facebook this morning I read an incoming COLD warning from esteemed North Texas weatherman, John Basham, that COLD is on the way in a week or so. Seems like just yesterday me and my vehicle slid sideways down the hill to the entry to my abode zone. I believe that was in early March. Or late February.

Please spare us Ice Storms this winter. I am not in the mood for such things....

Jogging With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts

Pre ALDI today I went jogging in Arlington at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, that being an area known for being haunted by the Ghosts of Indians who were massacred at this location by eminent domain abusing invaders who eventually called themselves Texans.

I did not feel a strong Indian Ghost presence today.

I stopped at the Village Creek giant mirror, installed by the Arlington park people to serve as a selfie photo enabler.

Maybe the giant mirror has other purposes as well, like letting someone see what is on the other side of a blind corner.

So, I took a picture. When I transferred the picture from my phone to my computer I saw something hovering near me that I did not see in person. That being a ghostly looking apparition clinging to my left arm. I cropped the picture and doubled  its size to get a better look.

Seems like just a couple days ago I took a picture of the giant mirror with a ghostly presence hovering above me. I think the Indian Ghosts know I am a friendly sympathizer and thus are getting closer to me.

Well, enough of that nonsense. The lunch bell just chimed. Sour cream chicken enchiladas, among some other good Tex-Mex stuff.

A Long Hot Walk With Arlington's Indian Ghosts While Strangling My Handlebars

Why am I gripping the throat of my handlebars you are sitting there wondering?

Well.

Around noon I headed to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural  Historical Area for my regularly scheduled Monday bike ride with the Indian Ghosts.

All was going well as I rolled merrily along.

And then as I was almost at my turn around point, that being the furthest from the motorized vehicle which brought me and my bike to Arlington, as I braked slightly going down the dip that goes under the Green Oaks Boulevard bridge over Village Creek, I knew I was in bike  malfunction mode.

I came to a stop, got off the bike, poked the front tire, no problem, poked the rear tire, big problem.

Flat tire in the making.

So, I began the long walk back to air-conditioned comfort. An almost three mile walk, with about half out in the open, with no shade.

I don't know how many gallons of water I leaked as I walked along, but I was dripping profusely. The bike's water bottle holds 30 ounces, I think. The backup bottle back in my vehicle holds 40 ounces. All gone by the time I got back to a tap water source of hydrating.

I have not yet done a forensic exam on the failed bike tire to determine the cause. I'll likely put that off til tomorrow.

It has been a long time since I had to walk an injured bike a long distance. If I remember correctly the previous incident occurred way back in 2005 or 6. I was at the 6 mile mark on the River Legacy Park paved trail, which put me about 4 miles from the nearest road. It  was extremely HOT. I did not have much water. I called for help, which had a rescue team rescuing me at where the trail intersects Collins Street.

Today I did not feel like calling for help. First off because three miles isn't all that far, even when pushing a broken bike.  And second off, I would have had trouble directing any of the directionally challenged people whom I might call to drive to Interlochen to find me on the Bob Findlay Linear Park trail.

Maybe I need to consider finding a new source of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. Returning to roller blading perhaps?

Mary Kelleher Begs For Manila Help While I Bike With Indian Ghosts

I was worried sick when I left my abode today around noon to drive to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to take my handlebars on a ride with the Indian Ghosts.

Moments before exiting my abode I got an urgent email from Mary Kelleher....

Hello,
I really hope you get this fast. i came down here to Manila Philippines, Unfortunately i was robbed at the park of the hotel where i stayed but luckily for me, i still have my life and passport safe. All cash, credit card, cellphone was stolen off me. I've been to the embassy and the police here but they're not helping issues at all. My return flight leaves in less than few hours from now, But am having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager insist i must settle the bills before i leave. I need your help with some money, I will refund the money back to you as soon as I get back home.

Thanks.
Mary Kelleher

I had no clue how to help. I could not turn to Elsie Hotpepper for advice because the Hotpepper is no longer in Texas. Why is Mary in Manila? A water board junket with J.D. Granger checking out how the Philippines rocks its rivers? I suspect not.

