Jogging Around Fort Worth's Fosdick Lake With The Duck Whisperer

When I arrived at Oakland Lake Park today to jog around Fosdick Lake the Shady Lady you see here was sitting in the shade of a leafy tree being a Duck Whisperer.

When the jogging was over the Shady Lady was still in Duck Whisperer mode, which is when I took the picture you see here, with the Shady Lady using hand gesturing, along with whispering to make the ducks do her bidding.

That and eat her birdseed.

Decades ago, when I first developed a jogging habit I remember it did not go well at first. I could run only a block or two. I kept at it, and even though it is a long time ago, and my memory may be faulty, I'm fairly certain within a relatively short time running a block or two turned into a mile or two or three or more.

Well, today I was very surprised to find myself jogging all the way around Fosdick Lake without stopping to catch my breath. I jogged the perimeter of the park, mostly on grass, not the paved trail. And then when I got to Fosdick Dam, where a cool breeze was blowing off the lake, I switched from jog mode to run fast as I can mode the length of the dam.

This jogging thing causes an endorphin dose which seems much stronger than I get from hill hiking or mountain biking. It is that endorphin dose which can make something like jogging addictive. Hours later and I am still in a good relaxed mood.

This morning the pool was cool for the first time in a long time. I don't know how cold the temperature dipped to overnight. I suspect somewhere in the 60s. Cold enough to chill the pool water. I prefer the cool pool to the too warm pool that multiple days above 100 creates.

This morning Mr. Steve A made a blog comment which has pointed me to yet one more feat of engineering completed in four years, or less. I will likely wait til tomorrow to add this to my popular series of bloggings about feats of engineering, usually bridges, built in four years or less.

For those new to the program, this look at feats of engineering completed in four years or less is in response to the embarrassing fact that America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Uptown Central City Panther Island Vision Boondoggle, is currently building three simple, little bridges, over dry land, to connect the mainland to an imaginary island, with a  four year construction timeline.

The latest blogging about a feat of engineering built in four years or less will not be about a bridge. It will be about a skyscraper.

Running With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Training To Jog Washington Park In Anacortes

In the picture you are looking at one of the dam bridges that cross Village Creek in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington, Texas, in the noon time frame, this first Sunday of October.

The air was chilled to a chilly 49 when I took off to visit my favorite Indian Ghosts. The air is now one degree warmer, several hours later.

The water in the pool was cooler than yesterday morning, but still warmer than the air, thus I had myself a long swim this morning.

Yesterday I was in long pants for the first time in many months. Today I was in sweat pants for the first time in many months.

To work up a sweat, in my sweat pants, I jogged. This was my second jog since my return to jogging, which started two days ago with a one mile jog around Fosdick Lake, which, at the time, I thought was two miles.

Today, after jogging for awhile, I switched to running. Running feels way more natural than jogging. Running also is far more exertion than jogging, causing my sweat pants to live up to their name.

When I jogged around Fosdick Lake two days ago I was thinking I'd given up jogging in 1985.

Today I remembered that that is not the case.

After giving up jogging in 1985, due to a medical malady, apparently I started up jogging again, because I now remember that in 1993 I jogged around Washington Park in Anacortes with my little sister and a girl who said "rad" way too much.

That jogging around Washington Park coincided with a birthday milestone.

My little sister is 17 years younger than me. I remember at the time of jogging around Washington Park my little sister and I made a pact that when she reached that particular birthday milestone, we'd return to Washington Park and jog it again.

At the time, my little sister and her "rad" friend were impressed that a much older geezer, like me, was able to out-jog such young kids.

Well, my little sister passed that birthday milestone a couple years ago, with me in Texas and my little sister in Tacoma, with my little sister in no mood to jog several miles up and down steep hills in Washington Park. And with me, at my advanced age, likely unable to do so, either.

But, as God is my witness, on my next return to Washington I am jogging the trails of Washington Park, complete with photo documentation.

Jogging Around Fosdick Lake With Grandma & The Fosducks

In the picture you are looking at a grandma with her granddaughter, today, tossing chunks of bread at the Fosducks lounging on the east shore of Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

Grandma told me she'd not been to Oakland Lake Park for over 20 years, but came there today in the hopes of finding some ducks for the grandkid to feed.

Currently it is only 77 degrees, halfway through this first Friday of October afternoon. The outer world was chilled to the upper 60s when I drove to see the Fosducks. Tonight we are scheduled to chill to 47 degrees, with the high tomorrow, that being Saturday, of only 55 with a low of 45.

Brrrrr.

I need to locate my blankets.

Yesterday, at the Crystal Canyon Natural Area, in Arlington, I was surprised to find myself doing something I'd not done in a long time. The trail though Crystal Canyon is a not very long loop. Maybe a half mile long, or less.

I did the loop several times. On the final loop I was feeling real energetic so I started jogging.

A couple decades ago I was a regular jogger, easily going 3 - 5 miles. Then a medical malady intervened and after that I never got back into doing the jogging like I did before the medical malady. Mountain biking became my main source of aerobic stimulation. And hiking. Lots of hiking. This was back when I lived in Washington, a place were there are these things called mountains that one could hike and bike on.

In Texas I have attempted jogging a few times. Or running sprints, but I would quickly give up. It was in Texas I learned to roller blade, something I've given up, due to the fact that I was not enamored of the idea of recovering from yet one more spectacular, butt bruising crash.

Well. Today I decided to jog around Fosdick Lake. I believe the paved trail is a little over 2 miles. I jogged it all. This surprised me. I'm thinking I might be getting back into jogging as a regular thing.

Unless I wake up really sore tomorrow.

Jumping To The Ground & Jogging Through My Dangerous Fort Worth Neighborhood

You are with me looking down to the ground from about 30 feet in the air, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell.

No, I am not contemplating jumping.

What I was contemplating when this picture was taken was going jogging. And doing so in a novel, never before attempted way. As in go jogging right from my front door, rather than drive to a park to jog on trails.

I  am now back from this experiment. On the plus side, it saved time to not drive anywhere. On the non-plus side, I like jogging in a park better than sidewalks with cars in close proximity.

And my chronic aching right foot woe came back, which contributed to the jogging not being what I'd call a huge success.

It was warm enough to do the jogging in shorts and t-shirt. I currently have my windows open, due to the fact that I did jog enough to get a bit overheated.

Windows open on December 30. I do not remember this being doable in my previous Decembers in Texas.

This morning I blogged on my Washington Blog about an amusing thing I read in the Seattle P-I. That being an article that used the various lists, rankings and polls on which Seattle appeared in 2010 to compile what a City of Seattle Personal Ad would be like.

This had me wondering if I had enough creative juice to conjure up what a City of Fort Worth Personal Ad would be like.

This might be difficult to conjure due to the fact that Fort Worth does not show up on all that many of those type lists. And the ones it does show up on are usually not all that flattering.

Or it is some bogus thing.

Like a D.C. lobbying group, naming Fort Worth as one of the Ten Most Livable Communities in America. Which had Fort Worth, without looking too closely at the validity of the 'award,' having a city-wide celebration to celebrate this tremendous honor, while other, more informed places, like Tacoma and Pierce County, politely said thank you and then ignored it. With no city-wide celebration.

I'll see if I can come up with a City of Fort Worth Personal Ad. Later today. If I have the energy.