A Tuesday In Texas With Zero Outdoor Activity In Solidarity With Gar The Texan Syndrome

The 3rd Tuesday of July, day number 19, has dawned with yet one more clear blue sky morning in North Texas, currently heated to 82 degrees, heading to a scheduled high today of 102.

Since it is Tuesday I will not be getting wet in that blue oasis you see in the picture, via looking through my primary viewing portal on the world. Tuesday is the day the pool gets its weekly treatment. A very necessary treatment when the temperature is over 100 day after day.

Today is going to be a day of greatly curbed outdoor activity. I think I may have overdone my aerobic pool activity yesterday, because I am sort of sore all over. A day of rest from physical strains is an occasional good and needed thing.

Speaking of taking a rest from physical strains, Gar the Texan conjured one of his more interesting bloggings of late, basically an ode to his inability to engage in outdoor activity without getting a case of the vapors.

From Gar the Texans's latest blogging.......

"I have a t-shirt that reads, "Extreme Indoor Enthusiast".  For some reason, I've never been much for the great outdoors. Durango was fond of calling it the vapors and when he gave up trying to cure me, I never heard from him again."

Gar the Texan then goes on to list dozens of instances, on my blog, where I refer to his getting a case of the vapors.

Gar the Texan is completely erroneous in thinking that his Expiration Date was reached due to incurable cases of the vapors. What actually brought about Gar the Texan's Expiration Date is I got tired of too many behavior instances of what I now know were caused by Asperger's Syndrome.

Had I realized that what I was experiencing was caused by a syndrome, I probably would have been a bit more sympathetic regarding the symptoms.

One of the Gar the Texan Asperger's Syndrome things is to always be wearing a t-shirt with a message on it. This is sort of vaguely embarrassing to see on someone approaching the half century mark, age-wise.

I was a little surprised I did not hear from Gar the Texan last week after I blogged about discovering him in an FW Weekly ad.

The Lawn Whisperer Has Found Another Victim Of Overwatering In His Quest To Save Texas Water

For a long time now I have been driving by the billboard you see in the picture on my way to the Tandy Hills. The billboard faces westbound traffic on I-30.

On the billboard a guy is looking at grass with a magnifying glass.

The billboard identifies the guy as The Lawn Whisperer and has him saying, "Looks like another victim of overwatering."

At the bottom of the billboard there is a website address, SaveNorthTexasWater.com.

Going to the website you meet The Lawn Whisperer again. You are directed to select the city you live in. I selected Fort Worth.

Selecting Fort Worth brought me to SaveTarrantWater.com, where I was advised to save water because nothing can replace it.

More important water information from Save Tarrant Water...

It's a drought out there.

Texas is experiencing the worst drought in more than half a century. No rain means our water supplies are taking a hit - outdoor watering plays a big role in how fast they go. When the combined storage capacity of TRWD reservoirs reaches 75%, TRWD will require it's municipal customers to initiate Stage 1 of its drought plan. The primary way to stretch our supplies and save water will be to limit outdoor watering to no more than twice per week. And although many of you do water efficiently, there are some who don't. Now is a good time to start. Thanks.

I wonder how many Lawn Whisperer billboards grace the Tarrant County landscape? I wonder how much the billboard ads cost? How much has been spent on the Save Texas Water websites? The Lawn Whisperer is also on Facebook.

How many gallons of water has all this propaganda saved?

No where in The Lawn Whisperer propaganda did I see mention made of the millions of gallons of water being taken from the Texas water supply by Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers.

Not only are millions of gallons of water being used to Frack wells, that water does not return to the water supply.

Plus, there have been instances where the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling has contaminated the water supply of multiple hapless victims.

So, really, how much is all this water propaganda costing? How many gallons of water are alleged to be wasted by overwatering? Compared to the many gallons of water wasted by Fracking?

A Drought Resistant Wildflower Of Yellow Color Has Sprouted On The Tandy Hills

Due to the Texas Drought and day after day of temperatures over 100 degrees, the Tandy Hills Prairie is in full wilt mode.

Yet somehow, today, in multiple locations on the Tandy Hills, the bright yellow wildflower, you see in the picture, and its siblings, have bloomed.

Is this some sort of drought resistant flower which blooms when triggered by extremely dry conditions? I don't know.

What I do know is the bright yellow flower matched my own personal sunny disposition on this particular day.

It was 92 with a Real Feel Heat Index of 101 when I left air-conditioned comfort today. Upon my return it is now 96 with a supposed Real Feel Heat Index of 111.

I did not over heat on the hills today. A breeze was blowing. I think the humidity must be being lower, thus making the HEAT easier to tolerate.

