Tandy Hills Natural Area Picked Best Place To Stand In North Texas

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, some time back, solicited for entries in a contest to pick the "Best Places to Stand in North Texas."

I've stood on all the Top 10 places to stand. I have stood at or by the Japanese Garden at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the steps of the Amon Carter Museum, the Rusty sculpture at the Modern Museum, Cowboys Stadium, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Trinity Bridge on North Main, the Stockyards and the local lakes.

I've been to the Runner-up Editor's pick, that being Randol Mill Park. And I've stood on, looked at, hiked on and marveled at the Grand-prize winner, Tandy Hills Natural Area, submitted by Don Young.

The Star-Telegram heavily edited Don Young's essay, making the case why the Tandy Hills were the best place to stand in North Texas. I'll copy the entire essay below...

Tandy Hills Natural Area is a special place simply because it is still here.

Over 99.5% of all native prairie, in the USA, is gone - even more in the Metroplex. The parkland is adjacent to I-30 and surrounded by a neighborhood in the heart of Fort Worth, a place crawling with developers and gas drillers. For this oasis to have survived is more than remarkable, it’s a precious gift.

The 160-acre natural area is a living, postage stamp sized snapshot of what the entire region once looked like before settlers arrived. The number of wildflower and grass species that cover the hilly terrain at THNA is wildly more than anyplace else in north Texas, except maybe another prairie remnant.

In 1880 when the population was less than 1% of the current 700,000, people still remembered the natural beauty of the land they settled and nicknamed Fort Worth, "Queen City of the Prairie." Those days would soon end, taking with them the very thing that drew settlers here, namely, the blackland prairie and its rich cornucopia of life.

The good news is, we still have Tandy Hills. The Spring wildflowers are more breathtaking here than anyplace else in the Metroplex, attracting lovers, families and butterflies. In the Fall, tall native grasses sway mysteriously in the wind, inspiring poets, painters and philosophers. The sunsets and moonrises seen from the tops of the many hills are often jaw dropping. The sky above THNA is filled with birds and swarms of migrating, Monarch butterflies. If you're lucky, you can even catch a glimpse of a rabbit, fox, lizard, wild turkey, roadrunner or bobcat scampering across the landscape.

All this and its only 5 minutes from downtown Cowtown.
The price? Free.

Tandy Hills Natural Area was donated to the people of Fort Worth in 1960. 2010 is the 50th anniversary of this public parkland.

Keep it like it was.

Don Young
July 1, 2009

Texas Turtles In A Green Lake With Tootsie Tonasket & Fleeting Homesickness

It is in the 90s and humid here today. Which had a bunch of turtles seeking refuge on a log in green Oakland Lake, around noon today. Where do all the turtles go in winter? Someone must know.

Tootsie Tonasket took the walk with me today. Tootsie lives up near the Canadian border in Eastern Washington, where she has been sizzling with much higher temperatures than relatively cool Texas.

Relatively cool Texas. I do not recollect using that phrase before.

After I was done walking and talking to Tootsie I called my sister who lives in Kent, Washington. I'd not spoken to her since the first week of January when she called while my mom and dad were here and we were trying to get out of the car to go to the Dallas Farmers Market. When I called my mom and dad on the day Seattle broke the century mark for the first time, my dad told me my Kent sister had to work that day. Usually she takes a day off for just about any reason. She is a UPS delivery girl.

My sister survived that day, and the HOT ones prior and since, by having with her 6 liters of icy water, packed in ice, plus Gatorade, plus a towel dipped in icy water that she wraps around her neck while driving. She said it wasn't all that bad.

But, coming home to a HOT house was bad. So, on Monday she is having central A/C installed. This likely means that tomorrow the temperatures will plummet back to normal.

Usually the majority of my immediate family members are not in Washington, usually it's just my sister in Kent and my sister in Tacoma who are up there. But right now my mom and dad and my brother are in the Northwest, all of them convening at my sister's in Kent for the second day in a row of BBQing. Almost makes me homesick. Then I remember my last two visits home and that feeling fades.

So, that's been my mundane Sunday in Texas. Swimming early, walking and talking at noon, with a slight tinge of homesickness that quickly passed.

On The Road With Rachel

My favorite TV Star sent me a rather inspiring video this morning. It's basically about an 89 year old youngster named Rachel and her special love affair. With her Comet Caliente, which she bought new, 45 years ago, that she has driven over 540,000 miles.

