Snake Danger In Texas Toilets

I saw that which you see here on the front page of the online version of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Apparently there is a danger of snakes coming out of ones toilet bowl.

I can't imagine how such could possibly happen, or that it actually has ever happened.

But, such must have happened, or why would the Star-Telegram issue such a warning?

Snakes are just about my least favorite member of the animal kingdom.

Since I have been in Texas I have had many snake encounters.

Thrice coming upon copperheads whilst biking and roller blading in Arlington's River Legacy Park. A cottonmouth encounter in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area. Big snakes of unknown type at other locations, including Gateway Park and the Tandy Hills in Fort Worth.

And two rattlesnake encounters on the DORBA mountain bike trail in Cedar Hills State Park in Dallas.

The Dallas rattlesnake encounters were in the wild. But, the most rattlesnake encounters I have encountered happened at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, where I say hundreds of rattlenakes, rounded up, waiting to be milked and butchered.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup may be the weirdest event I have ever been to.

And now, til the arrival of winter, I must add checking my toilets for snakes to my to do list...

Hot Humid Lucy Park Last Day Of May

No, that is not the Lucy Park backwoods jungle zone you see here. The Lucy Park backwoods jungle zone is about a 1/4 mile further north, which is the direction we are looking at in the photo documentation.

Due to this last day of May being HOT and HUMID, I did not want to go into the Lucy Park backwoods jungle, even if it is shadier, and thus cooler, than the non-jungle areas of Lucy Park, because HOT and HUMID gets the cold-blooded critters active.

As in snakes.

The biggest snake I have seen, since I have been in Texas, I saw in the Lucy Park backwoods jungle zone. I have no idea what type snake this was. It was long, and thick, like a boa constrictor.

I know boa constrictors are not native to Texas.

By the time I got my camera turned on that giant snake had slithered out of sight. I then quickly skedaddled in the opposite direction, getting out of the jungle as quickly as possible.

I don't think I have seen a snake since that below deep freeze a couple winters ago. Maybe the slithering monsters did not survive that deep freeze...

Lake Wichita Biking With Snakes & Nurse Canecracker Thinking About Trump's Dementia

When I opted to roll my wheels to Lake Wichita this morning, about an hour before noon, the outer world was chilled to somewhere in the high 70s.

Brrrr.

I had to find my sweatpants and insulated underwear before venturing out into the semi-Arctic blast.

There were a lot of other wheel rollers enjoying the momentary respite from triple digits.

When I reached the top of Lake Wichita Dam I decided to roll down to the floating dock which today was not occupied by people wielding fishing poles. You can see the Mount Wichita pseudo volcano on the far side of the lake. The pseudo volcano is my eventual destination.

Today, for the first time since I have been in my current North Texas Wichita Falls location, I saw a snake.

It was in the drought dried lily pond creek which flows into Lake Wichita I saw the snake, slithering in the little bit of water remaining in the creek.

What you see above are my handlebars perched on the Circle Trail bridge which crosses the aforementioned dried up creek. Apparently the snake slithered out of camera view by the time I snapped the above photo.

Lately dementia has been on my mind. I deal with a lot of dementia in Texas.

And when I leave Texas.

Last night Nurse Canecracker called.

My favorite nurse and I had an hour long conversation about dementia, and other topics. It is useful to consult a wise medical professional when one is troubled by such things as dementia.

I heard from David, Theo and Ruby's mother this morning. She has been in Washington, D.C. all week. I do not know the precise purpose of my little sister's D.C. visit, but I am just about 100% certain the visit did not involve consulting Donald Trump about his obvious dementia issues...

Village Creek Ghost Running With Snake Hunters

Rather than drive to Dallas to go to the last day of the State Fair of Texas I opted instead to do my usual Sunday thing by being a Ghost Runner in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

As you can see, the current chilly temperature, in the mid-70s, required extra outerwear so as to keep warm.

