A Clear Blue July 22 Morning In Texas Heading To The Big Thicket

As you can see from the view from my patio, the sun is up, the sky is blue.

I was up before the sun was, this morning, but I did not make it outside to take a picture til after the sun arrived.

I am working at trying to be less of a creature of habit, hence the tardy picture of the view from my patio. And the fact that I am choosing to forego my regular, habitual morning swim.

There was some extremely good mockworthy material in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The mocking will need to wait for another blogging.

I have no idea what I am going to do today. Except for a virtual trip out to East Texas, again, to the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Sitting Under A Fosdic Lake Tree Trying To Talk To The Queen Of Wink After Visiting Marshall Texas

I ended up being a bit sore from Sunday night's fast running, due to downpours. I seem to have compounded this with Tuesday's Tandy Hills hiking.

So, today I had myself a really good swim, an activity which seems to make the aches and pains way less achy and painful.

By 11 this morning I was feeling no need for an additional endorphin fix. So, for my fresh air fix, or my fix of what passes for fresh air in Fort Worth, Texas I went to my favorite picnic table, overlooking Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

I brought a book along, but prior to reading my intention was to call the Queen of Wink. Because the Queen of Wink told me to call her. I always do what I am told.

But the Queen exercised her Royal Prerogative and refused to answer her phone. So, I opened my book.

I was in the shade of several trees, with a pleasant breeze, quite a nice circumstance for doing some book reading.

Previously to heading to Fosdic Lake I had headed east to the Piney Woods Region of Texas for a virtual visit to Marshall. Interesting town. Both Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson went to school there. It was a hub of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. And a hub of the Confederacy in the 1860s. And Marshall puts on one of the world's most spectacular Christmas displays called the Wonderland of Lights.

It is currently 95 with a Heat Index of 100 in my zone of Texas. Two years ago today I was in a state of shivering shock, having spent an icy night in a Tacoma Basement Dungeon. Oddly, right now, it is 95 in Fort Worth. In Tacoma, right now, just reverse those digits. It is 59 degrees in Tacoma.

59 degrees is closer to 32, and freezing, than it is to 95. How did I ever manage to live in that brutal climate? I do recollect wearing shorts far less frequently in Washington, than I do in Texas. And I had a lot of long sleeve shirts and sweaters. And long pants, lots of long pants. And sweat pants. And long underwear. I do not clearly recollect if I ever went shirtless in Washington. I'm sure I must have gone swimming a time or two without being in a wetsuit.

If I remember right, tonight, 2 years ago, my sister got home from work and insisted I help walk the dogs at Point Defiance. It was brutally cold, I had a sore throat and my eyes had not yet adjusted to the extremely clear sparkling air and water. Brutal.

I must go find video of that brutal icy walk along the beach at Point Defiance...

July 21 In Texas Thinking About Snow & Swimming

No. That is not the morning of July 21 view from my patio.

I was stopped from taking a picture this morning of the view from my patio, due to the fact that when I turned my camera on it told me to charge the battery.

Actually, what it said was "Replace Battery Pack". I'd not seen this message before.

What you are looking at is the view from my patio last winter, around Christmas, if I remember right. A very rare foot of snow fell on North Texas.

Hard to imagine that possible in our current status of going over 100 every day, Heat Index-wise.

I find it difficult to believe, right at the moment, that I continued taking a morning dip in the pool all winter long. But I did. Often a very quick dip, then a fast run for the hot tub. I don't know if I am going to continue this bizarre practice this coming winter.

I'll be heading to the ice free pool in a little bit, after the sun finally decides to arrive. The early morning, very dark sky was still missing the moon this morning. Where has the moon gone?

I think I'll do me some virtually tripping to the East Texas Piney Woods zone again today. To Marshall. A town with an interesting history.

Virtual Tripping To Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal To Chinook's At Salmon Bay With Some Womenfolk

Right about this time, 2 years ago, I was making a tired arrival in Seattle with a very sore throat, hoping the clear, good smelling air of the Pacific Northwest would have my damaged by Barnett Shale respiratory system back quickly working. It didn't work out that way. I had a sore throat for the next 2 weeks.

