Two Months Til Christmas Walking HOT On Lake Wichita Dam

It was to windy Lake Wichita I ventured on this Final Friday of October, day 25, to be precise, making it two months til Christmas.

As is usually the case, I am already done with all my Christmas shopping.

The Wichita Falls area officially went into water restriction mode this week, due to the ongoing drought.

As you can see, it has been a long long time since any water has spilled over the Lake Wichita Dam Spillway.

Acres of vegetation has sprouted up on both sides of the dam's spillway, as you can see via the view of the back of the dam's spillway from the Lake Wichita Boardwalk perspective.

Currently there is no precipitation in the 30-day forecast. That dire prediction can quickly change.

I know I am ready for reliably cooler temperatures to arrive. I was enjoying needing to wear long pants those couple chilly days we had earlier in the month...

With Mobility Restored Drought Stricken Lake Wichita Visit

My means of motorized mechanical motion has been under a doctor's care since Monday. This morning the motion device was released from doctor's care, fully recovered.

So, before noon I drove to the nearest Walmart for some high speed walking and acquisition of various edible items.

I have been reading of late about the sad low level status of local lakes, with the water level going lower and lower as the drought goes on and on.

So, after Walmart I drove to the nearest lake, well, other than Sikes Lake, which is only a couple blocks from my abode. The lake I drove to was Lake Wichita.

Upon arrival at the Lake Wichita parking lot I as struck by how pitiful Mount Wichita looks, mostly void of any green vegetation. If a downpour ever happens Mount Wichita likely will suffer some serious erosion.

And now this look at the current state of Lake Wichita. In normal non-drought times, all you see that is green, is under water.

Lake Wichita has shrunk significantly since I last saw this disappearing body of water.

I think it was Memorial Day weekend when last I was at Lake Wichita, that being the weekend the Veterans Memorial was dedicated, part of which is what you see in the photo at the top, with barren Mount Wichita hovering in the background.

Currently we are under a water restriction regimen.

I can irrigate my lawn only on odd number days. Today is an odd number day.

But, I shall be a good citizen and forego doing any lawn watering. It seems pointless to try and have a green lawn at this particular location on the planet at this particular time...

Saturday At Drought Dry Sikes Lake

 It was to Sikes Lake I ventured this third Saturday of the 2022 version of August, to do some nature communing, with endorphin acquisition, ahead of the predicted deluge which may put an end to the current drought.

As you can see, via the photo documentation above, and below, Sikes Lake is running out of water.

At the top that is the Sikes Lake Bayou at the west end of the lake, currently with no water flowing into the lake.

Further along the trail we come to a section of Sikes Lake which looks to have totally dried up, and is somehow sprouting some greenery, despite the lack of water. 

You cannot see it in the above photo, but at the far east end of this dry section of Sikes Lake a small pond remains.

The above is the aforementioned small pond. A pair of white egrets are the two white dots you see on the right side of the pond.

If the weather forecasters are forecasting accurately, and sometimes they do, on my next visit to Sikes Lake it should be re-filled...

Rolling By Dry Desert Drought Of Sikes Lake

My bike rolled me a few miles north on the Circle Trail this morning. A bike ride seemed like a possibly fun thing, what with the temperature barely in the 80s, and some cloud blockage of the sun.

Eventually I rolled to Sikes Lake, which, as you can see via looking over my bike's handlebars, the drought is drying up Sikes Lake.

So far, as far as I know, unlike Lake Mead, no bodies have been revealed resting in the shrinking Sikes Lake.

A possible thunderstorm, with possible rain, is on the weather menu for this afternoon. But, this will likely fizzle out, like most such predictions have fizzled out, of late.

After the dry desert of Sikes Lake it was refreshing to bask in the mist emanating from the MSU (Midwestern State University) fountain.

This current drought is the worst since I have been at this Texas location. Holliday Creek is no longer moving any water. Just a series of isolated ponds remain. What becomes of the fish one sees in Holliday Creek when conditions get this dire?

Geese Feeding Frenzy At Drought Shrunk Sikes Lake

With the temperature a few degrees less than 100 I opted to drive to Sikes Lake for a relatively semi-chilly walk around the lake.

