Trying To Walk Through The Thick Oakland Lake Park Vegetation While Worrying About My Aged Addled Defense Mechanisms

Today was my regularly scheduled weekly walk around Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

As you can see in the picture, the lawn in Oakland Lake Park is in dire need of mowing.

It really is not much of a lawn, as in very little actual grass exists. It is more a covering of weeds, which quickly grow into a short jungle when a little rain causes a growth spurt.

This morning I went to Arlington to get a vehicle its emissions test. Or whatever it is called. I find this to be a very annoying annual event.

Where I lived in Washington we didn't have to get a vehicle's emissions tested. That may no longer be the case, for all I know.

I don't understand why Texas insists that vehicles that are not old have to get tested to see if they are emitting anything unseemly. I see old clunkers spewing down a Texas road every once in awhile, followed by a dirty cloud of exhaust and wonder how that vehicle passed an emissions test.

It took less than an hour, the vehicle passed its test, again, so it's good to go for another year.

So, all in all it was not nearly as annoying as last month's waiting in a line for 6 hours to renew my Texas driver's license.

Renewing, in person, ones Texas driver's license, needs be done only once every 12 years. Which works out to being a half hour a year, with all the waiting done in that one year. Over 12 years one would be having very good line luck if the wait to get ones vehicle's emissions tested did not add up to well over 6 hours.

Changing the subject from one type of emission to another.

Gar the Texan is convalescing from his most recent surgery. I think he may be on some powerful medications that are causing him to be more amusing than he usually is, with the medications also enabling really good convoluted sentences that actually make sense, like the following...

As for the reference, I have, indeed, kept my promise as my reference was in reference to something completely different, but your aged and addled defense mechanisms have come to the conclusion that I was referencing that which I promised not to reference. So, you sir, have in fact, referenced the incident that you made me promise not to reference. 

It really is not very nice to make reference to an old person's aged and addled defense mechanisms. 

Looking For A Steam Bath On The Tandy Hills After Making Chile Rellenos And Learning Gar The Texan Made It Though His Latest Surgery

In the picture you are on top of Mount Tandy, at noon, on the last Tuesday of August of 2012, looking west across the wagon trail that leads to beautiful downtown Fort Worth, the stunning skyline of which you can see in the distance.

I was hoping for a good feeling steam bath today, courtesy of the humidity. But, the temperature being in the semi-chilly 80s did not make for a good steam bath.

Changing the subject from a steam bath to steaming chiles.

Yesterday I think I mentioned that I was roasting Hatch chiles that  I got from ALDI. The directions had you roasting the chiles, then putting them in a sealed container of some sort, so that the steam from the hot chiles would allow the skins to peel off easily.

I had no idea one had to peel a chile, or how that worked, or why it was needed to be done.

Well, it worked real well, the skins of the chiles pulled right off, leaving a chile that tasted like the chile one gets in a Chile Relleno, which is my favorite item of the Mexican food sort.

So, today I made a Chile Relleno casserole from the roasted and peeled Hatch chiles. Usually I don't think anything I cook tastes all that good, but, I have to say, this Chile Relleno casserole I made today may be the best Chile Relleno I've ever had.

Changing the subject from Chile Relleno to something else that needs to be roasted before peeling.

We've been worried sick about Gar the Texan. He went under the knife on Friday. Something to do with his hips needing to be replaced. No one had heard from Gar the Texan, post-surgery. Phone calls go to voice mail, email unanswered, no blogging, nothing on Facebook.

Well, Gar the Texan resurfaced today. The surgery went fine except for some inept nurses butchering his fingers when they found out he is diabetic.

I think Gar the Texan may be what motivates me to overdo the exercise thing. I see what's happened to that boy as some sort of cautionary tale, making me think I want to do all I can do to prevent that sort of decrepitude from happening to me when I get that old.

Having ones hips replaced sounds real dire. I remember when my grandma had her hips replaced. I think she was quite a bit older than Gar the Texan's current age. But, she was way more active than Gar the Texan.

And not a diabetic.

Watching Possums Escape To Village Creek After Botching Butchering A Chicken While Getting Ready To Roast Hatch Chiles

Village Creek Blue Bayou

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area's Blue Bayou was back being mostly blue today, back blue after its recent iterations as the Brown Bayou, then the Green Bayou.

I like my bayous blue.

When I arrived at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot I saw an Arlington Animal Control truck parked. Past experience with seeing that truck led me to think I was about to see a possum released back into the natural world.