Anyway, with the plight of Mary Kelleher weighing heavy on my mind I got to my bike riding destination. Soon upon rolling my wheels I came upon the ROAD WORK AHEAD sign you see above. Road work? What road? It's a paved trail, not a road.

Eventually I came upon a crew using a piece of machinery to wreak havoc with the underbrush that lines both sides of the paved trail, which made for a lush jungle-like effect when green returns in the spring. Soon after passing the brush getting bashed I came upon what you see below, that being what the paved trail now looks like with its brush removed.

I wonder what the reason is for this severe pruning? The Indian Ghosts are not happy about it.

It's been hours now since I learned Mary Kelleher is stuck half way around the world. I've heard no further word about her horrific plight.

I am having myself a backlog of blogging fodder. Two of which come from Spencer Jack and his dad. Multiple photos of the current state of the former Skagit River. Along with some good McDonald's fodder.

I have grown tired of day after day over 100. September will be here soon. By the end of September the pool starts getting a bit cool. Time flies fast. The end of September will quickly arrive. Followed soon thereafter by the dreaded holiday season.

And Ice Storms....

Biking With Flood Soaked Village Creek Indian Ghosts & Armadillo Roadkill

Today, for the first time since the Great Texas Flood, Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area's Indian Ghosts were available for visiting.

The flood appeared to have swept Village Creek free of its usual collection of litter.

The two photos you see here were not taken in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area. These two photo were taken on the Bob Findlay Linear Park trail that one comes to when one exits the Historical Area and enters the Interlochen neighborhood.

The Indian Ghosts also haunt the Bob Findlay Linear Park, what with it being the location of one of the more notorious battles to which the Village Creek Indians were subjected, that being the battle which turned either Tarrant or Denton into a ghost. I can never remember which one, or what rank they held, captain, general, corporal or what.

As you can see above, on the Bob Findlay Linear Park trail there are mirrors installed so as to facilitate the easy taking of what are known as "selfies".

Is that not one bright blue sky? Only 11 days until the arrival of Summer.

There was a lot of lawn mowing and weed whacking going on in the Village Creek zone today. I was not liking all the grass dust blowing in the wind causing a couple allergic sneezes.

I could tell by the mud line that Village Creek flooded possibly higher than I'd seen it flood before.

At one point I was rolling along at high speed to find myself doing some brake slamming due to the trail being blocked by what you see above.

Was this a flood damage repair project? I could not tell. The men repairing the damage and I did not speak a language we both understood. I asked a pair of fellow bikers, who were also stopped by the obstruction, if this was flood damage related. They said they wondered the same thing.

It was fairly easy to get around the blocked area and continue on.

I saw my first armadillo roadkill of the year today. Where have all the armadillos gone? Today's roadkill armadillo was the first armadillo I have seen in a long time.

The Dog Days Of August Rolling With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts Wondering About Spencer Jack Going To Prison

These HOT final days of August have me looking forward to the fall following these dogs days.

Why is the latter part of August referred to as the Dog Days of August it just occurred to me to wonder?

Is this a Native American saying?

Speaking of Indians.

What with the heat and the humidity and what with needing to go to Walmart and ALDI I opted out of doing anything too strenuous during my regularly scheduled daily bout of endorphin inducing aerobic activity and instead had myself a leisurely roll through the shaded Village Creek Natural Historical Area, prior to ALDI and Walmart.

Eventually I left the shaded Historical Area and the Indian Ghosts and pedaled the less shady Bob Findlay Linear Park trail to the location you see in the picture, near a monument memorializing the murders, I mean, incident,  known as the Battle of Village Creek, a battle where a lot of the residents of Village Creek, natives, were killed.

Changing the subject from Indian Ghosts to prisons. I just got the oddest blog comment from someone calling himself Anonymous about sending me photos of my favorite nephew and great nephew and Lombard Street in San Francisco. But this sending of photos must be postponed til after Tuesday, because on that day my favorite nephew and great nephew are scheduled to appear in prison.

I have no idea what this means. What in the world did Spencer Jack do at his young age that has him going to prison?

