The Blue Sky Of Texas & More Lunacy Courtesy Of The Twin Peaks of Texas, Wink

You're looking at my very blue view, in a picture taken earlier this morning.

The current forecast is for 3 days in a row getting into the 60 degree zone, starting tomorrow. I'm thinking 60 will feel HOT after this Arctic deep freeze we've been suffering from here in North Texas.

I am computer bound til later this afternoon. I don't like it when that happens.

I've decided the Wink/Kermit area is the Twin Peaks of Texas. An awful lot of lunacy seems to happen in those parts, way out of proportion to the population, like it's got 18 loonies per 100 people where the national norm is 1.2 loonies per 100 and the Texas norm is 3.4 loonies per 100.

A couple days ago I blogged about the Wink Sinkholes. In that blogging I wondered where the water came from that made lakes out of the sinkholes, it being in the desert of West Texas.

Well, that simple question turned all sorts of weird, started by Garth the Texan, with an ill-considered comment that seemed to suggest the sinkhole water came from the Cenozoic Pecos Alluvium Aquifer.

Somehow that simple comment had others chiming in, including the Queen of Wink, whom Garth thought was being mean to him, which led him to be mean to the Queen, which then led to someone saying really mean things to the Queen and this morning has Elsie suggesting that King Durango has a nice ring to it.

It's all very perplexing.

Dead Snowmen, Broken Trees, A Yellow Wildflower & Today's Texas Tears

This is being a very blue Monday. In more ways than one.

Early this morning, soon after I came in from my morning icy dip, I found myself with tears running down my sweet cheeks.

No, I'd not gotten any sad news, nor was I crying due to my delicate feelers getting hurt.

The tears were falling because I'd diced up 8 onions to make onion soup. I have not seen so many tears come out of me since August of 2008 when I was driven to near breakdown mode by the sociopathic personality types I found myself dealing with.

After I had the onion soup in simmer mode I cleaned up the tracks of my tears and moved on to other stuff. Like getting messages from crazy people that I was somehow causing web browsers to go haywire and disconnect them from the Internet.

And then I heard from someone named Joseph Quackenbush. Now isn't that an interesting name? JQ, as he calls himself, had been to my webpage about the upcoming Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. I think JQ did not understand that all I did was webpage my take on my visit to the Roundup and that I killed nor ate no snakes.

JQ had this to say...

Killing and torturing those amazing animals proves you guys are the biggest douchebags on the planet! I have written several letters to senators and have joined groups that will eventually ban these public displays of brutality. You SUCK!!!!!
JQ

By late morning I was feeling quite cranky. I had to get out of here and do something salubrious and aerobic. So, I went to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake. Those familiar with my wanderings may have figured out I went walking across Fosdic Lake Dam today, due to the picture at the top. As you can see, I was dressed for cold. Because it was cold. And very windy.

There was a lot of snow damage to the trees of Oakland Lake Park. You see a lot of tree damage when you are out and about driving.

There is still snow on the ground, but it is getting ever more less.

I saw signs that indicated some fun in the snow had been had on the hills of Oakland Lake Park. Makeshift sleds had been left behind. I saw big chunks of cardboard, a big chunk of plastic, 2 plastic garbage can lids and assorted other large pieces of litter that had been used as sleds.

So little snow falls in this zone of Texas that stores have no motivation to keep sleds in stock. In Washington, when a good snow falls, there is always a run on the sled supply, but most people have a sled or two ready for sliding. I did not bring my sleds with me to Texas. But for some reason I did bring my cross country skis.

The remains of many snowmen lay on the ground at Oakland Lake Park today. It looked like a snow battle had taken place, with snow corpses now in rapid decay mode.

Yes, it was sad seeing the remains of so many snowmen, but there was a bright sign of life to come, coloring up Oakland Lake Park today, that being the sunny yellow wildflower you see above.

What a sturdy wildflower, surviving the brutal temperatures and the brutal record breaking snowstorm and then popping out from under all that white to bloom a good hint of the coming spring.

February 20 Tandy Hills Brush Bash 2 & Trout Lily Walk

That is Olive the Prairie Dog frolicking on the Tandy Hills during our recent record breaking snow.

Olive's last name is Young, due to her paternal parental unit being Don Young.