As I ran along in one of the most isolated locations in the Village Creek zone I came upon a young lady and her boyfriend acting all frazzled, looking intently for something. I figured their dog had run off.

I stopped and asked what they were looking for.

Snakes, was the reply. Snakes? Asked I. Yes, snakes, said the young lady. She told me further down the trail they had almost stepped on a real big snake. I told them they really had nothing much to fear, that I'd only seen a few rattlesnakes, water moccasins and copperheads in this park. That, and the temperature is so chilly cold-blooded snakes can't move too fast. So, no danger.

Later on my run with the Indian Ghosts I came upon the same couple again, still walking slow and intently watching where they were walking. I think they must have been visiting the Great State of Texas from somewhere up north or west, due to the irrational fear of snakes, which is a malady I suffered from when I first arrived in Texas. I remember just the walk to the end of the driveway to pick up the morning paper made me nervous, sure was I that snakes were lurking about.

All these years later I have only had a few encounters with venomous snakes. Those being a rattlesnake in Cedar Hills State Park, a copperhead, cottonmouth and water moccasin in Village Creek, a cottonmouth on the Horseshoe Trails on Lake Grapevine and a copperhead on the River Legacy mountain bike trail.

None of my venomous snake encounters have come even remotely close to me getting a snake bite, with the closest encounter being that rattlesnake on the DORBA Trail in Cedar Hills State Park. That rattlesnake was BIG, coiled up and rattling its tail right beside the trail. I heard the telltale rattle before I saw the snake. It was within striking distance as I zipped by, but it remained coiled and rattling and did not attempt to kill me.

I slept in way past my norm this morning, vertical well after the sun had arrived to do its daily lighting duty. I did not make it to my morning swim til around 8. The pool was cool due to the newly arrived cooler temperature, but even though the pool was cool it was still doable to have myself a mighty fine time seeking endorphins via water aerobics.

The running/jogging thing has really kicked in. It no longer feels awkward. It feels natural. And no aches or pains. Knock on wood. I did some bouts of running as fast as I could today. We'll see if that brings me aches and pains by tomorrow morning.  I suspect I will be pain free.....

A Close Encounter Of The Snake Kind In Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area

I needed to replenish my much needed milk supply. With ALDI being my milk supplier and with ALDI being a short distance from Arllington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area I decided to roll my wheels with the Indian Ghosts before getting milked at ALDI.

I was not long into my bike ride when I got an adrenalin boost due to a snake encounter.

I roll at high speed when I reach the part of the paved trail which crosses the first dam bridge. It's a fast slope downhill, then across the dam bridge and then a fast slope uphill.

As I got to the dam bridge I saw a big snake snoozing in the middle of the trail. I had about 2 seconds to ascertain the snake had a diamondback pattern. When I met the snake in the middle of the dam bridge I figured it'd go right as I passed. Instead the snake quickly slithered left, across my path.

Due to seeing the snake had a diamondback pattern my neurotic fear of snakes quickly had me thinking rattlesnake. A second later the rational part of my thinking realized the snake with the diamondback pattern did not have a rattlesnake type head or a rattle on its tail.

The cicadas chirping and birds tweeting had the Village Creek zone seeming very jungle-like today. I decided to see if I could roll wheels and video at the same time. I have just YouTubed the result. For about 5 seconds all is well, you can hear cicadas,  birds tweeting and my fascinating narration.

And then when I pick up speed the resulting wind noise starts to sound like thunder. However, the video does give you a good idea of what biking with the Indian Ghosts is like in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I wonder if my digital camera in video mode has a wind noise suppression option like my antique analog video camera did?

Walking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Through A Flurry Of Snow & Snake Concerns

June Snow in Arlington

I don't know how the Legion of Climate Change Deniers could possibly explain the dusting of snow which dusted the trail today in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

A dusting of snow when the temperature is nearing the 90 degree zone? If that is not serious Climate Change, I don't know what is.

Walking with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts seems to be an activity growing in popularity, no matter time of the day or day of the week, you find a lot of people on a natural historical quest in this area.

