The Parker County Peach Festival Is July 10

The Parker County Peach Festival, surrounding the Parker County Courthouse Square, in Weatherford, is one of the biggest festivals I've been to in Texas. The only ones bigger, that I can think of, are Canton's First Monday Trade Days and the Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival.

There is one thing that makes the Parker County Peach Festival different than any other Texas festival, that I know of, and that difference is that the Peach Festival lasts only one day.

Not Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, just one day. Saturday, July 10. This enormous sprawling festival goes to the bother of setting up for only one day.

Why? I don't know.

I found out the Parker County Peach Festival was a one day deal several years ago when I went to Weatherford on a Sunday, thinking I'd go to the Peach Festival. Only to find the Peach Festival was already history. I ended up at Weatherford's Iron Skillet Truck Stop's buffet. It's a fun buffet. I don't remember if peach cobbler was among the desserts.

If you are within driving distance of the Parker County Peach Festival and you've not previously experienced the peaches, well, it's worth the drive.

Admission is $5 for adults. Kids under 12 are free. The Parker County Peach Festival is open from 8 am til 5 pm.

To get to the Parker County Peach Festival take Interstate 20 to exits 406, 408 or 409. Follow the signs to multiple parking lots with free shuttles to take you to the Peach Festival.

The parking lots are at the First Monday Trade Days grounds, Weatherford College, Weatherford 9th Grade Center (old Weatherford High School) and Hall Middle School.

A Handicap Shuttle is available at the Weatherford 9th Grade Center and Handicap Parking is available at the Palo Pinto entrance to the festival.

I do not know if this is being a good year for Parker County Peaches. Bumper crop, or not, you'll find peaches for sale in various forms at the Parker County Peach Festival. Boxes of fresh peaches, peach julep, peach cobbler, peach ice cream, all sorts of peach stuff.

The Parker County Peach Festival is the first summer event I attended in Texas where I saw the mister method of cooling used, as in there are several walk through misters to help cool you down.

I'm hoping to make it to the Parker County Peach Festival this year. If the forecast is something less than 100 degrees.

Summer Is Here With The Longest Day Of The Year

You are looking south from my balcony patio, early in the morning, in Texas, on this, the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice, June 21.

Tonight the sun will set in my zone of Texas at 8:21.

If I were in Seattle tonight I'd see the sun set at 9:11.

Here, in Texas, when the sun sets, it quickly gets dark. Further north, like in Seattle. Or Juneau. When the sun sets the light seems to linger. There likely is some astronomic explanation for this.

Monday is my therapist prescribed no hill hiking day. So, there will be no hill hiking for me today. I'm hoping this does not make me grumpy.

The Durango Blues Late Bloomer Tandy Hills Wildflower & Bratwurst

It is less than a day until the Summer Solstice. Even so, wildflowers are still coloring up the Texas prairie and the Tandy Hills.

Though in diminished numbers.

In the past couple days a new wildflower has shown up, it being, like myself, a late bloomer. I have seen this wildflower in only one location on the Tandy Hills, with maybe 10 separate plants in a small area, with 2 foot, give or take an inch, stalks, with clusters of blue blooms.

Until corrected, with the correct name, I am calling this wildflower the Durango Blues Late Bloomer Wildflower.

It was in the 90s when I hit the hills today, much earlier and cooler than yesterday. A good breeze was blowing. Quite pleasant. I am currently consuming 3 large bottles of water during these ordeals. I think I'll up the dose to 4 bottles.

I called my dad at the start of hiking to do the Happy Father's Day thing. I got the answering machine message where my dad is being a poet, "We are not available to talk on the phone, please wait for the tone and leave a message." Or something like that.

After my German lunch of Bratwurst and Kraut I decided a rare afternoon swim, and lounging in the sun, seemed like a good idea. And it was.

But, now I'm sort of feeling a bit worn out.

So, I think I'll walk over to Albertson's and buy a chicken. That seems like the sensible thing to do in my worn out condition.

A HOT Father's Day in Texas With HOT Coffee

It is Father's Day, Sunday morning and you are looking out my computer room window at me drinking coffee and reading the paper, out on my new bedroom balcony patio, soon after the sun lit up the place this morning and prior to having myself a really long swim.

