Looking At The Prairie Fest Cauliflower Wildflowers & Beetles

You are looking at the Prairie Fest, in the distance, today, at noon, from the top of Mount Tandy.

A lot of rain fell last night. And a thunderclap or two banged loud.

I knew the Tandy Hills trails would be muddy. But I needed to aerobicize myself. Doctor's orders. Combating my high blood pressure, elevated, due to a recent Toxic Person Sneak Attack causing me undue, uncalled for stress.

I figured that the two hills accessed from the top of Tandy Mountain would be dried out enough to hike without gaining height due to shoe mud buildup. I was half right.

I am feeling a lot better now that I've oxygenated my blood flow.

Elsie Hotpepper called this morning, asking how to find the Prairie Fest. And wanting to know what time I'd be making an appearance. Elsie told me she'd call again when she knew what time she and her entourage would be arriving on the Tandy Hills. That call has yet to arrive, but Elsie did make an interim call while I was on my way to go hiking, to tell me that the arrival time was still undetermined.

I saw an unusual new Wildflower today. Until I learn different I am calling it a Texas Cauliflower Wildflower.

I thought of Betty Jo Bouvier today on the Tandy Hills. Yesterday Betty Jo verbalized an aversion to my details about my encounters with Texas critters, like snakes and cockroaches.

What made me think of Betty Jo today was a big black beetle scurrying over the trail.

I wonder if this is an Ironclad Beetle? I was bombarded by Ironclad Beetles, years ago, while sitting outside, at sunset, at a Burger King in Roswell, New Mexico.

Tandy Hills 2010 Prairie Fest Today In Fort Worth

After a year of preparation, Prairie Fest is ready.

Come on in!

• Ride your bicycle. We have a secure bike corral.
• Bring your leashed pets. We have watering stations.
• Bring your appetite. We have good food and drink.
• Bring your open mind. We have green exhibitors who will inform and challenge you.
• Bring your kids. We have PrairieLand.
• Bring your eyes. We have the Best Wildflower Show in north Texas.
• Bring your ears. We have a stellar musical lineup.
• Look for the Prairie Fest electric GEM car and pedicab shuttle service to get you here.
• Bring your friends and family to celebrate our connection to the natural world.
  

The Trinity River Is On My Mind Thanks To The Star-Telegraph

The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph, please make note, that is Star-Telegraph, not Star-Telegram, blogged a quite excellent commentary today, inspired by watching the KERA Earth Day special about the Trinity River and the bizarre plan, hatched back in the 1960s, that would have turned the Trinity River into a Billion Dollar Ditch.

The Star-Telegraph compares that decades old Trinity River politician driven Boondoggle with the modern era Trinity River politician driven Boondoggle known as the Trinity River Vision.

The decades old Trinity River Boondoggle was put to a stop via a method that shocked the local political hierarchy. The public was allowed to vote and they voted NO!

The public has not been allowed to vote on the current Fort Worth Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Til now, sort of.

The Star-Telegraph strongly endorses the election of Adrian Murray and John Basham to the Tarrant Regional Water Board. They are the closest the locals have to getting to vote on the latest Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

The other reason the Trinity River is on my mind is due to Betty Jo Bouvier begging me to STOP, in big bold red letters, telling her about the critters that lurk in Texas, on land and in the water. Betty Jo lives very near a river that is quite a bit larger than the Trinity River.

Betty Jo's river is called the Skagit River. A lot of fish called Salmon swim in the Skagit River. Huge fish called Sturgeon have been known to swim in the Skagit. But the Skagit River has no critters like the Garfish, that you can catch in the Trinity River.

Sorry, Betty Jo, I know you told me to STOP, but the picture at the top of a Garfish, fresh out of the Trinity, was too good not to share.

From The Top Of Mount Tandy The View For The 2010 Prairie Fest Is Clear With No Clouds On The Horizon

In the picture, way in the distance, you can see a downtown Fort Worth skyscraper, or two, sticking up above the foliage, from the top of Mount Tandy.