Today when a pair of young ladies saw me and my snake whacking stick they asked if I'd seen any snakes. I indicated I had not on this particular day. I asked if they'd seen any. They had. What they thought to be a corn snake. I asked if they'd like my bamboo snake whacking stick,  for security. They indicated that that  would make them feel more secure. And so I armed them.

I think the open carry law in Arlington applies to snake whacking sticks. I hope I've not been a scofflaw, illegally arming young ladies with a snake whacking stick.

It has been years since I've seen a snake near Village Creek of the venomous Copperhead sort. I used to see big snakes at this location frequently, including big snake conventions in the Village Creek Blue Bayou.

I recollect, years ago, biking on to the old wooden, long gone, Blue Bayou Overlook, seeing two guys intensely looking at something. I asked what had their attention so intensely. They pointed to a big group of water snakes which they thought to be water moccasins.

Where have all the Village Creek snakes gone, I can not help but wonder? Another climate change casualty?

A Village Creek Natural Historical Area Green Snake Standoff With Overcooked Chicken

My walk on the wild side with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area was not impeded, today, by flash floods.

Rather than raging water my path was blocked by a long, skinny green snake with a propitiatory attitude that had it giving itself permission to not feel as if it needed to get out of my way.

Eventually the snake standoff ended and the Indian Ghosts and I were able to continue walking.

And then an unsettling thing happened.

Once again, just like a week or two ago, I remembered I'd forgotten to turn off my chicken cooking oven. Just like the last time, I called Miss Puerto Rico to ask if she could go turn off the oven. Just like the last time, the call went to voice mail. The last time Miss Puerto Rico got the voice mail message and called back to tell me the chicken was saved.

This time, no call back came by the time I reached my vehicle. It was a speed limit pushing rush back to the potentially burning chicken.

Tragedy averted. I made it back in time to get the chicken out of the oven before it was totally ruined.

I think I need a new oven with a timer that turns the oven off.

Today There Were Fewer Signs Of Danger In Gateway Park With Snakes

Last Saturday I saw a Sign of Danger at Gateway Park at the  location you are looking at on the left.

Today, at that location, that particular DANGER sign was gone, so I was able to take a picture of my handlebars overlooking the currently green, and running a lot of water, due to recent rain, Trinity River.

DANGER signs still block the other locations, with red tape, that I came upon last Saturday.

Today there was no DANGER sign to warn me that I was about to roll over a snake with a diamond pattern to its snakeskin.

I spotted the snake in sufficient time to avoid hitting it. Though this snake had a diamond pattern, it was not a Diamondback Rattlesnake. Those have big heads and very noticeable rattles, which the snake tends to shake when a human on, or off, wheels gets too close.

Due to the temperature being in the 90 zone, snake mobility is much faster than when the air is in the chilly 70  zone. Which means the snake slithered out of sight before I could get my camera aimed at it.

Speaking of the temperature, and who isn't? The temperature of the water in the pool has warmed up significantly in the past couple days. A week more of this near 100 degree HEAT and getting in the pool will start to be not as refreshing as one would like a dip in the pool to be.

You always hear people asking if a pool is a heated pool. No one ever asks if it is a cooled pool. A cooled pool would be a much bigger asset in Texas than a heated pool. In summer.

Every year there is a standard article in many North Texas news purveyor publications, advising people that it is not possible to add enough ice to ones pool to bring the temperature down to a noticeable degree of chill. Apparently there have been incidents where a Texan will order up a dump truck load of ice to be dumped into a pool, to find out that this was not such a good idea after all.

I noticed this morning that we have reached that time of the year where cold tap water is no longer very cold.  But makes for very refreshing showers, which I think I'll avail myself of, right now....

Walking With Village Creek Indian Ghosts In Fields Of Wildflowers With Big Green Snakes

When I go hiking in the wild in Texas I am almost always armed with my snake stick. Even on cold days when snakes are rendered immobile due to their cold bloodedness.