This time it was 2 possums. The Animal Control guy lifted 2 possums from their possum cage, by the tail, with gloved hands. It seems to me possums would be being a bit feisty after having been trapped in a cage, then hauled in a truck, then picked up by their tails.

But the possums act like they are not at all bothered. The Animal Control guy sets them gently on the ground and waves goodbye as the possums scurry back to freedom.

Changing the subject from possums to chickens.

Last week I cut up a whole chicken for the first time since some time in August of 2008. My sister had tasked me with teaching my future sister-in-law how to cut up a chicken. There were 2 to cut-up. I showed how with the first, then my student cut up the second.

The chicken I cut up last week was a bit difficult. I sort of had to saw it a few times. This morning I cut up another chicken and I realized why it was so easy to slice a bird in Tacoma and so difficult in Texas.

I have crummy knives.

I have always been a bit of a hazard with knives. I've sliced myself a time or two or three. I'd come to think a dull knife is safer for me. But, after this morning's bizarrely botched butchering I'm thinking I need to get myself a good sharp knife. I don't think what I was doing this morning was safe. That and somehow the chicken's back ended up with one of the thigh pieces attached by the time I was finished. This made for an interesting piece of chicken. I have not been able to determine where the drumstick part of one of the wings ended up being.

Changing the subject again, this time from chicken to Hatch chiles.

I got myself a bag of Hatch chiles on Sunday at ALDI. Today I Googled to see what I need to do with these chiles and learned I must do something with them soon or they will spoil on me.

So, this afternoon I am going to be roasting myself a bag of Hatch chiles in preparation for tomorrow's attempt to make Chile Rellenos.

This operation should go better than my chicken cutting operation.

I hope.

The Last Sunday Of August On The HOT Tandy Hills

It is only 79 degrees in the outer world at my location, coming up on 3 in the afternoon on this last Sunday of August.

88% humidity is making the outer world really feel like 89 degrees.

The outer world has cooled since I got myself some endorphins via aerobic stimulation on the Tandy Hills at noon. The humidity at noon hovered around 100%, making for a very wet steam bath, until clouds blocked the sun and a strong wind began blowing.

In the picture you are looking a Tandy Trail just north of the dry Tandy Falls.

It is 4 weeks until Fall falls upon us, on Saturday, September 22, to be precise, the Autumnal Equinox arrives.

As you can see in the picture, even though it is a month til Fall falls, a lot of leaves have already fallen on the Tandy Hills, making for some crunchy hiking in some locations.

At the present time, at my location, I see there are a few drops of rain falling, but no leaves. I am hearing thunder rumbling in the distance, with each rumble sounding as if it is getting closer.

I'm not in much of a mood for a loud storm, but I suppose I will adjust my mood to that reality if I need to.

A Disturbing New Tandy Hills Mystery With An Ice Chest & Possible Burial Site

I had myself a disturbing time getting my endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation today on the Tandy Hills.

It started when I stepped out of my vehicular transport on to a mesquite thorn which pierced the sole of the hiking shoe on my right foot and then pierced the aforementioned right foot, very slightly.

I do not believe any blood was spilled.

Even though the temperature was in the relatively chilly 80s the humidity was making it feel HOT today. That and my possible blood loss had me feeling a bit faint at times as I did the hill climbing.

And then I came upon the thing you see in the above picture. Someone had hauled an ice chest cooler type device deep into the hills of Tandy and left it there at the side of the trail.

Why? I asked myself.

I did not want to look inside the ice chest, so I didn't.

Then, as I looked around at the surrounding area, up the hill, about 15 feet to the left of the view of the ice chest, I saw what you see below.

It seemed disturbingly clear to me that someone had carried something to this spot, in the ice chest, and buried it under that giant slab of rock.

Where did this giant slab of rock come from and how did it get there?

I was not curious enough to left the slab to see if I could see what is under it. That and I thought, with me already feeling faint-hearted, that I might faint on the spot if something disturbing was under the slab.

I'm probably going to be asked where on the Tandy Hills this burial sarcophagus is located. I'll try and describe where this is.

I assume anyone familiar with the Tandy Hills knows where the bamboo tepee is located.

From the bamboo tepee exit the trail that heads east. Take the first right, heading south, up the hill. About halfway up the hill you'll come to the scenes above.

