Remembering Jason & Joey At Lake Grapevine

That which you see above showed up in my Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, this morning.

I do not remember if this memory actually happened in April. But, I think the year was 2005.

FNJ1 and FNJ2, also known as Favorite Nephews Jason and Joey, had been on a cruise with their then girlfriends. I think, if I remember right, the cruise launched from Florida.

Jason and Joey's mom, my Favorite Ex-Sister-in-Law, Cindy, had told me the boys would be landing at DFW with a couple hour layover before continuing on the journey back to Washington.

Somehow the info was relayed to Jason and Joey that I would be at the airport if they wanted to exit the security zone to see me.

And so they did.

Soon after seeing them, Jason's then girlfriend showed me a ring on her finger. On the cruise Jason had made a marriage proposition. In April of 2006 I was in Washington for the wedding. Jason's future wife and mother of Spencer Jack's name is Jenny.

I forget Joey's girlfriend's name. I know it was not Monique, who became Joey's wife and mother of Hank Frank many years later.

Jason and Joey had not been to Texas previously. I coaxed the quartet to follow me to my vehicle, then I drove them out of the airport to Lake Grapevine, which is where the above photo was taken. I think I used a self timer to take the picture.

And then it was back to the airport, because Jason was getting a bit antsy about making sure they got back in time...

Google Remembers The Truth About Jesse James Fossil Rim Lake Grapevine With Mom & Dad At The Cotton Bowl

Today, December 7, a date which has lived in infamy ever since this date in 1941, the Google Memories for this day, which show up daily in my email, are things I mostly remember, which does not happen too often.

The top left is from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, located near Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley State Park. The drive through Fossil Rim is one of the funnest things I've done in Texas. The good folks at Fossil Rim liked the webpage I made about that visit, so they mailed me an annual pass and extra tickets, so as to take someone with me. 

I never got around to going back to Fossil Rim and using that annual pass.

Top right, that is mom and dad wearing the cowboy hats I gave them when they visited Texas in January of 2009. I don't know why Google would have this as a memory of today. Hard to believe it is 13 years since mom and dad had their last visit to Texas. Seems like it was yesterday. I was able to drive mom and dad all around the Texas State Fair fairgrounds, and up close to the Cotton Bowl, due to nothing much happening on the fairgrounds on a weekday in January.

Under mom and dad is another Fossil Rim Wildlife Center photo. I think this is the entry pavilion.

Bottom right is a gravestone alleging to be the burial location of Jesse James. If I remember right, I made a webpage of this and the claim that Jesse James is buried in a cemetery in Granbury, Texas.

Just checked, yes, I made a Jesse James webpage, titled The Truth about Jesse James. 

The lower left looks to be Lake Grapevine, a location I used to frequent frequently when I lived in the DFW zone. There are miles of fun mountain bike trails at Lake Grapevine.

Seems like I made a webpage about Lake Grapevine. Yup, and it is called Lake Grapevine.

Well, that is it for today's Google memories that I actually sort of remember...

Does Anyone Need Some Longhorn Bulls To Ramrod On The Chisholm Trail?

And now for something completely different.

I think I have likely mentioned a time or two over the years I have received dozens of email queries asking to buy my various rattlesnake products.

People, usually from Europe, often Germany and the UK, go to my Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup webpage and somehow that leads them to think I am a purveyor of rattlesnake products.

The following non-rattlesnake related email arrived from my Eyes on Texas website over the weekend....

Subject: Longhorn bulls for sale

I was told to contact Chisholm trail for purchasing longhorn bulls. If this is correct and u r interested, please call me @ 214-xxx-9477. I have a two year old, one nearly one yr, and a younger one to be weened soon. All registered with TLBAA.

Thanks, Barbara

I explained to Barbara that my only connection to longhorns is I have a webpage or two or three with longhorn related info. And that I also made a webpage of the long defunct Chisholm Trail Days event in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

I also made a webpage devoted solely to the Fort Worth Herd, complete with video, if I am remembering correctly. And, again if I am remembering correctly, Elsie Hotpepper shows up for a second or two in the Fort Worth Herd video. I may have made more than one video of the Fort Worth Herd. I am fairly certain the one with the Elsie Hotpepper appearance is the one that uses a repeating loop of the Lonesome Dove theme song.

I digress.

That longhorn photo you see above is the photo which turned me into a highly paid professional photographer. Backpacker magazine paid me a whopping $100 to use that photo, almost 14 years ago, way back in February of 2002.

I had webpaged photos of an encounter with a rogue longhorn herd on the mountain bike trail one rides at the west end of Lake Grapevine. Someone from Backpacker magazine saw my longhorn photos and then began grueling negotiations for the publishing rights to that one photo.