My year round arming of myself with a snake stick could be taken as being an indication of my fear level when it comes to slithering reptiles.

Today, whilst walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area I was peacefully enjoying being lost in my thoughts when I was suddenly startled by the green slithery monster you see above.

The slithery green monster did not act in an unfriendly manner towards me, so my snake stick stayed in its holster.

Speaking of snakes, just this morning I heard from Leo, he being the snake killer killer who wants to put a stop to rattlesnake roundups, like the one in Sweetwater. Leo has been apologizing lately for mistaking me for being a snake killer apologist.

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area's Wildflower Area seems to be tripling its amount of color every three days.

Well, I guess that is a bit of a stretch to say that the amount of color is tripling every three days. More accurately today it appeared there were about three times the number of blooms blooming three days ago.

I see via incoming email that Elsie Hotpepper has tasked me with an URGENT task. Since this is URGENT I really should go attend to it, lest the Hotpepper overheat.

A Village Creek Indian Ghost Walk With A Bluebonnet Snake Or Alligator

With the return of blue sky and a warmer outer world I decided to return to Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area, today, even though I'd walked with the Indian Ghosts yesterday.

As you can see the Village Creek jungle of ultra green foliage has returned. For me, this is the most pleasant time of the year to be outdoors in Texas, particularly in an area with jungle-like foliage.

I think the rapidly growing greenage puts out some sort of negative ion energy into the air that sort of amps up the endorphin inducing feel goodness I get from a good bout of aerobic activity.

In other words, walking with the Indian Ghosts today put me in a very good mood.

That and I saw my first bluebonnet of the year.

Is that not an otherworldly shade of blue? I believe the bluebonnet is either the State Flower or State Wildflower of Texas. Maybe both.

Yesterday I saw a long necked big white bird in the Village Creek Blue Bayou. Today I saw something in the Village Creek Blue Bayou that seemed a bit more sinister than a long necked big white bird.

The critter that was floating along in the Blue Bayou was too distant for me to know, for sure what it was. A big snake? An alligator?

A pair of ducks were swimming towards the sinister critter. When the ducks got within about 15 feet the critter came into their view, with the ducks quickly making a U-turn, then going airborne.

So far I've had myself a real fine time on this first Friday of April, even though I did not attempt going swimming in the cool pool this morning. At pool time the outer world was chilled to only 6 degrees above freezing.

An incoming heat wave, blowing north from the Gulf, should start warming up the cool pool soon, as you can see, via the 7 day forecast, below....

Snake Free Walk Through The Village Creek Wild Zone

As you can see in the picture, looking north, deep in the wild undeveloped zone of the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, there are no hurricane clouds swirling overhead in North Texas this last Monday of October of 2012.

I walked the trail through the VCNHA all the way to Pioneer Parkway. I have no idea how far that is, but it seemed like a long ways.

I don't walk in this area when it is hot, due to the fact that years ago, on my bike, I had my most unsettling snake encounter ever, whilst pedaling fast. I came close to running over a very big, very colorful snake. After that I noticed what I figured were a lot of snake holes along this trail.

A few years ago I was pedaling the River Legacy Park paved trail, when ahead of me about 100 feet I saw what I thought was a stick of re-bar sticking out of the ground. I thought that odd. And then when I got closer, like about 15 feet away, I saw it was a snake, sticking vertical out of its hole about a foot. The snake retreated into its hole before I passed it.

So, I assume any small round hole I see on a Texas trail is a snake home.

Changing the subject to something other than snakes.

My attempt to swim did not go well this morning. The pool had greatly cooled, even though the morning temperature was warmer than Sunday's. I swam to the end of the pool, then back to the other end, and then got out.

Yesterday morning I turned on my furnace for the first time this heating season. It was below 60 in my abode when I got out from under my thick cover of blankets Sunday morning.

I got gas Sunday afternoon, so I called my mom. During that call I learned it was my mom and dad who sent me the small bag full of McDonald's coupons, that I mentioned yesterday,  from which I can get an awful lot of French Fries.

