Up Early July 20 Thinking About Going Swimming and a Tacoma Creepy Psycho

July's Day 20, the 3rd Wednesday of Month 7 of 2011, has dawned with yet one more blue sky morning in the land of the Great North Texas Drought.

That blue oasis you see in the picture is ready for swimming this morning. I think I will make good use of it.

I do not know if we hit 100 here yesterday. I also don't know if we did hit 100 how many days in a row of 100 or more we have currently accumulated.

What I do know is it is currently a relatively chilly 80, heading to a predicted 101 with a Real Feel Heat Index of 106.

Changing the subject to Tacoma mental health. I was dismayed last night to learn that Tacoma's most psychotic creep is still stalking me. It's vexing. And disturbing. I would have hoped that law enforcement would have had her back behind bars, again, by now. Or in a mental institution. Or both.

Changing the subject again. This time to chicken tacos. I got really good, already cooked, rotisserie style, chicken breast, from Town Talk on Saturday. This morning I realized this would make for really good chicken tacos. This will require a return, today, to Town Talk, to get some sharp cheese and salsa. And any other good stuff I find there.

But, before that I have some swimming and webpage making to do. And likely some HOT hiking on some nearby hills.

Lamenting The Now Dry Village Creek Bayou & Pondering The Great North Texas Drought

Just a couple days ago there was still water in the Village Creek Bayou in Village Creek Natural Historic Area.

With birds in the bayou.

A couple weeks ago I saw a couple water snakes in the Village Creek Bayou.

Today I saw that the Great North Texas Drought has totally dried out the Village Creek Bayou.

Where have the birds gone, now that the water has gone? Where have the water snakes gone, now that there is no more water?

On a more upbeat wildlife note, today whilst walking amongst the Village Creek, still green foliage, I saw a scrawny raccoon run across the trail ahead of me. A few minutes after that I saw my first armadillo of the year.

The Great North Texas Drought is perplexing me. Something about The Lawn Whisperer, that I blogged about yesterday, has been bugging me.

The Lawn Whisperer makes a big fuss about people wasting water irrigating their lawns. But, that water remains in the ecosystem. It may evaporate, it may make it's way to the Trinity River, wherever it goes, it remains in the ecosystem.

The water taken from the North Texas ecosystem, by the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers, does not return to the ecosystem. If that Fracking water does intersect with the ecosystem, it is a mistake, and hurts the ecosystem.

So, what I was wondering was this. How much of the Great North Texas Drought is being caused by having millions upon millions of gallons of water permanently removed from the ecosystem?

It seems fairly obvious that at some point the level of water removal will have a bad effect. Are we already at that point? If the millions upon millions of gallons of water that have been removed from the ecosystem had not been removed, would we not be in the midst of the Great North Texas Drought?

It's perplexing.

A Fort Worth Call For A To HALT Seismic Testing Now

You are looking at what a 30" water pipeline looks like when it breaks. This particular breach occurred in Fort Worth near Sycamore Park, on July 14, 2011.

Last week Don Young emailed an open letter to Fort Worth Councilwoman, Kathleen Hicks, about the Seismic Testing taking place all over East Fort Worth, to the growing dismay of many of the seismically shaken residents.

This morning Don Young sent out a followup open letter to Kathleen Hicks. This letter details the very legitimate concerns of those who are experiencing the Seismic Testing.....

Dear Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks-

It has been more than a week since I requested that Seismic Testing be halted in Fort Worth until the public has proof that it is safe, legal and cost-free to all residents. However, testing is still underway and many of your District 8 constituents are concerned.

Our primary concern is that the City of Fort Worth relied too heavily on information provided by the drilling industry or one of its partners when issuing a testing permit to Dawson Geophysical. We are also concerned that because the City is in business with Chesapeake, XTO, etc. and depends on them for City revenue, that an appearance of conflict of interest exists that may affect prudent decision making.

The concerns I spelled out in my message dated July 9 are very real. For example, the huge water main break near Sycamore Park that occurred last week may have been at least partially caused by seismic testing that occurred in that area. That leak affected thousands of homeowners and wasted a lot of public water during drought conditions. A water department spokesperson could not say for certain the cause of the breach.

There was a similar report back in May, 2011 of a water line break in the Westcliff West neighborhood while thumper trucks were in the area.

How many other events such as this have been caused by seismic testing? Is the City keeping tabs and connecting dots?