So, yesterday I had been instructed to make a surprise visit to Seattle, to go to Chinook's at Salmon Bay at the Seattle Fishermen's Terminal, with the instructions coming from Betty Jo Bouvier, aka the Wild Woman of Woolley. Miss Linda R., who I'd not seen in many a year, though I have talked to her on the phone, since I've seen her in person, was to be there.

Linda R. is very reclusive, well, actually busy. She is hard to get to agree on a meeting time. Or so I've been told. It has been years since I tried to get her to meet me anywhere. That is Linda R. on the left, with Betty Jo in the middle.

You may recognize the third one in the trio if you watch LOST closely. Bethenny Jane. That's her Internet stage name. That I just made up.

Betty Jo just emailed me this picture, taken yesterday, asking me "Well...where were you???"

I was going to say I didn't know why she was asking me that, since it was I who took the picture. Then I realized that made no sense since it was Betty Jo who sent it to me, so obviously I did not take it.

Now, you Texas people looking at this picture, who have said to me it always rains in Seattle, but who have never been there, make note of the lack of clouds in the sky.

You in Fort Worth reading this, make note of the Town Lake that the fishing boats are floating on. The Town Lake is called Salmon Bay. Salmon Bay is connected to the Ship Canal and Ballard Locks which connect Puget Sound with Lake Union and Lake Washington.

I do not know how all these manmade water projects came to be. They are quite large. And don't involve any flood control, except for controlling the water in the Ballard Locks. I'm fairly certain none of it was the result of any Vision, Pork Barrel Earmarks, or a local Congresswoman's son being put in charge to build the project, with no experience doing such a thing.

If I've said it once, I've said it twice, Texas, well, Fort Worth, is like a whole different country from the one I used to live in.

Two Years Ago At This Very Minute I Was In A Plane Heading To Washington

In a couple hours it will be 2 years since I saw the view in the photo. That is not a stormy wild ocean you're looking at. You are looking north, towards Mount Baker over the Sea of Peaks of the Cascade Mountains in Washington.

A few minutes after this picture was taken I was landing in Seattle, around 9 pm, if I remember right, picked up by a pair of poodles.

Since it is 7 pm Central time, right now, where I was, precisely 2 years ago, was, I think, Albuquerque. I did not have to switch planes, we landed to pick up new passengers and get rid of others.

I remember today, 2 years ago, was HOT here in Texas, just like today. In the high 90s, with the Heat Index in the 100s. I remember overheating checking in at Love Field.

When I arrived in Seattle and exited the terminal, the first thing that struck me was that it was so COLD. When I got to where I was staying, in Tacoma, I was led down to a dungeon like quarters in the basement. It was very cold. That night I laid in bed shivering. When I could shiver no more I got out of bed and searched for more blankets. Eventually I was able to layer enough blankets on top of me to stop the shivering.

I really never did warm up that entire month in Washington. I remember 2 days before finally escaping the frigidity, I was in a Safeway with an enormously obese woman. It was cold outside, yet that grocery store seemed to have its air-conditioning running. I remember the shivering started again. Of course, I got no sympathy from the enormously obese woman, blessed as she was with a natural warming blanket, like a whale's layer of blubber.

Just a second, I must go check what the temperature is in Seattle right now...70!

I have my A/C set at 82, 70 is very chilly.

After several nights of cold terror, spent shivering in that Tacoma dungeon, I discovered a third floor loft which the dungeonkeepers thought was too HOT for human habitation. They'd even added two high-tech air-conditioning window units in the hope of making the loft habitable.

I asked if I could move from the dungeon to the loft. Permission was granted. The temperature gauge on the A/C units said it was 81, cooler than I keep it where I am right now. So, finally I was able to sleep without shivering.

A couple days after my arrival my mom and dad arrived. I proceeded, apparently, to ignore them, while they proceeded to devote a lot of time to processing an awful lot of raspberries.