When Barbara asked me if I was interested in purchasing some longhorn bulls, I drew a blank regarding knowing anyone who might be interested in such a thing.

Well, about a minute ago I remembered Mary has a farm. With a lot of critters. Mary Kelleher, if you are reading this, are you interested in purchasing some longhorn breeding stock? If so, I can get you Barbara's phone number with the xxx replaced with the actual numbers.

Walking With My Sister & The Village Creek Natural Historical Area Indian Ghosts

Next Monday, September 2, is Labor Day.

There has been a Labor Day, or two, since I have been in Texas where I have had trouble finding myself an unoccupied picnic table on which I could barbecue my Labor Day barbecue.

The Labor  Days where I have had trouble finding a picnic table have been at various parks in the Lake Grapevine zone.

On Monday if I want to find myself a picnic table I now know of a place I can go to, close to my abode, with plenty of picnic tables, with very few people ever using them.

The plentiful picnic table place of which I speak is Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area. Those are a few of the Village Creek NHA picnic tables you see above. As you can see, big fire pits are included.

An additional attraction to a Village Creek Natural Historical Area Labor Day picnic is you get to share the space with the Indian ghosts who haunt this particular place.

My sister who spends most of her time in Arizona walked with me and the Indian ghosts today. We walked for about an hour. My sister gave me an update on my mom's post knee surgery status, among other things.

With one of those other things being my sister planting in my mind the idea of flying up to Washington in October to help with a complex babysitting project. I have multiple reasons why it might be a good idea to fly up to Washington.

It has been over 5 years since I have done so.

Most of the painful residue of that fateful month during the summer of 2008 has dissipated, or faded to irrelevance.

Changing the subject from painful residue to something else.

This morning I looked in my refrigerator to be reminded that on Saturday I got a 5 pound bag of broccoli crowns at Town Talk. So, this morning, with an almost fall chill in the air, I decided to make broccoli cheese soup.

We are currently scheduled to have several days in a row over 100, starting tomorrow, so hot soup seemed like a real good idea. That and barbecued chicken.

Time for lunch now....

No Fosdic Lake Fish Seem To Be Dying From Too Much Heat And Too Little Oxygen

I opted for walking around Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park in the late afternoon today, rather than hike the hills of Tandy, because I did not realize it was so windy or that the temperature, though HOT, was rendered pleasant by the wind.

The Fosdic Fosducks seemed to be enjoying the breeze and were in floating flotilla mode today, rather than hovering under shoreline shade.

The Fosdic Turtles also seemed to be enjoying being out on their logs. Of late I had been concerned as to where all the Fosdic turtles had gone. But today I saw at least a dozen.

What perplexed me today about Fosdic Lake was wondering why I saw no dead fish. No water is flowing into Fosdic Lake. The lake is evaporating. The lake's oxygen level must be plummeting.

Over 140,000 fish have died in Lake Grapevine. With the explanation for this being that that big lake's oxygen level it too low for fish to survive. And that this low oxygen level was caused by too much HEAT.

That same HEAT heats up Fosdic Lake and all the other lakes in the Prairies & Lakes Region of Texas.

So, why no dead Fosdic Fish?

It is very perplexing. Methinks there is something fishy about the Lake Grapevine dead fish. And the explanation as to what has caused their demise.

The First Day Of September With Fish Dying In Lake Grapevine While I Swim

The sun has now arrived to light up the place, but I was up well before that golden orb in the sky on this first day of September.

The outer world in my location is currently chilled to 83.2 degrees, heading to a high today of under 100 degrees, hopefully.

Regarding the heat wave, odd news in the past 24 hours regarding over 124,000 dead fish in Lake Grapevine.

The fish supposedly died due to the HEAT depleting the level of oxygen in the lake.

Which had me wondering what makes Lake Grapevine different than any of the other many lakes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? Why are there no reports of dead fish in Lake Joe Pool? Lake Arlington? Benbrook Lake? Lake Eagle Mountain? Lewisville Lake? Lake Worth?

Yesterday, when I was watching snakes and turtles in the shallow little pond in Veterans Park, I also watched a lot of little fish swimming around.

Are the fish dying in newly dangerous Lake Texoma, which has been closed to swimming due toxic algae by the Army Corps of Engineers?

Speaking of swimming, methinks I shall go take my first morning swim of September. I am hoping by the end of the month I will be typing it was only 48 degrees this morning and I am still swimming.

The Short Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Pondering The Rut He Is In

The sun directly overhead at noon made for a Short Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man, which I am stepping on in the picture.

Today I realized the extent of the rut in which I've fallen.

