A Somber Walk To The Village Creek Blue Bayou Pondering Durango Obesity

The Village Creek Blue Bayou

Today it seemed to me a peaceful walk to the Village Creek Blue Bayou, with the Indian Ghosts who haunt this place in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, was just the sort of contemplative place I needed to be to do some pondering.

The Blue Bayou was being particularly blue today, matching my mood. The leaves in the trees are no longer all green.

I want a house painted inside and out in the current Village Creek Blue Bayou color scheme.

The last time I chose colors, for the inside and out of a house, off white and brown was pretty much the color scheme. I was not a very colorful person at that point in time.

This morning I blogged on my DurangObesity blog for the first time in awhile. The blogging was titled The Airlines Are Getting Serious About Flying Obese Customers Of Size.

When I logged into the Obesity blog account I saw Gmail was among the Google products. I did not recollect setting anything to go to DurangObesity Gmail. I clicked on the DurangObesity Gmail and found 18 emails. None of them spam.

I was surprised to learn that I'd gotten email from someone on the production staff of a UK reality show soliciting my help with a program that had something to do with fat families in the UK and US. This person wanted to know if I knew any American families who were okay with being fat. The show was going to switch a UK Fat Family with a US Fat Family. I think that was the premise. Fat Family Swap.

I did not feel too bad that I'd not found this email in a timely fashion because I could be of no use, because I know of no American family who is all happy about being fat.

Another email was from the author of a book about the diet President William Howard Taft went on way back early in the last century. That blogging was titled William Howard Taft: America's First & Only Obese President. The author of the book was inquiring as to whether I'd be interested in reading it. He offered to email me the book in PDF format.

Another email shared with me that person's diet plan, asking me what I thought of it.

The other emails were of a similar ilk, one way or another.

By the time this day is over I am going to check the Gmail accounts of all my blogs. I am  guessing I am in for some surprises. For some reason I thought I had all incoming from the blogs directed to my main email address. Instead, apparently, it is just comments I have directed to my main email address. I did not realize people were emailing the Gmail address associated with the various blogs.

I am such an idiot sometimes. I freely admit this and don't feel this condition is anything I can improve, because it is what is known as a chronic condition.

Another thing that surprised me when I logged into the DurangObesity Google account today was to see the number of page views of some of the various bloggings. I don't think I saw this info with the old version of the Google Blogger. Some of the DurangObesity bloggings have had thousands of page views.

I knew the DurangObesity AdSense revenue thing was constantly generating, but I did not realize this was due to a large number of page views.

Like I already said, I am such an idiot sometimes and readily, freely, admit this.

Watching Possums Escape To Village Creek After Botching Butchering A Chicken While Getting Ready To Roast Hatch Chiles

Village Creek Blue Bayou

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area's Blue Bayou was back being mostly blue today, back blue after its recent iterations as the Brown Bayou, then the Green Bayou.

I like my bayous blue.

When I arrived at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot I saw an Arlington Animal Control truck parked. Past experience with seeing that truck led me to think I was about to see a possum released back into the natural world.

This time it was 2 possums. The Animal Control guy lifted 2 possums from their possum cage, by the tail, with gloved hands. It seems to me possums would be being a bit feisty after having been trapped in a cage, then hauled in a truck, then picked up by their tails.

But the possums act like they are not at all bothered. The Animal Control guy sets them gently on the ground and waves goodbye as the possums scurry back to freedom.

Changing the subject from possums to chickens.

Last week I cut up a whole chicken for the first time since some time in August of 2008. My sister had tasked me with teaching my future sister-in-law how to cut up a chicken. There were 2 to cut-up. I showed how with the first, then my student cut up the second.

The chicken I cut up last week was a bit difficult. I sort of had to saw it a few times. This morning I cut up another chicken and I realized why it was so easy to slice a bird in Tacoma and so difficult in Texas.

I have crummy knives.

I have always been a bit of a hazard with knives. I've sliced myself a time or two or three. I'd come to think a dull knife is safer for me. But, after this morning's bizarrely botched butchering I'm thinking I need to get myself a good sharp knife. I don't think what I was doing this morning was safe. That and somehow the chicken's back ended up with one of the thigh pieces attached by the time I was finished. This made for an interesting piece of chicken. I have not been able to determine where the drumstick part of one of the wings ended up being.

Changing the subject again, this time from chicken to Hatch chiles.

I got myself a bag of Hatch chiles on Sunday at ALDI. Today I Googled to see what I need to do with these chiles and learned I must do something with them soon or they will spoil on me.

So, this afternoon I am going to be roasting myself a bag of Hatch chiles in preparation for tomorrow's attempt to make Chile Rellenos.

This operation should go better than my chicken cutting operation.

I hope.

Water Has Returned To Arlington's Village Creek Chocolate Bayou

Village Creek Chocolate Bayou

Earlier today I indicated I would not be in the Village Creek Blue Bayou zone to see if last night's rain had restored the dry Blue Bayou to its usual blueness.

Me saying I would not be in the Blue Bayou zone was prompted by a comment to yesterday's blogging about the dried up Village Creek Blue Bayou....

Steve A said...
After last night, we'll be expecting a Blue Bayou update!

I was up in Hurst this morning, then back in my home zone earlier than I thought I would be. So, in the noon time frame I took off for my daily constitutional in search of some endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

I exited my abode thinking I'd go to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdick Lake, but then changed my mind and headed east, instead of west, to walk with the Indian Ghosts I'd visited yesterday at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington.

Upon arrival at the entry off Dottie Lynn Parkway I was prepared to find the park closed due to flooding, with Veterans Park being my flood free backup.

No need for a backup. Village Creek is running more water today than it has run in a long time, but not enough to go into flood mode.

Water has been restored to the Village Creek Blue Bayou, but it is not blue, as you can see in the picture above, the Blue Bayou is currently being the Village Creek Chocolate Bayou.

It is not very hot today, only 85 degrees at half past 2. Barely 80 when I walked with the Indian Ghosts. But it is HUMID. Very, very HUMID. Making the outer world feel very very HOT.

Today was the best steam bath, yet, so far, this steam bath season. When I got back to the air-conditioned comfort of my vehicular transport, my sunglasses instantly fogged up. Since no sun was shining the sunglasses were being a bit unneeded, anyway.

Below is a very short video I shot today of the raging torrent that Village Creek has temporarily become...