Including driving solo to her 70th class reunion, which was an over 3,000 mile road trip.

Rachel is one sharp lady. I wish I paid as much attention to vehicle maintenance as Rachel does. She buys all replacement parts with a lifetime guarantee. Rachel has gotten 16 free battery replacements from Penneys, even after Penneys shut down their Auto Centers, passing off the guarantees to Firestone.

Below is a YouTube version of the video my favorite TV Star sent me this morning....

Looking At Little Sassy Cassie Instead Of A Weenie Tonight In Texas

In the years since I moved to Texas, from Washington, the state, I have been asked countless times. Why? I've never had a really good answer to that question. And the actual story of how moving here came about is a painful, long story for me to tell. Which I avoid telling.

Just this Saturday night in Texas, well, Fort Worth, is instructive as to why this place has such a hold on me. Now, tonight, if I were in Washington, I might be at a beach, enjoying a fire and roasting hot dogs. Then watching the sun set over the Olympic Mountains, while listening to the waves lap up against the shore, all the while smelling flowers and evergreen trees scenting the air.

Contrast that boring Washington Saturday night with Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas. Here we have attractions and things to do that you just don't have in boring ol' Washington. Like tonight I'm thinking of going to Jaguars to see Little Sassie Cassie, she being the World's Smallest Stripper, at a diminutive 2 feet 10 inches. I have seen a stripper, or two, during my time on the planet. I have never seen a really little one.

Today, being August 1, it is my last chance to see Little Sassy Cassie. At least for now. She'll probably be back.

However, a new issue has arisen. One that is another reason Saturday night weenie roasts in Texas can be a bit dicey. I hear thunder booming in the distance. It appears to be building to a storm out there. Which is why it is so nice to have venues, like Jaguars, that one can retreat to on a Saturday night, to see wholesome entertainment one can not see in the boring ol' Pacific Northwest.

So. I'm outta here. See y'all tomorrow.

Town Talking And Walking At Quanah Parker Park With Chesapeake Energy Sound Effects

I didn't realize I had not done my usual early morning blogging duty til I got missives from my therapist, Dr. L.C. and the Queen of Wink and others, asking what's wrong with me.

Like I'm going to go into the details of all that is wrong with me.

I had blogged this morning, but it was not on this one, it was on my TV one. On Thursday the new season of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta started up. During its previous run I did multiple bloggings about that show that got linked all over the place, causing that blog to go on fire. That started happening all over again on Thursday. I'm talking thousands of visitors a day.

Now, I would have thought that to be a good thing, that there'd be a lot of ad clicking. But no, yesterday there was a grand total of 4 clicks. And on this very blog you are reading right now, there were about 700 visitors yesterday, with no clicks. Meanwhile my non-blog website gets a lot of clicks all the time. So, which am I more motivated to pay attention to? Even though the subjects are not as easy to write about.

And don't get me started on my Roadtripping Blog. That one generates great ads when people come to a specific blogging from a search engine. But it gets hardly any visitors, with me unable to think of a way to catch that blog on fire like I have, at times, with this blog and the TV one. It's vexing, because the Roadtripping one was fun to do. I thought it had potential.

So, this morning I got up early, swam early, blogged about those damn Atlanta housewives, that I'd said to myself I was not going to waste anymore time on. But they are so funny.

Then about noon I had my regular inclination to get outside. It'd rained hard, post-swim, so Tandy Hills was out. I knew Quanah Parker Park would be dry, even though the heavy rain amped up the snake and alligator dangers. And I knew at the end of the paved trail I would be facing this huge Chesapeake Energy installation of buildings, and lately a drilling operation at the end of Oakland Avenue, that would be picture and blog-worthy.

This site, previous to Chesapeake taking it over, was a park with several ballfields. I have no idea what deals were made to lose the ballfields to build Chesapeake buildings, and now a drilling operation, which today was in full shrieking noise-making mode. The shrieker is seen in the photo at the top.

After my walk, I went to Town Talk. The place was packed. With 2 Fort Worth Gestapo Agents on guard. Each time I go to Town Talk I'm amazed at the stuff I find. Today I got really good, really fresh asparagus, for only 99 cents for an awful lot of green stalks. To me this place is not about the bizarrely low prices, it's about the good stuff you can get. The red peppers I got a few days ago are the best I've ever come across. Super sweet. And the tomatoes? I've not had ones this good since I grew my own in Washington. What stores is Town Talk getting this stuff from? Today, among other stuff, I got 4 huge, really top quality looking, green peppers for only a quarter each. The turnover of produce is so quick, every time I go, there it is a lot of new stuff.