Ever since I discovered, about 4 years ago, the Tandy Hills trails, less than 4 miles from my abode, it became my default hiking location.

Even after the discovery of the Tandy Hills I used to go to locations like Rockledge Park in Grapevine to hike along Lake Grapevine. Or Bob Jones Park in Southlake. Or Cedar Hills State Park in south Dallas. Or Dinosaur Valley State Park down by Glen Rose.

Or even drive as far as Waco to hike or bike around Cameron Park. Or all the way down to Austin to head west to climb up Enchanted Rock.

But then going to other locations began to taper off. I did go to Bob Jones Park in Southlake on New Year's Day, or maybe it was the day before New Year's Day.

It is 25 miles from my current location to Cedar Hills State Park. 50 miles roundtrip. I don't remember at what point I decided it was ridiculous to drive 50 miles to go on a hike.

I can not remember the last time I went to Dinosaur Valley State Park. I think it was the time I remember getting gas in Glen Rose for $1.50 a gallon and calling my mom to tell her I got gas and how much it cost.

I don't know what I'm going to do to get out of this Tandy Hills rut. I really don't feel like burning 3 or 4 gallons of gas and an hour of time, driving just to go to Cedar Hills State Park just to hike their many miles of very nice trails.

Not when the Tandy Hills is pretty much in my backyard. Maybe I will take up bowling to get me out of my rut.

Pine Coning, Horse Riding, Mountain Biking & Hiking By Lake Grapevine From Bob Jones Park in Southlake

Above you are looking at a lone pine tree, loaded with big pine cones, sitting on a bluff above Lake Grapevine, in Southlake, with the tree shadowing Army Corps of Engineer's trails that you access from Bob Jones Park.

The Army Corps of Engineer's trails that you access from Bob Jones Park are the site of my second worst (and funnest) case of getting lost in Texas, with the best (and not fun) case of getting lost happening on Christmas day of 2002 at Dinosaur Valley State Park.

Yesterday it was in the 80s when I went hiking the Tandy Hills, thus requiring no additional warmth producing clothing beyond the minimum needed. Less than 24 hours later I needed two layers of long sleeved shirts, a windbreaker with a hoodie and a wool cap. And long pants.

Pine trees grow in Texas, naturally, mainly in the Piney Woods Region of East Texas. This solo pine tree seems a bit out of place, all alone with no relatives. I don't recollect ever seeing a pine tree so overloaded with pine cones.

If I had something along with me to carry them I would have picked some pine cones. They smell good. Sort of like getting the aromatic benefit of a Christmas tree without all those nasty needles drying out and falling to the floor.

Above you are looking at an inlet on the vast inland sea known as Lake Grapevine. I don't remember if I have been on these trails in winter before. I do remember I have never been on these trails when it is cold. My first experience on these trails occurred approximately a decade ago, in summer. It was a combo mountain bike/horse ride exploration.

I suppose you are thinking that is me, back in the saddle, using 4 horseshoed hooves to explore the Lake Grapevine trails.

You would be wrong.

The kid on the horse stopped to tell me of late he'd been seeing a lot of people on the trails. He wondered where I was from and how I knew about this place. This was an interesting question for him to ask, due to the fact that I'd come upon 4 separate groups of humans hiking today. And was wondering the same thing. I don't recollect ever seeing any humans, besides the ones I was with, in this location, previously.

Tomorrow is going to be cold, too. No pool for me. That is for sure.

A Saturday Hike On The Tandy Hills With Mike, Sara & Penny

That is Mike and Sara and their canine hiking companion, Penny, taking a break and having lunch on the Tandy Hills today.

Mike and Sara have lived in Dallas for 3 years. Before Dallas they lived in Eugene, Oregon, where they'd hiked a lot.

Mike and Sara were Googling for places to hike in Texas and somehow found this blog called Durango Texas, which led them to their first visit to the Tandy Hills.

I talked to Mike and Sara and Penny for awhile. Told them about other hiking places in the area.

I forgot to mention some good hiking locations, so I'll mention them now, in the oft chance Mike and Sara visit that Durango Texas Blog again.

Well, Lake Grapevine has some good trails. The trails from Rockledge Park are probably the best. You'll find the entry to Rockledge Park after you drive across Lake Grapevine Dam. Grapevine currently charges an entry fee to Rockledge Park, which I consider an outrage and an abomination.

There are several park areas around Lake Grapevine from which you can access the trails, like the Horseshoe Trails.

Across the Red River, in Oklahoma, there is Turner Falls Park, with hiking, caves and cliffs to climb.

About 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth you'll find Dinosaur Valley State Park. There are miles of good trails in this state park. Very hilly. And it is very easy to get lost. The trails are marked by color. Which does not help all that much with the getting lost problem.

