A Sunday Walk To The Village Creek Bayou With Eerie Sightings Of Migratory Buzzards

I wanted to go to Pantego today, to ALDI, to get some food. The Village Creek Natural Historical Area is on the way to ALDI.

So, I stopped to walk along Village Creek under the giant oak trees and gaze out at the peaceful serenity of the now full of water Village Creek Bayou.

Life has returned to the formerly dry bayou. Life like turtles. Where did the turtles go when there was no water?

I've really had myself a tiresome past week. It began with some relative revelations first brought to me whilst I was walking along Village Creek. And continued with continuing relative revelations throughout the week.

By Saturday I had had enough with the relative revelations. Making today the first day in a week relatively free of relative revelations.

And don't get me started on the cryptic i-Phone messages I've been getting from Elsie Hotpepper today about migrating buzzards and eerie sightings.

The 3rd Sunday Of October Dawns Late

I am up well after the sun on this 3rd Sunday of October, as you can clearly see via my primary viewing portal on the world.

And no, my late awakening is not due to being out late saloon hopping with Elsie Hotpepper.

It is 31 degrees above freezing this morning at my location.

The allergic asthmatic misery that has been plaguing me of late seems to be a bit better this morning. I hope this improvement is a trend and not just some small lull in the ongoing storm.

My ongoing joint pain misery also seems a bit better this morning.

That's enough whining for now. I think I'll go swimming now and then do some more whining.

My Favorite Ex-Wife's Touchdown Tossing Cousin Dylan With Cheers From Ms. Sheffield & Comments About The Weasel J.D. Granger

Dylan Sheffield Catching Or Throwing A Football

I heard from my favorite ex-wife this morning, again, telling me, again, about the football exploits of her cousin, Dylan Sheffield, quarterback for the Wichita Falls Coyotes, who has an amazing knack for throwing an awful lot of touchdown passes.

A couple weeks ago my favorite ex-wife called to tell me that Dylan had broken the Texas State Record for most yards passed in a Texas High School Football Game.

Yesterday, Friday, which is the state sanctioned day for high school football games in Texas, Dylan made, I think, 7 touchdown passes.

I do not know if 7 touchdown passes is another Texas State Record. 7 seems like a lot of touchdown passes to me. But, I must admit, I am not much of a football aficionado.

In a totally un-related note, someone with the same last name as Dylan made a non-football related Cheer today in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Cheers & Jeers section.

Cheers: To Layla Caraway, Bob Lukeman and TRIP for winning the Conservation Award at the Glen Rose Film Festival! If you are concerned about out-of-control spending by your government or what's happening with your water, watch Up a Creek. Together, we can make a difference.
-- Debbie L. Sheffield, North Richland Hills

What a world of coincidences I live in. The Layla Caraway, whom Ms. Sheffield references, is the lady I mentioned when I blogged about Wednesday's TRIP Trinity River Vision Discussion Forum as the "star of Up a Creek" who informed me that J.D. Granger had weaseled out of being on the forum.

Since J.D.'s Wednesday Weaseling I have learned he previously weaseled out of a Fort Worth Republican Women's Club meeting at the Colonial Country Club and he weaseled out of a League of Women's Voters taping at the Fort Worth Intermodal Center.

Clearly the pattern, prior to J.D.'s Wednesday Weaseling, is that J.D. weasels when the event has the word "Women" in the event's name.

The only woman J.D. might have had reason to be scared of, who was part of Wednesday's Forum, was the formidable Gayle Reaves of Fort Worth Weekly, who was the only woman on the stage, being one of the 3 Society of Professional Journalists asking the questions.

If I were J.D. Granger I would have weaseled. I wouldn't want Gayle Reaves asking me any questions. Like I said, she is formidable. So is Layla Caraway. But she was not on the forum. However, like I said, she also is formidable. And I would not want her asking me questions either.

Checking Out The Watering Schedule At The Tandy Hills Today While Not Picking Any Good Strawberries

Lawn Whisperer Water Schedule Sign

The past couple weeks I've noticed signs popping up on lawns in various locations. I knew the signs had the Lawn Whisperer on them, but I'd not had a chance to see one of the Lawn Whisperer's signs up close til today when I parked on View Street to hike into the Tandy Hills hoping some sanatorium time would help mitigate some of what ails me.

Does anyone actually take this Stage 1 Watering Schedule serious? Is there some Water Gestapo monitoring people's water use?

Chesapeake Energy got into trouble with the City of Arlington due to some bad water behavior involving the fracking of one of their gas wells.

Methinks a lot of people distrust the water info the local official water info purveyors purvey, with the percentage of total consumption the Tarrant Regional Water District claims is used for fracking, just does not seem to be reasonable to most reasonable people. Claiming something like 68% of water goes to keeping lawns green while the millions upon millions of gallons of water used for fracking only amounts to a couple percent of total water used.

