The Final Tuesday Of March Dawns With Another Clear Blue Sky Morning In Texas

I looked out my primary viewing portal on the outer world at about the same time the nuclear sky orb was arriving to begin its daily lighting and heating duty on this final Tuesday of the 3rd month of 2012.

I have double-checked today to make sure I've got the day correct.

It is already 60 degrees at my location this morning, 3 degrees warmer than my previous location in the Sonoran Desert.

The splitting headache and overall misery that had me miserable the past two days seems to have abated overnight. So, this morning my mood is matching the cheerful chirping I am hearing through my open window.

Speaking of spending time in the Sonoran Desert. I expected to return to Texas having gained a bit of weight.

Instead the opposite happened.

I don't quite understand why, due to the fact that I was consuming copious amounts of food of the sort I don't usually consume. Like dessert. pies, cinnamon rolls, candy.

And various types of potato chips. And a lot of french fries.

And hamburgers.

Changing the subject from my eating disorder to something else.

My swimming pool warmed itself to a very comfortable temperature in my absence. I went swimming in the morning and the afternoon, on Sunday and Monday. I thought some afternoon pool lounging might get rid of yesterday's headache. But, it didn't.

I think I'll go swimming right now before it gets any hotter.

A Dizzy Sickly Headachy Walk Around The Green Grounds Around Fosdic Lake

I think I must have picked up a germ or two lately.

I've been not feeling all that well ever since I got back to Texas.

I've had a lot of potential germ exposure lately.

Multiple restaurants, church, crowded airports and airplanes.

My favorite brother-in-law sick with an undiagnosed ailment.

Dozens of retired people.

It's a well known fact that exposure to retired people is putting yourself in harm's way, in the same manner as visiting a day care with dozens of sickly little kids.

I am now on my second day of having a headache. My vision is blurry. I'm a mess.

But, I did manage to drive to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake for the first time in awhile.

As you can see, via the picture, Oakland Lake Park is being very green today.

One thing about North Texas, it is quite a bit greener than the Phoenix Valley of the Sun zone. Greener in the sense of greener vegetation, not greener in the sense of being more environmentally responsible.

I must muster the energy, soon, to opine about the issue of water use restrictions as practiced in a desert and as practiced here, where there is a lot more water, and it is not a desert.

But, right now, I am going to need to lie down for a bit and hope the feeling of being dizzy dissipates.

Up Well Before The Sun On The Last Monday Of March

The Shadow of the Skinny Dipping Thin Man is up way too early on this final Monday of the 3rd month of 2012.

I got in the vertical position around 5 this morning. If I were still at my mom and dad's this would be 3 in the morning.

It is currently 62 degrees at my mom and dad's, 3 degrees warmer than my current location where the humidity is at 80%

I have had my windows open all night. My A/C is not functioning correctly. The A/C repair person will be repairing my A/C today.

I had a headache all day long yesterday. I do not remember the last time I have suffered that particular malady. Elsie suggested this was caused by 10 days of Hotpepper withdrawal. I do not think this diagnosis is correct because I heard from Elsie Hotpepper every day I was not in North Texas. So, I did not experience any Elsie Hotpepper withdrawal that I noticed.

I think the day long headache may have been caused by system shock caused by returning from a scenic wonderland, with clean air and water, to a desolate zone, with significantly less clean air and water.

Plus that vexing humidity.

I may go swimming this morning before the illuminating sky orb arrives. But, before I do that I must do something for the aforementioned Elsie Hotpepper.

UPDATE: Oops. Elsie Hotpepper informed that today is Monday, not Friday, so I time traveled back 4 days to the correct day.

Sunday Walking With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts

An Ethereal  Village Creek Walker

It seems as if it has been weeks since I've walked with the Indian Ghost who live in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington.

So, I visited them today.

The small parking lot for the Village Creek Natural Historical Area was about a third full. Not the level of park parking lot activity I've been seeing in parks the past 10 days.