There are a couple other good Fort Worth hiking locations. The Fort Worth Nature Preserve is one. It's got miles of trails, cliffs, prairie dogs, bayous and alligators. Trails that you can access from the Lake Worth overlook in Sansom Park are the steepest I have been on in Texas. Sansom Park is a maze of trails and it is possible to have fun getting lost.

I told Mike and Sara about the trails in Cedar Hills State Park. I neglected to mention how huge this park is. It is a several mile drive, once you enter the park, to get to the first hiking trailhead. At the end of the road you'll find the trailhead for some 13 miles of mountain bike trails, that you can also hike. I told Mike and Sara I've seldom seen a snake on the Tandy Hills. At Cedar Hills State Park I had my biggest rattlesnake encounter. As in, it was HUGE.

This makes twice this week I've run into humans on the Tandy Hills who had not been there before. The hills are coming alive with humans.

Cowboy Durango Riding His Horse In Texas

A few days ago the Queen of Wink asked if there were any pictures with both me and her new Facebook friend, Big Ed, in it. I couldn't think of any. If I'm doing something picture worthy with Big Ed, it is I taking a picture, so I'm not in it.

If Big Ed and I are doing something with a group of people, that is picture worthy and someone else takes a picture, I usually do not get a copy.

I do remember a picture that had me in it, with both the Goober Twins, Big Ed and his even bigger twin, Wally. It was in Death Valley. I had a flat tire. Much drama erupted as the spare was installed by the Goober Twins. At the height of that drama a picture was taken. I was laughing, while the Goober Twins were in full Goober mode.

At the Queen's bidding I found another picture. Big Ed and me being cowboys. I was a reluctant cowboy. I do not see the attraction in sitting on one of those hot beasts. I've had incidents. The one you see me sitting on, in the picture, tried to kill me a few months later on the 4th of July.

The picture was taken by Bob Jones Park on Lake Grapevine. I don't mean the picture was taken by someone named Bob Jones Park. Bob Jones is the name of the park adjacent to Army Corps of Engineers land, which has a lot of hiking and horse trails, which is where we were riding.

What I was actually doing on these trails was riding my mountain bike, not a horse. The picture taker talked me into getting off my bike and on to her dangerous horse so she could take a picture.

The horse's name was Caution. Well-named. I should have taken it as a warning and never gotten on that beast again.

Today's History Lessons In Grapevine Texas

I had to be in Grapevine today. Grapevine may be my favorite Texas town. I can't think of anything I don't like about Grapevine. It's got a great lake in Lake Grapevine. A huge attraction in Gaylord Texan. A huge mall in Grapevine Mills. A huge waterpark in Great Wolf Lodge. And a very well done downtown with an awful lot of historical markers.

There is extreme attention to detail paid in Grapevine. Much of it having to do with the grapevine theme. Even the public library, which is excellent, is grape themed in shades of purple.

I walked around the north end of downtown Grapevine this afternoon. I came upon a statue of Benjamin Richard Wall. That is he you see in the first picture. Born in 1876, lasting til 1955, Mr. Hall was mayor of Grapevine multiple times. He was an ardent do-gooder who greatly impressed his fellow Grapeviners with his do-goodiness. When the hurricane of 1900 struck Galveston, Mr. Wall hurried south to help.

That's another statue in Grapevine. A judge sitting on a bench in front of a bank. I don't know what his story is. But he looked very thoughtful.

That is the Grapevine Liberty Bell swinging in the HOT summer breeze. City Hall is on the other side of the street. I don't know what the statue represents on top of city hall.

Today I learned the Gaylord Texan Trolley trolls through downtown Grapevine, picking up tourists to take them to the giant Convention Center Resort on the lake to watch Friday night fireworks. Sounds fun. I want to do that.

Boycotting Grapevine In Texas Among Other Things

Since it is Saturday and those are wildflowers in the picture, my one longtime reader probably thinks I went hiking at the Tandy Hills Natural Area today. My one longtime reader would be wrong for once.

The wildflowers today were seen at Horseshoe Trails Park in Grapevine. My intention had been to go hiking at Rockledge Park to walk along the beach at Lake Grapevine and use my imagination to create the delusion that I was walking a saltwater beach. This is an easy delusion at Lake Grapevine. There are seagulls and clam shells.

But my Rockledge Park plan came to an abrupt halt soon after I crossed Lake Grapevine Dam and turned into Rockledge Park. The City of Grapevine is now charging an entry fee to this Army Corps of Engineers built park.