I have also received the following reports from concerned residents as a result of my email from last week:

- Seismic testing is going on in Wedgwood where neighborhoods remain un-leased. There is no protection in place for homeowners should damage occur to their property. Also, companies can use information gathered against the mineral owners in future negotiations.  TT

- This (Seismic testing) has the markings of potential disaster for existing utilities. Exhibit A is that Atmos has a number of older gas service lines that need immediate replacement in North Texas, due to parts that weaken with age. How well would those weak gas service lines respond to nearby seismic testing? I'm afraid to find out the hard way, and those in Government should be, too! There's estimated to be 500,000 of such weak gas lines around North Texas, so it's a gamble to do seismic testing around them.  MH

- I would therefore request an explanation as to what authority they (Dawson) are using to explore the property that I paid for and own outright.  The testing creates massive vibration of the area and would appear to possibly damage roads, foundations and any other structure within proximity to the source of vibrations.  It is not a risk I wish to see if it damages anything, like my property.  It is likely damage may not appear immediately or be apparent until sometime in the future.  It would then become my burden to prove what the source of the damage actually was.  As we have seen repeatedly, any damage would be denied by any and all parties involved. JA

- From what I remember, Texas homeowners policies exempt payments for damages from seismic activity. Check out your policy. Bad stuff, that seismic crap. LM

- They (Dawson) have also recently been in the Westcliff West neighborhood.  In the process, they broke a water line on Encanto Drive, depriving residents of water for hours. GA

- They went through our neighborhood in Arlington in May, the noise was horrendous, some neighbors complained that their houses were shaking, cracks appeared , and one person told me that their toddler found the shaking of their house very distressing and cried inconsolably. RB

- This (seismic testing) felt like collective rape on Winifred Drive Friday afternoon. The dishes in my cabinets were rattling; the dogs were freaking out. I thought it was Armageddon, as did my neighbors. I was livid and expressed it to the police escort and the lady in the Lexus following them who the police told me would "tell me what it was all about." I emailed Jungus that afternoon as well as the lawyers at Riddle and Williams.  KE

- Thanks for the support. I have not signed a lease and I do not want someone taking picture under my property. A friend told them not to take any picture under his property that he is not signed a lease agreement. They had already taken a couple of pictures before he stopped them. So he asked them if he can get the pictures from there company. They said NO. This is invasion of our property and I will get in contact with the company and request my pictures. JL

- On the morning of July 4, 2011, I was alarmed by a sound I'd not heard before. Looking out my front window, I saw at least three huge trucks, with the sign DAWSON on them. Their loudness, and their presence, stunned me - the ground shook!! I went out my front door and was further surprised to see a man kneeling over paperwork at the end of my walkway (25 feet from my door, 35 feet from the street). I asked him what he was doing, and I told him he was within the easement of the property. He said I could talk his boss, and he nodded toward a tall young man, who then came from the street to where I was, and he asked me if there was a problem. I asked him what they were doing, and he said they were "x-raying" the ground. (He said they were "x-raying" downtown also.) I asked him who he worked for, and he replied, "Chesapeake."

I told him I had not given permission for them to be on my property, and  I asked if he could show me anything that gave him permission to do so? He said that if I didn't want them on my property, they could go across the street and get the information they needed. The two of them left my property. ( I don't know, but  they may already have gotten a "reading," or whatever they wanted,  from my location.)

If I had been given notice of their coming, and/or had received a request that they come onto my property,  I could have checked on my rights in such an instance.  I think perhaps that is exactly why we  were NOT given advance notice--so Chesapeake could have access, without permission.  Such permission, from some citizens such as myself, had they asked, they are not likely to have been given.  SR

- I asked an attorney. They have NO right to conduct seismic testing if you have not leased. Further, they have no right to conduct seismic testing even if you have leased unless it is covered in the lease or an agreement has been made. He said that usually the language in the leases is vague enough that it confers them the right but they definitely do NOT have the right if you are not leased.  DD

Specifically, we request that that Seismic Testing be halted immediately unless and until you provide the following:

1. Third-party documentation proving it is safe to all life-forms, including people, pets, wildlife and livestock.
2. Third-party documentation addressing impact to public roadways and utilities .
3. Property owner compensation for data already accessed from their land without consent.
4. Documentation showing that private pipeline, telephone, cable TV and electric companies, etc. have OK'd the testing without caveats.
5. Minutes from all FW Water and Street Dept. meetings where seismic testing was discussed.
6. Documentation from the City legal department identifying the responsible party in case of any reported damage.
7. An explanation of your statement that "properties are protected from damage."
8. The City plan for compensation in cases where damage occurs in the near and long term.
9. Proof that homeowners' insurance will not be impacted by seismic testing.