My mom told me I am expected in Arizona in late November. My mom also told me they no longer have an internet connection. My mom seemed surprised that I might need an internet connection.

I don't know about the flying to Phoenix idea. I am sort of suffering a small bout of relative fatigue.

Every Only Child I have known has been messed up to varying degrees. But, sometimes I can see where being an Only Child might be a mighty fine thing. I'd miss having nephews and a niece, though.

A Snake Free Walk With The Indian Ghosts Who Haunt The Village Creek Natural Historical Area

Village Creek Blue Bayou

Yesterday I think I overdid it with the running around Crystal Canyon looking for shiny objects, because this morning when I got vertical in my slumber chamber, after a long slumber, I found myself to be a bit sore.

I took a dose of ibuprofen and a long swim, both of which I think may have contributed to feeling less sore.

When the time of the day came around for my regularly scheduled salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation I opted to not be very stimulated, so I drove to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt the historical area.

The Village Creek Blue Bayou is slowly being choked with vegetation. Years ago when I first saw this bayou it was more like a big open pond, with little vegetation. I remember roller blading on to the now replaced wooden viewing platform and asking a couple guys what they were looking at.

Water Moccasins, I was told.

It was a group of 5 or 6 reptiles in the water making a minor snake boil. This was very early in my getting adjusted to living with a lot of snakes in the natural world, so seeing all those snakes sort of unsettled me. In the years since I've learned that it is likely these were not Water Moccasins, but instead some other group of water snakes, without a venomous bite.

Miss Puerto Rico returns from her home island today, arriving in the D/FW zone a bit after 8, after a long day of flying, going from San Juan to Washington, D.C. to D/FW.

I think I may have forgotten to check in on Miss Puerto Rico's mentally ill cat, Tasha, yesterday. I probably should go do that right about now.

Walking Across A Raging Village Creek With A Snake

That is the spillway of one of the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's dam bridges you are looking at in the picture.

A lot of water was shooting through the dam bridge today during my regular Sunday walk with the Indian Ghosts who forlornly haunt this location on the planet.

I was expecting rain all day on Saturday, but only saw a few drops.

On my way to the swimming pool this morning I found myself trudging through some mud sludge. This was my first indication that some rain had fallen. And then when I got a closeup look at the pool I could see that several inches had been added to the depth, thus indicating several inches of rain had fallen.

I was later to learn that at some point in time during the dark hours of Sunday morning a booming thunderstorm passed over my abode, with very strong winds and heavy rain, and possible hail.

I heard none of this because I was peacefully asleep in my soundproof slumber chamber.

By the time the sun arrived this morning to begin its daily illumination duty the solar rays hit the earth with no cloud intervention, as in the sky was totally blue, with the air chilled to a pleasant 64 degrees. Currently, in the middle of Sunday afternoon the air is slightly heated to a pleasant 76 degrees.

Today, crossing the dam bridge you see above I had a slightly unsettling experience whilst gazing at the flotsam that was jammed up against the dam bridge. That is the flotsam you see below.

As I looked at the mess of litter and wood I saw something odd, like a long, thick, black piece of rubber.

And then the rubber moved.

It was a snake. A really really big black snake. As I reached for my camera  the really really big black camera shy snake slithered down into the pile of floating wood. I hope the really really big black snake knew it was slithering on wood that was jammed up against a dam with culverts through the dam shooting out water at high speed.

I maintained a watch for several minutes, waiting for the really really big black snake to shoot out the other side of the dam.

However, no further snake sighting was made.

Imaginary Snake Encounters In Gateway Park While Thinking About Getting A Smart Car

Today my handlebars were back in Gateway Park on the FWMBA (Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association) Trail.

I believe the temperature was in the low 90s when I started pedaling. A breeze and shade made for pleasant pedaling, until I'd stop pedaling to consume some H2O or take a picture, or both.