Olive wanted Don Young to tell you that the Brush Bash 2 is still on for Saturday, February 20.

Also on the Tandy Hills, that Saturday, there will be a Trout Lily Walk with Master Naturalist, Jeff Quayle.

Brush Bash 2's start time is 10am. Ending at 3pm, with lunch sometime between those extremes. You will want to bring work gloves, water, a can-do spirit. And lunch.

If you need more info about the Tandy Hills Natural Area Brush Bash 2 you can email Don Young or call 817.731.2787.

There will be two Trout Lily Walks with Jeff Quayle

Jeff Quayle is a self taught botanist/naturalist specializing in plants of north central Texas for more than 25 years, including the eco-region's habitats of north central Texas. He'll discuss the life cycle of the Trout Lily, its habitats, requirements for producing blooms and the means of propagating itself.

Trout Lily Walk #1, like I already said, is the same Saturday as Brush Bash 2. You can Brush Bash for awhile and then take a break and do some Trout Lily Walking.

Trout Lily Walk #2 is scheduled for March 6.

Both Trout Lily Walks start at 10am and walk til 1pm.

Bring water, a camera and a notebook.

Contact Don Young for more info. Contact option above.

Happy Valentines Day From Texas To Anyone Who Likes Being Told Happy Valentines Day

Valentines Day, to me, is the most manufactured to sell stuff holiday of them all, created by the greeting card, flower selling and chocolate making industries.

Or maybe Valentines Day has a long, beautiful history that I've never taken the time to learn.

Anyway. I finally opened the mysterious envelope that the Queen of Wink sent me. On the outside of the envelope was a big, red, rubber Valentine type heart. I don't know how the mysterious envelope got through postal processing with that big, red rubber heart stuck to it.

Inside the mysterious envelope was a thick card. The front of the card is what you see in the picture. When I glanced at it I thought it was a big bug hitting a power line.

I was perplexed.

Then I opened the card to read "Looks like Cupid's going to be a little late this year." To which the Queen of Wink added "Happy Valentines Day. Don't know why this card reminded me of you, but it did!"

I continued to be perplexed.

Then I turned back to the cover and looked at the squished bug hitting the power line again.

That is when I noticed the little "PRESS HERE" sign on the power pole.

So, I pressed the "PRESS HERE" sign and all hell broke loose.

The bug lit up and started flashing. It was then I realized the bug was Cupid. As the electricity zapped Cupid, you could see his skeleton and he proceeded to get more and more upset as the zapping continued, eventually unleashing some un-Cupid like profane language. I think I heard the phrase "Oh Crap," which is really not something one thinks of as a Cupid-like thing to be saying.

This was absolutely the best Valentines Day card ever.

The Loony Lunar Landscape Of Wink Texas & The Wink Sinkholes

The moonscape you are looking at, in the picture, is a satellite look at the infamous Wink Sinkholes, #'s 1 and 2.

Wink Sinkhole #1 is the smaller of the holes. It's the dark spot in the middle about a third of the way down the picture. On Wink Sinkhole #1's upper right is a big Tank Farm.

If you click to view the enlarged image you'll see lots of what look like the results of a massive bombing campaign and the resulting bomb craters.

A maze of what looks like trails, which are likely dirt roads, run all over the landscape. I don't know if one can drive around on this puzzling maze.

I suppose I should ask the Queen of Wink, what with her being the go to source for all matters pertaining to Wink.

Wink Sinkhole #2 is the big dark dot at the bottom middle of the picture. The bigger of the two sinkholes does not appear to be near any tank farms.

I found a good picture of Wink Sinkhole #2. This sinkhole is no dainty, little hole in the ground. It's huge. As in about 1000 feet in diameter with vertical cliffs rising about 60 feet from the water, covering around 18 acres

Wink Sinkhole #2 first sank in 2004. It continues to grow, with the no trespass chain link fence needing to be re-located as the sinkhole grows ever bigger and ever closer to Wink. The information one finds about the Wink Sinkholes all included the same message, as in "WARNING! This is NOT a tourist attraction."

Where does the water come from that looks so inviting in the sinkholes, I can't help but wonder, with the sinkholes being located in the parched West Texas desert? Maybe the Queen of Wink can enlighten us.