It is now almost 10 in the morning and currently 85 with a Heat Index of 88. I wish the heat would finally burn off the humidity so we can get rid of that vexing Heat Index annoyance making it feel HOTTER than it actually is.

The forecast is no longer for 100 for the first day of summer, which is tomorrow, Monday. The first 100 degree day of summer is now, supposedly, going to happen on Tuesday.

Elsie Hotpepper is no longer missing. But, I still have no idea where she is. In many ways.

Yesterday I channeled my inner African-American, again, and made soul food for lunch. Today I am going to switch to Germany and have bratwurst and sauerkraut for lunch. I'm thinking this is sort of anti-soul food.

Lunch will be sometime in the 1 o'clock zone. Don't be late.

Lost Sunglasses Ridge & Other Saturday Texas Miscellania Like Whataburger

You are looking north at what I call Lost Sunglasses Ridge. So named because this is the location, on the Tandy Hills, where I managed to lose my sunglasses on Easter Sunday. And found them again, a month later, hiding in plain sight.

I was on the Tandy Hills late today, for an hour and a half. I don't know how many gallons of liquid I lost, but it was substantial. I'd agreed to ferry someone to a nearby location, with me doing my salubrious hiking and then picking up the aforementioned person at the nearby location.

Well, the pickup call came later than I'd anticipated. That's okay. I'm in endorphin bliss so nothing makes me cranky.

Change of subject.

There are currently over 2,500 postings on this blog. All those postings are indexed by Google. Consequently I can get comments to a blogging I wrote over 2 years ago.

This can be a bit confusing.

One of the subjects I've blogged about that has generated a lot of comments, is various bloggings about Only Child Syndrome. I was surprised to see yesterday that one of those OCS bloggings has over 60 comments.

For awhile Google had me the #1 Only Child Syndrome expert in the world. I have not checked it in awhile. But, I know I'm no longer the go to guy for people trying to figure out what the deal is with Only Children.

Today I got 2 comments to a blogging I wrote way back in January of 2009 regarding Whataburger and what a travesty of a burger joint it is. You can click the link and read the comments from today. One from the mother of a 16 year old son who is currently being a Whataburger victim. And another from a disgruntled Whataburger customer who is running a What a Boycott of Whataburger.

I have never set foot in a Whataburger. The tacky looking orange striped buildings are enough to offput me. I have no idea if Whataburger is a Texas only franchise or if it spreads its particular brand of badness throughout the South.

I fear Texas may regulate its burger industry with the same attention to detail and quality and customer/citizen well-being as Texas regulates the oil and gas industry.

Elsie Hotpepper has gone missing again. The last I heard from Elsie was on Friday when she asked if I would make a TRV website. I don't know what TRV means, for sure. T.errribly R.ude V.illains? T.he R.evolutionary V.anguard? I don't know.

And then there's the Queen of Wink, who also has sort of gone missing. But I actually know why the Queen's gone missing. This weekend is the annual Roy Orbison Festival in Wink.

I tell you, of all these things worrying me, missing people, getting stranded on HOT hills, bad Whataburgers, I forget what else, the thing that troubles me more than anything is poor ol' Betty Jo Bouvier's once more ruining her hair in a blaze of fire.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I anticipate a day of rest. With a Father's Day call to my dear ol' dad.

Slap TCEQ AT June 24 DFW Smog Meeting

On Thursday, June 24 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is holding its first meeting in four years about Dallas/Fort Worth Smog.

The meeting is to take place from 7 to 9 pm in the City of Arlington City Council Chambers at 101 West Abram Street in Arlington.

This is a Public Meeting.

So. What is this meeting about?

Well. Last summer D/FW violated the federal smog standard, despite a Texas plan to not let that happen.

This failure gave this region of Texas the dirtiest air in the state.

Now, Texas has to come up with a second plan. At the June 24 meeting TCEQ, supposedly, will seek opinions from citizens as to what anti-pollution measures need to be implemented.

Now, I'm thinking in a fair, sane, sensible, responsible world giving TCEQ your ideas might be a good idea. But, this is TCEQ we are talking about. Widely believed to be corrupted by too much industry influence tainting the agency's actions.