Thanks for your attention to this urgent matter.

Don Young

A Tuesday In Texas With Zero Outdoor Activity In Solidarity With Gar The Texan Syndrome

The 3rd Tuesday of July, day number 19, has dawned with yet one more clear blue sky morning in North Texas, currently heated to 82 degrees, heading to a scheduled high today of 102.

Since it is Tuesday I will not be getting wet in that blue oasis you see in the picture, via looking through my primary viewing portal on the world. Tuesday is the day the pool gets its weekly treatment. A very necessary treatment when the temperature is over 100 day after day.

Today is going to be a day of greatly curbed outdoor activity. I think I may have overdone my aerobic pool activity yesterday, because I am sort of sore all over. A day of rest from physical strains is an occasional good and needed thing.

Speaking of taking a rest from physical strains, Gar the Texan conjured one of his more interesting bloggings of late, basically an ode to his inability to engage in outdoor activity without getting a case of the vapors.

From Gar the Texans's latest blogging.......

"I have a t-shirt that reads, "Extreme Indoor Enthusiast".  For some reason, I've never been much for the great outdoors. Durango was fond of calling it the vapors and when he gave up trying to cure me, I never heard from him again."

Gar the Texan then goes on to list dozens of instances, on my blog, where I refer to his getting a case of the vapors.

Gar the Texan is completely erroneous in thinking that his Expiration Date was reached due to incurable cases of the vapors. What actually brought about Gar the Texan's Expiration Date is I got tired of too many behavior instances of what I now know were caused by Asperger's Syndrome.

Had I realized that what I was experiencing was caused by a syndrome, I probably would have been a bit more sympathetic regarding the symptoms.

One of the Gar the Texan Asperger's Syndrome things is to always be wearing a t-shirt with a message on it. This is sort of vaguely embarrassing to see on someone approaching the half century mark, age-wise.

I was a little surprised I did not hear from Gar the Texan last week after I blogged about discovering him in an FW Weekly ad.

The Lawn Whisperer Has Found Another Victim Of Overwatering In His Quest To Save Texas Water

For a long time now I have been driving by the billboard you see in the picture on my way to the Tandy Hills. The billboard faces westbound traffic on I-30.

On the billboard a guy is looking at grass with a magnifying glass.

The billboard identifies the guy as The Lawn Whisperer and has him saying, "Looks like another victim of overwatering."

At the bottom of the billboard there is a website address, SaveNorthTexasWater.com.

Going to the website you meet The Lawn Whisperer again. You are directed to select the city you live in. I selected Fort Worth.

Selecting Fort Worth brought me to SaveTarrantWater.com, where I was advised to save water because nothing can replace it.

More important water information from Save Tarrant Water...

It's a drought out there.

Texas is experiencing the worst drought in more than half a century. No rain means our water supplies are taking a hit - outdoor watering plays a big role in how fast they go. When the combined storage capacity of TRWD reservoirs reaches 75%, TRWD will require it's municipal customers to initiate Stage 1 of its drought plan. The primary way to stretch our supplies and save water will be to limit outdoor watering to no more than twice per week. And although many of you do water efficiently, there are some who don't. Now is a good time to start. Thanks.

I wonder how many Lawn Whisperer billboards grace the Tarrant County landscape? I wonder how much the billboard ads cost? How much has been spent on the Save Texas Water websites? The Lawn Whisperer is also on Facebook.

How many gallons of water has all this propaganda saved?

No where in The Lawn Whisperer propaganda did I see mention made of the millions of gallons of water being taken from the Texas water supply by Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers.

Not only are millions of gallons of water being used to Frack wells, that water does not return to the water supply.

Plus, there have been instances where the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling has contaminated the water supply of multiple hapless victims.

So, really, how much is all this water propaganda costing? How many gallons of water are alleged to be wasted by overwatering? Compared to the many gallons of water wasted by Fracking?

A Drought Resistant Wildflower Of Yellow Color Has Sprouted On The Tandy Hills

Due to the Texas Drought and day after day of temperatures over 100 degrees, the Tandy Hills Prairie is in full wilt mode.

Yet somehow, today, in multiple locations on the Tandy Hills, the bright yellow wildflower, you see in the picture, and its siblings, have bloomed.

Is this some sort of drought resistant flower which blooms when triggered by extremely dry conditions? I don't know.

What I do know is the bright yellow flower matched my own personal sunny disposition on this particular day.

It was 92 with a Real Feel Heat Index of 101 when I left air-conditioned comfort today. Upon my return it is now 96 with a supposed Real Feel Heat Index of 111.