And another Town Talk thing. The checkouts. They are the old-fashioned kind. No scanners. But so FAST. I don't know how these people do it. It's like they automatically know the prices. I think I've complained before about Wal-Mart's, Kroger's and Albertson's chronic price mistakes. With scanners. Town Talk has not made a single mistake. I tell you, just watching the Town Talk check-out people whiz through a stack of stuff at high speed is worth the admission price. Which is free.

So, there you go, that's been my simple little Saturday in Texas. Did I mention it rained? Making it 91 and very very very humid.

Today I was shirtless whilst walking at Quanah Parker Park. But last December 21 it was below freezing, so I wore a few more clothes, as you can see in the below YouTube video...

Village Creek Flood Debris & Texas Emissions

It appeared to be a lady operating that piece of heavy equipment on the dam/bridge across Village Creek at Village Creek Natural Historic Area in Arlington, this morning, about an hour before noon.

I think she was trying to unplug the culverts from debris deposited by the recent high water. When I walked by, a half hour later, the dam/bridge was clear of heavy equipment. It did not look as if much debris was removed. But, water was flowing.

I was in Arlington because it is the last day of the month. Meaning today was the last day I could take my vehicle in for its annual emissions test and be good to go for another year.

I see a lot of vehicles here that appear to be spewing too much exhaust. I never understand how it is that they don't get stopped and ticketed, because it seems sort of obvious the smoke spewing vehicles could not have passed the emissions test.

Where I lived in Washington we did not have to get vehicles tested. People living in the Seattle Metro Zone did have to get their vehicles tested. I don't know if this has changed since I've been away.

Awhile back some branch of the government of the State of Texas admitted that the Barnett Shale Drilling Operations, in their totality, put out more bad emissions than all the vehicles moving in the D/FW Metroplex. I don't know if the Barnett Shale Drilling Operations have to pass some sort of emissions test. I suspect not.

So, that's been my day in Texas, so far, up before dawn, in the pool while it was still dark, in Arlington to pass an emissions test, walking at Village Creek, watching a lady move debris, then sitting at a picnic table under the shade of giant oaks, making a call to a Texas lady who cheered me up an awful lot.

Jerry Jones Moves New Cowboy Stadium To Dallas With Free Tours For Arlington Residents

Lately I've noticed a lot of letters to the editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from citizens willing to criticize local sacred cows more vociferously than I've made note of before.

In some letters, Fort Worth's dimming Trinity River Vision has been criticized, with some calling it what I've said it was for years, that is it seems to be a huge Boondoggle in the making.

For years I've also been disgusted by how Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys and the City of Arlington went about getting a new stadium, using what is believed to be the worst case of eminent domain abuse in American history, kicking thousands from their homes, apartments and businesses to make way for the building and parking lots of a private business.

So, this morning there were 2 letters expressing umbrage on a couple points regarding the ongoing Jerry Jones' public relations shortcomings....

Raw deal for residents

I read in the July 26 Star-Telegram that Arlington residents will get their free tour of the Cowboys Stadium on Aug. 9. I thought that was great until I saw all the places we don’t get to go, that the tour is only from noon to 4 p.m. and residents can bring out-of-town people with them.

The residents of Arlington who paid for most of this stadium get less than the people who pay their $12- $15 for a tour. Since Arlington has more than 370,000 residents, you want us plus any guest to cram in between noon and 4 p.m. for a partial tour. Again we get thrown under the bus by Jerry Jones and Mayor Bob Cluck.

— Helen Scanlan, Arlington

Jerry Jones gave a very impassioned speech in San Antonio at the opening of the Cowboy’s training camp, inviting the San Antonio fans to come see the Cowboys at their new stadium.

Thing is, if they listened to him, they won’t find it.

See, Jerry repeatedly told of the new Cowboys Stadium — in Dallas.

Perhaps Jerry’s been too busy to know that the new stadium is in Arlington. Perhaps Jerry is unaware of all the Arlington residents forced to lose their homes to build parking lots for that behemoth. Perhaps Jerry hasn’t noticed the massive road construction in Arlington to provide access to the stadium. Perhaps Jerry didn’t know about the increased taxes Arlington residents are paying for the new stadium.