I had no cash. The Old Geezer money taker couldn't take a credit card. So, I U-Turned and got out of there, thinking, as I left, that I'm never going to come back and pay to go to that park. The entry fee was $5 per vehicle, $1 per person in the vehicle, $1 per bicycle. I assume that meant a person pedaling in on their bike and not an extra $1 charge per bike.

If I understand the entry fee correctly it would have cost $9 for me and my hikers to enter that park today. The pay station was really tacky. I should have thought to take a picture. Orange traffic cones led to a trailer-like structure, set on the ground, no wheels. An old guy and lady ran the toll booth. I don't know if they live in the trailer. There is not much tacky in the town of Grapevine, so this could easily be the tackiest thing in town.

A few years ago, the State of Washington started charging a fee for day use at the state's state parks. The public rebelled. The fees were removed. The principle is that parks like this are paid for by all the people, from money raised by taxes, in order to provide recreational opportunities to all the people, regardless of where they sit, income strata-wise.

I have been at Rockledge Park many a time and have seen many large family groups. It was easy to see that, for some of these people, paying 5 bucks to enter and another buck for each person, would be money they likely would not want to spend. So, Grapevine is locking such people out of the park. That is just wrong.

This is the same reason I found it so wrong and offensive when Fort Worth began charging an entry fee to the Fort Worth Nature Preserve.

Grapevine is one very well off town. Improvements have been made all over town, paid for by being flush with funds, due to there being things in town like Grapevine Mills, Gaylord Texan and Great Wolf Lodge. I've complained, before, that Fort Worth neglects things like landscaping the freeway exits to tourist attractions, like the Fort Worth Stockyards. Grapevine has the money to landscape pretty much everywhere. And put up special signage that matches the Grapevine theme.

Many a time, when I've gone to Rockledge Park, I've spent money in Grapevine. Either at a restaurant or at Grapevine Mills. I'm now going to boycott Grapevine and will not spend a penny there until Rockledge Park is back open to the public.

Leaving Rockledge Park I headed to another Grapevine park on Lake Grapevine, that being Horseshoe Trails Park. I've probably mountain biked the Horseshoe Trails more than any other Texas trail. But not so much in recent years, because I don't live close to it anymore.

I was fairly certain that the parking lot I use would not have a pay station. There are not enough cars to make that work. And there are way too many entries to the parks that Horseshoe Trails Park connects too. And I knew Grapevine was already charging a fee to use the boat launches.

I'd brought a swim suit with me. I'd intended to go swimming when I was done with the beach hike at Rockledge Park. I have swam there many times. But, swimming was not going to happen on this end of the lake, because this is the spot were I was attacked, while swimming, by a rabid attacking turtle, that I first thought was a snake, when its reptilian head popped up in front of me, causing me to find out I can swim really fast when fear motivates me.

A short time later I was at the same spot, telling a couple fishermen about the turtle attack and they told me they'd seen 2 water moccasins by the dock, that morning. And if that was not enough to keep me out of that water, a few days later I was talking to a pair of girls, sitting at the end of the dock, telling them about my near death experience with the turtle and they told me that, a few days prior, they and their boyfriends swam out to Water Moccasin Island and on the way back one of the boys stepped on a garfish, getting badly cut, requiring stitches.

I'd seen a garfish in Village Creek. Scary alligator eel looking things. I had no idea they were in Lake Grapevine. But I was more stuck on Water Moccasin Island. I asked why they called it that. They said everyone called it that because there are so many water moccasins out there. I asked why would you swim out there if you know there are water moccasins. They told me if you don't bother them they leave you alone. This seemed insane to me and I didn't say another word.

So, that's been my day today, so far, in Texas, started with an early morning swim, capped, so far, by yet one more thing I'm boycotting in Texas. I hope the boycott gets lifted by December, so I can go to the Christmas Party at Austin Ranch in Grapevine.

75 Degrees, Lake Grapevine, Sprouts, Spring Creek Barbeque & Cockroach Invasion

It is early and I've already been having me a day. I am on Day 5 of Detox. I am on Night 4 of no insomnia. I am on Day 199 of TPF (Toxic People Free).

All is good. Except for the new, unfortunate, COCKROACH invasion that happened last night about 7. I turned on the lights in the kitchen to see that a Cockroach D-Day had occurred. Fortunately for me, unlike the Germans, I was well-prepared for the invasion, having myself a full arsenal of counter-attack weapons.

The Cockroaches quickly retreated, suffering major casualties. A couple stragglers made it into my bedroom. And one into my bathtub. They were all quickly dispatched. This morning there were no new signs of Cockroach occupation. I have defensive measures in place, in the form of several Cockroach Hotels.