Below is the comment to which I refer....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmare...":

Weird dream. Perhaps a 'great' and favorite nephew may send you a photo of their Lombard Street experience in a couple days. However both are scheduled appear in prison on Tuesday. 

As I attempt to decipher the above riddle I am wondering if it means that Spencer Jack and his dad are currently in San Francisco, and that tomorrow they are scheduled to tour Alcatraz? I suspect all will become clear eventually.....

An Unexpected Flat Had Me Ghost Walking With Litter Before Getting My Mysterious Reward

On the left you are looking at the latest litter log jam on Arlington's Village Creek, at the southern dam bridge crossing in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I knew there had been flash flood warnings a couple days ago. But at my location in the Dallas suburb of Fort Worth I did not see rain fall in amounts copious enough to flash flood.

I am always impressed that a fresh flash flood is able to find a fresh supply of wood and litter in the short distance between Lake Arlington and the litter log jam.

I had intended to roll my wheels today at River Legacy Park. But that plan went all asunder on me. Early this morning, after my regularly scheduled swim, I fixed my bike's flat rear tire. After fixing the flat I re-inserted the bike into the motorized transport device I use to haul the bike to its various rolling locations.

A few hours later I exited my abode to head to the aforementioned motorized transport device where I discovered the rear tire had gone flat again. Apparently I had not located all the punctures.

So, I aborted the wheel rolling plan and instead had myself a mighty fine time walking with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts, after which I headed to Walmart to use up an AT&T Reward Card that AT&T inexplicably mailed me.

Reward for what? I have no idea.

In Arlington On A Village Creek Bike Ride With An Indian Ghost Sighting On The Last Sunday Of July

Yesterday a benefactor benefacted me with a new Sony camcorder camera.

I find the older I get the more averse I am to learning something new, or figuring out something new.

This new camera apparently does all sorts of cool things, like it takes 3D photos. However, apparently one needs something called a 3D TV to view the 3D photos. I don't have a 3D TV. I don't think I want a 3D TV, even if a benefactor benefacted me a 3D TV.

This new camera shoots HD video and has a windscreen setting, unlike my Canon camera which I've been using to make videos of late and which can get annoyingly noisy with the wind.

Today I took  the new camera to Arlington, to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to check in on the Indian Ghosts. That and Sunday is a fun day to go to this location. Usually it is quite busy. However, I'm thinking today's almost empty parking lot indicated a lot of people do not like communing with nature and Indian Ghosts when the temperature gets into the 100 degree zone.

A couple days ago the Queen of Assumption, Miss Julie, asked me how it was I communicated with the Indian Ghosts. Did I see them? Talk to them? Listen to them? I told the Q of A to watch video of my most recent Indian Ghost visit and she would hear them sounding a lot like the aforementioned wind.

Today I used the new camera to take a picture of the Village Creek Green Bayou. Currently, more accurately, the Village Creek Green & Brown Bayou. When I got the photos off the new camera I soon saw it had even cooler capabilities than I thought possible.

Though my eye did not see it, the new camera was able to capture a Village Creek Indian Ghost hovering over the formerly Blue Bayou.

Spooky.....

Rolling Along Arlington's Village Creek With Indian Ghosts Picking Up Litter & Copperheads While Overlooking The Green Bayou

With today being Saturday, weather permitting, usually I end up at Town Talk after hiking up and down some Tandy Hills or rolling my wheels in Gateway Park.

Well, yesterday I Tandy Hill hiked and the day before I rolled in Gateway Park.

Today I opened my food cooling device to see I needed some vittles that I usually acquire at ALDI.

So, I decided to go biking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Above that would be my bike's handlebars next to a picnic table over looking the Village Creek Green Bayou Overlook.

Below you can walk with me to the Green Bayou Overlook via video.

Today's bike ride began with a little drama. As a young lady rolled towards me I could see she was a bit agitated. She stopped me due to thinking she needed to warn me that a large copperhead snake was slithering on the trail a short distance ahead of me.

I thanked her for the warning, then continued with my rolling. I saw no snake.

Earlier in the month I had a snake encounter on the middle of the Village Creek dam bridge.