Arlington is paying the price, but Dallas is getting the credit.

If Jerry goes to Dallas for the home opener to watch the Cowboys play the Giants — well, he’ll miss the game.

— Cam Kirmser, Hurst

Kiowa Red River Casino & Whataburger

I've had me a day. A loud thunderstorm had me up well before 5 this morning. By 6am I was swimming in the rain. Then I remembered Sunday's lightning strike fire and how the occupants described the electricity zapping through the building, popping out of outlets and light switches.

Even though the pool is at a low spot and the lightning did not seem too close, I cut the swimming short.

For lunch today I took a virtual trip up to Wichita Falls, then headed north across the Red River to the town of Devol where the Kiowa Nation runs the Kiowa Red River Casino.

I'm not a huge fan of gambling. I can be entertained for a short duration by slot machines and video poker. But not of the sort allowed in the Oklahoma casinos.

One thing I do like in a casino is a good buffet. Morningstar is a popular Kiowa name, so the Kiowa Casino's buffet is the Morningstar Buffet. How was the buffet? After the Zorro's Buffet debacle, I no longer share my opinion about such matters.

Absolutely total change of subject. This morning I got a comment to a blogging about Whataburger. The comment was from "Anonymous," who wanted a previous commenter, Jeremy B., to post his email address, because "Anonymous" would like to ask Jeremy B. about his Whataburger experiences.

When I read what "Anonymous" was asking I wondered why he/she did not post his/her email address so Jeremy B. could reach him/her. Why would "Anonymous" think Jeremy B. is going to be reading his comment asking for Jeremy B.'s email address? That's just goofy.

Giant Rattlesnake Killed In Manor Texas With Recipes & An Urban Legend

I was looking at my blog statistics and saw that an infosearcher had come to my blog from BING searching for "Giant Rattlesnake Killed in Manor Texas."

So, I went to BING and clicked on "Giant Texas Rattlesnake - Urban Legends." Apparently the snake picture you see here has been circulating for a few years, with various versions of where it was caught. The rattlesnake is alleged to be 9 feet 1 inch long and weigh 97 pounds.

The text accompanying this version of the Giant Rattlesnake story (including a Rattlesnake Recipe) was as follows...

Next time you're out in the tall grass, remember this one. This snake was recently found at the J & S Quik Mart located just south of RR 3014 Turnoff on Highway 281 south of Tow, Texas. [That's just west of Burnett, Texas]

9 feet, 1 inch - 97 lbs.

A reminder that these creatures are actually out there and no matter what you believe, sometimes they should get not only prescriptive rights to be there, but the full right of way.

And here's how to cook 'em .......

DEEP-FRIED RATTLESNAKE

1 medium-sized rattlesnake (3-4 lbs.), cut into steaks
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cracker crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon salt dash pepper

Mix dry ingredients. Whisk milk into beaten egg and use to dip snake steaks. Then coat them with dry ingredients. Fry, uncovered, in 400 degree oil until brown. Yum,Yum!

After reading this urban legend version of a giant rattlesnake I was appalled to click on another link to learn that a giant rattlesnake was found in a Manor woman's backyard on Monday. Manor is a town a short distance east of Austin in Central Texas. When the police arrived they shot the snake. A snake autopsy revealed the carcass of a full grown rabbit in the snake, hence the bulge in the picture.

The Austin area is being invaded by rattlesnakes seeking relief from the drought. The number of people treated for snakebites in Austin this year is nearly the total for all of 2008, when 36 snakebites were treated.

If you get bit, don't copy what you've seen cowboys do in movies. Don't suck the venom out and don't choke off the blood with a tourniquet. Instead get yourself, as quickly as possible, to an ER.

Thursday Morning Thunderstorm In Texas

Mother Nature has been throwing a temper tantrum this morning. She woke me up before 5 with a light show with loud concussive sound effects.

The National Weather Service has issued 6 Alerts this morning. Among them are several Thunderstorm Alerts, a couple Flash Flooding Alerts and at least one Tornado Alert.

I have not heard the Tornado Sirens this year. I'm guessing we are due.

In this morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer I saw that 1 more degree was added to yesterday's record high, making 103 the new temperature record in Seattle.

Meanwhile, here in currently frigid Texas, it's in the 60s out there. And raining.