Trying Hard Not To Drown On The Last Tuesday Of September In Texas

I am looking out my primary viewing portal on the world this morning well after the arrival of the daily illumination device in the sky.

This is the final Tuesday of September of 2011.

I start the day with a feeling of despondency, despair, disarray, disgust, disappointment, distaste and desire to take a break from way too much alliteration.

Every morning I check the obits in my old hometown online newspaper. This was one of the mornings when a name I know is listed in the obits.

Which may be part of why I am in a mood full of alliterative d's. Life is short and in the end, if we are lucky, we end up with a nice obituary notice in a newspaper.

Now that I am thoroughly depressed I think I will go swimming. And hopefully not drown.

Fort Worth's Shrinking Fosdic Lake Is Sprouting Shoreline Wildflowers

A Fosdic Flower Blooming On The Fosdic Lake Shore

I am currently at the extremely low ebb of my energy cycle pendulum. I may be worn out from an extremely tiring weekend. Or it may be what I mentioned earlier today, that being that I may be in the early throes of manopause.

Today I did not have the energy, or inclination, to entertain the notion of doing anything as strenuous as hiking up and down the hills of the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium Area, even though that usually totally revives me from a case of the doldrums.

In the noon time frame I did force my worn out carcass to Oakland Lake Park to walk around the ever shrinking Fosdic Lake.

Foliage is starting to sprout up on the newly exposed beaches of Fosdic Lake. That and things like tires, barrels, shopping carts and a varied collection of cans and bottles.

As you can see in the picture, some of the Fosdic Lake beach foliage is sprouting flowers.

Due to the ongoing Great North Texas Drought you don't see an awful lot of color in the outer world on this parched part of the planet. So, the Fosdic flowers were a nice colorful change from the usual, current, brown motif.

That has been my exciting last Monday of September, so far, with the highlight being seeing a flower.

The Last Monday Of September Of 2011 Dawns Sunny In Texas

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on the final Monday of September I can see it is yet one more sunny morning in Texas.

Currently chilled to 62 degrees, heading to a high of 88.

I am currently experiencing a really bad case of being in the doldrums. I suspect I may be in the early stages of manopause.

I do not know if going swimming will lift my spirits this morning. But I am going to give that a try.

Going To Birch Bay In Washington With My Nephew Spencer Jack

Spencer Jack's Sand Castle At Birch Bay

Today I have seen a thing or two that has me a bit homesick for Washington.

One homesickness inducer was reading a Facebook tale, with photos, of hiking last week from Lake Ozette to the Pacific Ocean on the Washington Coast.

I have only done this hike once. Much of it takes place on cedar planks through a cedar forest. It reminded me of where the Ewoks lived in the Empire Strikes Back. I think that is the correct Star Wars movie.

Lake Ozette is near the town of Forks. Forks has become a bigger tourist attraction, in addition to its pre-existing tourist attraction attributes, due to the town now being known as the town where the Twilight movies take place. You know, those vampire/werewolf movies that are inexplicably, to me, popular, with people way younger than me.

The other Washington thing I saw today, that made me homesick for Washington, was my Grand Nephew, Spencer Jack, with a sand castle at Birch Bay.

Birch Bay is a very shallow bay up near the Canadian border, in Whatcom County. In summer the tide goes out, the sun heats up the sand, and then, when the tide comes in, the water gets heated by the HOT sand. Resulting in an awful lot of people having fun in the water.

Birch Bay is a humongous tourist attraction, the likes of which I've not seen since I've been in Texas. I suspect, maybe, the beaches of Galveston may come close on a nice summer day. And maybe South Padre Island.

With Birch Bay you get a lot of Canadians. I don't think you get a lot of Canadians in Galveston. Or South Padre Island.

I like Canadians. They can be a tad annoying, but, for the most part, not. If only they could learn to not end every sentence with "eh". Like they doubt every single thing that comes out of their mouths.

Going to Birch Bay goes back as far as my memory goes. As a kid, more summer weekends were spent at Birch Bay than anywhere else. In my very early years my Grandma Vera had a cabin at Birch Bay. I can vaguely remember one very young birthday at that cabin.

Seeing pictures of Spencer Jack playing in the sand at Birch Bay induced instant melancholy in me.