Anyway, hiking the Tandy Hills made me feel a little better, with the aerobic activity causing some endorphins to enter my blood stream and slightly alleviate the pain in my aching joints. Doing some heavy breathing also seems to have slightly improved this allergy/asthma thing I've got going on.

I got strawberries today at Town Talk. When am I ever going to learn that the strawberries with the name Driscoll's on the box, from California, do not taste like what I expect a strawberry to taste like? I have not had a real strawberry since July of 2008, when I was in Washington.

The Ides Of October Dawns Polluted Semi Deep In The Heart Of Texas

I'm appalled it is already the Ides of October. Day 15. The 3rd Saturday of the 10th month of 2011.

Time flies ever faster and I don't like it.

I also do not like the air that I breathe. I seem to be becoming evermore stuffed up with every passing day. Nasal spray intervention seems to be increasingly ineffective.

As you can sort of tell via the view from my secondary viewing portal on the world I am up about the same time as the sun this morning.

I think the diminished oxygen intake caused by my diminished air flow due to my diminished nasal passages is causing me cerebral pain in the form of a mild headache.

I am hoping a return to what I hope is a dried out Tandy Hills has some sort of restorative effect on me. But, before that I am going to see if going swimming has some restorative value.

Talk to you later.

Pat B. Wonders What Exactly Are J.D. Granger's Daily Responsibilities?

I got an email this morning from Pat B. asking me questions about the Trinity River Vision due to Pat B. being unable to find answers to questions via info searching.

Below is Pat. B.'s email....

Mr. Durango,

About six months ago my mind started wandering, as it often does, and I somehow became really interested in this TRV project. I have found it really difficult, even with extensive surfing of the net, to find much of any useful info and really not much info at all, considering the amount of money being spent. Several times during my searches I am led to your blog, which is helpful in that I find I am not the only person curious about what is going on with this project.

I wish I had known about the TRIP meeting at the Botanical Garden, because I would have loved to attend.

It seems strange to me that we are obtaining and demolishing properties to make room for some investor to build their restaurant or whatever there. Can you point me in the right direction to get my questions answered? 

I would especially like to know what work is being done presently, what with Kay Granger's earmarks drying up.

Also what exactly are J.D. Granger's daily responsibilities? We seem to be paying him a pretty hefty salary to organize tube parties in the nasty Trinity.

I grew up living on the shores of Lake Worth and spent many days in that mud hole and I still wouldn't put my pinkie toe in the Trinity. Sorry off subject. Seriously, I would like some answers, but can't seem to find out where to get them. 

Enjoy your blog BTW.

Thanks for your time,
Pat B.

Well, Pat B., I can sort of answer some of your questions.

I have no idea what J.D. Granger's responsibilities are, for which he is well paid. I do know they do not include appearing at public forums devoted to trying to understand what is being done to the Trinity River.

I don't believe any building was demolished to build Tim Love's new Woodshed restaurant. I don't even think it is on the land that encompasses the Trinity River Vision zone. I believe the Woodshed is upriver, on land controlled by the Tarrant Regional Water District. The TRWD oversees, or is part of, or is somehow involved with the Trinity River Vision. But, it must be a loose association, because TRWD board member, Jim Lane, was unable to convince J.D. Granger to join him on stage, on Wednesday, at the Trinity River Vision Discussion Forum.

If you drive Northside Drive between I-35 and Main Street you will see some of the Trinity River Vision Underway. And some parts of the project completed. Like the very important, very necessary Cowtown Wakeboard Park, referred to by some as the Cowtown Waterboard Park, for some torturous reason.

If you go here you will see some pictures I took on September 10, 2010 of what was going on then with the Trinity River Vision along Northside Drive.

If you go to Gateway Park by the Fort Woof Dog Park you will see some excellent Trinity River Vision signage explaining what the Trinity River Vision sees for Gateway Park.

The Trinity River Vision is quite good at signage. And brochures. The Trinity River Vision also has a well made website. I suspect you might not be able to find answers to many of your questions, though, on the Trinity River Vision website.

Looking For Armadillos, Wild Boars, Bobcats & Snakes Today In River Legacy Park In Arlington

River Legacy Trail Bridge Across Trinity River West Fork

I'd not been across the trail bridge across the West Fork of the Trinity River to the north side of River Legacy Park since last October. The month my bike was stolen.

I'd read that the Huffine's development, the name of which I can not remember (is it Veridian?) was back under construction. The development came to a halt during the economic meltdown of 2008.

It appeared that the Huffine's development was back being developed. I saw a lot of heavy equipment activity moving dirt.

