The Last Day Of February Pondering The Sublime & The Ridiculous

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on this last day of the second month of 2012 it does not appear any of the predicted precipitation precipitated overnight.

The landscape at my location is dry.

I also heard none of the predicted lightning strikes last night.

Currently tomorrow's first day of March is predicted to roar in like a semi-HOT lion with the predicted high being 81 degrees.

Changing the subject from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Mitt Romney won both Republican primaries yesterday.

Newt Gingrich tried to explain to the zealot Rick Santorum that he was comprehension challenged when Santorum said a 1960 JFK speech made him want to throw up. Gingrich praised the speech.

Next up for the Republicans is Saturday's Washington caucus. My one and only time of going to a Washington caucus was the year Clinton ended up getting elected. I voted for Paul Tsongas at my caucus.

I hope, on Saturday, the Washington Republican caucus does something interesting, like giving the win to Ron Paul.

Enough of the ridiculous, I'm going swimming now. What with it being a balmy 55 degrees at this point in time this morning.

A Very Particular Texas Lady With A Chunky Monkey Mind

I know a young lady here in Texas, a lifelong Texan, who likes Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream.

She claims eating Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream calms her mental chatter one spoonful at a time.

A few weeks ago I took a picture of this very particular Texas lady. When this very particular Texas lady saw this picture she told me to erase it because it made her look fat.

I was shocked.

I told this very particular Texas lady that the picture did not make her look fat, that it was all the Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream she has been eating, a spoonful at a time, that has given her a Rubenesque Kardashianish Bootiliciously Bodacious Bodunkadunk.

I thought this very particular Texas lady would appreciate being told she had developed a very nice Rubenesque Kardashianish Bootiliciously Bodacious Bodunkadunk. Some people pay a lot of money to get those things.

But, I have long learned that some people just can not take a compliment, no matter how nicely it is delivered.

Getting Endorphins With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts While Making Pipeline Inspections

Walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area was my choice today of where to go to get myself some endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

A few drops of precipitation precipitated on me whilst I was getting endorphinized.

The pipeline across Village Creek, that you see in the picture, is a short distance south of the Village Creek Blue Bayou. A side trail, off the soccer field, leads to the pipeline dead end.

I have no idea what flows through this particular pipeline. It looks a bit flimsy, with its span supported by cable attached to its mid-section.

Changing the subject from flimsy pipelines to something else.

I have not heard from my favorite Chunky Monkey today. I do not know if I should be concerned and consider issuing a BOLO. Or not.

Did Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price Shoot Congresswoman Kay Granger At The Party In Fort Worth?

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price's Pirate Entourage

I did not see the scene on the left when I was at Saturday night's The Party In Fort Worth, held in Fort Worth's private party club, the taxpayer paid Fort Worth Convention Center.

The only person I can identify, for certain in the scene, is Fort Worth Mayor, Betsy Price, who seems to be packing heat, which she appears to be firing in the direction of a pirate who appears to be, possibly, Fort Worth's notorious Congresswoman, Kay Granger, also known as Queen Earmark.

If that is Queen Earmark getting shot on the right, would that make the pirate standing on the left Fort Worth's poster boy for nepotism run amok, Kay's baby boy, J.D.?

All I know for sure is this is the first instance of a Fort Worth mayor engaging in gunplay in downtown Fort Worth since Fort Worth's former mayor, Mike Moncrief, shot up downtown Fort Worth with his fellow gun nut, Texas Governor, Rick Perry, in shots seen around the world.

The Next To Last Day Of February Thinking About Rick Santorum Throwing Up Over JFK

I stepped outside to take a photo from my secondary viewing portal on the outer world on the next to last day of the second month of 2012 to feel a light drizzle descending upon the earth at my location on the planet.

I heard a short rainstorm dripping down in the middle of the night. More of that is scheduled for today, along with some possible electric storm action.

Currently, with the nuclear sky orb having arrived to do its daily heating duties, the outer world is warmed to 60 degrees at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device.

Changing the subject from my favorite one to one of my least favorite subjects, that being the current American presidential election process.

I may be wrong, because I often am, but I think Republican Rick Santorum may have shot himself in the foot by repeatedly saying that a speech made by JFK in the 1960 presidential campaign made him want to throw up.

Opining that an opinion in a speech made over a half century ago makes one want to throw up sounds very un-presidential to me.

JFK was a Catholic addressing the issue of the proper place for religion in the American political system. Rick Santorum, a fellow Catholic, thinking he should be the 2nd Catholic elected president, does not seem to understand the point JFK was making.

If Rick Santorum gets the Republican nomination I suspect it will cause me to do something I did not think I would do again. As in vote for Obama.

The Sun Sets Bright Orange This Monday Night In Texas

I exited my local neighborhood Sam's Club this early evening to see the setting sun casting a bright orange glow. It looked like what photos I've seen of nuclear bomb detonations look like. Which I guess makes sense since the sun is a non-stop nuclear explosion a long ways away.

I don't recollect ever seeing sunsets of this type whilst I watched the sun set in Washington. Does the special mix of air pollutants we are blessed with here in Texas contribute to the colorfulness? I have no way of knowing, but I suspect so.

Balmy temperatures this early evening. 66 degrees. I have my computer room window open.

Was That A Trout Lily I Saw Today On The Tandy Hills Along With A Man In Black?

