The Sunny Green View From Miss Puerto Rico's Formerly Snowy Balcony

You are looking at the Sunday afternoon view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony. As you can see the view has gotten way greener than the same view a couple months ago.

We had ourselves the most wintry Winter this Winter, outdoing all my previous Texas Winters, with its icy, snowy, cold Wintriness.

Currently this Spring is being the mildest Spring of all my previous Texas Springs. I can not remember the last time I've heard the tornado sirens. I've only felt compelled to turn on my air-conditioning a couple times, so far, with my windows being able to be open way more often than I recollect in prior times.

I do not know if this trend bodes ill or well for the coming Summer. Last Summer we did not have very many 100 degree plus days. My Hottest Summer in Texas, I don't remember which year, but I do remember there were dozens of days over 100 degrees.

I'm guessing we are heading towards a record breaking Super Hot Summer. I'm usually wrong about such things. It'll likely turn out to be a record breaking Super Cold Summer, now that that Global Warming brouhaha has turned out be a myth.

I do know for almost absolute certainty that it will not get cold enough, this Summer, to cause a repeat of the snowy, February 12, view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony.

I am returning to the Tandy Hills today on a Sunglasses Search Mission. Wish me luck.

Losing My Sunglasses On A 13 Hill Sunday Hike In Texas

Well, I had myself some heavy duty aerobicizing this super fine Sunday in Texas.

Due to the temporary loss of my pool I've amped up the hiking. Today I decided to go for a record of going up 10 hills.

As is often the case with my best planned plans, the 10 hill hike plan went awry.

About a half hour into hiking I had a feeling something was not right, but I couldn't figure out what it was.

A half hour or so later I was heading towards my final hill, number 10, when I realized what was wrong.

I was missing my sunglasses.

I'd taken the sunglasses off to take the picture above of the Butterfly Wildflower. This location was the only location where I took pictures today, of the Butterfly Wildflower and a Yellow Orange Wildflower.

The Butterfly Wildflower location was 2 hills back, from the point when I realized I was not wearing sunglasses. By the time I got to the spot where I'd taken off the sunglasses, I'd now climbed 11 hills.

I did not find my sunglasses. Miss Puerto Rico called while I was looking for them. Apparently I am going over to Miss PR's later today.

By the time I got back to my vehicle I'd climbed a total of 13 hills, spending over an hour and a half hiking and sunglass hunting.

I am feeling just a little over exercised at this point in time. And I don't like my backup sunglasses. Maybe I'll find the missing pair tomorrow.

My Guide To Texas

Soon after I moved to Texas, near the end of the previous century, I was in a bookstore where I found and bought a Guide to Texas.

Over the years the Guide to Texas has guided me to places like Minerals Wells and the Baker Hotel, Dinosaur Valley, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Fair Park, Enchanted Rock, White Rock Lake, the Dallas Farmers Market, Palo Duro Canyon, Galveston, Canton's First Monday Trade Days and many places and events I'm not remembering right now.

Until yesterday I had never noticed or read the Introduction chapter in my Guide to Texas. It amused me.

Excerpted below...

"It's difficult growing up in Texas. Having to ride your horse to school each day, the noisy oil derrick squeaking behind your house. And then all that dust and those tumbleweeds. It's enough to make you kind of twangy.

The myths surrounding Texas have infiltrated even the most remote of outbacks and the most educated of minds. It's dusty and wild, filled with women and men not satisfied with one name. There's Sue Ellen, Betty Jo and Jim Bob. Hell, Texas must be the only state that lets parents use middle names.

All kidding aside, Texas really is like no other place. Its residents are proud and strong and united with the land they cover. Non-Texans might find the lack of humility disconcerting - Texans will tell them that they just don't understand. Being Texan, to many, is like being from a very large family. A really big family.

The areas that Texas covers are extreme. From the dank, Piney Woods of East Texas, to the sparse desert in the west, so many are surprised by the hidden treasures of the state. When unaware visitors first descend into Austin or San Antonio, peering around and above the undulating, verdant Hill Country, they are delighted, to say the least.

Legends are here. All around. There are big, bold voices, raised to speak their minds. There are big, strong men and women who take the world by the horns. There are big, beautiful vistas that inspire poets and artists. And with a land as broad and deep and varied as Texas, how could there not be legendary material?

Texas fancy themselves a bit unusual. Perhaps that's why Texas roads are something of a puzzle to outsiders. The acronyms you'll find preceding highway numbers look different from those in the rest of the world. Most have origins in rural Texas and actually used to mean something.

FM means Farm to Market. RM means Ranch to Market. RR means Ranch Road. CR or CO means County Road. And PR means Park Road."
____________________________________________________

Well, it took over 10 years, and the answer was right before me all this time, but now I finally know what FM, RM, RR, CR, CO and PR means.

Doing The Prairie Fest With Elsie Hotpepper

I made it to the Prairie Fest sometime after 3 in the afternoon. I knew there were going to be a lot of people on the Prairie as soon as I saw the number of cars parked.

Way more people than last year. It seems to me that each year the Prairie Fest seems to grow 50% bigger. Give or take a percentage or two.

I was intending to participate in World QiGong Day with Master Martha, with me thinking the QiGong Demo Group Participation thing took place at 5. As I often am, I was wrong, it took place at 3.

I learned this when I found myself suddenly accosted by QiGong Master Martha. I'd been wandering around Prairie Fest looking for Elsie Hotpepper, when I ran into Martha.

After talking to Martha, for awhile, I called Elsie, she answered, I told her I was by the band, talking to QiGong Master Martha. And that we were too late for the Group QiGong.

As I talked to Elsie Hotpepper she said she was also by the band. I spied someone who looked like Elsie. I asked Elsie if she was wearing pink. Both Martha and I saw Elsie look down to see what color she was wearing. Who goes out in public without knowing what color they are?

Elsie and I talked to Martha for awhile about our counter-revolutionary activities and then Martha's young daughter and her old boyfriend showed up. So, it was time for Martha to go.

Elsie and I then wandered around Prairie Fest. Due to wandering, and talking to Elsie, I forgot to take very many pictures.

At one point we ran into Don Young, who did not, apparently, know that Elsie and I know each other.

Elsie had never actually seen the Tandy Hills, so we followed a big group of hill walkers out to the hills so Elsie could see the best place to stand in Fort Worth for the first time.

I met Louis McBee today. He was in a booth with a lot of initials. I think, NCTCA. Some subversive group of Texans, near as I can tell. I liked Louis McBee. He was funny. He told me he'd been told that I had killed my blog. This was news to me.

There was some politicking going on on the Tandy Hills today, but it had to be done in a subtle way. Blatant Politicking was Strictly Forbidden.

This made it a bit challenging for Elsie and me to do our bit to convince voters that they need to vote for Adrian Murray and John Basham for positions on the Tarrant Regional Water Board.

I did see one politician today, who seemed to be politicking. Costumed, near as I could tell, to look like a Yellowjacket Bumble Bee.

Kudos to Don Young. Job well done on Prairie Fest 2010.

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.