In the picture of the pair of paved trail walkers walking the paved trail today, I am 100% certain the one on the left is a living human. I am not 100% that the ethereal spectre on the right was not an Indian Ghost vision walking beside the guy.

I don't know if the Village Creek Indian Ghosts were able to sense I'd recently been walking with the Ghosts of their Apache enemies to the west. I suspect not.

I am not a big fan of today's humidity whilst walking. Between the humidity and the lush greenery, walking in North Texas today was very jungle-like.

Village Creek Dam Bridge

There was still a lot of water running through the Village Creek Dam Bridge today. I could see that last week's flood got very high, via the mud markers left behind.

I went swimming this morning and was very pleased to find the water much warmer than when I last got wet in it.

This afternoon I had an encore swim with some poolside lounging. It was so pleasant I forgot about the humidity for a minute or two.

I rarely get headaches. I did not get a headache in Arizona, no matter how strenuously my parental units strained me with their hyper-activity.

But, today I woke up with a headache. And it has lasted all day long. Reaction to Texas? To humidity? To bad air pollution? To a combo of factors?

Very vexing.

Up Late The 4th Sunday Of March Seeing No Palm Trees Or Cactus

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world, on this 4th Sunday of the 3rd month of 2012, I can see no cactus or palm tree.

I do see trees with way more leaves than I saw the last time I looked out this particular primary viewing portal on the outer world.

Spring sprung while I was gone.

I suspect I will be seeing some wildflowers today, though none are visible from my current location.

I did not hit the horizontal nocturnal position, last night, til around 2 in the morning. I don't remember the last time I was in the vertical position, so late, or awake, for so many hours, having gotten vertical very early Saturday morning.

This morning I think I will go swimming in a non-heated pool.

I am 100% certain I will be the only one in the getting wet, with no group of well-seasoned ladies emulating Esther Williams.

Back In HOT Humid Texas After Ten Blissful Days In Arizona With My Mom & Dad & Sister

The Sun Sets On My Visit To Arizona

I have made it back to Texas. Leaving a place where the humidity was 18%, arriving at a place where the humidity is 78%.

I'm feeling like I've been hit with a wet blanket.

I turned the A/C on as soon as I walked into this place.

I've been going to bed early in Phoenix, by 10pm Central Time. Currently I am up way past midnight, Central Time.

I had myself a fine time in the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport this evening. I somehow got my sister flustered when we got to the airport, which had my sister on the wrong level. When I disembarked from my sister's vehicle, she told me to take the elevator to level two to get to the check-in level.

But, by the time I was inside the airport, what my sister had told me had changed, in my mind, to take the long elevator to the third level. I then walked the long third level past one restaurant after another, lugging a laptop, a backpack and a big check-in piece of baggage.

This was exhausting.

Eventually I found a flight of stairs that took me to level two. From then on the rest of the process went well, except for forgetting to take my camera out of my pocket.

I've never been in a plane following such a long line of other planes waiting to take off as I did tonight. I felt like we spent more time waiting to takeoff than we spent in the air.

The flight back to Texas seemed to go way faster than the flight to Arizona.

I'm a bit on the tired side, but I'm all wired up.

By morning I should know if it nice to be back. Or not.

I will say, right now, I am back in Texas freshly annoyed over how many things are so totally craptacular here.  And freshly vexed as to why this is the case.

Visiting The Leaf & Feather Farm Birds Planting Bougainvillea With My Dad

Bougainvillea At The Leaf & Feather Farm

What you are looking at in the picture is some Bougainvillea.

This particular Bougainvillea was found at the Leaf & Feather Farm, south of Maricopa, out in the Sonoran Desert.

I do not know how my sister and mom and dad find these remote locations. It is sort of unsettling. But, they seem to know where they are going.

Most of the time.

The Feather part of the Leaf & Feather Farm refers to birds. The farm has a lot of birds. Most of them exotic birds. Check out the Leaf & Feather Farm website to learn why they have so many exotic birds, in addition to exotic plants.