Stopping pedaling quickly starts the steam bath phenomenon. I try and make my stops brief.

In the picture, due to my inferior photographic skills, you can't really tell that my handlebars are on the FWMBA Trail, with one of the Gateway Park paved trails to my handlebar's right, with a wooden bridge visible in the upper right.

I don't know the cause, maybe it was watching the video I blogged about a couple days ago, part of which showed a Copperhead snake encounter on the mountain bike trail in River Legacy Park, but today I have been being spooked  by tree roots. On my way to the pool this morning I reacted to a tree root I've seen many times, thinking, for an instant, it was a snake.

Today, whilst pedaling through the Gateway Park woods, the snake root spook reaction happened multiple times. This sort of got on my nerves. Maybe I had a bad snake nightmare last night that I'm not remembering consciously.

Changing the subject from snakes to Smart cars.

A couple days ago I Googled Smart cars, curious was I regarding how much a Smart car costs and its gas mileage. Ever since I Googled Smart cars, as I browse around the Internet, I keep seeing Smart car ads. Smart cars look so ridiculous, but also look like they'd be fun to drive. Like a go-kart on steroids.

I see a Smart car almost every day, parked by Albertson's. That Smart car has a personalized license plate. SMART. Why would someone want a personalized license plate that is the name of your car? Is that smart?

I have no idea what my license plate's combo of letters and numbers is. If it were SMART I'd be able to easily remember it.

I think I'll go Smart car shopping now.

Hiking The Warm Tandy Hills Thinking About Living In A Police State While Almost Stepping On A Giant Snake

The outer world was almost chilly when I did some hill hiking on the Tandy Hills today, starting my climbs around noon.

Even though the humidity was almost 90%, a pleasant breeze kept me from overheating, too much.

Much of what used to be green on the Tandy Hills is currently turning into various shades of brown. I particularly like the tall sticks of brown foliage you see in the picture. I don't remember what these looked like while they were still colorized.

Have I ever mentioned my two biggest concerns that concerned me when I moved to Texas?

Snakes and the HEAT.

Growing up in Washington I was never a big fan of summer. I did not like HOT weather. In Washington that meant  temperatures in the 70s. Low 80s was a heat wave.

Even though I did not like HOT weather in Western Washington, I did like to go to Eastern Washington (East of the Mountains, in Western Washington lingo) in summer.

Eastern Washington is sort of like North Texas, only more scenic with bigger rivers, fruit orchards and canyons. And it does not get as hot as North Texas.

I don't recollect ever being East of the Mountains with the temperature over 100. I do remember being East of the Mountains and having snake encounters.

That may be where my fear of snakes was amplified. One time whilst staying at Sun Lakes State Park my brother and I were out exploring when a park ranger came up and warned us we should go no further because there were a lot of rattlesnakes just ahead. I don't think til that moment we were aware of rattlesnakes being a possibility.

That is not a Sun Lakes State Park rattlesnake you are looking at in the picture.

That is a Tandy Hills snake that I almost stepped on today.

I'd just crossed dry Tandy Falls, heading south, lost in my thoughts about living in a Police State, when I almost stepped on that slithery monster. He (or she) was about 5 feet long. I took several pictures, was going to get around the monster by walking behind it, when suddenly the snake turned its head and started slithering towards its tail and then off the trail into the brush.

Snakes can move alarmingly fast.

I have no idea what brand of snake this guy was, except for knowing, for certain, it was not a rattlesnake.

With this incident I will likely be back in overreacting to sticks and roots mode again, til the memory of almost stepping on this big snake fades.

Fishing & Walking With The Snakes & Indian Ghosts Along Village Creek

Futile Village Creek Fishing

I was not in the mood to get too HOT today during my daily salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

With very little wind blowing, and the temperature nearing 90, I knew my delicate sensibilities would be better suited, today, for a nice cool walk under the big trees in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

I was not alone. A lot of people were taking a walk today with the Indian Ghosts which haunt this area.