This was the noon Friday view. The day before the 2010 Prairie Fest is set to populate the Tandy Hills with a lot of people.

Last night's predicted rain did fall. But not in amounts sufficient to muddy up the trails of the Tandy Hills.

Today had been forecast to be stormy. That is still the forecast, chance of rain and severe storms. However, it is not windy, no storm front seems to be blowing in, the sky is blue, the temperature, coming up on 4 in the afternoon, is 81.5.

It seems as if the Weather Gods have decided to grant Fort Worth and the Prairie Fest a reprieve from nasty weather.

I hope I have not jinxed this. Maybe I should knock on wood.

Betty Jo's Man-Eating Chinese Catfish & Splash The Texas Catfish

That is Splash the Catfish looking at you. Splash was caught in Lake Texoma back in 2004, caught, captured and hauled to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas, where Splash took up residence on January 14, 2004.

At the time of her captivity, Splash was the World Record holder as the largest Blue Catfish ever caught, at 121.5 pounds. Splash held that record until 2005 when a 124 pounder was caught in the Mississippi River.

Splash quickly became the Star of the Fisheries Center, with large numbers showing up to watch the daily dive show, when Splash was fed chicken, herring and mackerel.

On the 1st anniversary of the arrival of Splash, around 800 people showed up to celebrate, including 133 school kids who brought Splash birthday cards.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Scientists estimate that Splash was at least 23 years old when she suddenly died in December 2005.

A life-sized replica of Splash is currently on display at the Fisheries Center. It is estimated that Splash is survived by thousands of descendants in Lake Texoma.

Splash the Blue Catfish was brought to my mind this morning by the Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier.

Betty Jo sent me an article about a Giant Catfish that had been caught in China's Huadu Furong Reservoir. This Giant Catfish was 9.8 feet long, 3.3 feet wide. After cutting the fish open the remains of a man were found inside.

Apparently there had been a problem with swimmers disappearing while swimming in the reservoir, including, recently, the son of a government official. Now that the Chinese realize they have Man-eating Catfish lurking in their reservoir, swimming is banned.

I got back in a Texas lake after my near fatal encounter with an out of control Turtle, but seeing a Garfish for the first time, that was far more unsettling than a Turtle. I have not been swimming in a Texas lake since I saw my first Garfish. I don't know if the Lake Texoma Catfish descendants of Splash are big enough to eat a man. I suspect not.

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is located at 5550 FM 2495, four miles east of Athens. Fish in the dive tank may be viewed any time the center is open. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Dive shows are at 11 a.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

The Queen Of Wink Is Alive And Well Out In The Wilds Of West Texas

In the past few weeks I have received multiple queries regarding the Queen of Wink, due to the Queen's sudden absence, in various subject's email inboxes, and the lack of updating of the Queen of Wink's blog.

Well, I am happy to let you know that, though there have been some nefarious shenanigans going on in the Queen's Wink Realm, the Queen's Reign is secure.

And she has been very busy.

The Queen worked hard to put on a Big Benefit that took place on April 10. The goal of this benefit was to raise funds for a Winkonian, named Erika Berry, who had been hit with a lot of medical bills due to serious medical woes.

The Queen of Wink's Realm only has about 1,000 subjects. Yet those subjects were able to raise $7,270. That is impressive.

Fort Worth has a population of over 700,000. I am terrible at math, but, if my calculating is correct, for Fort Worth to match the Wink level of generosity, in a Benefit Event, $5,089,000 would be raised.

What if Fort Worth had such a benefit to raise a Support Fund so that legal representation could be hired to help the legion of victims in the Eminent Domain Abuse Capital of the World, Tarrant County, Texas?

Currently if one of the gas drillers, poking holes all over Tarrant County, wants your land, or to run a non-odorized, high pressure, natural gas pipeline under your house, in cahoots with the local government, the gas drillers will Abuse Eminent Domain to put you in harm's way.