Time flies. I can't believe it is 2 years since I put myself through that living hell of entire month in Washington. How did I get talked into that? I think I've blocked that memory.

Hiking The Emerald Forest Of The Tandy Hills With Wildflowers, Recovering Queens, Gar The Texan's Erudition & Smart Phones

You are looking at a trail deep in the Emerald Forest of the Tandy Hills, around noon, today. This particular trail is found after you cross the dried up Tandy Falls, where nothing is currently falling, at the end of the new Tandy Highway, that the Fort Worth Water Crew made passable.

Speaking of falls, this morning on another blog I blogged about Nooksack Falls. I mentioned Nooksack Falls a couple days ago. Due to it causing me bad nightmares.

I returned to the Tandy Hills today for my salubrious aerobically induced endorphin fix because Stenotrophomonas informed me that Sunday's downpour did not pour down on the Tandy Hills.

Yesterday I mentioned being perplexed by a sign in the Village Creek Natural Historic Area that made no sense to me.

The sign said, "DANGER LOW WATER CROSSING".

The entity widely believed to be the most erudite person ever to have come from Wink, Texas, Gar the Texan, made sense of that sign for me.

Gar said, "The Golden Gate Bridge is a water crossing. It's a high water crossing; as in it's way up there. You aren't going to get wet crossing the water. A low water crossing also crosses water, but it's low. If the water rises too much, you're going to get wet. Anyway, it's not the water that is high or low. It's the crossing."

I think the rains of June and July and the high humidity have caused a slight resurgence of wildflowers coloring up the Tandy Hills prairie.

I don't know what I'd call the color of this delicate wildflower that was blooming solo, no relatives seen. I guess I might call the color faded lavender.

I heard from the Queen of Wink this morning. She has been laying low while she works out the kinks in her Top Secret Operation. She's had some computer issues. Even royalty has computer issues.

But, I suspect the Queen of Wink is the first queen anywhere using her phone to use Facebook.

Miss Puerto Rico got one of those new smart phones that can access websites, show movies, take movies, make movies, watch TV, do email and all sorts of others stuff.

Except it seems a bit weak on the classic phone operation.

As in, on Sunday, Miss PR got paged. When she went to call the number her new smart phone would balk at the 5th or 6th input. After she tried several times I asked if she wanted to try and make the call with my antique cell phone. She was able to make the call with no further problems. Using my extremely outdated un-smart phone.

It Is A Very Dark Moonless Morning In Texas

As you can see, the view from my balcony is looking out on the very dark morning of a very dark night, while I drink very dark coffee after waking up, early, in a very dark mood.

What has become of the moon? I can see stars twinkling through spaces between puffy clouds. But no moon. I have seen no moon in at least a week.

Yesterday I said I chose to go back to Village Creek Natural Historic Area to do my historically natural walking, due to me assuming the Tandy Hills got a heavy dose of water from the same downpour that got me soaking wet on Sunday.

However, I heard from Stenotrophomonas, he being one of the close monitors of the Tandy Hills, due to living in a location that makes monitoring easy, that the hills received nary a drop of the deluge that dropped so much wetness on me.

The Tandy Hills is less than 4 miles west of my location. Amazing how a storm as wicked as Sunday's only hit a very small area.

I guess I am off to the Tandy Hills today. But, before that happens I'm going swimming. If the sun ever decides to make an appearance.

Perplexed By Danger Low Water Crossing on Village Creek Today

Due to Sunday's unexpected extremely wet downpour I didn't think the Tandy Hills would be a good plan for my daily endorphin fix.

So, it was back to Village Creek Natural Historic Area again. Just like yesterday, despite it being cooler, barely in the 90s, and despite being mostly in the shade, I managed to get almost as soaked as I did in last night's downpour.

It would be helpful if the air was moving a bit. Not as extremely as last night's sudden burst of gusts, but a little wind would be a good thing.

I had not noticed the sign you see in the picture before. Is it new? It may have always been there, for all I know. I can be very un-observant.

Behind the sign you're looking at Village Creek and one of two dam/bridges that cross it.

