Drought & Wenatchee Wildfire Brings Calls For Washington 4th Fireworks Ban While In Texas This Is Not A Problem

I saw that which you see here a few minutes ago via Tacoma's Queen V on Facebook.

I do not believe it to be true that the Sleepy Hollow fire is still burning, right now, like you see in the picture.

Sleepy Hollow is a neighborhood in Wenatchee. When you live in Western Washington you refer to Wenatchee's location as East of the Mountains.

A couple dozen homes and other property was totally obliterated by the wildfire.

Tonasket is also East of the Mountains. Tootsie Tonasket has been reporting day after day of temperatures well over 100, as in one day the HEAT hit 112. Tootsie's A/C went kaput overnight.

Currently there are a lot of people in Washington suggesting it would be a good idea for a total ban on fireworks this year, what with the entire state in emergency drought mode.

Yesterday a pair of hoodlums drove up I-5 in Western Washington setting off fires by launching flares as they drove along.

At my old home location in the East Thunderbird neighborhood of Mount Vernon the 4th of July was like a war zone. This is an extremely hilly, heavily wooded area. I would sit on my rooftop deck watching the explosions, ready to put out anything burning that landed on the roof. The launching area for my immediate neighbors was from the top of the cul-de-sac. A barrage would be launched and then another cul-de-sac would try and top it. After a few years of this it went from entertaining to annoying.

The Skagit Valley has several Indian Reservations where one could buy just about any firework type explosive made. There are dozens of Indian Reservations in Washington. Such as the Tulalip Reservation, which is where Boom City is located. Boom City has a website. The Tulalip Tribe also has a casino, nautical themed, with a giant Orca soaring out of the sea at the entry. Washington has dozens of casinos.

I don't like gambling, but I enjoy a good casino buffet.

I think Texas has only two Indian Reservations. And they are very small, with few Indians. I don't know if the Texas Indians sell fireworks on their reservations.

My first 4th of July in Texas came as a big surprise due to it being so un-explosive. I figured Texas would be much more explosive, firecracker-wise, than my old home zone, what with that whole cowboy western gun thing that much of Texas embraces.

Is it because there are no Indian Reservations selling fireworks that Texas is so quiet on the 4th of July?

I know the quiet has nothing to do with Texans not being as patriotic in their 4th of July celebrating as my old home zone. Best 4th of July parades I've ever seen have been in Texas, such as the Arlington 4th of July Parade and Granbury's.

I read yesterday the Confederate Battle Flag will not be in this year's Arlington 4th of July Parade. What if a Rebel shows up with the banned flag, despite the ban? I suspect booing would ensue. America can sure change fast when well motivated. Even the Texas part of America....

A Quanah Parker Park Mantis & Snake Encounter With Wenatchee Cherries At Town Talk

Today, this last Saturday of May, I parked at the Quanah Parker Park parking lot to commune with nature before making my weekly treasure hunting trek to Town Talk.

Quanah Parker Park was blooming a lot of wildflowers today.

There were the ubiquitous Indian Blankets and others whose names I do not know, such as the pink tulip-like wildflower you see in the picture.

I briefly knew a woman once who had a Hello Kitty pink color fixation. I saw this wildflower pink patch and thought of that particular person.

Today whilst walking the Quanah Parker Park paved trail I had myself a snake encounter. The snake was a high speed slitherer, so I had no chance to get a picture before it disappeared.

My other wildlife encounter was with a Praying Mantis. Or is it Preying Mantis? Whatever the correct name these have to be the oddest insects in the world of insects. For some reason at the moment I spotted the Mantis I did not feel like disturbing it by taking a picture.  Maybe that reluctance was partly due to not wanting to get all that close to the thing whilst take a picture in macro mode. Or maybe I did not want to intrude upon its praying. Or preying.

At Town Talk today I found myself Tillamook white extra sharp cheddar cheese, some really good mangoes, acorn and hubbard squash, plums and cherries from this place in the state of Washington called Wenatchee.

Wenatchee sounds more like an Indian name than Quanah Parker  does.

Hiking With My Mom On The Tandy Hills On The Last Wednesday Of April

Looking west from the Tandy Hills, around 4 this afternoon, at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, you can see there is a bit of turbulence in the sky, not the predicted clear and breezy that had been advertised for today.

I got gas on my way to the Tandy Hills. As my one reader may remember, when I get gas I call my mom in Arizona.

Sun Lake, Arizona, to be precise.

My mom and dad living in a place called Sun Lake is interesting to me due to the fact that my favorite place we'd go on family trips was to Sun Lakes in Eastern Washington.

It has been a long time since I have been to Sun Lakes, Washington. I've been to Sun Lake, Arizona way more recently than Sun Lakes, Washington.

I have not been in Eastern Washington since August of 2001. The Washington friends I was staying with took me over to Leavenworth, via Stevens Pass, then fruit hunting by Wenatchee, then over Blewett Pass to go to Roslyn (aka Cicely, Alaska), for pizza and beer, then over Snoqualmie Pass, back to Seattle.

I have no mountain passes to cross over anywhere near my current location. Or big orchards where I can go fruit hunting.

I digress.

As usual.

I called my mom after I got gas, so mom went hiking with me on the Tandy Hills. My mom was in laughing at me mode. My mom laughing makes me feel good. My mom is one of the few people in the world who reliably finds me amusing.

I've not heard from Elsie Hotpepper for days. She is not answering her pager. Why do people go missing on me? Don't they realize this type thing worries me?