With your only recourse, if you have the means, being to hire a lawyer, at your extreme expense, to try and defend yourself against the legalized act of robbery, thuggery and vandalism.

I'm thinking if a Help Stop Eminent Domain Abuse Benefit raised $5 million that a very competent law firm could be hired that could wreak havoc with the current government sanctioned abuse that takes place in these law-challenged parts.

Perhaps the Queen of Wink could be convinced to lend her expertise to such an effort.

Then again, it seems that the Queen of Wink has her hands full currently keeping order in her own Realm.

A Cloudy Pre-Storm Tandy Hills Hike With Perfuming Wildflowers

In the picture you are standing on the best place to stand in Fort Worth, the Tandy Hills, looking at the noontime view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

As you can see, it is a bit cloudy. Potentially Heavy Rain with Thunderstorms is slated to appear later this afternoon through tomorrow.

I felt a few pre-storm drips dropping on me and the hills today.

I hope this possible incoming storm does not wreak havoc with the Prairie Fest.

I overcompensated for the loss of my swimming pool by amping up the Tandy Hills hiking today, going up a record 7 hills at record breaking speed. I fear, without overcompensating, the loss of the swimming will quickly cause me to balloon up to an unprecedented new weight, possibly going into Roly Poly Boy status for the first time, needing to use one of those fun looking motorized carts to do my Wal-Mart shopping.

It was not quite a Rose/Lilac level of odiferousness, but today one of the Wildflower suspects was perfuming up the air in a subtle, pleasant way.

It was not the Lilac colored Wildflower, you see in the picture, that was smelling good.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Corrected Tarrant Regional Water Board Endorsement Editorial

Well, this morning I blogged about the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's toadying endorsement of Tarrant Regional Water Board members for re-election.

And now this afternoon I receive notice that the Star-Telegram's recognizes and apologizes for its error.

Below is the correction notice...

Here is the corrected version of the Star Telegram’s endorsement this morning. The one that was printed was intended to be sent to The Onion instead. This is the real editorial and the Star telegram apologizes for its error.

Although one of the most important public bodies in the area, the Tarrant Regional Water District is probably the most secretive and corrupt of the county's taxing authorities.

It has been providing water and flood control to one of the fastest-growing regions in the country for more than 80 years. It is difficult to argue with the quality of its work to ensure that the district, which provides raw water for 1.7 million people in Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield and much of Tarrant County – most of whom are not permitted to vote for the district’s directors - has plenty of sources for its product well into the future.

Only voters in the six cities within the district (Fort Worth, Azle, Edgecliff Village, Westworth Village, Westover Hills and most of River Oaks) elect its five-member board.

Two men seeking election to the board have outstanding points to argue. Adrian Murray, a businessman and president of the 912 Project Fort Worth conservative grassroots political organization, and John Basham, a consulting meteorologist, are running as a team for the two places on the May 8 ballot.

Murray and Basham, who hope to unseat incumbents Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, say current board members took their eyes off the core mission and instead invested too much time and public money in the Trinity River Vision, a nearly $1 billion boondoggle for flood control and large-scale development along the river north and east of downtown which will allow private developers to scarf up over $200 million in gas royalties earned by the district as well as feast on hundreds of millions in taxpayers dollars.

They also see the 100% "aye" votes at regular board meetings and say the board is simply a "rubber stamp" for the district's staff, offering absolutely no dissent. And they object to a lawsuit filed to force the sale of water from Oklahoma, insisting that "neighbors" should be able to resolve disputes without taking legal action.

The incumbents counter that the district, which operates four major reservoirs in the area, has a superb record of looking out for the region's current and future water supply needs. Lane and Leonard are proud of their efforts to obtain water from Oklahoma, something at which they have miserably failed.

One can't judge the work of board members only by their votes at board meetings, they say, because much of their research, plotting and no-bid dealings occur during illegally convened and closed to the public committee meetings.