Upon arrival I saw a large contingent of Sikes Lake geese and ducks surrounding a lady tossing them food from a big bag of bird seed.

There were two bird feeders. I talked to the one standing next to me, not surrounded by birds. She told me they come feed the birds every day. And the flock is so used to this that when they see them arrive, in their white vehicle, they come waddling towards them.

This explains why, on more than one occasion, when I have arrived at this location, driving my white vehicle, that the flock of birds starts coming towards me. A behavior I found slightly disturbing.

No, that is not Sikes Lake at low tide you see above. That is Sikes Lake in drought mode, drying up.

Years ago Sikes Lake was dredged, with the material which was dredged hauled to Lake Wichita where it was turned into the tall pile of dried mud we refer to as Mount Wichita, also known as Murphy's Hill.

Methinks Sikes Lake is due for a new dredging, with a new mountain made at Lake Wichita, to be called the Twin Peaks of Wichita Falls.

Wichita Falls Lily Pads Desperately Need Rain

Sunday morning I joined 56 other walkers, joggers and bikers on the Circle Trail to circle around Mount Wichita and cross Lake Wichita Dam.

Lately every day has rain and thunderstorms in the forecast, with every day passing without any rain, except for the drip of a drop or two.

And no thunder booming.

A couple days ago I heard a weather reporting person on one of the local TV stations say the Wichita Falls zone is back in drought mode.

As you can see it does look as if Mount Wichita has not been being irrigated lately, with brown now the dominant color, along with the grassy field which surrounds the only mountain in Wichita Falls, also mostly brown.

And then there are those lily pads I've made mention of a time or two.

The creek from whence those lily pads bloomed is now totally dried up. And yet one lily blooms, at the bottom of the group of lily pads you see above.

The lily pad roots must go deep to manage to keep being green after the creek's water has disappeared.

I may have to go visit my mom in the Arizona desert if I want to get wet in a rainstorm. Lately whenever my mom calls me she tells me the night before she experienced the biggest downpour ever. Along with thunder and lightning...

Fort Worth Should Exile The Lawn Whisperer To Washington To Help With The Drought

Incoming Weather Humble Bragging from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason...

May be currently violating lawn watering ban.  All Western Washington citizens were advised last week by the governor, who declared a state wide drought, to contact their local water supplier to learn of ways of conserving water.

In the meantime Skagit County is in the midst of harvesting strawberries which just like the tulips showed up three weeks early.

Hope my FUD is enjoying the sun and dry late spring weather too.
FNJ

A statewide drought in Washington? Get advice about conserving water? Maybe Fort Worth could send the Water Whisperer to Washington, now that he is no longer needed in Texas.

Yesterday, on Facebook, I saw the Skagit Valley's #1 strawberry grower, renowned author and owner of the Ole & Sven Berry Patch, Martin B., sharing a photo of a desert concoction consisting of several of his giant, deep red, ultra sweet strawberries, on top of peanut butter ice cream and a dark chocolate fudge brownie.

I read that and wondered why would anyone ruin a perfectly fine strawberry in this manner.

I also wondered why strawberries were already available for picking.

Below is the other piece of Weather Humble Bragging my Favorite Nephew Jason added to his email...

Well, FNJ, here in the Deep South we are shivering at 73 under a cloudy sky with some drippage dripping after a night of deluging with thunder booms.

Hiking Amongst The Dying Trees Of The Tandy Hills Thinking About Gar The Nerd's Unpleasant Warning About Snakes

This morning a little rain fell. That stopped falling before I was swimming, so there was no swimming in the rain this morning.

By the time the time of the day arrived for my daily aerobic stimulation it was only 90.3 degrees and windy.

So, I decided to drive to the top of Mount Tandy and do a full Tandy Hills Hike. Something I've not done in quite some time.

The full Tandy Hills Hike had me seeing the full Tandy Hills, for the first time in awhile, and what I saw surprised me.

The prairie appears to be under severe drought stress. A lot of the leaves on a lot of the trees have taken on fall foliage color mode. But, I think the leaves have died from lack of water, not their usual leaf shedding cycle. I hope this does not bode ill for a lot of dead trees not able to survive the drought.