The Cockroaches may be re-grouping. So, I've gone on a counter-offensive, sort of a Bush-like pre-emptive strike, by spraying all possible hiding places. If my measures meet failure, the earliest I can call in a professional strike team is Monday.

In the meantime, today I am going up to Lake Grapevine to go hiking. The temps may near 80 today. I think I'll skip the weekly free sample lunch at Costco. But I will be doing the weekly stop at Sprouts Farmers Market. Tonight I get to go listen to speeches at Spring Creek Barbeque. That should be interesting, and likely Cockroach-free. I hope.

Rockledge, Lake Grapevine, Costco and a Camera

Well, I've had me a good day. It started off with French Toast topped with Lemon Curd and went uphill from there.

Oh, I forgot about my YouTube distress. I guess I blocked that out and went on to have that good day thing happen.

So, I went up to the Southlake Costco for the free sample lunch. It was being real good today due to all these vendors were pushing Super Bowl goodies. Everything from Meatballs to Chicken Wings to Fajitas to Hot Damn Tamales to a new Kirkland Signature brand energy drink that made me gag.

After Costco it was off to Lake Grapevine and Rockledge Park to do some hiking along the beach. There are a lot of big boulders which makes for good exercise. There were a lot of people there today, due to the warm temperatures. Lots of bikers, hikers, boaters and guys fishing.

I saw one disturbing scene of 3 grown men with a group of little boys. They were high up on the cliff. There used to be a fairly good trail along there, but the flood of a few years back did a lot of erosion damage. Now, it is just scary. I turned on my camcorder and aimed it at them, expecting one of the kids to fall.

To get around a washed out part, they had the kids sliding down a makeshift trail, one guy at the end of the slide and another down below, I assume to try and catch a kid if he fell too far.

I shouldn't be too judgemental, I guess. I was known to put my nephews in danger, a time or two, when they were little, but never like this. I do remember nephew Joey and me hiking up Sauk Mountain in the Skagit Valley when the trail was covered with ice and it was snowing, lightly. We made it to the top. Joey brought up that nephew in danger incident when I saw him this past summer. He remembers it fondly. I remember it as what the hell was I thinking?

I forgot to mention. I finally got a new camera. Today Costco had the Canon one that I wanted. I'd narrowed my search down to a Canon and a waterproof, shockproof Olympus. The battery for the new camera is charging. I probably won't get around to figuring it out til tomorrow.

Today's pictures were taken with my video camcorder. I see something, shoot a few seconds of video and then extract the "picture" in Windows Moviemaker. It works fairly well, as a stop gap measure til a new camera could be found. Which it was, found I mean, at Costco.

After Costco I went to Sprouts Farmers Market and got all sorts of good stuff. Including giant Texas Red Grapefruits. I was down to only 4 remaining of the huge supply of grapefruits my mom and dad imported into Texas from Arizona with them, earlier in the month. I still have lemons and oranges from the mom/dad delivery.

It got warm today. I have the windows open. It's time to close them. The sun is starting to set. It goes down fast here.

We're Sorry, This Video Is No Longer Available

Help!

YouTube is worthless in the help department. Yesterday I uploaded a video to YouTube. It took way longer than usual to process. When it was done and I clicked on it I got the message you see on the left, telling me the video I just uploaded is no longer available.

I deleted what was no longer available and uploaded again. Same result. So, I uploaded the video via this Blogger program's video upload. That also did not work.

This morning after wasting an hour trying to figure out what was wrong I asked someone else to try and view the video on their computer. It worked.

So, it's some problem on my computer? I deleted the temporary internet files. Ran the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program that fixed a YouTube problem when I was up in Washington last summer. This time this was not the fix.

I tried the video in Firefox and Google Chrome. Same "unavailable" message.

I looked in YouTube's useless Help Center. Under "error messages" I found the "We're Sorry" message. YouTube said this message occurs if the uploader (me) has deleted the video. Or if YouTube has removed it due to it being in violation of terms of use.

I did not delete the video and it was not in violation of terms of use.

Then I found that about half of my videos bring up the "We're Sorry" message. About half work fine. So, if it's something on my computer causing the problem, why do some work?

It's vexing and has wasted way too much time this morning.

I've got to get out of here, away from this computer. I think a walk by water would be salubrious. I'm guessing Rockledge on Lake Grapevine would be the best for that purpose. It'll be in the 60s. I won't go swimming. Oh, great, the YouTube video I made of Rockledge at Lake Grapevine, that one still works for me.

Is there a good alternative to YouTube? If so, please let me know.

Polar Bear Swimming at Lake Grapevine

It's a nice first day of the new year, here in Texas. I've got my windows open again. It's almost 70. I went up to Lake Grapevine, a bit past noon. I brought along a swimming suit, fully intending to go swimming on the first day of the new year.