I came upon a mom with 3 kids, fishing. That is them, above, in the picture. The picture was taken from the dam bridge that crosses Village Creek in this location, with the trail continuing on, turning into the Pioneer Trail of Bob Findlay Linear Park.

Where the mom with 3 kids are fishing is the location, where, years ago, I saw a huge water moccasin cross the creek and make a bee, I mean, snake line towards me. I quickly roller bladed to safety.

Snake in the Water

I climbed down the embankment to where the mom with 3 kids were fishing and told the mom about Chisholm Park, in Hurst, which has a stocked with fish lake. And shade. The mom was glad to learn of the park in Hurst. Apparently her oldest boy is a nut about going fishing, but seldom catches anything.

A short distance from where the futile fishing was taking place I came upon the snake you see above. I have no clue as to what type snake this is. It was not aggressive. It seemed to be enjoying itself in the water flowing over the dam.

Changing the subject from snakes to something else.

I think I must have had really bad nightmares last night. I've had this horrible sense of foreboding all day long. I thought a nice, long swim this morning would shake the sense of foreboding. But, it did not.

I think maybe I am having this sense of foreboding due to the fact I keep procrastinating dealing with fraudulent thievery perpetrated by something called M-Cube, in cahoots with Facebook, AT & T and their local enabler called Hawk Electronics.

A Cold Front Blows Into Texas Along With Venomous Snakes

The view from my primary viewing portal on the outer world on May Day 8, this morning, appears to be color themed to Seattle Seahawk blue. I like that color.

Overnight a cold front has blown in. Currently it is only 67 degrees at my location, heading to an eventual high of only 73 and an eventual low of only 59.

I may need to turn on the furnace to keep from shivering.

But, currently I have my windows open. Which I do not remember doing previously at this time of the year.

I read disturbing news this morning in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Venomous snakes like rattlesnakes and copperheads are appearing in increased numbers inside the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex due to a perfect storm of weather conditions. Apparently snakes with a bad bite like wet, humid weather.

I have had myself venomous snake encounters in years previous in Texas, but none this year. All I have seen this year have been cuddly little snakes that posed no biting threat.

I think I will go swimming now before it gets any colder.

I Shared The Tandy Highway With A Big Snake Today & Lived To Blog About It

I almost stepped on my first slithery serpent encounter of the year this afternoon.

I was peacefully minding my own business, walking on the Tandy Highway, having a pleasant conversation with myself, when suddenly I realized I was about to step on one of the descendants of Eve's Garden of Eden tempters.

By the time I got my camera turned on the snake was in high speed slither mode, but I was able to get one picture before the reptilian monster disappeared into the brush.

Snakes can slither surprisingly fast when motivated and the temperature is warm enough for their cold blood to flow. Today it was around 80 degrees when I almost stepped on a snake. I guess that is a warm enough temperature to allow fast acceleration.

I am not a snake fan. I find them very unnatural and have always wondered what in the world Mother Nature was thinking when She created them.

Western Washington, where I lived the majority of my time on earth, has no poisonous snakes, naturally occurring. But, there are plenty of garter snakes. Garter snakes can get quite big. Eastern Washington has rattlesnakes, but the Cascade Mountain Range has always kept them on the east side of the mountains.

When I first moved to Texas the fear of snake encounters was probably my #1 concern. Fear of redneck encounters was probably my #2 concern. Both these fears proved to be unwarranted.

I've only had myself a few poisonous snake encounters, one big rattlesnake, a couple copperheads, a couple cottonmouths. That's all.

As for redneck encounters. Gar the Texan has been the worst of that type thing I've encountered. And even that really was not as bad as I feared and easily made harmless by giving him beer.

Dragging Myself To The Tandy Hills In Search Of Horse Apples & Henry David Thoreau

After Don Young's rather pointed suggestion that I drag myself to the Tandy Hills, I did as instructed about 2 hours after being told to do so.

