A Bumper Peach Year In Texas

A couple days ago I blogged about the upcoming, July 10, Parker County Peach Festival.

In that blogging I said I had not heard if this was being a good year for peaches, in Texas, or not.

Well, I have now learned that Texas extension agents and peach growers are predicting a record peach harvest, possibly the best since 1982.

Last year's freeze in late spring and hail damage ruined the peach crop.

This year's extra cold winter is just what the peach trees needed to get them being extra bountiful.

Peaches are grown in other counties in Texas besides Parker County. Hill County, for instance, where Jamey Vogel, who owns a peach orchard, says "We've got the makings of a tremendous crop."

Parker County extension agent, Jon Green, agrees with that sentiment, with Parker County also having a bumper peach year.

The best of the peach picking runs from June 15 through July 25. I've got myself a real strong hankering from some fresh peaches.

Another HOT Summer Wednesday In North Texas

You are looking at the Wednesday morning view from my computer room window. Of late each day's morning view is pretty much the same as the day before, except for yesterday, when I was up well before the sun was.

It is not yet 10 in the morning and it's already 88 with a Heat Index of 92, heading to a predicted high, again, of 100. Maybe today we'll hit the century mark. We didn't hit the predicted 100 yesterday.

Tomorrow we get some HEAT relief with the forecast high being only 98. With a cloud or two. Currently there is no chance of rain in the foreseeable future.

Last summer we stayed fairly green here in my zone of North Texas. We are currently only 2 days into summer and it is already browner than it got last summer. Grass has trouble staying green in the Texas heat.

I was pre-occupied til well into the afternoon yesterday. So, I did not get my endorphin hill hiking fix. That made 2 days in a row of withdrawal from aerobic stimulation.

Today I have to be in Hurst in the noon time frame. The earliest I could hit the hills today will be around 3. By then the air should be rather HOT. If there is no wind blowing, like the semi-dead calm of yesterday, I may bail on hill hiking for the 3rd day in a row.

I am already beginning to deteriorate from the lack of exercise. I may be mis-diagnosing my deterioration. I did spend almost an hour in the pool this morning.

Fort Worth & Seattle: A Tale Of Two City's City Councils

You are looking at the skyline of downtown Seattle. That body of water is not a town lake, it is Elliott Bay. Elliott Bay is part of Puget Sound. Puget Sound is part of the Pacific Ocean.

Those big white boats are called ferry boats. Because they ferry cars and people to various locations on Puget Sound.

Where the ferry boats dock is called the Seattle Waterfront. Hovering above the Seattle Waterfront is this thing called the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a double decker elevated highway, that is obsolete, dangerous, a noisy eyesore and about to be replaced by a deep bore tunnel.

For the deep bore tunnel to work a new Elliott Bay Seawall must be built. The sea wall holds back the sea, sort of like an underground dike.

Now, here in Fort Worth, we have a water control project known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. Spending around a $1 billion to build a little lake, an unneeded flood control diversion channel, 3 bridges and, maybe, some canals.

The citizens of Fort Worth have not been allowed to vote on the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Now, contrast that with the following taken from the Seattle P-I, regarding the replacement of the aforementioned Elliott Bay Seawall....

"The Seattle City Council could hold off until 2011 before asking voters to approve a bond measure or levy to finance construction of a new Elliott Bay Seawall, according to a briefing Monday.

Replacing the seawall is a large piece of the $841 million in projects the city has agreed to complete as part of the $4.2 billion plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.

Mayor Mike McGinn has proposed a 30-year $235 million bond measure, which he wants to send to voters in November.

According to a City Council staff report, the council could hold off on a decision for the bulk of seawall financing until 2011. Seawall construction is expected to start in 2013 and finish in 2015. A preferred design isn't expected to be chosen until 2011.

The council's special committee on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement also was presented Monday with two more potential financing packages for the seawall and other work related to the viaduct replacement. Altogether, the city must come up with $302 million in "unsecured funding," meaning the council must create new taxes to pay for it."

What a contrast with the Fort Worth City Council, which spends its time debating things like giving handouts to corporate failures, like RadioShack. And other nonsense.

Up Before The Sun Thinking About Sundance Square Parking Lots

You are looking at the view from my computer room window a few minutes before the sun arrived to light up the sky and the ground beneath.

Even though the sun had not yet arrived it was already 81 degrees out there.

I think today we may make it over 100. 81 degrees before the sun arrives would seem to give the sun a head start on making it really HOT here today.

Yesterday was my weekly scheduled sabbatical from salubrious aerobic endorphin-inducing hiking. Endorphin withdrawal did not make me too grumpy yesterday. But, I need to hyper oxygenate my blood today or I fear bad things will start to happen.

Overnight Fort Worth's Sundance Square parking lots managed to spark controversy with someone named Doohickie suggesting that Steve A's rantings on the subject are paranoid. And Doohickie denies being either me or Tracy Gilmore. This confuses me greatly.