Today on the dam bridge a man and woman were using a long pole with a gripper on its end to grip some of the litter that has piled up behind the dam bridge. I'd  never seen that happen before. The pair had filled a pair of large garbage bags with litter.

Since I have been in Texas I have rarely seen anyone but myself pick up litter. And today it happened twice.

As I exited the Albertsons parking lot to turn on to Boca Raton Boulevard I saw a woman picking up some of that litter I mentioned a couple days ago that was littering the route I walk to Albertsons. The woman seemed to be selective about the litter she was selecting, as in it seemed from what I saw that it was cans and bottles which were being selected.

In the below video, in addition to my James Earl Jones-like narration, you can hear cicadas make their jungle drum noise. Is there anyone who does not like the singing cicadas?

Seeing Indian Ghosts In Arlington At The Village Creek Spirit Lodge

The Spirit Lodge in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area was looking a bit spooky today.

Usually when I walk in the Village Creek zone I don't actually see any Indian Ghosts, I just feel their presence.

But, if those are not Indian Ghosts hovering over the Spirit Lodge, what is it? A big mass of spider webs?

Currently I am at the point in Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee that tells the tale of the bad deeds done to the Ponca tribe by a very confused U.S. government, way back in the 1870s.

It is really hard in 2014 to imagine that at some point in time, long ago, our U.S. government made confused foreign policy mistakes that caused far more harm than good.

If you don't know about the dastardly betrayal that the Ponca suffered at the hands of the confused Americans, Wikipedia does a good job covering the Ponca history.

After paying my respects to the Village Creek Spirit Lodge I continued on my walk.

Eventually I came to the Village Creek crossing. There I saw a large group of guys appearing to be intently interested in something. When I got close enough to inquire I learned it was what they thought was a water moccasin which had caught their attention.

I did not see the snake. It had slithered under rock cover.

I did not ask the snake hunters if they'd seen the Indian Ghosts at the Village Creek Spirit Lodge.....

Dodging Lightning Bolts With Arlington's Village Creek Muumuu Lady & Indian Ghosts

Today I managed to get in a visit with Arlington's Indian Ghosts between raindrops and thunderbolts.

A surprising number of people were braving the elements today at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, including an Arlington animal control person releasing a herd of captured possums.

I was sitting at a picnic table enjoying the weather ambiance, text messaging my sister, when the Muumuu Lady came in to view.

I picked up my camera and zoomed in for the picture taking attempt you see above.

The Muumuu Lady walks with a unique gait, with her hands held out in front of her. The Muumuu Lady is very friendly. We exchanged pleasantries when our paths crossed later on today's walk with the Indian Ghosts.

The Muumuu Lady is a very spiritual person, but I have never asked her if she ever talks to the Village Creek Indian Ghosts.

After I was done communing with nature I made a quick stop at ALDI because I desperately needed to replenish my coffee supply.

So far I have experienced no extreme storming, but I keep hearing thunder rumbling in the distance, with occasional wind bouts with rain dropping.

I suspect that before this stormy Texas day is over I will have experienced some EXTREME weather. Today just has that sort of feel to it.

Walking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Through A Flurry Of Snow & Snake Concerns

June Snow in Arlington

I don't know how the Legion of Climate Change Deniers could possibly explain the dusting of snow which dusted the trail today in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

A dusting of snow when the temperature is nearing the 90 degree zone? If that is not serious Climate Change, I don't know what is.

Walking with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts seems to be an activity growing in popularity, no matter time of the day or day of the week, you find a lot of people on a natural historical quest in this area.

Today when a pair of young ladies saw me and my snake whacking stick they asked if I'd seen any snakes. I indicated I had not on this particular day. I asked if they'd seen any. They had. What they thought to be a corn snake. I asked if they'd like my bamboo snake whacking stick,  for security. They indicated that that  would make them feel more secure. And so I armed them.

I think the open carry law in Arlington applies to snake whacking sticks. I hope I've not been a scofflaw, illegally arming young ladies with a snake whacking stick.

It has been years since I've seen a snake near Village Creek of the venomous Copperhead sort. I used to see big snakes at this location frequently, including big snake conventions in the Village Creek Blue Bayou.