The Great Texas Drought of 2011 seemed to have greatly diminished the undergrowth that grows under the HUGE old growth trees, along the river, making it so you could see deep into the woods. Thus no herds of armadillos, wild boars, bobcats or snakes could easily hide from view. Previously this had been a visually impenetrable jungle.

A River Legacy Sign With A Baby Bobcat

I saw no armadillos, wild boars, bobcats or snakes today. I wonder what effect the Great Texas Drought of 2011 has had on the population of armadillos, wild boars, bobcats and snakes?

I did see a new sign that has been added at the north side of the bridge. On that sign there is a picture of a bobcat cub.

On one May day of several years ago I was pedaling the River Legacy Park trail, on the north side of the river and I came upon 3 different sets of armadillo babies, out foraging with their moms.

The biggest snake I've seen in Texas was at River Legacy Park. It was sprawled across the paved trail. You'll see that snake if you go to my River Legacy Park webpage. You will also see photos of my previous bobcat encounters.

Hot Coffee On A Cold Morning With The Shadow Of The Asthmatic Skinny Dipping Thin Man

You can't see my cup of coffee steaming as I take a drink as I stand outside to survey the current weather conditions on this 14th morning of October, Thursday number 2.

It is 56 degrees this morning at my location. When the air gets conditioned to 50 or under is when going swimming gets a bit challenging.

I did not go swimming yesterday, or do any other endorphin producing aerobic activity. I will make up for that today.

Changing the subject from my failing health to Google. Yesterday Google announced higher than expected ad earnings. That same day my ad revenue from Google, from my blogs and websites, was the highest it has ever been.

Changing the subject back from Google to my failing health. The allergy woe I've been experiencing is really starting to get on my nerves. I have never been a fan of having my nasal passages plugged up. Or of having to squirt nasal spray in order to breathe easily. I've never had much of an allergy problem. Til lately.

I know the North Texas gas drilling zone has a far higher incidence level of kids having asthma problems than  parts of Texas where the air isn't being contaminated. But, I've not read of the asthma problem being worse for adults in this forsaken part of the planet.

I'm going swimming now and try and forget about my woeful woes.

Some Of The People Of Fort Worth Are Trying To Understand J.D. Granger's Bad Boy Behavior

J.D. Granger With Adult Beverage

J.D. Granger's refusal to keep his commitment to appear at last night's TRIP forum at Fort Worth's Botanic Garden was causing a lot of muttering before the event started and real loud booing after the event started and the crowd was informed that this particular public employee was refusing to face the public.

I heard several speculators speculating as to why J.D. decided to bail.

One of the more amusing speculations was that J.D. decided he did not want to attend when he learned there would be no Open Bar.

The event did take place during Happy Hour, after all, and everyone knows, or should know, including TRIP, that J.D. Granger is a big aficionado of Happy Hours. An example of this is J.D.'s instigation of the Rockin' the River Inner Tube Happy Hour Floats on the Trinity River.

The sound was a bit muted last night at times, but I think I heard a Trinity River Vision apologist explain that encouraging the consumption of alcohol, on the river, was designed to counteract against the dangers of e. coli contamination. I'd not heard, before, that alcohol kills e. coli bacteria.

My favorite comment maker, someone named Anonymous, made an anonymous comment on last night's blogging about last night's forum that J.D. bailed on.

This is what Anonymous had to say........

I heard J.D. Granger cancelled on the TRIP debate because he'd gotten burned at some other meeting where someone asked a question about his personal life that he didn't like being asked. I also heard J.D. was afraid he'd be asked questions about remodelling done to his house that looks like Tim Love's new Woodshed restaurant, with people insinuating that some under the table dirty dealing was done, since Tim Love's new restaurant is sort of tied to the Trinity River Vision, which J.D. Granger oversees.

I don't buy the Anonymous explanation for J.D.'s absence. I think the absence of a Happy Hour Open Bar makes a lot more sense as to the why of J.D.'s rude no-show.

The Blue Sky Dawn Of Day 13 Of October In Formerly Totally Parched Texas

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the world on this 13th day of October it appears a totally blue sky has returned to this formerly totally parched part of the planet.

Currently it is only 22 degrees above freezing at a relatively chilly 57. Heading to a high of around 77 today.

My pool got a shock treatment late yesterday. So, swimming is not doable this morning.

My current chronic woe of aching arm joints is being particularly achy today. I do not know if this is related to sitting too long on one spot last night at the TRIP forum that J.D. Granger bailed on.

I have a doctor's appointment in the noon time frame, up in Hurst, today. This will wreak havoc with my regular noon time walking/hiking constitutional. I need some aerobically induced endorphins to help abate my aching pains.