But, when I got to Rockledge Park, the wind was blowing, there were waves, I felt the water and it was cold. Getting in the lake would not be as easy as getting in the pool. It doesn't get deep fast, you have to pick your way carefully over the lake bed so as not to step on something unseemly.

So, I chickened out on the swimming thing.

Taking the left turn from Grapevine Highway on to the road that goes over the Lake Grapevine Dam, there was a big group of bikers. I would not ride my bike on these type streets. Bikes and cars and busy highways do not a good mix make, in my opinion.

That's the bikers you see in the picture, above, with the pair of Big Balls in the foreground.

There were a lot of mountain bikers today riding the Northshore Trail out of Rockledge Park. I used to pedal this trail a lot. But it is treacherous in places. And now that I'm a senior citizen I am wary of such risky things.

That is the Gaylord Texas Resort and Convention Center, on the left, that you see rising above Lake Grapevine on the south side of the lake. I'll take my Mom and Dad there when they are here. Which is sooner than I expected, I learned today, when I called my Phoenix sister, while I was at Lake Grapevine.

Lake Grapevine has lost some more water since I was last at today's location. It was fun walking the beach in places where previously that was not possible.

About 2 miles into walking along the beach, there is an inlet that leads to a smaller inlet. During summer, when the vegetation is thick, this is a good skinny dipping spot. In the dead of winter, not so much. But the water was calm there, and it felt warmer. If it had not been so far from my vehicle and the post swimming need for heat, this would have been a good spot for my First of the New Year Polar Bear Swim. Doesn't that look like a big natural swimming pool?

Gas Price Falls and the Texas Wind Blows

I started the day with a heavy rain and tornado warning. By noon I was having lunch at Costco. After that I went to the Horseshoe Trails on Lake Grapevine to go on an 8 mile walk. My hiking boots do not make good walking shoes. I'm assuming that's why my feet hurt.

As you can see in the picture, Lake Grapevine is running a bit low. I don't remember the last time I saw this dock floating. This is the exact location where a snapping turtle disguised as a water moccasin tried to kill me in July of 2002. At that point in time the dock was floating.

I would have gone swimming in Lake Grapevine, today, if the dock were floating. And if it weren't so windy. It was so windy you had to lean into it at times to keep moving. As you can see, in the picture, I was having to hold my hat on at the lake's edge due to the wind being so much stronger there.

For the most part the leaves have totally left the trees, particularly the oaks have now been totally denuded of their foliage. I think the bare oak trees are very spectacular works of Mother Nature.

I don't know why the Grapevine Parks people have added street signs to the Horseshoe Trails intersections.

After walking way too many miles in way too strong wind, I went to Sprouts Farmers Market for my weekly stocking up on good stuff.

And then heading back here, south on Davis Boulevard, I think still in Southlake, I came upon a QT with the lowest gas price yet. On the way north, to Lake Grapevine, I saw a QT in Hurst with what was then the lowest I'd seen, at $1.31. But then the QT in Southlake broke that at $1.29. 20 bucks got over 16 gallons.

This is the lowest gas has been since 2001. I remember driving back here, from Washington, the week before 9/11. Gas had been $1.19 in Amarillo on the way north. A month later it was $1.42. More than what I paid today.

At this rate I'm expecting gas to go under 1 buck soon. Of course, like I always do when I get gas, I called my Mom in Phoenix. She's been ailing since before Christmas. She's still ailing. And still determined to head here on January 6.

Recording Breaking Texas Temperatures & Tornadoes

We hit 83 degrees yesterday, breaking the temperature record here in Fort Worth. Overnight, a cold front blew in, chilling us down to a bit under 60, Saturday morning, at 10. With heavy rain, at times. That's my view of this morning's biggest downpour in the photo. The rain overwhelmed the gutters.

Earlier this morning the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch Warning for North Texas. So far I've heard no Tornado Sirens.

Much of the rest of the country is covered by snow. The Puget Sound zone is in thaw mode now, with the avalanche danger extremely high. Elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, specifically, Portland, had record breaking snow reaching almost 2 feet. Rain is more the norm for Portland in winter.

As far as I know, Snowzilla still stands in Anchorage. While in Seattle, it appears that a Seattle Snowzilla has grown in front of the Space Needle.

If it had remained balmy, my intention today was to go swimming in Lake Grapevine. Last week Lake Grapevine was being crystal clear. When that lake is not crystal clear I will not get into it, due to some of the things that lurk underwater. Like garfish and snapping turtles. I was attacked, in July of 2002, by a mad snapping turtle in Lake Grapevine. I think it was the closest I've ever come to a heart attack. I thought it was a water moccasin when the head popped up in front of me. It was only after I'd safely reached shore that I saw that it was a snapping turtle that was terrorizing me.