I recollect, years ago, biking on to the old wooden, long gone, Blue Bayou Overlook, seeing two guys intensely looking at something. I asked what had their attention so intensely. They pointed to a big group of water snakes which they thought to be water moccasins.

Where have all the Village Creek snakes gone, I can not help but wonder? Another climate change casualty?

An Old Man On A Motorbike Riding With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts & Their Paintbrush

I am almost 100% certain that is a field of what are known as Indian Paintbrush wildflowers you are looking at here.

It is appropriate that a wildflower named Indian Paintbrush would dominate the landscape at this location, since they are doing their blooming in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area, where Indian Ghosts haunt due to what historically took place in this particular Historical Area.

I did not drive to Arlington thinking I was going to be able to do some Ghost walking. I figured Village Creek went into flash flood mode from yesterday's deluge, resulting in the closing of the Natural Historical Area.

Instead of flash flooding, Village Creek did not even rise high enough to flow over the dam bridge which impedes its flow.

I was in the Village Creek zone due to needing to go to ALDI to stock up on supplies. ALDI is in Fort Worth, a short distance from Village Creek, in Arlington.

The oddest thing that happened today, whilst  I was doing my nature communing, was in the distance I heard a motorized thump thump, that was not a natural sound of the sort I am used to hearing at this location.

Soon a motorbike came into view in the distance. Even from a distance I was fairly certain it was not a motorcycle cop. With motorized vehicles of any sort banned from rolling on these paved trails I wondered what sort of notorious scofflaw I was facing.

By the time the motorbike was about 100 feet distant, putting along slower  than I pedal my bike, I could  see it was an old man being a Hell's Angel. By the time we met on the trail  I could tell this was a really old man. We did a mutual howdy upon meeting. He had a very happy smile on his face.

I thought to myself, if I ever get to be a really old man I am going to have myself a mighty fine time doing fun scofflaw stuff....

Walking With The Indian Ghosts & Mumu Lady Who Haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area

After a weekend of high speed hill hiking and high speed bike riding I was looking for some outdoor activity of a more sedate nature for my daily commune with nature on this First Monday of May.

So, a bit before noon I aimed my mechanized transport device east, towards Arlington, to walk with the Indian Ghosts and Mumu Lady who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Earlier today, as in very early, soon after the sun did its daily rise, I had a mighty fine swim in a still refreshingly cool pool.

When I woke up my phone this morning I saw that my mom and dad had text messaged me last night and had also left a voice mail. The text message said something like "we can't reach your phone from our home phone." The voice mail said something like "we tried to call but we got a wrong number."

This was very perplexing to me. Who did mom and dad think they were leaving the text message and voice mail with, if not me? Why did they think they were not reaching my phone? So, I called mom and dad back prior to leaving for my Indian Ghost date. After talking to my mom for about a half an hour I still have no idea why they were thinking they were reaching a wrong number.

Now, regarding the Mumu Lady.

I have mentioned this lady previously. She has a bad habit of stopping strangers on their nature walk and asking if she can give the strangers her testimony.

I was on the Blue Bayou side of Village Creek, taking the picture you see at the top of a blue bird in the Blue Bayou, when I looked back to the other side of the creek to see the Mumu Lady praying with a couple of young adults and their cute white fluffy dog who I had howdied early as we met in passing on the Village Creek dam/bridge.

The Mumu Lady's proselytizing went on for a long time. I was quite a distance away when I took the picture of the zoomed view above. The preaching continued as I crossed the bridge. I took a shortcut that detoured around the religious service, lest I get drawn in.

In case you are wondering what the orange cone is for, well there were several of them, basically blocking the route that leads to the dam/bridge. I could tell some heavy equipment had been in operation, clearing out much of the litter jam that had been impeding the flow of Village Creek for weeks. Tracks in the grass field to the south  indicated to me the heavy equipment exited that way, forgetting to take their orange cones with them.

I know the Mumu Lady means well, but still.....

At Arlington's Village Creek Meeting My TRWD Litter Quota Worrying About Equal Rights For Unborn Women While Eating Turtles

If you're like me and are among the thousands who have signed up to be part of the Tarrant Regional Water District's brilliant plan to eliminate litter from Fort Worth and surrounding areas by picking up 10 pieces of litter every Tuesday, yet have been having trouble filling your litter quote, I may be of some help.