As I dragged myself around the Tandy Hills today I looked at what I was looking at with Henry David Thoreau in mind. Also due to Don Young's extreme mentoring influence.

The Great North Texas Drought has caused a lot of death and destruction on the Tandy Hills. And elsewhere in this parched part of the planet.

But there is still a lot of greenery, as you can see in the picture above. Big green trees near the now dry Tandy Falls.

The big green trees had me thinking back to hiking under even bigger green trees on the hikes I'd go on in Washington, often in the Cascades, sometimes over on the Olympic Peninsula, or out on islands in the Puget Sound, like hiking the trails of Deception Pass State Park.

This had me remembering one huge difference between hiking in Texas and hiking in Washington. A lot of the big green trees in Washington are evergreens; fir, pine and cedar trees. Fir, pine and cedar trees are quite odoriferous. So, when you hike a Washington trail, til you get above the treeline, it smells like Christmas. At times blackberries, wild blueberries and wild flowers will add to the odoriferousness.

I can't really recollect hiking on a Texas trail and thinking to myself that that sure smells good.  Unless someone is barbecuing nearby. Now that smells good.

A few days ago I learned that the Osage Orange Horse Apple tree is indigenous to this part of the planet, a native to North Texas that eventually was spread to other parts of America. This had me wondering why I've never seen any Osage Orange trees on the all natural Tandy Hills.

This Is Not A Horse Apple

Just as I was wondering about the absence of Tandy Hills Osage Orange trees I saw a lime green Horse Apple looking object in the distance.

I was about 20 feet distant from the "Horse Apple" when it became clear I had not uncovered evidence of a Tandy Hills Osage Orange tree.

Since we are on the subject of Tandy Hills foliage and fauna. Well, actually, we were not on the subject of fauna til now.

A couple days ago, at Village Creek Natural Historical Area, I saw a small armadillo. I've not had many armadillo sightings at Village Creek the last couple years. And no snakes. I've long thought a massive flood a couple years ago may have wreaked havoc with the armadillo and snake populations of Village Creek and River Legacy Park.

I have seen snakes only a couple times on the Tandy Hills. And unlike Village Creek and River Legacy, the Tandy Hills snakes have not been of the rattlesnake, copperhead or water moccasin variety.

And I have never seen an armadillo foraging on the Tandy Hills. It seems like this would be a nice location for the little guys. Maybe some armadillos could be imported to keep the Tandy Hills Roadrunner company.

A Snake In The Lake Before Going To Arlington's Sweet Tomatoes

I was running early on my way to Sweet Tomatoes in Arlington, so I stopped at Veterans Park in Arlington to sit on a bench under the shade of a tree to gaze out at the turtles on the Veterans Park Pond.

I was doing some phone talking whilst doing my pond gazing when I said to the person I was doing some phone talking to that something long was coming across the pond towards me.

The person I was doing some phone talking with told me I should get off the phone and get out of the incoming gator's way.

So, I hung up and turned on my camera. Soon it became obvious I was looking at a water snake of some sort, a big one, swimming across the pond, towards me.

The snake swam up to the log the turtles like to sit on and then disappeared. I stood at water's edge waiting for a reappearance, but that did not happen.

So, I turned off the camera and got back on the phone for some more phone talking.

I must make note of the fact that every day since Gar the Nerd sent out his dire "Unpleasant Warning" about an incoming snake invasion, I have had a snake encounter of one sort or another.

After surviving yet one more snake encounter it was on to Sweet Tomatoes. I am currently feeling very well nutrified. I do not believe I have been to Sweet Tomatoes since the Queen of Wink and Princess Annie took me there.

Both CatsPaw and Elsie Hotpepper informed me today that a Sweet Tomatoes will be opening soon in Fort Worth, on 7th Avenue, across from the newly opened In 'N Out Burger joint.

CatsPaw also asked me if I'd been to Souper Salad and how it compared to Sweet Tomatoes. Well, I really like Sweet Tomatoes and have been there many times. I have only been to Souper Salad once.