I actually can not remember the last time I was at Birch Bay. I know I currently have relatives who have moved there since I moved to Texas. I vaguely remember driving up to Birch Bay to meet up with someone a year or two before I moved to Texas.

Birch Bay Driftwood

In all my decades of memory of Birch Bay there is a big piece of driftwood on the beach by Birch Bay State Park that haunts me in dreams. I used to have so much fun climbing on that big chunk of wood.

I must see if I can Google for an image of Birch Bay driftwood.

I think I may have found it. This picture is definitely from the state park part of the south end of Birch Bay.

Right now, at this current point in time, I really am in the mood to move back to Washington. I miss the diversity. And the scenery. And the saltwater.

The weather? Not so much.

The Mysterious Re-Appearance Of Water In Village Creek & The Village Creek Bayou

Village Creek Barnett Shale Water Pipes

Turning on to Dottie Lynn Parkway, heading south to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area I was surprised to see 3 water pipes running along side the southbound lanes.

You can see the pipelines in the picture, the pipelines being that line of gray you see on the other side of the road.

Why would I be surprised to see 3 gas driller water pipelines?

Well. Where are the 3 pipelines getting water? Village Creek has not been running water for a long time now. Even after the rains of Friday, September 16, Village Creek was still not moving any water.

So, imagine my surprise today to see water trickling under the dam/bridge across Village Creek. And then, when I got to the previously dry Village Creek Bayou, I was even more surprised to find it fully charged with water.

Village Creek Bayou Now Drought Free

From whence did this water come?

The nearest large body of water is Lake Arlington. I believe it is from Lake Arlington that Village Creek flows. But, I am not certain about that.

I highly doubt that the 3 pipelines running along Dottie Lynn Parkway were running all the way to Lake Arlington to get some fracking water.

So, I can not help but wonder, was water released from Lake Arlington to re-charge Village Creek so Chesapeake Energy could pump some water?

Other than the perplexing water mystery walking among the Indian ghosts of Village Creek was perfect today.

Up Early The Last Sunday Of September Taking An Anti-Histamine So I Can See Texas Clearly

I am up before the sun on the last sunny Sunday of September of 2011. Next Sunday it will be October.

I remember when it seemed surprising to still be able to go swimming in October. Now it seems perfectly normal.

As you can see, the pool is looking particularly inviting this morning, a clear blue oasis beckoning me.

I'd been off anti-histamines for several days, til this morning. Whatever is in the air that irritates my eyes is back being irritating. The anti-histamine pill that I take is called Loratadine. It is the smallest pill I've ever seen. It must be a very potent small pill because the instructions make real clear that one is not to take more than one pill in a 24 hour period.

Relief comes quite quickly after swallowing a little Loratadine pill. As in my eyes are no longer precipitating.

With my eyes dry and my mood improved and the sun having arrived to begin its daily illumination duties, it is time to go visit that clear blue oasis I mentioned a couple paragraphs ago.

The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Bald Thin Man On The Phone With Elsie Hotpepper Not In Oklahoma

I was peacefully enjoying my return to the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium, hiking the hills and enjoying the return to my circulatory system of mood enhancing endorphins, when the phone rang just as I was trying to take a picture of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Bald Thin Man.

It was Elsie Hotpepper interrupting my natural reverie.

The Hotpepper wanted me to hop up to Oklahoma with her to have lunch at the WinStar World Casino.

I politely declined the invitation. The last time I went to the WinStar with Elsie Hotpepper it turned into a Lost Weekend in Oklahoma City with dozens of quarters in my pockets.

What happens in Oklahoma City stays in Oklahoma City, so there's nothing more I can say about that particular Elsie Hotpepper misadventure.

Switching the subject from Elsie Hotpepper in Oklahoma back to the Tandy Hills.

Today as I was heading down a hill a wily coyote suddenly ran across the path, ahead of me, running at a very high speed. I whipped out my camera, even though I knew there was no chance I'd get a picture of the coyote.

I do not know if the wily coyote was chasing the Tandy Hills roadrunner.