These Pretty Birds Did Not Speak To Me

The drive through the desert was quite enjoyable today. We saw a herd of wild horses near the Wild Horse Casino, which is why the casino is so named, due to all the wild horses milling about.

When we started today's desert excursion the tire sensors indicated we had a low inflation problem. This caused a slight outbreak of worry, that eventually abated.

At the Leaf & Feather Farm my sister and I met Snowball. A white pretty bird.

Snowball's mom and dad gave the bird up for adoption at the Leaf & Feather Farm due to neighbor's complaints about the bird's squawking being too noisy. We first met Snowball when his (or her) dad was in Snowball's cage, holding him (or her).

Snowball's Mom & Dad Playing Bird Ball

Snowball's mom was also there. She told us about Snowball, how she (or he) lived 15 years with a Korean lady, who taught Snowball Korean. I don't know how long Snowball lived with his (or her) new parents before moving to the Leaf & Feather Farm.

As we were preparing to leave I saw that Snowball's mom and dad had taken her (or him) outdoors to play ball. I wandered over to the ballfield and asked if  I could take a picture.

Obviously the answer was yes.

My mom got her rare Bougainvillea and my sister got an Easter Egg Emu bush. We'd seen these the week before at the Papago Desert Botanic Garden plant sale. I did not think we'd find this Australian plant at this nursery in the Sonoran Desert and remarked to my sister if it was there she would need to buy one.

The Easter Egg Emu bush was the first plant you came to as you drove to the plant zone of the Leaf & Feather Farm. So, my sister got one. And then my mom did.

Leaving the Leaf & Feather Farm we were soon back in Maricopa where we found one of those cool McDonald's restaurants we've been finding all over Arizona. I got another of those Filet O' Fish Sandwiches I always have a strong hankering for. After awhile my favorite brother-in-law showed up. He seems to often show up at the McDonald's we happen to happen upon.

Mom & Dad's New Bougainvillea Blooming Bright

After another drive through the desert I found myself back at my mom and dad's in Sun Lakes, where my dad and I had fun planting the Easter Egg Emu plant and the Bougainvillea. Desert dirt did not seem all that much different than dirt I've dealt with in non-desert locations.

After my dad and I finished the plant planting my mom made us chicken noodle soup, with cheese and crackers and lemon meringue pie. Those Meyer Lemons in the backyard are a gift that just keeps giving.

My sister is due to return in a little over an hour to drive me to the airport so that I can fly back to a non-desert, high humidity, no wild horses, part of the planet.

My Last Morning In Arizona Swimming With The Sun Lakes Ladies

This morning I decided to have one more swim with the Ladies of Sun Lakes before I depart this part of the planet.

However, this Saturday morning there was only one Sun Lakes Lady in the pool.

I decided to forgo going in the Lap Pool because I saw that the bald Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan had Jane with him today and the pair were stirring up quite a wake, which I felt was best to avoid.

So, I walked back to my lounge chair and did some warm up lounging before getting into the Chat Pool. The Chat Pool is what you see below my feet. The Chat Pool is not heated.

I was in the Chat Pool, for a couple minutes, when the Sun Lakes Lady, who you see in the Big Pool, got out to ask me if I knew the pool I was in was not heated. I told the Sun Lakes Lady what I did know the Chat Pool was not heated, that I got in the Chat Pool before getting in the HOT Big Pool, which then made the HOT Big  Pool feel super HOT.

The Sun Lakes Lady said she'd try that next time.

I am now out of the pool, back at my mom and dad's, waiting for my sister to arrive so we can make the trek across the desert to Maricopa, which apparently is the town in Arizona which has cornered the market on Bougainvillea bushes.

My mom has just left me with a super hot cinnamon roll which she says I must eat because I did not eat my second egg this morning. I just accept these type things and no longer question the logic.

My sister has now arrived, so it is off to Maricopa we go, hopefully to return with a Bougainvillea bush.