I didn't find Steve A's rantings particularly paranoid. But, I have to admit, I am not the most perceptive person on the planet.

Regardless of my level of perceptiveness, Sundance Square and its parking lots continue to be perplexing.

Fort Worth's Sundance Square Parking Lots

This afternoon I was reading Steve A's DFW Point to Point blogging, Sweet Homebound Tailwind. Steve A made mention of the collection of downtown Fort Worth parking lots known, collectively, by many, as Sundance Square.

I then commented on Steve A's blogging, verbalizing my appreciation that someone else noticed that there is no square in Sundance Square, with the closest thing to a square being the collection of parking lots.

Now, it is very unusual in a large city's downtown for land to be used for parking lots. Usually a downtown city's land finds much higher value uses. Than parking lots.

Within a very short time of me commenting on Steve A's blog I got an email from the Marketing Director of Sundance Square, Tracy Gilmour. Tracy Gilmour kindly tried to alleviate me of my Sundance Square ignorance by telling me that Sundance Square is 35 blocks of downtown Fort Worth, with a lot of buildings being restored to their former glory and awards being given for this effort.

Well, that's nice. But, the thing is, a lot of towns have an area they call their town square. It often goes by other names, like Seattle has Westlake Center. Westlake Center is a town square.

Fort Worth has no town square. The closest thing to a town square is the parking lots across from the Reata, the Bass Performance Hall, Flying Saucer Emporium and Barnes and Noble.

If you are going to put up signs pointing people to something called "Sundance Square" you really should have something that is a town square. Without such a thing one defaults to the only thing that resembles a square, that being the downtown Fort Worth parking lots.

Maybe downtown Fort Worth should actually turn one of the parking lots into a town square and call it Sundance Square and re-name the current development project, now known as Sundance Square, to something like Sundance Downtown Re-Development Project.

It's good marketing to accurately label things.

Below is the email from Tracy Gilmour, subject line, "I have seen you post about Sundance Square before."

I would really like to give you some correct information about Sundance Square. We own 35 blocks of downtown Fort Worth. The development is entirely privately owned, not subsidized in any way by the City of Fort Worth. It was named after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. SSQ is a collection of both new and very old buildings. Much care has been taken in restoring the buildings back to the original such as the Knights of Pythias Hall at the corner of 3rd and Main. The Building which houses the Flying Saucer at 4th and Commerce is one of the oldest in Sundance.

On Main Street we are restoring the Jarvis building front back to as close as we can to an original front. This building is considered the oldest building on Main Street. We have over 50 buldings in Sundance so it’s much more than a collection of parking lots. We are proud of the awards we have one, especially the award of excellence we received earlier this year from the Urban Land Institute. I know you like to comment on all aspects of your experiences so maybe this will give you more to write about. If you will review the write ups on sundancesquaremanagement.com it will give you a very brief summary of each building.

Sundance Square encompasses property from 2nd to 5th streets and from Lamar to Elm that is an approximate boundary as our boundaries are made up of the buildings we own.

Escaping Noise By Spending The Summer Solstice Afternoon At Miss Puerto Rico's

You are on Miss Puerto Rico's balcony, looking east, towards Dallas, on this first day of summer of 2010.

I believe the Summer Solstice occurred at something like 6:23 this morning. With the sun beginning its relentless march towards shorter days and winter.

I was in the pool, busy swimming, when the sun decided to head south. The thermometer in the pool, this morning, claimed the water temperature was 86. The air was 81.

In other words, we are at that time of the year when the water in the pool is not all that refreshing, in the cool you off department. But a shower using only cold water, now that is still a bit refreshing, though that water is getting warmer too.

The reason I am over at Miss Puerto Rico's, this afternoon, is because the noise from painter's power washing was getting on my nerves. It is really easy to get on my nerves.

So, I hauled my laptop over to Miss Puerto Rico's DSL connection. It may be really quiet here, but her computer chair is very uncomfortable. And her high maintenance cat, Tasha the Nazi, resents my presence. She likes to spend her day sleeping on this computer chair. So, I am being subjected to a lot of loud, scolding meows. And a few vicious hisses. So far the monster has not attacked me.

Today Tootsie Tonasket proposed that I become her houseboy. I don't see that happening. It would be way too much culture shock, going from the wilds of Texas to the wilds of remote Eastern Washington. Though the hill hiking out Tootsie's backdoor would be nice.

The Queen of Wink remains missing. Last I heard from the Queen was her announcement that she was conducting a Yoga Demonstration in downtown Wink on Friday morning. I worry that a Yoga Demonstration in downtown Wink might be an arrestable offense in West Texas.

The high today is still predicted to be 100. But I don't see that happening. It is past 4 and currently only 96.7, according to WeatherBug, with the Heat Index making it feel like 99.

Tomorrow is predicted to hit 100, too. And then a cold front moves in, lowering the high to 98 on Wednesday. Brrrr.

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.