Up Early On The 3rd Monday Of July In Texas With A Full Moon, Earthquakes & Incoming Thunder

I stepped outside with my morning coffee libation on this 3rd Monday of July and looked skyward to see a clear sky with a bright white round orb glowing above me.

A full moon. Almost.

Is the almost full moon the cause of yesterday's rare North Texas earthquake that shook the ground with a 3.0 magnitude quake epicentered about 13 miles west of Waxahachie early Sunday morning?

Most likely the moon had nothing to do with the earth quaking. Were there any Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers in the area of the quake?

Changing the subject from earthquakes to my favorite subject. Sports.

Do the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners play any other teams than each other? It seems every morning, for weeks now, I click on the Seattle P-I to see that the Texas Rangers have defeated the Seattle Mariners in yet one more baseball game. The Seattle Mariners must have the worst record in baseball history.

Yesterday's temperature prediction for today was 99. Giving us hope of a break from yet one more day over 100. But. This morning the temperature prediction for today has been increased 2 degrees, to 101. With a Real Feel Heat Index of 106. With a possible Thunderstorm late in the day possibly dropping some much needed moisture on these parched parts of the planet.

I guess I will go swimming now, before the lightning starts striking.

I Am Thinking About Going To Oklahoma & Noodling For Some Catfish In Murky Water

Big Ed sent me a link to an article in NewsOK, that being an Oklahoma news website, about "How to get started in Noodling."

The article about Noodling had a video about Noodling.

I read the article and watched the video and I still don't think I know what Noodling is, besides having to do with catching a catfish. With your bare hands. I think.

Noodling, whatever it is, is legal in Oklahoma, but with very strict guidelines. And some Oklahoma lakes allow no Noodling.

If you are found to be in the possession of hooks, gaffs, spears, poles or ropes, while Noodling, you can find yourself being fined.

After watching the below video I wondered if maybe the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle should maybe add Noodling to its Happy Hour Trinity River Inner Tube Floats....

Finding A Can In The Coke On Sunday's HOT Tandy Hills With No Lizards

It was 92 degrees when I left air-conditioned comfort today, before noon, to head to the top of Mount Tandy to get a HEAT treatment in the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium Sauna Steambath Area.

A semi-pleasant breeze blew some heat relief today. I did not get even close to the heatstroke zone.

I found a new Tandy Hills Guerrilla Art Installation today. It is located near the end of the trail that leads into the hills from View Street. Take the final left trail junction and you will find the Art Installation located on the left side of the trail, right before it heads west down a hill.

As you can see this new Art Installation has the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth in its background. The Art Installation consists of an antique Coca-Cola glass with a rusted can inside the glass.

I'm guessing the title for this Tandy Hills Art Installation is "Can in a Coke."

It is beginning to concern me that I have seen no reptiles on the Tandy Hills this summer. No snakes, no lizards. I have never seen all that many snakes on the hills, but last summer the Tandy Hills lizard population seemed well stocked. Including one encounter with a monster lizard about a foot long.

Was our harsh icy winter hard on cold-blooded creatures? By now, usually, I would have had at least one snake encounter at the Village Creek Natural Historic Area. So far all I've seen was a couple water snakes in the now almost dry Village Creek Bayou.

Now that you've got me thinking about it, I've not seen any geckos this summer. Usually I'll find geckos stuck to the exterior walls, or my door, sometimes dropping in for a visit.

Are the geckos the parakeet in the Dallas/Fort Worth mine? Dying from air pollution?

Up Late In Texas The 3rd Sunday Of July Thinking About Nothing But The Temperature

I was up late Saturday night, which has me up late on this 3rd Sunday of July. You can sort of tell I am up late by how brightly lit the pool zone is.

It is only 81 this morning, starting off slightly cool, heading to a scheduled high of 105, with the Real Feel Heat Index making it feel like it is 111.

Currently the prediction for Monday is that we will only reach 99 degrees, thus ending our streak of days in a row of 100 or higher.

At my old home location in the Skagit Valley of Washington it is currently 54 degrees, cloudy with rain in the forecast.

At my mom and dad and sister's location in the Phoenix desert zone they are currently at 88 degrees heading to a high of 110. Being in the desert their Real Feel Heat Index has them feeling cooler than the actual temperature, even though it is monsoon season in Arizona, and thus more humid than the norm.

I am going to go swimming right now. Unless I change my mind.

A Saturday Walk Through The Steamy Tandy Hills Jungle With Green Poles & Strawberries

It was no where near 100 degrees when I went to the Tandy Hills today. It was 95. And slightly breezy.