This May Be A Tandy Hills Trout Lily

I have not gone on any of the annual Botanist led Trout Lily Nature Hikes on the Tandy Hills, so I am not certain I know for sure what a Trout Lily looks like, but I think this wildflower I saw today on the Tandy Hills may be one of the elusive Trout Lilies.

This particular bloom was located beside the trail that leads up the hill to the south of the Tandy Bamboo Teepee Grotto.

Signs of springs are starting to add color to the currently mostly brown Texas prairie.

I think we may be heading to a very good Texas wildflower season. If you have not visited Texas before and you want to see the state when it is being its most colorful, make your way here the coming Spring.

In addition to the alleged Trout Lily I had another unusual siting today on the Tandy Hills.

Tandy Creek Roaring Over Tandy Falls

As I hiked down Mount Tandy I saw on a distant trail another human. A Man in Black. I do not know who the Man in Black managed it, but somehow by the time I got my camera out to take a picture of the surprising amount of water flowing over Tandy Hills, the Man in Black suddenly was on the north side of the falls.

I howdy-ed the Man in Black, which is proper Texas trail etiquette. The Man in Black howdy-ed me back. And continued on his way, surprisingly via the still very muddy, formerly raw sewage flooded, Tandy Highway.

I then climbed the steep trail that leads west to the View Street trail. A short time after that I was surprised to encounter the Man in Black again. That was one fast moving Man in Black.

Changing the subject from the Man in Black to something else.

I think some armadillos should be moved to the Tandy Hills. It does not seem right that I've seen dozens of armadillos over the years at River Legacy Park and the Village Creek Natural Historical Area, but never a single armadillo on the Tandy Hills.

The Final Monday Of February Dawns Cloudy In Texas

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the last blue Monday of the second month of 2012 it appears clouds are currently clouding seeing the sun at my location on the planet.

By tomorrow those clouds are scheduled to thicken and eventually produce rain and lightning, according to the weather predictors.

Currently the outer world at my location is being heated to 55 degrees, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device.

Changing the subject from my favorite one to something else.

I made it through a couple hours of last night's 84th Academy Awards Show. I did not know that Billy Crystal was going to be the host. Having Billy Crystal doing the hosting greatly improved the Oscar Show from last year's terribly bad debacle.

Changing the subject again.

This morning I got an odd email from someone saying that I had called this particular person fat. I am feeling extreme umbrage at this particular accusation. It has been a long time since I have used the word "fat" in regards to any particular individual. I am feeling malignantly maligned due to this umbrage provoking "fat" accusation.

I wish I could say I was going swimming now to take my mind off of being fat. But I can't.

On The Mount Tandy Wagon Trail Looking West At Where The West Began

The Mount Tandy Wagon Trail

In the picture you are on top of Mount Tandy, looking west at the unpaved highway that heads towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, well known as the location "Where the West Begins."

It is entirely fitting that an unpaved road that looks as if it has ruts worn by wagon wheels is heading towards the downtown of where the west begins.

I can't help but wonder if Fort Worth is the biggest town in America with an unpaved road so close to its downtown.

If that is the case, that is sort of impressive and I think totally brag worth, with an historical marker of some sort designating this unpaved road as such.

I do not know if it is still the case, but decades ago, when I was a kid, you could still see the wagon ruts of the Oregon Trail in places like Emigrant Springs State Park in Oregon.

Is the rutted wagon road that runs west from the top of Mount Tandy a spur of the old Chisholm Trail? I have no idea.

Changing the subject from wagon trains to rum swilling pirates and wenches.

I have heard from Elsie Hotpepper post her wench performance at The Party in Fort Worth.

Last night's festivities have Elsie still feeling groggy from too much grog.

Elsie Hotpepper does not feel like putting on her Margaret Thatcher costume to go to tonight's Red Carpet Oscar Party at the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. I'm not much in the mood, either, to put on my Brad Pitt costume.

Speaking of which, this morning Steve A verbalized confusion as to who it was who was going to be Margaret Thatcher, with Steve A thinking it might be amusing to see me in that costume. That would be amusing. But, methinks Elsie Hotpepper would not make a very good Brad Pitt. Elsie has put on a lot of weight, while Brad Pitt is skinny.

The Wench Elsie Hotpepper With Me The Pirate Blackbeard At The Party In Fort Worth

The Wench Elsie Hotpepper & Blackbeard Durango
At The Party In Fort Worth

Can you find me being Blackbeard the Pirate, in the picture? With Elsie Hotpepper being my wench? At last night's The Party in Fort Worth at Fort Worth's private party club, the Fort Worth Convention Center.

My usual blogging rules forbid me blogging about anything that happens between 9pm and 5am. Those hours are reserved for the Durango After Dark blog, which has limited access.

But, I am making a slight exception to this steadfast rule, due to the fact that I did mention, in this blogging venue, about myself and Elsie Hotpepper going to a party with J.D. Granger, J.D.'s mom and Aubrey McClendon, with me being a pirate and Elsie being my wench.

Suffice to say a semi-good time was had by all.

Especially Elsie Hotpepper, who seemed to take her wench role quite seriously, with great authenticity, which included imbibing in what seemed to me to be an unseemly amount of rum.

I think I will go to the Tandy Hills now and try and work off some of last night's grogginess.