To Get His Vote Stenotrophomonas Wants An Abbott Rant About Taking Private Citizens' Rights

Earlier today I blogged about Greg Abbott's overstepping of Texas boundaries.

In that blogging I sort of indicated that I am a bit appalled at the idea that Texas may be electing yet another Republican as governor of their mighty fine state.

The rest of America should be concerned.

Both of the previous Texas Republican governors made a run at the U.S. presidency, with one of them winning.

Twice.

A mistake from which America is still recovering.

This latest possible Texas Republican governor seems to be the worst of the trio, to me.

After I blogged about Greg Abbott and his overstepping issues, Mr. Stenotrophomonas made a comment which pointed me to a project about which I was not familiar and which seems to do a good job at explaining why Greg Abbott should not be the next governor of Texas.

Stenotrophomonas has left a new comment on your post "Greg Abbott Wants To Hear My Ideas About Overstepping Texas Boundaries & So I Obliged Him":

I'll vote for Abbott if, within the next six days, he puts out a rant about Rule 37 exceptions and how they enable drilling companies to swoop in and take private citizens' unleased mineral rights.

Probably won't happen. F'ing crook.

Lone Star Project

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Texas has a terribly low voter turnout. I do not understand why this is the case. Voting in Texas is relatively easy, even with the controversial I.D. requirement. The poll workers make the experience quite pleasant. If a voter is confused by the video game machine one uses to early vote, the poll workers kindly explain how to work the gadget.

Are some Texans for some reason intimidated about voting? Is that why they've never voted? It really is inexcusable, in my opinion, for someone over the age of 18, not to vote.

With so many regular Texans not voting you get bad results, such as someone like Greg Abbott, or Rick Perry, being your governor.

The low voter turnout really is appalling. The results are often proof that voting does matter. As in, by voting you can either end up with someone like Greg Abbott as your governor.

Or Wendy Davis.

I don't see how any decent minded Texan would not conclude Wendy Davis is the better choice.

Both for Texas.

And America.....

Today On The Tandy Hills I Forded A Flooding Tandy Creek Before Finding A Log Sticking A Giant Tire

In the last couple days Stenotrophomonas has made mention of a new thing or two on the Tandy Hills.

Things like a pipeline construction project with HUMONGOUS pipes, lots of heavy equipment, a widened section of the Tandy Highway, shiny new manhole covers and a new piece of Tandy Hills art in the form of a giant tire being pierced by a log.

Stenotrophomonas did not mention that the North Fork of Tandy Creek is in flash flood mode. I am guessing the flood started flashing since the last visit from Stenotrophomonas.

A video of the Tandy Creek flash flood is below, narrated with my James Earl Jones-like narration. But, first the new work of Tandy Hills art.

The giant tire is located on the north side of the South Fork of Tandy Creek.

As I walked past the giant tire I eventually came to that which Stenotrophomonas has made mention of, such as the widened highway and a chunk of giant pipe or culvert or something.

You can see a small slice of the widened Tandy Highway behind the big chunk of metal. To the right, up a hill, I saw heavy equipment doing what heavy equipment does and making a lot of noise doing it.

I had myself a mighty fine time walking on the Tandy Highway today. I did not make it to the Hoodoo zone.

Below is the aforementioned video documenting today's flash flood of Tandy Creek's North Fork....

The First Sunday Of July With A Big New Hoodoo On The Tandy Hills

The first Sunday of July's Tandy Hills Hoodoo may be the best Hoodoo erection yet erected on the Tandy Hills.

It certainly is one of the most precarious looking Hoodoos. And one of the tallest.

Today I switched my camera to video mode and aimed it at the Hoodoo. I just got notified by YouTube that the Hoodoo video is ready for the publish button to be hit. I will do so and copy the embed code below.

But first I must share something from Stenotrophomonas.

Stenotrophomonas and I were discussing the history of the Tandy Hills. Stenotrophomonas said that dirt bikers used to dirt bike on the Tandy Hills. I asked if that is where the trails came from. Stenotrophomonas then sent me an interesting article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives from Thursday, February 18, 1999....

On foot in the park - Police enforcing new signs banning bicycles, vehicles in Tandy Hills 

The signs are now explicit: "Foot traffic only. No Bikes, Horses or Motorized Vehicles."