Now, I admit I can be a bit dense at times, so maybe I'm being dense about the message on the sign, "DANGER LOW WATER CROSSING".

What does that message mean? The danger comes when the creek floods and goes over the dam. At that point a danger sign would make sense. If it said "DANGER HIGH WATER CROSSING". As in crossing the bridge.

The park is always closed when the water goes over the dam/bridge, so basically when you can see the sign it's of no use, because the creek is running a normal flow.

Change of subject to Elsie Hotpepper. EH has seemed a tad sad of late. I'm thinking she is in dire need of doing some saloon hopping. With the hopping taking place some place tropical.

Are The People Voting On Big Dumb Boondoggles In Fort Worth & Seattle? If Not, Why Not?

If I remember right I think I've mentioned previously that I find it interesting how differently democracy is practiced in my current location of Fort Worth, Texas, compared to my previous location in the Seattle, Washington zone.

Both towns have big public works projects underway. In Fort Worth the project is known by various names, such as Trinity Uptown Project, Trinity River Vision or simply as That Big Dumb Boondoggle.

In Fort Worth the people who live in the city have not been allowed to vote on That Big Dumb Boondoggle.

Meanwhile, Seattle may have a boondoggle of its own in the making. That being the multi-billion dollar plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle.

In Seattle there is growing opposition to the tunnel, coming from various sources.

Now, to show you how differently issues are dealt with in Seattle, compared to Fort Worth, I've taken an article from today's Seattle P-I regarding the opposition to the tunnel. I have substituted "tunnel" with "Trinity River Vision" and "Seattle" with "Fort Worth" and changed Seattle's mayor Mike McGinn to Fort Worth's mayor Mike Moncrief and changed the price tag from $4 billion to a measly $1 billion.

Now, read this and ask yourself why you would never read such a thing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram....

With big questions about potentially huge cost overruns, skeptics are gaining steam to torpedo the Trinity River Vision in Fort Worth.

Some groups want voters to have one final say about the Trinity River Vision -- before it's too late.

The Trinity River Vision is expected to cost nearly $1 billion to construct. But a consultant for the Fort Worth City Council says there's a 40 percent likelihood it'll cost more than that.

With that new ammunition, some Fort Worth groups -- such as the Sierra Club and Real Change -- are pushing for a new referendum that would stop the project unless city taxpayers are protected from cost overruns on the state project.

If that referendum gets enough signatures, Mayor Mike Moncrief -- who does not want Fort Worth on the hook -- says he supports a citywide vote.

Meanwhile, council members say there's still time for a compromise.

A Texas Falling Down Sunday Night Storm & Monday Morning Blue Sky Norm

That is not the Monday morning, July 19 view from my patio you are looking at. It is the Sunday early evening view from Miss Puerto Rico's.

I was not aware of any forecast for anything wet, on Sunday. I was peacefully minding my serene business, sitting out on Miss PR's balcony, when suddenly a really clear rainbow popped in to view.

With me on one of the very rare occasions when I did not have my camera with me. It was starting to get real windy. I decided to run back to my abode to get my camera so I could get a picture of the rainbow.

I got back to my abode, got the camera, and exited my abode to find rain falling. Hard. By the time I got back to Miss Puerto Rico's I was soaking wet. Totally soaking wet. I removed what I could of what was wet, whilst still maintaining some modicum of propriety.

Then all HELL broke loose. Lightning striking, wind gusting, rain downpouring. The picture above really does not do justice to the viciousness of Sunday's surprise storm.

When I exited Miss PR's, to make my way back here, it was a wet, muddy, slippery journey.

Keyword, slippery.

As in I slipped and fell. My camera case got covered in mud, but the camera stayed safe. Which is why it is kept in a case. To protect it from my tendency to slip and fall inconveniently.

Today, that day being Monday, July 19, has dawned calm, as you can see in the picture of the view from my balcony, with a blue sky and a pleasant temperature of a relatively chilly 76.

I'm going swimming now. I hope I make it to the pool without slipping and falling.