I Visited Tropical Kauai Today From Fort Worth Texas Where It Is Not Tropical

I'd not heard from the Temporary Scrabble Queen of Hawaii, currently stationed on the island of Kauai, for a few days. I was worried she'd had a bad snorkeling encounter with a shark.

Instead she was busy hunting for the perfect puka shell necklace.

The latest message from Kauai did not torment me, too much, with mental images of tropical splendor, in dire contrast to my current state of frigidity in Arctic Texas.

I had asked the Scrabble Queen for the address of her tropical location so that I might make a virtual visit via Google Earth and possibly get a live snapshot of her snorkeling in her bikini. The Scrabble Queen did not know the exact address, but said she was across from the only Safeway on the island.

With that info it was easy to locate the location of the Scrabble Queen's latest Scrabble victory over me.

She was not out in the Pacific swimming when I visited. She was in the pool. Satellite images can make identifying small details a bit difficult, but I believe the Scrabble Queen is on the right side of the pool. And she is not in a bikini.

I also started off my day in a pool. However, there was no ocean to look at and no palm trees overhead and no 80 degree temperatures to keep me warm. It was below freezing, again, this morning in the Arctic Cold of Fort Worth, Texas.

Fort Woof Mayor Tsunami The Nominator Has Invited First Dog Bo Obama to Fort Woof

There were not many dogs running around America's #1 dog park, Fort Woof, in Gateway Park, in Fort Worth, today.

I'm sure the weather had something to do with the small number of barkers. That and a large section of the Large Dog area of Fort Woof had turned into Fort Woof Lake, thanks to a lot of melted snow. And bad drainage.

It appeared that with the Large Dog area now a lake some Large Dogs had turned scofflaw and had invaded the Small Dog area. There were so few dogs this did not seem to be a problem, with all dogs playing peacefully and none of the big guys bullying the little guys.

I learned from a sign outside the entry to the Large Dog area that the First Dog, Bo Obama, has been invited to Fort Woof, where Dogs rule, invited by the Mayor of Fort Woof, Tsunami the Nominator.

I assume Tsunami the Nominator is a dog. What a name. How did Tsunami get elected mayor? I wonder if it was with a 70% landslide of the 6% of eligible dog voters who bothered to vote? I hope Mayor Tsunami isn't doing any back door deal shenanigans to let gas drillers poke holes in Fort Woof.

A Trio Of Snowmen In Fort Worth's Gateway Park With Trinity Falls In Mini-Niagara Mode

These snowmen were found today in Gateway Park. Proof that at some point in time someone had some fun playing in the snow in this park.

But today, with the return of blue sky and the snow still being perfectly playable, I saw no playing. I think Texas kids are so unused to the white stuff they don't know how to have fun in it.

That and who is going to have a sled in these parts? I only saw one sled during our latest white period. And it was dinky little one. Maybe some of the parks that have hills, like Veterans Park in Arlington, got more action.

Another problem with Gateway Park and kids having fun playing in the snow there, is the access problem. As in none of the roads that lead to Gateway Park have sidewalks. What sort of lamebrain town builds a nice park, but does not have sidewalks that kids might use to safely walk or bike to the park? That is just irresponsible on the city's part, in my opinion.

The Trinity River is running a lot of water, I assume it's snow melt. I could hear Trinity Falls roaring well before Fort Worth's Niagara came into view.

The melting run-off found a nice path way to the river, provided courtesy of Express Energy Services and the ruts left behind after their recent Trinity River water removal operation.

A lot of erosion is taking place, where previously no erosion took place, because grass protected the underlying dirt from the ravages of fast moving water, but the protective grass was replaced by deep ruts. And a lot of mud.

Speaking of fast moving water, there was a lot of the stuff flowing over Trinity Falls today, rendering the dam/bridge passable only to water. So much water is in the river that it makes the falls shorter.

There are a lot of negative ions released by a waterfall, or so someone told me once. It felt real good in this location today. And the air smelled fresh, as if it had had a good scrubbing.

More snow is in the forecast.

Why can't winter in Texas be warm like it is up in Washington? Everything is being backwards. The Northwest is being warm, Vancouver has a snow shortage, while here in the South, we are cold with a snow surplus. I don't know how much more climate change I can take before it starts to make me cranky.