I parked on the top of Mount Tandy. My intention was to not overheat. To accomplish that goal I decided that after I descended from the slopes of Mount Tandy I'd stay on the Tandy Highway as it meanders through mostly shady jungle.

Walking on the Tandy Highway takes me along the route of a sewer pipeline. This pipeline was worked on in the recent past. After the work was done strange green poles appeared by each manhole cover.

The message on the green poles is "SEWER PIPELINE CAUTION."

Molly the Fort Worth Longhorn is also on the green poles, along with a phone number to call if you have a sewer pipeline emergency.

As you can see in the picture some graffiti has been added to one of the green poles. The graffiti says "SLYCE." Who is Slyce and why did he or she put his or her name on this particular pole?

Is Slyce the Tandy Hills Guerrilla Artist responsible for hanging Hello Kitty balloons from branches and constructing the Tandy Hills Bamboo Teepee and other Tandy Hills artworks?

For years the Tandy Hills got by without those green poles advising "CAUTION." Were we in danger and did not realize it?

Like I said the green poles are near manhole covers. On the manhole covers it says "Sanitary Sewer."

This has perplexed me before. A sewer is not at all sanitary, is it?

Changing the subject back to my favorite subject, that being the temperature.

We have gone over the 100 degree mark again.

Does that make it Day #16, or is it #17, in a row over 100?

I have reached the part of the HOT season where I stick my water bottles in the freezer a couple hours before departure. Cold water with chunks of ice in it really helps a lot in the Battle against Heatstroke.

After successfully battling Heatstroke, once again, I, once again, went to Town Talk to cool off in the Town Talk cooler. In the cooler I found big containers of fresh Dole strawberries, 2 cartons for a buck. I got 4 cartons. And a lot of other good stuff.

I have particularly craved good strawberries of late. I long ago gave up on the strawberries I find in the regular grocery stores here. If you grow up with Skagit Valley strawberries, knowing what a real strawberry is supposed to taste like, well the cardboard substitutes from California just don't cut it.

Since the Town Talk strawberries were a Dole product I thought there was a chance they might be good. Turns out I was right to take that chance. No, they are not a Skagit Valley quality level of strawberry, but much better than I've had in Texas previously.

I have been being reminded of Skagit Valley strawberries daily, of late, via Facebook, courtesy of this annoying guy who is married to one of my friends from high school. He has hundreds of acres of strawberries in the Skagit Valley, which are currently in harvest mode. Mentioned daily. Like today he mentioned that tonight he is going to his 50th High School Class Reunion. And bringing a flat of strawberries with him, along with his latest book, a best seller called Vis Major. It's about trains. And an avalanche. I think. I've not read it. I'm waiting for the movie, which I believe is in pre-production.

Texas Beekeeper Rescues 250,000 Bees Living In An Austin Home

Weird news this morning from a town in Texas called Austin.

A beekeeper named Walter Schumacher, keeping bees for a business called Central Texas Bee Rescue, rescued around a quarter million bees that were living in a 7 foot hive. In a house.

The 7 foot hive was one of the biggest the beekeeper, Walter Schumacher, has ever seen.

The 7 foot bee hive was in a home lived in by an Austinite named Lillian Johnson. Lillian does not remember a time when bees were not humming in her kitchen walls.

The humming in the walls has been going on for around 40 years.

Occasionally bees would manage to get into the house. Lillian would try and close off the bees house access with tape. I assume duct tape.

The bee tipping point, that finally had Lillian getting a beekeeper into her house, was the worry that her 5 month old son might be stung by one of the frequent buzzing intruders.

I remember years ago when Big Ed's big twin, Wally, had a beehive in his attic. It was very unsettling. I do not remember how Wally got rid of his bee problem. I am fairly certain that Central Texas Bee Rescue and beekeeper Walter Schumacher were not involved in removing that particular beehive.

The 3rd Saturday Of July Dawns Bright North Of The Heart Of Texas

As you can see, looking skyward through the bars of my patio prison cell, the 3rd Saturday of July has dawned with yet one more blue sky day. With a few clouds.

This morning is starting chillier than yesterday's morning, with the temperature currently 81, heading to a scheduled high of 104, with a Real Feel Heat Index of 110.

Yesterday, according to my computer temperature monitoring device, we got to 105. I do not remember what the Real Feel Heat Index was when we got to 105.

I am appalled that half of July is already gone. Soon it will be August. Then September. Then Winter, with ice storms and snow.

I guess I should enjoy the heat while it lasts and go swimming this morning. And hike the Tandy Hills under the noonday sun til I push myself to the brink of a heatstroke collapse. And then go to Town Talk to get sushi.