Singing The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Blues With J.D. Granger At TRIP's Botanic Gardens Trinity River Vision Forum

I got an invitation in the mail this morning from the Trinity River Improvement Partnership, also known as TRIP, inviting me to a Trinity River Vision Forum on Wednesday, October 12 at the Lecture Hall in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden's Conservatory.

I have attended two or three TRIP events. The two or three TRIP events I have attended have been very well done events.

I will be attending the upcoming Trinity River Vision Forum, for certain. You couldn't keep me away if you wanted to.

Because, among those on the panel for the Trinity River Vision Forum is my favorite bar hopping, billion dollar boondoggler, J.D. Granger.

I do not know if J.D.'s mom, my favorite Congresswoman, Kay Granger, will be on the Trinity River Vision Forum panel.

But, my favorite ex-Fort Worth mayoral candidate and Tarrant Regional Water District Board member, Jim Lane, will be sharing his visions.

In addition to J.D. and Jim on the panel, there will also be a City of Fort Worth Representative, who's identity is a tightly guarded secret. Along with several TRIP Board Members and other guests.

My rock and roll band, Durango & the Harplets, have not agreed to perform our hit song, "The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Blues" yet. We're a difficult act to book.

Up Early The Last Saturday Of September Not Worrying About Falling Satellites & Wondering About Floating Bridges & Billion Dollar Boondoggles

I am up early looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this last Saturday of September, the 2nd day of Fall.

The outer world in my location is currently chilled to 61 degrees, heading to a supposed high of 91 today.

After enduring a lecture from my therapist, Dr. L.C., I've decided to make another 180 degree lifestyle change, ceasing with being a lazy layabout and returning to my excessive exercise lifestyle mode.

In other words I'm going swimming this morning.

I had a fitful night of worrying about being hit by the incoming Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. Apparently I did not need to be worrying. NASA claims that any one person on the planet had a 1 in 22 trillion chance of having a satellite piece land on them.

UARS has crashed and burned and so far there are no reports that it hit anyone.

Meanwhile, over in the Seattle P-I this morning I found it interesting to read that pontoons as long as a football field and three stories tall are being built in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a town on Grays Harbor on the Washington Pacific coast. When finished the pontoons will be floated to Seattle to build the new six-lane floating bridge across Lake Washington, connecting Seattle and Bellevue.

This is a $4.6 billion project. Seattle has more than one project underway in the multi-billion dollar range. In addition to the new floating bridge there is the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project that includes a massive vehicular tunnel running under Seattle. Then there's the light rail extensions to the University of Washington and to Bellevue.

Billions of dollars worth of construction projects underway in the Seattle zone.

I believe the population of the entire state of Washington is less than the population of the entire Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex the only big public works projects underway that I am aware of are the fix to the Grapevine funnel problem and the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I can think of one really good possible public works project in this troubled part of the planet, besides a massive effort to clean up the polluted Trinity River. That is, extending the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) train to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. And to Arlington's Entertainment District that includes Six Flags Over Texas, the Ballpark in Arlington and the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. And then when that is done, run a line to downtown Fort Worth.

The sun has turned on the lights now, so it is time to go swimming.

October 23 I Will Be At OPEN STREETS In Fort Worth Listening To Trigger Fish

At this current point in time I have, for now, decided to do a total 180 degree lifestyle change and cease with the excessive exercising.

No swimming, no yoga, no Nautilus machine, no hiking, no stair climbing, no nothing.

Instead I'm going to start doing things like go to all the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex fairs and festivals, like the State Fair of Texas that starts up a week from today.

And OPEN STREETS, which has its first Fort Worth occurrence on October 23 and then again on October 30.

My favorite Fort Worth band, Trigger Fish, will be playing at OPEN STREETS from 2 til 4 pm.

OPEN STREETS have been happening in towns across America. Streets are closed off to vehicular traffic, with a festival breaking out.

OPEN STREETS is based on popular South American events called Ciclovia.

The first Fort Worth OPEN STREETS Ciclovia event will take place Sunday, October 23 in the Magnolia/5th Avenue zone of Fort Worth's Southside.

The second Fort Worth OPEN STREETS Ciclovia event takes place a week later, on October 30 in the South Main/Broadway/Jennings zone of Fort Worth's Southside.

I don't know if I will be attending OPEN STREETS solo, or with my posse of fellow non-exercising malcontents.