I guess it is good to be optimistic and hope for the best. So, the North Central Texas Clean Air Task Foce, in cooperation with Downwinders at Risk, Environmental Defense Fund, North Central Texas Communities Alliance, Public Citizen, Sierra Club and Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project urge you to act on June 24.

And show up in Arlington to give TCEQ a piece of your mind and the bitch slapping the agency and its lackeys so richly deserve.

66% Of Skagitonians & I Have No Interest In The World Cup

I must say, before I say anything else, that I am not much of a sports fan, professional, amateur, any of it.

Watching someone play a game seems way too passive to me. Not that I've ever been drawn to play any of these games that seem to enthrall way too many people.

The only sport I have ever enjoyed watching is basketball. Basketball is fast paced. To get to the professional level you have to be a highly evolved athlete with the control and athleticism of a ballroom dancer. You'd have to be a Dancing with the Stars viewer to get how true that is.

Over the years, before Aubrey McClendon stole the team and moved it from Seattle to a forlorn existence in Oklahoma City, I have no idea how many Seattle Supersonics games I've seen in person. Even playoff and championship games.

I even enjoyed watching my sisters play basketball in high school and college, even though I find, generally, girls playing basketball to be somewhat excruciating to watch, but not nearly as excruciating as watching girls play softball.

I went to the very first game the Seattle Sounders played in Memorial Stadium in Seattle. I'd never gone to a soccer game before. I enjoyed it. Mostly because the place was packed, the people were wildly enthusiastic and Mount Rainier hovered to the south. A very nice setting.

The World Cup is currently underway. Bizarrely, to me, this is the world's biggest athletic event. Bigger than the Olympics?

My old local newspaper, the Skagit Valley Herald had a poll this morning, asking "What do you think about the World Cup?" 66% said they had no interest. 15% said they loved it.

I suspect my opinion about soccer and its worldwide, except for America, appeal may be in need of adjustment, but this is what I think. Sports that are popular in America are expensive, that being basketball, football, baseball and hockey. All require special facilities, and some, special uniforms.

All soccer requires is a flat piece of land and a ball. So, the poorest country in the world can afford to play soccer.

Soccer is extremely simple. Back and forth, up and down the field, occasionally taking a shot at the goal.

A game can end in a tie. Like, I believe, the World Cup game between the U.S and, I think, the U.K., did.

There are no breaks in soccer. It just goes on and on and monotonously on. Not exactly commercial friendly for American TV.

America may have way too many entertainment options, compared to a lot of other nations. In other words, soccer, here in America, competes with a lot of far more exciting, far more entertaining things to do and watch.

In my humble opinion.

I really don't think it is possible for soccer to ever attain the popularity in America that it holds on much of the rest of the world. It seems it has been decades now that I've been reading that soccer is finally taking off in America, that this is the year soccer comes in to its own in America.

I think the only way that could happen is to alter the game and Americanize it. Get rid of the goalie so that there is a lot of scoring. Have multiple timeouts so cheerleaders can do their thing. Have a big break between halves so there can be a halftime show.

Full disclosure, I have never made it through more than a couple minutes of a World Cup game. For all I know there is a big half time break with a big half time show. I doubt it though.

Okay, I'm done with my semi-politically incorrect diatribe of the day.

Looking Out At Texas While Drinking Coffee On My New Patio

You are looking out at the Saturday morning, 2 days before the Summer Solstice, view from one of my computer room windows, looking out at my newly refurbished bedroom patio balcony.

I like the change. It's more like a sidewalk cafe.

I drank coffee and read the paper out on the new balcony this morning. It was very pleasant. After drinking coffee and reading the paper I went swimming. That was also very pleasant.

It may be 2 days before summer, yet this morning the air felt pleasantly enough temperatured that I opened the windows. I do not recollect ever doing this at this point in the year, in Texas, before.

It is not even 9:30 yet and we are already at 83 degrees with a Heat Index of 87, heading to a high, again, of 98.

Monday's high, with Monday being the first day of summer, is predicted to be 100. If we hit 100 on the first day of summer, I'm thinking this is an omen of a very HOT Texas summer. Very HOT.

I have now closed the windows. It is totally possible they may not be opened again until the cold winds of fall begin to blow.

Turner Falls Park In The Arbuckle Mountains In Oklahoma

Every year around this time the number one most visited page on my Eyes on Texas website becomes Turner Falls Park in Oklahoma.