But even with the new signs and barricades that went up Friday at Tandy Hills Park, police ticketed two people over the weekend when individuals moved aside barriers to drive inside. 

Police will continue to patrol the east Fort Worth park closely until they feel the public understands that bicycles and vehicles are prohibited in the park, said Clint Hall, Fort Worth park and community service officer.

For years, Tandy Hills , a remnant prairie where wildflowers bloom profusely each spring, has served as an occasional playground for four-wheel-drive vehicles that have illegally left eroding ruts. 

But the bike paths were a surprise. 

Attention was drawn to the park more than a month ago when neighbors discovered someone had illegally cut almost three miles of bicycling paths through the nature preserve with a weed trimmer. 

"I can't believe we did not know this was happening until a month ago," said Gay Perry, who heads the West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association. 

Although only one individual is thought to have done the cutting, word spread quickly on the Internet that good biking trails could be found at Tandy Hills . 

Some of the bicyclists who said they did not know riding there was illegal criticized the city for not posting appropriate signs, city officials said. 

Wayne Clark, who supervises Tandy Hills and the Fort Worth Nature Center, said the city must share some of the responsibility because of the lack of signs. 

Until the signs were posted, police issued only warnings when they caught bicyclists in the park. 

Ten signs have been erected at the front of the park and at several side and back locations where vehicles and bicyclists are known to enter. In addition, the wooden barricades will remain until something more permanent is set up. 

Next week, the Texas Department of Transportation is expected to erect posts and cables across one entrance along Interstate 30. 

"We are trying to get people to listen and know there was a problem out there," said Nel Konkle, field operations supervisor for east Fort Worth parks. "I think the numbers have decreased a little, but they are still out there - the really brave ones."

Hall said he hopes the continued police presence will help. 

Citations issued are for a Class C misdemeanor with fines of up to $500. 

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Someone made three miles of trail on the Tandy Hills using a weed trimmer? I have been all over the Tandy Hills and can not imagine where someone could trim weeds to make three miles of bike trails.

Anyway, below is the aforementioned video of the latest Tandy Hills Hoodoo. It was suggested yesterday that Jame Earl Jones narrate my videos. James Earl Jones was not available, so you're stuck with me.....

Stenotrophomonas Pointed Me To A Formerly Rusty New Tandy Hills Mystery

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

This is what Stenotrophomonas had to say....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo Documenting Tandy Hills Hoodoo Engineering Before Finding Uncle Oinker's Gummy Bacon At Town Talk

Even though I'd been on the Tandy Hills on Friday I decided to do some hill hiking again today, prior to my regularly scheduled Saturday Town Talk treasure hunting.

Yesterday I mentioned finding a new Hoodoo on the Tandy Hills and also mentioned that the main Hoodoo at Hoodoo Central was still standing, although looking a bit different than the version I saw the previous Saturday.

Yesterday's Hoodoo mention brought a comment and a question from Stenotrophomonas with that Stenotrophomonas question asking if I took a picture of the Hoodoo.

I had not.

The Stenotrophomonas comment....

Stenotrophomonas has left a new comment on your post "Today I Found A Hoodoo Fertility Symbol On Fort Worth's Tandy Hills":

Strange... I was in the Hills Thursday and the perennial hoodoo, that stood so precariously Saturday, was a mere stump of its former self. And then apparently restored to its previous delicate balance in this strong wind. Did you get a picture? Some new guerrilla art seems to be evolving near the Tower - look about 100 feet north of the entrance. 

So, sometime after Stenotrophomonas saw the fallen Hoodoo on Thursday, it had been resurrected by the time I saw it the next day. Who is behind these Hoodoo feats of rock engineering one can not help but wonder?

You can see, via the closeup Hoodoo view below, what I mean by feat of rock engineering. Note the balancing act and the little stabilizing rocks. It would seem this construction would be time consuming.

Even though the Hoodoo is a marvel of rock engineering, how does it manage to keep standing what with the powerful gusts of wind that have been hitting it, yesterday, and continuing today?

After admiring the Hoodoo I was off to Town Talk in search of Uncle Oinker's Gummy Bacon.

