Earthquakes Keep Shaking Oklahoma & Texas While Seismic Crews Cover Arlington's Veterans Park With Wires

Seismic Crew Working At Arlington's Veterans Park

We have had a lot of seismic activity in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone the past 24 hours. Some of it is locally generated, while the more jolting seismic activity is incoming from Oklahoma, where the earth continues to move with what TX Sharon is calling a "Massive number of earthquakes in Oklahoma."

I have felt none of the Oklahoma shakers, but I did come upon some seismic activity in Arlington today at Veterans Park.

Barnett Shale seismic testers have laid out wire and equipment all over Veterans Park.

The Veterans Park Memorial Soldier
 Guarding Today's Full Parking Lot

Today all that wiring and equipment laying on the ground seemed particularly odd because the park was particularly busy. The north parking lot was completely full. Cars were parking curbside on the road. I managed to find a parking spot in the almost full south parking lot.

How is permission granted to allow wires and equipment to be laid all over a public park? I wondered this years ago at Arlington's River Legacy Park when I had a seismic tester encounter on the mountain bike trail, with the tester going the wrong way on the bike trail on an off-road motorized vehicle. It was dangerous.

Throngs Of Park Goers Trying Not To Trip
Over Seismic Trip Wires

This year seismic testing wire and equipment showed up all over the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, also in Arlington.

And now there are wires on the ground all over Veterans Park.

Today Veterans Park was extra busy due to some sort of Disc Golf event going on. There were Disc Golf holes in locations I don't remember seeing them before. For instance there was a large group of people around the Veterans Park Turtle Pond watching disc golfers throw their disc at a target on the other side of the pond.

Seismic Testing Equipment & Wire Littering Veterans Park

Do the Seismic Testers pay the City of Arlington some sort of fee for the right to lay wire and equipment all over Arlington's public parks?

If someone trips on one of the seismic tripwires and breaks a leg, who's is liable for the injury? The city? Or the seismic testers?

If the seismic testers decide there is some exploitable Barnett Shale under Veterans Park, where will the drill pad site be located?

Seismic Testing Wire Running Up A Veterans Park
Hill That Many People Play On

It sort of surprises me, I suppose because of my northwest mindset, that monkey wrenchers don't wreak havoc with the seismic testing in public parks in Texas.

Or that some well meaning citizen doesn't decide the wire and equipment is littering the park and then gathers it up and toss it in the nearest dumpster.

Very perplexing. I wonder if the earth will move here tonight?

Walking In Village Creek Natural Gas Historic Area In Arlington This Afternoon With Elsie Hotpepper

In the picture you are looking at Village Creek in the Village Creek Natural Historic Area in Arlington, some time after 4 this afternoon.

In the picture you can see the creek, a patch of pink evening primrose wildflowers and a yellow cord.

Cords of various colors are strung all over the Natural Area.

Somehow manmade cords don't seem all that natural to me, sort of out of place in a Natural Area.

Maybe the correct name for this park zone should be Village Creek Natural Gas Historic Area.

Because that is what the multi-colored cords are for. Doing seismic testing of the Barnett Shale to see if the Village Creek Natural Historic Area is a good drilling zone.

All the Indians murdered in this area, murdered by the incoming Texans, must be rolling over in their collective graves at what their village has become. First a park. And now a gas drilling site.

I must leave you now to do the bidding of the ever demanding Elsie Hotpepper, who is being particularly hot today.

Testing For Barnett Shale Natural Gas In Village Creek Natural Historic Gas Drilling Area In Arlington

I nixed going to the Tandy Hills today and instead opted for going to the Village Creek Natural Historic Area in Arlington.

I needed to replenish my coffee supply, so, since Village Creek is closer to my supplier, it made sense to go there.

I was surprised as soon as I pulled into the Village Creek Natural Historic Area parking lot to see some very unnatural cable strung on the ground.

I'd seen this type thing before, at River Legacy Park. Seismic testing for Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling.

I soon confirmed that that is what the cables were for when I came upon testing equipment deeper in the park.

There were a lot of walkers today. The first group I came to was quite excited to tell me they'd seen water moccasins swimming in the creek. I saw no snakes, but I did see what appeared to be a couple alligator gar.

I don't know what ever became of the River Legacy Park seismic testing. Is a drill pad slant drilling under that park? I've no idea. I suppose since it is natural gas that is being sought, testing for it in a Natural Area sort of makes sense.

Seems very odd to me, though, having all that cable of various colors and equipment laying about.

We've got about an hour and a half to go before the predicted arrival of today's severe Thunderstorm. Currently it appears a bit topsy turvy out there. I think topsy turvy is a very scientific meteorologic term.