A Fisherman Getting His Feet Wet In Fosdick Lake With Bright Orange Wildflowers

Apparently it was a good day to go fishing on Fosdick Lake today, even though eating a fish one caught in Fosdick Lake might turn out to be a fatal mistake.

There were several fishermen and fisherwomen fishing in Fosdick Lake today.

The fisherman you see in the picture had his seat sitting in the water, with his feet submerged in the toxic Fosdick brew.

I figure if there are warning signs telling people not to eat the Fosdick fish, not to swim in the Fosdick water and to not even launch a boat in the toxic Fosdick brew, that dipping ones feet in the water might not be a good idea.

I wonder if Fosdick Lake is one of Fort Worth's West Nile Virus mosquito breeding grounds slated for spraying? It seems that that would add even more toxicity to the already toxic Fosdick brew.

Even though we are having ourselves a Mosquito Crisis in North Texas, I have yet to see my first Texas mosquito, let alone get bit by one.

Maybe the unseasonably, unreasonably chilly temperatures will put a damper on the rampant North Texas mosquito breeding.

It was barely in the 80s when I drove to Oakland Lake Park, at noon, to walk around Fosdick Lake. Now, hours later my computer based temperature monitoring device is telling me it is only 89 degrees in the outer world at my location.

Are we done with 100 degree days for the year? I hope so.

Even though the prime time of the Texas wildflower season is long past, there is still some color coloring up the outdoors in Texas, like the bright orange flower I stared at today located near the south end of Fosdick Lake.

Walking With The Indian Ghosts At Village Creek Thinking About Ulysses S. Grant

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area's Blue Bayou has not yet returned to its former Blue Glory, but it is getting closer, having gone from last week's Brown Bayou to today's Green Bayou.

A Green Bayou with a big white bird. Is that a swan? Or an egret?

Speaking of historical areas.

An historical area I am currently in to is The Civil War Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant.

This book excerpts the Civil War years from Grant's famous auto-biography. I've long known that Grant's memoirs are thought of as the best work of its kind. But, knowing that did not prepare me for what I've been reading.

Just the excerpt of the Civil War years covers over 500 pages. In small print. Grant wrote his memoir while he was dying from cancer in a desperate bid to make money for his family, after he'd been swindled out of pretty much all he owned.

Mark Twain got Grant's memoirs published, they turned into a huge best seller, leaving Grant's family financially set. Grant died only a week or so after finishing his memoirs.

What is amazing me is the level of detail. How did Grant remember such detail? And he writes so well, very modern style, no purple prose flourishes.

Grant had no typewriter to type his story on. It was all handwritten.

As I walked with the Indian Ghosts today I was feeling very melancholy. I don't know why. Maybe it was due to dwelling on U.S. Grant. He died not knowing he'd written a best seller. He died embarrassed that he'd been swindled out of his money. He died knowing his presidency was known as the most corrupt, up to that time. The corruption never touched Grant. He remained an American hero.

After Grant finished with being president, he and his wife left America for 3 years, touring Europe and Asia. Everywhere Grant went he drew huge crowds, hailing him as the Hero of the War for Freedom. Grant's triumph abroad was so great that when he returned to America his popularity was restored, with some in the Republican party wanting to nominate Grant for President in 1880.

But, that Republican convention of 1880 turned into a deadlock between Grant and James G. Blaine, with the deadlock ended by the selection of a dark-horse candidate named James Garfield, who was assassinated in his first year as President.

The networks are not going to be devoting much time to covering the upcoming conventions. The conventions have become boring, pointless and anti-climatic. We need to bring back deadlocks and multiple voting cycles.

That would make for some good Reality TV viewing.

I Am Looking Through Prison Cell Bars At Rosie The Rat Dog Home From Alaska While Prince Harry Gets Naked Playing Billiards In Las Vegas

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this 4th Wednesday of August you can clearly see the sky is, once again, clear of clouds at my location on the planet.

A doctor appointment this morning in Euless has wreaked havoc on my regular repetitive schedule.

I did not go swimming this morning. An impediment is causing me to postpone my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation until, maybe, later this afternoon.

Changing the subject from my woes to something else.

Reading Rosie the Rat Dog's Alaska! blog last night I was a bit confused. I thought Rosie and her Entourage were in far north British Columbia, making a slow return to the United State and their homeport in Kent, Washington. But, the blogging made it sound as if they were no longer in Canada, and that they were already home plotting their next trip.

This morning I learned that I was correct in my interpretation of the blogging. Rosie is safe and sound at home.