With this inclement weather I may have to somewhat alter my Saturday walking plans. Currently I intend to go to Southlake Costco for my regular Saturday lunch of free samples, then go walking at one of the Lake Grapevine parks, then go to Sprouts Farmers Market. These plans could be drastically altered should tornadoes make an appearance.

The Christmas Big Balls of Grapevine

Yesterday, that day being Saturday, I made my now regular weekly visit to Costco for a free sample lunch en route to going on a hike on one of the trails around Lake Grapevine.

This week the Costco samples weren't quite up to last week's cheese overload, but it was still good. The hike this week was once more the Northshore Trail starting at Rockledge Park. It was perfect mountain biking temperature, so there were a lot of bikers. Few hikers.

The day had started out in the 60s, but a cold front blew in throughout the day, making it in the 50s by noon at Lake Grapevine. And 22 this morning.

The town of Grapevine puts on quite a festive Christmas display. Including pairs of Giant Balls at several intersections along the Grapevine Highway. The pair of Giant Balls in the photo is in front of the Great Wolf Lodge, directly across the street from the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center.

I drove through the Gaylord Texan complex, hoping to get a picture of Santa in his powerboat pulling his Reindeer on skis. But the traffic did not cooperate. I did successfully get a picture of another Santa in a covered wagon being pulled by his Reindeer. I guess it makes sense to have multiple Santas, but the covered wagon Santa is right across the street from the boating Santa. I fear this might confuse small children. I saw no conventional Santas in a sleigh. But I could only see part of the Gaylord Texas complex. It is huge.

After leaving Santa I went to Sprouts Farmers Market for my weekly stocking up of good stuff. Something happened there that will change my life in about 4 days. I'll save that story for another blogging.

Horseshoe Trails, Lake Grapevine, New Gas Low & Extreme Home Makeover

Well, I've had me a day. Did my usual early morning swim thing. Done with that by 8am. Then I put my new bike seat on my old bike. Pedaled around testing the seat. I liked it. Then I hit a bump and the seat came loose. Back to the tools for some better screw tightening.

A bit after noon I headed up to Southlake and Grapevine. I was hungry so I went to Costco for their extravagant free sample lunch. Today was the best ever. A lot of very good cheeses and breads. Giant shrimp. I had the sweet chili shrimp. Beef stroganoff, pork tamales, cheesecake, fudge, chicken pot pie and other stuff that I can't remember.

After eating too much at Costco I went to the Horseshoe Trails Park on Lake Grapevine. I used to mountain bike the Horseshoe Trails a couple times a week. I used to live closer. That's the view from the Horseshoe Trails, looking out at Lake Grapevine in the photo above. It has been very windy today here in North Texas. It made for a fun hike in the wind. Gusts to 45 mph.

We hiked for about 5 miles, 7 if you factor in the extra exertion required to make headway into a heavy wind.

After hiking I went to Sprouts Farmers Market in Southlake. Got a lot of good stuff, like oranges and broccoli and apples and ham hocks. I'm making pea soup tomorrow.

I mentioned a couple days ago that if I were in the area I might try and find the Extreme Makeover Home Edition house under construction up in far north Fort Worth. Well, I was sort of in the area. So, I left Sprouts and headed west on Southlake Boulevard for a few miles. Took a right on 377 and then left on to Keller-Hicks Road.

Keller-Hicks Road is where I'd read the new house was being built. This area is where I first lived when I moved to Texas so it's familiar territory to me. Except so much has changed. As in new houses as far as you could see.

Eventually I came to a detour with cops blocking any further driving on Keller-Hicks. A sign said "No Walk-Ins." Following the detour I came to another guarded access point to the TV production.

I could see a lot of cars, tents, light poles and someone being loud over a sound system. It did not sound like Ty Pennington.

Finally I got out of the detour on to a main road. That main road was the main access point for "volunteers" working on the new house. They had to drive a bumpy field of dirt to get in and out.

I could see across the field to a better view than the one by where the cops were blocking the road. I could see a lot of people and I think the new house. You can see that house in the photo to the right of the big white tent.

After all that excitement it was time to head back here. Horrible traffic on I-35. So, I got off the freeway at Western Center Boulevard and made my way to Beach Street, stayed on Beach til Randoll Mill, which leads me to where I am now.

I forgot to mention, on Beach Street, near the Beach Street Super Wal-Mart, I saw a new gas low. $1.42 at a Racetrack station. I didn't need any, so I got none, so Mom didn't get a gas call.