Mr. Galtex told me about finding Uncle Oinker's Gummy Bacon prior to leaving Texas for a Boston break. I told Mr. Galtex I was unable to find the Gummy Bacon on my last Saturday TT Treasure Hunt.

Mr. Galtex, I think while still in Boston pigging out on Boston Cream Pie and Lobster Rolls, then gave me precise directions as to how to locate the Town Talk Gummy Bacon.

And so, today I found Uncle Oinker's Gummy Bacon, as you can see photo documented below.

Strawberry Flavor! Four slices, which you can view via the viewing window.

I did not realize til I saw it in person that the Gummy Bacon is a candy product. Even though the Gummy Bacon was cheap, as in 2 for a buck, I resisted the temptation. Well, actually, I am not much of a candy consumer. And bacon flavored gummy candy with a strawberry twist really has no appeal to me.

Having said that it seems a bit odd to say I got a lot of maple yogurt today. That also sounds not all that tasty, but it actually is.....

Getting Drizzled While Learning About New Hoodoos & Contemplating My Non-Existent Rattlesnake Selling Business

I had had no weather predictor's prediction warning me, so it came as a surprise to step outside for my regularly scheduled hot tub hydrotherapy session to find myself in a dense fog being pummeled by incoming drizzle.

I think the dense fog and drizzle added a nice moisturizing touch to the hydrotherapy session.

The fog and drizzle had lifted a bit by the time I took the photo you see here from the vantage point of my elevated patio view.

I am hoping the fog lifts and blue sky returns by the time I drive to River Legacy Park to pedal the mountain bike trail.

Speaking of trails. Yesterday I mentioned yet one more Tandy Hills Hoodoo resurrection. I thought this to be Hoodoo IV. I was not too surprised to hear from Stenotrophomonas that I was erroneous in my Hoodoo count.

Stenotrophomonas frequents the Tandy Hills far frequenter than I frequent them.

This is what Stenotrophomonas had to say....

Stenotrophomonas has left a new comment on your post "Another Saturday Tandy Hills Hoodoo Resurrection Before Going To Town Talk With Connie D":

I think that's at least Hoodoo VIII or IX. There's been several short lived hoodoos and then some modified ones. There was a hoodoo Thursday afternoon that may or may not have been exactly the one there Saturday. It's probably the wind, or maybe very small fracquakes that have destroyed most of the previous hoodoo incarnations. Surely if the Hills were full of mad Mormon scoutmasters, one of us would have caught them by now. 

Changing the subject from Stenotrophomonas and Hoodoos to rattlesnakes.

The  super-controversial Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup is next month. I won't be going. One visit was enough to last a lifetime.

Due to this being the Rattlesnake Roundup time of the year I am getting requests for rattlesnake products and other rattlesnake related questions. Why my Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup webpage causes people to think I sell snake products, I don't know. More often than not the requests for my non-existent rattlesnake products come from the UK or Germany.

This morning's attempt to buy one of my rattlesnake products came from a surprising location. Below is the message from a customer...

I am a skull collector looking to add a rattlesnake to my collection.  I would prefer to get a whole snake. Is it possible that one of the hunters would be able to send me a whole skinned snake. I would pay for shipping and all. You can e mail me or call me at 425.530.XXXX.

Area Code 425? Is that Houston I thought to myself. I then Googled "Area Code 245" to learn...

Area code 425 is a telephone dialing code in Washington for the suburbs north and east of Seattle, particularly the Eastside, extending east to North Bend, north to Everett, and south to Maple Valley. 

Washington? My latest rattlesnake customer is from Washington? Why could he not simply get on I-90 and head east to Eastern Washington and go hunt himself a rattlesnake?

I remember once when I was a young lad, my brother and I were exploring cliffs at Sun Lakes State Park in the aforementioned Eastern Washington. A park ranger showed up and advised my brother and me that we would be well advised to high tail it out of there due to the fact that the ranger had spotted several rattlesnakes a short distance from our location.

Til that moment in time my brother and I did not know that rattlesnakes were anything we might encounter in Sun Lakes State Park.

I wonder why no locale in Eastern Washington has a Rattlesnake Roundup? I suppose an insufficient supply of rednecks and an over supply of well-educated sorts with a high level of common sense might have something to do with there being no Rattlesnake Roundup in Eastern Washington.....