I did not over heat on the hills today. A breeze was blowing. I think the humidity must be being lower, thus making the HEAT easier to tolerate.

Up Early On The 3rd Monday Of July In Texas With A Full Moon, Earthquakes & Incoming Thunder

I stepped outside with my morning coffee libation on this 3rd Monday of July and looked skyward to see a clear sky with a bright white round orb glowing above me.

A full moon. Almost.

Is the almost full moon the cause of yesterday's rare North Texas earthquake that shook the ground with a 3.0 magnitude quake epicentered about 13 miles west of Waxahachie early Sunday morning?

Most likely the moon had nothing to do with the earth quaking. Were there any Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers in the area of the quake?

Changing the subject from earthquakes to my favorite subject. Sports.

Do the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners play any other teams than each other? It seems every morning, for weeks now, I click on the Seattle P-I to see that the Texas Rangers have defeated the Seattle Mariners in yet one more baseball game. The Seattle Mariners must have the worst record in baseball history.

Yesterday's temperature prediction for today was 99. Giving us hope of a break from yet one more day over 100. But. This morning the temperature prediction for today has been increased 2 degrees, to 101. With a Real Feel Heat Index of 106. With a possible Thunderstorm late in the day possibly dropping some much needed moisture on these parched parts of the planet.

I guess I will go swimming now, before the lightning starts striking.

I Am Thinking About Going To Oklahoma & Noodling For Some Catfish In Murky Water

Big Ed sent me a link to an article in NewsOK, that being an Oklahoma news website, about "How to get started in Noodling."

The article about Noodling had a video about Noodling.

I read the article and watched the video and I still don't think I know what Noodling is, besides having to do with catching a catfish. With your bare hands. I think.

Noodling, whatever it is, is legal in Oklahoma, but with very strict guidelines. And some Oklahoma lakes allow no Noodling.

If you are found to be in the possession of hooks, gaffs, spears, poles or ropes, while Noodling, you can find yourself being fined.

After watching the below video I wondered if maybe the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle should maybe add Noodling to its Happy Hour Trinity River Inner Tube Floats....

Finding A Can In The Coke On Sunday's HOT Tandy Hills With No Lizards

It was 92 degrees when I left air-conditioned comfort today, before noon, to head to the top of Mount Tandy to get a HEAT treatment in the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium Sauna Steambath Area.

A semi-pleasant breeze blew some heat relief today. I did not get even close to the heatstroke zone.

I found a new Tandy Hills Guerrilla Art Installation today. It is located near the end of the trail that leads into the hills from View Street. Take the final left trail junction and you will find the Art Installation located on the left side of the trail, right before it heads west down a hill.

As you can see this new Art Installation has the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth in its background. The Art Installation consists of an antique Coca-Cola glass with a rusted can inside the glass.

I'm guessing the title for this Tandy Hills Art Installation is "Can in a Coke."

It is beginning to concern me that I have seen no reptiles on the Tandy Hills this summer. No snakes, no lizards. I have never seen all that many snakes on the hills, but last summer the Tandy Hills lizard population seemed well stocked. Including one encounter with a monster lizard about a foot long.

Was our harsh icy winter hard on cold-blooded creatures? By now, usually, I would have had at least one snake encounter at the Village Creek Natural Historic Area. So far all I've seen was a couple water snakes in the now almost dry Village Creek Bayou.

Now that you've got me thinking about it, I've not seen any geckos this summer. Usually I'll find geckos stuck to the exterior walls, or my door, sometimes dropping in for a visit.

Are the geckos the parakeet in the Dallas/Fort Worth mine? Dying from air pollution?

Up Late In Texas The 3rd Sunday Of July Thinking About Nothing But The Temperature

I was up late Saturday night, which has me up late on this 3rd Sunday of July. You can sort of tell I am up late by how brightly lit the pool zone is.

It is only 81 this morning, starting off slightly cool, heading to a scheduled high of 105, with the Real Feel Heat Index making it feel like it is 111.

Currently the prediction for Monday is that we will only reach 99 degrees, thus ending our streak of days in a row of 100 or higher.

At my old home location in the Skagit Valley of Washington it is currently 54 degrees, cloudy with rain in the forecast.

At my mom and dad and sister's location in the Phoenix desert zone they are currently at 88 degrees heading to a high of 110. Being in the desert their Real Feel Heat Index has them feeling cooler than the actual temperature, even though it is monsoon season in Arizona, and thus more humid than the norm.

I am going to go swimming right now. Unless I change my mind.