The Fading Shadow Of The Arizona Thin Man The Morning Of The 4th Saturday Of March Hunting Bougainvillea

In the picture, in the lower right corner, you can see part of the Shadow of the Arizona Thin Man, looking out his primary viewing portal on the outer world on this 4th Saturday of the 3rd month of 2012.

It is currently 61 degrees at my current location, heading to a predicted high of 85. Later today I will likely be heading back to my current home zone, in Texas, where for the second day in a row it is colder than my current location, at 53 degrees, heading to a predicted high of 83.

I suspect it is significantly more humid where I am heading than where I am now.

I also have reason to believe, due to reports I have received, that the landscape of North Texas has decided to put on a Super Spectacular wildflower display this year.

Next Saturday, on the Tandy Hills, part 1 of Prairie Fest 2012, takes place.

Weather permitting, I am thinking I will be checking out Prairie Fest 2012, Part 1.

Next Saturday should be the coolest, temperature-wise, of the three part, 2012, Prairie Fest. Part 3, in May, should be quite warm. Likely there will be some sort of eco-friendly cooling devices. Perhaps out of school kids armed with spray bottles.

I think I may go swimming again this morning. My mom and dad are driving south to Maricopa to go to a nursery to get a colorful Bougainvillea bush. Maricopa is about 30 miles south of the Phoenix metro zone. Apparently there are no Bougainvillea bushes available for sale in the Phoenix metro zone. Or maybe they are a dime cheaper.

I have been breathing and sleeping so well here in Arizona, I am sort of not looking forward to re-adjusting to consuming seriously polluted air that clogs up my respiratory system and makes my eyes water. But, that is a really small price to pay to get to experience the wonders of Texas.

I am particularly looking forward to returning to a place where the people are properly inflated, instead of this strange Arizona zone where most of the people appear to have had the air let out of them. Deflated people may be a bit more aesthetically appealing to look at, for some, but, during the course of my exile in Texas I have grown to like seeing my humans inflated. I guess I've just gotten used to the fact that everything is bigger in Texas.

I Had Myself A Fine Dinner Time At The Ahwatukee Sweet Tomatoes Tonight

Ahwatukee Sweet Tomatoes At Sunset

As you can sort of see in the picture, the sun had mostly set for the evening by the time we left the Ahwatukee Sweet Tomatoes tonight.

I have never seen a Sweet Tomatoes as busy as this one was tonight. And this is the biggest Sweet Tomatoes I have ever seen.

Come to think about it, I have only seen the insides of one other Sweet Tomatoes, that being the one in Arlington, Texas.

Unlike the Sweet Tomatoes in Arlington, the one in Ahwatukee, in addition to being bigger on the inside, also has an outside covered patio, cooled with misters.

We sat in the outside covered patio area. But there was no need for misters.

My mom and dad and I arrived far in advance of my tardy sister and my favorite brother-in-law. That worked out well, because we were able to secure seating in the seating scarce restaurant.

Tonight I found out that it is no longer true that I don't eat dinner. I consumed far more than any of the others in my party of puny eaters. The only thing most of my party seemed to consume, with any sort of relish, was when the Chocolate Chip Cookie Boy came by with small platters of hot out of the oven Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My Sister Smiles While My Favorite Brother-In-Law Smirks
While I Administer A Gentle Scolding

My favorite brother-in-law began eating the hot out of the oven Chocolate Chip Cookies prior to finishing the non-dessert items on his plate. I felt compelled to issue a gentle scolding about this egregious behavior.

And then I remembered the poor guy was ailing and yet he mustered the energy to come to Sweet Tomatoes to have dinner with his favorite in-laws.

After about an hour of trying to eat as much as I possibly could, it was deemed time for me to stop indulging in my new found eating dinner pleasure.

The drive back to Sun Lakes was in inky black darkness. I was able to navigate, without co-navigator help, the return to my mom and dad's homeport. It took me about 10 days to learn this. No one has ever said I am a quick study. This would be an example of that.