Go to Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area to pay your respects to the Indian ghosts who haunt that location, then continue on til you reach the south Village Creek dam/bridge where you will find a litter jam piled up behind the dam/bridge.

This particular litter jam  is refreshed every time rain falls in copious amounts. So far the TRWD's brilliant anti-litter plan has not seemed to have made much of a dent in the Village Creek Litter Jam.

In non-litter related Village Creek conundrums, today I was a bit perplexed by the bumper sticker you see stuck to the bumper of the car below, parked across from me in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot.

"EQUAL RIGHTS FOR UNBORN WOMEN"? And is that license plate meant to be saying "Fakely"?

Continuing on after being perplexed by a bumper sticker, before being perplexed by the above litter jam, I visited the Village Creek turtles who were not being skittish or perplexing today.

A couple days ago I was channel chasing and came upon one of those ubiquitous outdoor survival shows right when the survivalists were preparing a turtle for roasting. I don't think I could eat a turtle.

I did not think I could eat frog legs either, til I was the Rio buffet in Las Vegas. I had part of one....

Walking On My Wounded Knee With Arlington's Village Creek Indian Ghosts The Day Before Easter

If looking at the picture on the left you guessed you were looking at two kids playing on the snake infested log/litter jam on the down creek side of one of the Village Creek dam bridge crossings in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area, you would be guessing correctly.

My right knee is still in recovery mode, slowly hurting less after taking a strong hit in a middle of the night battle with my bedroom's wall.

And so, with knee pain remaining intermittent, I opted to take a sedate stroll with the Indian ghosts today.

I do not recollect seeing so many people out and about in the Village Creek zone, previously, as what I saw today.

Bikers, walkers, picnickers, butterfly hunters, lots of dogs, adult tricycles, wildflower photographers, fishermen and women.

Plus one sad scene of a young girl rolling on wheels which belonged in a roller rink, as in, not outdoor friendly inline roller blades, but instead those indoor type skates with four wheels on each skate, arranged like wheels on a car. The young girl was not having an easy time of it, trying to roll those wheels on a paved trail.

Spring has now sprung enough that walking through the Village Creek Natural Area is back seeming like walking through a jungle. Or what I imagine a jungle walk to look like, since I have never actually walked in a jungle, that I know of.  Do rainforests count as a jungle? I've walked in many a rainforest.

I walked to the Blue Bayou Overlook. Then when I was done looking over the Blue Bayou I walked back from whence I came (from whence I came? I'm not sure that makes sense, but it sounds right to me) and saw the scene you see below.

A small family appearing to be stranded on an island in Village Creek. I hope they make it off the island before the next flash flood arrives.

Soon after I left that small family stranded on a Village Creek island I was passed by what you see below.

An adult tricycle. The tricycle you see here was the last in a group of three. It takes me a moment or two to get my camera turned on.

I pedaled a recumbent tricycle once, years ago, back in August of 2001, at Ocean Shores in my old home state of Washington. The Ocean Shores version was more of a mountain bike trike, designed to pedal on the beach.

I have absolutely nothing planned for Easter besides the usual possible sunrise service. I don't think that has actually happened since some point in time in the last century when I agreed to go to an Easter sunrise service with my mom  and dad, at Roozengaarde, that being Tulip Central in the Skagit Flats. I do not remember much about this occasion except for it being cold. And maybe going to the Farmhouse Inn for breakfast afterwards.

Tomorrow morning I am planning on making whole wheat crepes and scrambled eggs with ham, but I'm not sure that counts as an Easter thing, even though eggs are involved....

I Am Almost 80% Certain Today I Found A Texas Bluebonnet In Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area

A week or so ago I was on the Tandy Hills and took a picture of what I thought to be the State Wildflower of Texas, that being the ubiquitous Bluebonnet.

I put the picture of what I thought to be a Bluebonnet on this very same blog you are reading right now, which then had someone called Anonymous commenting something along the line of "You clueless, ignorant Yankee, have you not spent enough springs in Texas now to be able to know a Bluebonnet when you see it?"