The SB Depot Dud Had Me Happy To Be Back With My Regular Saturday Gateway Park Town Talk Rut

In the picture you are looking at my handlebars above a cliff above the Trinity River in Gateway Park.

Last Saturday, from this same location, I said that today I was going to break free of my Saturday Gateway Park Town Talk rut and go instead to SB Depot in Arlington.

Well.

I had to be in Arlington yesterday. Which made it make sense to go to SB Depot, then, since I was in the neighborhood.

Last week, after I mentioned I was going to go to SB Depot today, Stenotrophomonas told me I would like the SB Depot cooler much more than the Town Talk cooler.

I somehow construed what Stenotrophomonas told me to mean I would like SB Depot better than Town Talk.

However, I'd barely driven on to the SB Depot parking lot when I decided this place was a dud. A big DUD.

It was coming up on noon and there were only a couple cars in the parking lot. Inside the store was a ghost town. The touted International Food Court was empty of anyone from any nation. The sole checkout person appeared to be napping.

And then I found the SB Depot cooler and got what Stenotrophomonas meant. This cooler was so big all of Town Talk could fit inside. However, the SB Depot cooler was mostly empty and what was in there was nothing I wanted.

I quickly left SB Depot and continued on to Cho Saigon and then ALDI.

Now, back to today. I had myself a really fine time biking the Gateway Park mountain bike trail. The trails are in great shape, which enabled some high speed pedaling.

And then it was on to Town Talk to cool off in Town Talk's tiny cooler.

I filled an entire shopping cart at Town Talk today. That has never happened before. I got Pineapples, Oranges, Asparagus, Mangoes, Romaine Lettuce, Yellow Peppers, Avocados, Green Beans, Rainier Cherries from Wenatchee, dozens of Tyson All Natural Chicken Legs and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

I guess I am okay with my Saturday Town Talk rut. I do enjoy it. And since there really are so few things I enjoy, I suppose I should just be happy to stay in my familiar rut....

Finding A Green Scum Covered Pond In Gateway Park Wondering About The Man With Music In His Ear

Three days in a row getting my salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation via the mountain bike trails in Gateway Park may be one day too many.

I think I may have overexerted myself. As in there seems to be some soreness that can only be attributed to overexerting.

Yesterday I mentioned the mysteriously disappeared green scum covered pond that had been seen next to a disc golf hole.

Today the green scum covered pond was back next to the disc golf hole, as you can sort of see in the picture.

I have no explanation for the comings and goings of the Gateway Park green scum covered pond. I did run into a muddy section of trail today that had mud clinging to my tires. From whence did this wetness come?

On Saturday I mentioned being buzzed by a copter whilst in Gateway Park. To this buzzing someone named Anonymous had an interesting comment....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Pedaling The Gateway Park Mountain Bike Trail Buzzed By A Copter Before Finding Strawberries":

If the helicopter you noticed was buzzing about in the late afternoon, it was the one looking for a nursing home patient, a woman, 54, with dementia, who wandered into Tandy Hills park and died. The guy who found her is the fellow you have referred to, I believe, as the 'man with music in his ear'.

A fence is sprouting around the nursing home as we speak. Far too little and far too late, I suspect, to influence the massive lawsuit which will undoubtedly be filed. 

I  found a very short article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about woman found dead on the Tandy Hills. This happened on Wednesday. I was buzzed by a copter on Saturday.

I really tire of my age related memory woes. I have no idea what or who Anonymous is referring to regarding the 'man with music in his ear.' Could it be Stenotrophomonas?

Tripping Over Mount Tandy Seismic Testing Cable Whle Finding Fireworks On The Tandy Highway & Scoping Out A Location To Watch The Fort Worth Fireworks

Swimming this morning was the best in a long time. The air temperature and water temperature seemed a perfect match.

When the time came for my noontime salubrious aerobic stimulation I decided to do something different and drive to the top of Mount Tandy to do me some hiking in the Tandy Hills Natural Area Sanatorium.

The hills were exceptionally natural today.

Earlier today I blogged about the 4th of July and the various venues where one can view fireworks and get some 4th of July action in the D/FW Metroplex zone.

Stenotrophomonas then made an informative comment to that particular blogging, commenting...