Leonard and Lane point to a long list of accomplishments over the last four years, including funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to local developers and law firms, awarding millions in lobbying fees to friends in Austin and Washington and apparently inviting members of the editorial board at the Star Telegram to all the right cocktail parties.

Challengers Murray and Basham no doubt are honest and competent individuals who would not fit in with the current make-up of the water board. They have credible ideas and questions that deserve to be asked and answered but have no place amid the squalor and corruption of the board . They should remain out of the public arena until they learn how the game is played, baby.

But Leonard and Lane, with their long and rich history of doing what they are told, have demonstrated the skills, commitment and lack of integrity needed to be excellent board members on this most important public body.

The top two vote-getters on May 8 will be elected.

The Star-Telegram Editorial Board recommends Jim Lane and Marty Leonard for the Tarrant Regional Water District board.

Fort Worth Mayor Proclaims National Beatnik Week In Fort Worth

I missed part of Don Young's message that I just blogged about. The message had an Earth Day Green Flag image that I had not scrolled past.

When I did scroll past the Green Earth Day Flag I was surprised to read...

"The only photo I could find of Mayor McCann will surprise you. Here he is in 1960 signing a proclamation for, "National Beatnik Week". (LIFE magazine)"

The photo is brought to you courtesy of Pat Kirkwood.

Obviously, the surprising thing is the idea that Fort Worth had a Mayor, Thomas A. McCann, who signed a proclamation for "National Beatnik Week." I can't imagine current Fort Worth Mayor, Mike Moncrief, signing such a thing. In 1960 had the Good Ol' Boy Network not yet taken over Fort Worth, turning it into an Oligarchy?

The Beatniks were sort of the precursors of the Hippies who came along a few years after 1960. I've been told by people who lived in the Fort Worth zone during the 60s that the turbulence of that era, pretty much passed this area by, including the Hippie Phenomenon.

Maynard G. Krebs, with Maynard being a Beatnik, a few years before he became Gilligan, stranded on an island, was a popular pop figure of the late 1950s, early 1960s. Maybe Mayor McCann was a big Maynard G. Krebs fan, hence the National Beatnik Proclamation.

It's very perplexing.

Fort Worth's First Earth Day April 22, 1960 Saving The Tandy Hills For The Future

I did not realize til I got incoming this morning from Fort Worth's Top Watchdog, Don Young, that today, April 22, was Earth Day.

I worded that poorly. I knew April 22 is Earth Day, but today, that fact failed to register til Don Young reminded me.

Okay, that was worded slightly better. I'm losing my ability to communicate, apparently.

I wish I could have celebrated Earth Day with an early morning swim. But, my pool lost all its water.

The first Earth Day was on April 22 of 1970. It was a BIG DEAL. Protesting was very popular back in those days. If I remember right, on the original Earth Day, some very bad Viet Nam War news hit the public, as in Nixon had expanded the war into Cambodia.

I wonder if Steve Doeung remembers when the Viet Nam War came to Cambodia?

The Cambodia expansion caused all sorts of protesting. If I'm still remembering right, these were the protest episodes that saw the murder of 4 Kent State students by National Guard troops.

We live in such calmer times these days, though the naysayers don't seem to realize it.

Don Young's incoming had a very interesting bit of history in it.

On April 22, 1960, 10 years before the first Earth Day, the Fort Worth City Council, led by Mayor Thomas A. McCann, agreed to purchase the land now known as the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

From the city record..."a resolution enacted by the City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, at a meeting regularly held on the 22nd day of April, 1960, does promise to pay, $138,250..." for the Tandy Hills land.

I don't know what $138,250 is worth in 2010 dollars, but it sounds like Fort Worth got a super bargain back in 1960.

Who knew Fort Worth was so Progressive, so Green, so long ago? The foresight of Fort Worth's 1960 City Council and Mayor preserved a prairie wonderland for generations to come.

Which will be celebrated this coming Saturday at the 2010 Prairie Fest.

See you there!