Changing the subject from Rosie the Rat Dog to Crown Jewels.

I was a little surprised, last night, to find myself looking at a photo of Prince Harry in a Vegas casino hotel room, wearing no clothes, and covering the Crown Jewels with his hands. Another photo was taken of Prince Harry's other naked side, with a big red star strategically placed.

Being a prince looks like a fun job, to me. I've never played strip billiards. I have been naked in a Vegas hotel room, a time or two, so I guess I have that in common with Prince Harry, except no photos showed up of me on TMZ, that I know of.

How much does it cost to stay in the Wynn Hotel's VIP Suite where Prince Harry lost all his clothes playing strip billiards? Does Prince Harry get an allowance from his Grandma, the Queen? Or his only income what he makes as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force?

It seems like Prince Harry would make for a fun King of England. All that stands in his way is his grandma, dad and big brother. And maybe DNA testing showing that his dad is not actually his dad.

Chesapeake Energy Sent Me A Nice Letter Today With A Cautionary Warning

It seems like I've been talking about Chesapeake Energy for years. Chesapeake Energy has never talked back to me.

Until today.

A few minutes ago I checked my mailbox and found a letter from Chesapeake Energy.

Inside the letter, which Chesapeake refers to as a mailer, were 2 pieces of mail. One piece of mail advised me to "ALWAYS CALL BEFORE YOU DIG."

I don't dig, so this advice was of no use to me.

The other piece of mail in the mailer is what you see in the photo. It says, in part...

Dear Neighbor:

Chesapeake Midstream Partners (CMP) will soon be conducting work on a natural gas pipeline that is located near your property*. Unless you have been otherwise informed by CMP's subsidiary, Texas Midstream Gas Services, we will not need to access your property.

Please by assured that safety and security is our first concern. All work will be performed at the highest level of quality and in accordance with the regulations of the United States Department of Transportation and the Railroad Commission of Texas.

Well. Isn't that reassuring.

Just a short distance from my abode one of my neighbors would beg to differ regarding the quality level to which Chesapeake Energy performs. You can read about that particular Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Urban Drilling nightmare in an article in Fort Worth Weekly titled Dammed.

Part of the note from Chesapeake is at the bottom of the note, in small print. It is that to which the asterisk after the word property* refers, in the first paragraph of the note...

*Please note that the planned natural gas pipeline activity will start no sooner than ten days from the postmark of this mailer although it may be delayed by weather, materials or issues beyond our control.

So, I am  guessing, if I had reason to object to this pipeline, I don't have a lot of time to do my objecting.

Where is this pipeline going to be? Seems like that would be good to know.

Is this pipeline going to be carrying non-odorized natural gas from my nearby Chesapeake Energy gas pad? I've wondered how they are going to get the gas out of there.

Is this the type notice Steve Doeung got when Chesapeake Energy tried to pump non-odorized gas under his house, setting off the Chesapeake-Gate Carter Avenue Scandal when Chesapeake Energy underestimated the drive and determination that a Cambodian American would muster when the safety of his home was threatened?

It's all very vexing. Where I am located I am pretty much surrounded by Chesapeake Energy gas pads. And now gas lines are going to be going who knows where, underground.

Today In Walmart I Learned The Family Rules & What A Friend Is

It has been raining at my location for hours, since before the sun started trying to shine some light through the cloud cover.

I did not know rain was in the forecast, so waking up to so much dampness was a bit of a surprise.

It is currently chilly.

Only 69 degrees.

I had my windows open, but somehow was not feeling the benefit of that outside chilliness. So, I closed the windows and am now being chilled by the built-in automatic chilling device that runs on electricity.

Due to the rain, Walmart was my go to location for my salubrious noon time endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

It is a little difficult to push a grocery cart to a level that achieves aerobic stimulation.

This morning Facebook shocked me with the shocking news that I was going to be forced on August 25 to use the Facebook timeline. I don't get the point of the Facebook timeline. It seems messed up to me. The messed up Facebook timeline may be one of the reasons the value of Facebook stock continues to plummet.

When I was in Walmart, pushing a grocery cart at high speed, I sped by some signs in the home decor area with smarmy messages, of the sort that I get a little tired of seeing on the aforementioned Facebook.

I don't know why so many people feel compelled to share these type messages on Facebook. That someone would buy such a sign and hang it on a wall in their home is real perplexing to me.

I think I may be becoming a curmudgeon in my old age.