This morning Gar the Nerd, formerly known as Gar the Texan, emailed me with the subject line being "An Unpleasant Warning."

With the first line of the email being "Something you might be able to use on your Weather Blog :)."

I was a little confused about the reference to my Weather Blog, but then I remembered an odd blogging Gar the Nerd wrote on his blog, about my blog, where Gar the Nerd said I post 70 - 90 times a day, with about 90% of the bloggings having to do with the temperature.

This was a bizarre exaggeration by Gar the Nerd. It is never more than 50 bloggings a day, with rarely more than half of them being about the temperature.

You can read Gar the Nerd's Readerless Ramblings by going here, where you get to read Gar the Nerd tell you all about minute minutia in Gar the Nerd's world. It is really quite fascinating and the temperature is very rarely mentioned.

Speaking of the temperature and the drought, it is currently only 101.1, coming up on 4 in the afternoon. And still a bit windy, but not windy enough for a wind chill factor to make that 101.1 feel cooler. Instead the heat index's humidity is making it feel like 104. Again.

I forgot to mention what Gar the Nerd's Unpleasant Warning was.

Well, apparently the aforementioned drought has the snake population of Texas starving and thirsty. Snake experts expect an explosive invasion of snakes in places they usually tend not to visit.

Like backyards and swimming pools. Starting in late August (which is now) and September.

The 4 most common types of venomous Texas snakes you might have show up at your door or backyard are Rattlesnakes, Texas Coral Snakes, Copperheads and Cottonmouths.

Cottonmouths are also known as Water Moccasins. That'd be the type snake you might find yourself swimming with.

Tarrant County Water Restrictions In Effect Last Monday Of August While Raindrops Hit Me This Morning

When I stepped outside in to the early morning air, heated to 89 degrees HOT, to look through the bars on my patio prison cell at the pool waiting for me below, on this last Monday of August of 2011, I was surprised to find myself getting splatted by a few big drops of warm rain.

Being partly cloudy is on the weather menu, but precipitation is not scheduled as a possibility until Thursday, so I don't know where this morning's hint of wetness came from.

Speaking of wetness, this morning Tarrant County Stage 1 Drought Watering Restrictions take effect. Apparently signs and banners will start popping up around the county telling water users that they'd better learn which 2 days of the week they can use their sprinklers.

I do not know what Chesapeake Energy and all the other gas drillers are going to do for fracking water now that the drought has reached this serious level.

I do know my swimming pool is still full of water which I am going to immerse myself in right about now.

A Stormy 19th Day Of May In Texas Worrying About Rick Perry Becoming President

May 19 appeared to me to be starting off portending stormy weather, when I stepped outside to retrieve my swimming suit.

When I woke up my computer the stormy assessment was confirmed with the prediction a strong thunderstorm for later today.

This morning I read that speculation that a potential presidential run by Texas Governor Rick Perry may pick up steam after Rush Limbaugh, on his Wednesday radio show, gave Perry a plug, including among Perry's assets that, "He has great hair."

I really don't think America has had enough rest from the last president Texas provided America. Every time Texas gives the country a president America ends up in a war. With Lyndon Baines Johnson it was the Vietnam War. With the first President Bush it was the first Iraq War. With the second President Bush it was another Iraq War, plus a war in Afghanistan.

I really think it's time to give peace a chance. American kids in the 12 years old range have never known an America that is not at war. That can't be good to have an entire generation growing up who think perpetual war is the natural state of affairs.

Switching from war to drought.

North Texas has been in drought mode for awhile now. Meanwhile, up in the Pacific Northwest, they have been in anti-drought mode for awhile now.

So much rain has been falling on the Pacific Northwest that all the rivers are running high, which has hydroelectric generation running high, which has the Pacific Northwest getting most of its electric power from the dammed rivers.

Which led, yesterday, to the Pacific Northwest's wind farms being turned off or scaled back.

Which had me wondering, why can't the wind farms keep spinning? With the Bonneville Power Administration selling the excess electricity to elsewhere on the grid?

I really have no understanding of how the power grid works. I am grateful that it has been 6 days since my power in Texas has gone out.

It is time to go swimming now and worry about the troublesome concept of Rick Perry becoming president.