Apparently a lot of people want to visit a waterfall, rare in these parts, see some mountain scenery. Also rare. Go swimming in the crystal clear water of Honey Creek. Go hiking, cave and castle exploring. Do some camping. Stay in a cabin. Or just go for the day for a picnic.

Turner Falls Park has several concession stands selling a variety of good stuff. Like snow cones. And other edibles.

On weekends you'll find arts and crafters selling their wares.

The first time I drove north, out of Texas, crossing the Red River to Oklahoma and then north past Ardmore, I was perplexed at signage indicating I was passing over or through something called the Arbuckle Mountains. Mountains? I saw no mountains. The freeway has a scenic overlook. I stopped. I saw nothing scenic.

And then, on an August Saturday, early in this century, Turner Falls was the destination. Turner Falls is only a few miles west of Interstate 35. Soon after you exit the freeway you find yourself surprised by what amounts to being sort of scaled down mountain type scenery. Complete with a mountain type, twisting and turning road.

You come to an overlook which looks down on Turner Falls. That is that view, zoomed in the photo at the top.

Back during the Great Depression the CCC built trails in Turner Falls Park, including a rock trail that leads from the overlook to the Honey Creek valley below. This is one of several locations in the Turner Falls zone that are not comfortable for anyone with any degree of acrophobia.

In summer Turner Falls falls a bit less water than it does after a heavy winter rain. When I saw Turner Falls in August the falls was a pleasant trickle that you could swim under. When I saw Turner Falls in winter that same activity would have likely been not a good idea.

That is Turner Falls in August in the picture, being a pleasant trickle of a waterfall. That is yours truly being that little pinhead in the water, with the falls hitting me.

I have met locals who claim to have never seen a waterfall. I've also met locals who claim they've never ventured north to Oklahoma. I've also met locals who claim they've never seen a mountain.

I'm thinking if you are a local, as in Texan, and have never seen a waterfall, mountain or Oklahoma, have yourself a fun daytrip and head north to the Arbuckle Mountains this summer.

Heading to Turner Falls you'll drive right by the 5th biggest casino in the world, that being WinStar World Resort Casino, just a couple miles north of the Texas/Oklahoma border. It was in that casino I had the best coffee I have ever tasted. And a really good buffet.

Blissed Out From A Fort Worth Endorphin Overdose

You are looking up the Fort Worth Space Needle from the top of Mount Tandy. I was not at the Fort Worth Space Needle for lunch. I was there before lunch.

When I look up at the Fort Worth Space Needle it makes me dizzy, particularly if it is windy, which today it was.

I am trying to figure out how to break my endorphin addiction. It really is a tiresome monkey to have on my back.

Today I got up well before the sun did, was in the pool after the sun showed up. And then coming up on noon that endorphin withdrawal woe started to kick in.

And so I headed to my usual place where I get my endorphin fix, the Tandy Hills.

After today's HOT Hill Hiking I am feeling particularly blissed out by all the endorphins coursing through my veins.

The hiking got off to a semi-bad start today. As I descended Mount Tandy and took a left, heading south from the first junction, I was surprised to see the Fort Worth Water Department back in the Tandy Hills Natural Area, with several trucks, being un-natural. One big truck blocked the trail I was on. That truck's engine was running. I was in no mood to get a dose of diesel fumes in my face, so I reversed direction, altering my carefully planned hiking route for the day.

It all worked out fine in the end. I did not get any diesel fumes in my lungs, that I noticed.

My soul food lunch turned out tasty, particularly the oven-fried chicken. I've only recently discovered this chicken cooking method. It's very easy. I soak the chicken in buttermilk, to which I've mixed in some pepper. Then I roll the chicken in corn meal, to which I've added more pepper, powdered ginger, paprika, thyme, oregano and salt. The chicken goes in a glass cooking dish, on which I've smeared butter, and then stuck in the oven at 375 for an hour.

Tomorrow the leftover chicken gets turned into stir-fry with Vietnamese spring rolls, which are very easy to make.

My noisy construction project is complete, so peace and quiet reigns supreme once more. Between that and the endorphin overdose, I'm feeling blissful.

The feeling likely won't last.