I Am A Fat Tub Of Texas Lard So I Went Swimming In The Snow This Morning

There is still a lot of snow whiting up the place, Saturday morning, in Texas. I decided, last night, that nothing was going to stop me from my regular early morning routine, Saturday morning, and nothing did.

I learned this morning that walking barefoot on snow is not an unpleasant sensation.

It is currently 33. It was 32 when I went swimming. It is foggy out there. How can there be fog when the air is freezing? Shouldn't those fog droplets freeze and fall to the ground?

I was appalled this morning to have the scale tell me I've reached a new high with this mysterious weight gain problem I've been having. My new high is 206. When I was last in Washington, summer of 2008, I recollect aggravating some of my aggravating female relatives by remarking I weighed less than any adult Jones' girl. At that point I weighed about 175.

I probably still weigh less than any adult Jones' girl, at 206, now that I'm thinking about it.

I figure at my height and activity level I need about 3,000 calories a day. To gain a pound one must consume 2,000 calories above ones caloric needs. I can't figure out how I am adding sufficient calories to account for the weight gain. It's very perplexing.

I have eye witnessed an extremely obese person's feeding habits with it no mystery why the person was so huge. I have none of those bad habits. I don't like candy. I don't do desserts. I don't slather butter on various edibles. I don't gobble down a half gallon of ice cream. I don't particularly care for ice cream. I rarely eat fried food. I don't even eat dinner. My only big feeding of the day is lunch and that is not all that big.

Anyway, I'm very perplexed about turning into a big tub of lard without being able to find the lard, no gut, no fat butt, no man boobs, no double chin. Where is the weight? Maybe I've grown taller. I should find a tape measure and see if that's the answer.

On a totally unrelated note, the Temporary Scrabble Queen of Hawaii seems to have gone missing. I've not gotten a daily update torturing me with tales of being too HOT and snorkeling and having fish tacos, for several days.

The Snow Is Melting & Me & My Fellow Texans Are Out Driving Around Breaking Rules & Being Scofflaws

You are looking east on Randol Mill Road in east Fort Worth, Friday afternoon around 3. As you can see we have had some snow melting.

I'd been outside enjoying the Winter Wonderland in walk mode, but, when I realized the roads were easily doable, I quickly went and did them in fully mechanized mode.

When I got the wheels turning, first, I needed to go to the Post Office. There I found a mysterious, thick envelope from the Queen of Wink. I've not opened it yet. I'm saving it for a special moment. I also found something else that once more sent me to the Chase Bank on Beach Street.

I did not even consider the possibility of having me one of my regular walkabouts on the way to the bank, which would be my regular pattern.

I left the bank and saw that the Trinity River is flooding over Trinity Falls at the infamous location of the Express Energy Services Trinity River Water Withdrawals. It looked so different, all white, with the rutted up, muddied levee, looking all pristine and clean.

I then went to Town Talk. Fewest cars I've ever seen there. Got some good stuff, cheese, hummus and apple cider. Really good apple cider.

It was when I left Town Talk I encountered the Road Closed sign on Randol Mill Road.

I think being all cooped up due to being snowbound had the scofflaw side of my makeup all revved up. I wanted to see what was closing Randol Mill Road. Something dire, I assumed. Maybe the old bridge, that crosses the Trinity River, had finally given up. It's had trucks banned on it for years, which I've also seen ignored, having had encounters, mid-bridge with both big UPS and Fed-Ex trucks.

I suspected if the bridge was the reason for the closure, the Road Closed sign would have been more dire sounding, as in, "Danger Ahead Bridge Out."

I was not long past the Road Closed sign when I encountered an incoming car. I thought maybe they were coming out of the north entrance to Gateway Park.

And then more incoming cars. I got to the infamous Randol Mill Trinity Bridge and encountered the oncoming car you see in the picture.

Prior to this incoming car I saw what I think had the road closed. Some snow damaged tree material was leaning over the road. I hit some when I could not swerve around it, due to one of those incoming cars I mentioned.

I met so many incoming vehicles I assumed only the eastbound lane of Randol Mill was closed. I was wrong. The westbound lanes were more seriously blocked than the eastbound, as you can see in the picture.

Why were so many Texans scofflawing today? Usually we are such a docile people, living in fear of an encounter with the taser wielding Fort Worth Gestapo Stormtroopers and never, ever breaking any rules.