"A popular place to watch the downtown fireworks is the slope of Mt Tandy, near the lower traffic barrier. I wonder if Dawson will clean up their trash this week If not, will it be trampled by the crowds, or trip them up in the dark. Or maybe someone will steal the cables and equipment, just like the person last year in need of golf balls."

The cables to which Mr. Stenotrophomonas refers are the seismic testing cables strewn along the trail that leads from the top of Mount Tandy. If you look close you can see the yellow cable posing the tripping threat in the picture above.

Anyone injured by tripping over a seismic testing cable left carelessly on the ground, please remember that that Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers have deep pockets. Lawyers love targets with deep pockets.

Below is the Fort Worth Fireworks viewing zone to which Stenotrophomonas refers. You can see the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth in the distance.

I can see why viewing the Fort Worth Fireworks from this location might be fun. I may do just that in a few days.

Speaking of fireworks, check out the photo below.

In the aforementioned blogging about the 4th of July I opined about the dearth of local availability of personal fireworks of the firecracker/rocket sort, due to the lack of Indian Reservations anywhere nearby.

Today, I found the above "firework" laying on the ground on the Tandy Highway between the two creek crossings that the Fort Worth Water Boys messed up. This particular piece of ordnance had yet to be exploded, the fuse was waiting to be lit.

A couple years ago exploding fireworks set a section of the Tandy Hills on fire, doing what Mother Nature used to do via lightning strikes, clearing the prairie of intruders and pests. When the burned section on the Tandy Hills grew back, it did not seem like much of an improvement to me.

I wonder who is hiking to the core of the Tandy Hills armed with fireworks? And then littering the ground with them? I am almost absolutely 100% certain it is not Stenotrophomonas. And I know with 100% certain it is not me. I guess that leave Don Young as the chief suspect, til other possible culprits are identified.

I Found The Legendary Stenotrophomonas Doing Maintenance On The Tandy Hills Today Along With Possible Poison Ivy

A 10 o'clock doctor visit, this morning, rendered my regular noon aerobicizing not doable, til later.

It was 85 when I hit the Tandy Hills today. And very windy.

The wind was blowing clouds in front of the sun, making taking a picture of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man slightly difficult. It was as if the lights kept getting turned off right when I clicked the shutter button.

As you can see, a buzz cut has my head looking like it's shrunk. A buzz cut makes for a much cooler hiking experience.

Today I had 3 Close Encounters of the Human Kind on the Tandy Hills. I can go weeks without seeing another human on the hills.

The first encounter came as I reached the bottom of Mount Tandy, at the point where the trail enters the Tandy Highway. A guy was walking towards me, picking up stuff and putting it in a black plastic bag.

As our paths crossed I said howdy, to which the guy with the black bag said, in a quizzical tone, "Durango?"

"That would be me" said I. "Who are you? I asked.

"Stenotrophomonas" came the reply.

I was face to face with the legendary Stenotrophomonas.

I continued on. A mile or so later I saw movement across a gully. Soon another human came into view. I'd seen this guy before. He had some sort of music playing device in his ear. So his "howdy" was quite loud.

The Third Encounter of the Human Kind occurred in the dark, foliage thick area you reach from the north side of Tandy Falls. I was coming down the trail that leads to the falls. Suddenly this guy hollers at me some sort of warning. I was a little concerned.

Turns out he had found what he thought to be a lot of poison ivy. I've no idea if it was poison ivy or not. But he was quite concerned. He was wearing one of those identity cards, like people who work in a hospital have.

The new wildflower, for the day, I found on top of Mount Tandy, near the Tandy Hills Shrine. It is a humongous wildflower.

In other Tandy Hills news, today I learned I will be in a booth at the Prairie Fest on Saturday, April 23. Currently I am scheduled to be at the Prairie Fest starting at 2 in the afternoon, til, I assume, closing.

I have never spent more than an hour or two at the Prairie Fest.

The last time I was in a booth, at a festival type event, it was in Seattle at the Fremont Sunday Market. That time I was in a booth with a crazy, raging sociopath who weighed 5 or 6 hundred pounds and looked like Jabba the Hut. This time I will be in a booth with a relatively sane person who is a skinny little thing who does not look like Jabba the Hut.