This comment totally destroyed my limited confidence in my wildflower identifying ability.

Today, en route to getting coffee and other stuff at ALDI, I had a quick visit with the Indian ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area. There I saw a patch of what I think may be authentic Bluebonnets.

That is that about which I speak, above.

To my uncultured eyes the above wildflower looks pretty much like the one I saw a week or so ago on the Tandy Hills. I may have made the same mistake, again, and the above is not a Bluebonnet, but is the same wildflower I saw on the Tandy Hills.

I really think it would be helpful if the Texas wildflowers came with labels....

Walking With My Little Sister & The Indian Ghosts & Turtles Who Haunt Arlington's Village Creek

Today my favorite little sister who lives most of the time in Arizona went walking with me and the Indian ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

As you can see today the usually skittish Village Creek turtles were enjoying sunning themselves on their favorite log.

I think the gusty wind made the turtles less skittish than they usually are. I know the gusty wind had that effect on me.

Whilst talking to my sister I learned I was erroneous regarding a photo Spencer Jack's dad, my favorite nephew, Jason, emailed me last week. Turns out one of the few things I was right about in describing the picture was correctly identifying the person wearing a white helmet with no discernible chin as being Spencer Jack's very special Aunt Clancy.

I thought Spencer Jack was standing by his Aunt Clancy taking a picture of whoever it was who was taking the photo which was sent me. That is the picture I am talking about below.

Turns out mostly everyone in the picture is looking at Spencer Jack taking the picture, with Spencer Jack not at the far end of the table, That is a big mirror at the end of the table, reflecting back Spencer Jack.

So, there you go, I'm glad I cleared that all up.

The biggest news I learned today whilst walking with my sister was that one of my favorite nephews may be getting married. I would need to go to that wedding, if invited. Hopefully Aunt Clancy won't make a spectacle of herself like she did at the last nephew wedding I  went to, that being Spencer Jack's dad's.....

A Wet Walk & Talk With Connie D & The Indian Ghosts In Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area

Water Roars Under the Village Creek Dam Bridge

One of the Connie D's went walking and talking with me and the Indian Ghosts today at Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

As you can see, by looking at the picture, the outer world is slightly stormy this first Thursday of June of 2013 at my location in North Texas.

A few drops of precipitation precipitated whilst we were doing our walking and talking.

After a half hour of slight drippage the drips went into downpour mode with a lot of precipitation precipitating.

This morning, shortly after the crack of dawn, I had myself a really fine time in the pool. At that point in time the air outdoors was being chilled to 67 degrees, well below the temperature to which I set my air-conditioner. With the air being so cold the pool water was significantly warmer, thus creating the illusion that it is a heated pool.

I got gas on my way to walk and talk with Connie D and the Indian Ghosts, so I called my mom, like I often do when I get gas. My mom was not available, at that point in time, so I left a message.

The maid is sounding the lunch gong, so I guess it is time to eat. I believe the menu today is BBQed pork with bean cheese whole wheat burritos and some sort of salad product.

Walking With The Indian Ghosts Across Flotsam Free Village Creek In Arlington

Yesterday I took a rare day off from getting any endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation, due to the outer world being too cool and too windy.

Today, by noon, the outer world was warmed into the relatively balmy mid 40s, with only a slight breeze blowing.

So, I drove to Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area to walk with the Indian Ghosts who have haunted this zone ever since their evictions and exterminations courtesy of incoming Texans.

The last time I was in the location of the above picture, machinery was removing the flotsam that was stuck up against the dam, stopping a massive litter pile up from making its way to its Trinity River destiny.

Today I was pleased to see the dam bridge is totally flotsam free, with the pile of litter merrily on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

Today I was freshly wondering where have all the Village Creek armadillos gone? Ever since I learned armadillos are also known as Hoover Hogs, and were an edible East Texas delicacy, I've not seen a single one of these possibly tasty morsels.

Speaking of lunch, the lunch bell just rang. Chicken with oven-fried (in olive oil) spud chunks and salad with yellow pepper. And lemonade. All natural and homemade with no high fructose corn syrup.