On The Tandy Hills Hunting Prickly Pears With 72 Avocados

Tandy Hills Prickly Pear Cactus Without Pears

I woke up at 4 this morning, and have been awake ever since. I should be more tired than I am.

The arrival of colder air, with air replacement brought by the wind that arrived with the colder air, and the slight amount of rain scrubbing the dirty air, has not removed from the air that I breathe whatever it is that causes me to go into spasms of allergic reaction.

All was fine, today, til, after swimming this afternoon, post Tandy Hills hiking and lunch, when, upon finishing with swimming, I was peacefully relaxing on a poolside lounge when suddenly my breathing tubes ceased working,  forcing me to use my oral orifice to acquire oxygen.

I do not like being a mouth breather. I have a very strong aversion to mouth breathing and mouth breathers. This has been a lifelong aversion and is part of my matrix of aversions under the general heading of being averse to slobbiness in any of its many forms.

If I am not making much sense I beg your pardon and ask that you realize my cerebral bloodflow is likely being impacted by my breathing woes.

I hiked the Tandy Hills today with my harvesting bag in hand. It is that time of year when I harvest Prickly Pears from the Prickly Pear Cactus, so I can make Prickly Pear Jam to put in the Christmas Boxes that the multitudes enjoy getting from me.

Okay, the only part of the above paragraph that was actually true was I did hike the Tandy Hills. I don't harvest Prickly Pears, make jam or send anyone a Christmas Box.

I just wanted to see how gullible you are. Were you gullible and wondering why you have never received a Christmas Box from me?

I did notice an absence of Prickly Pears on the Prickly Pear Cactus today. Maybe someone has come along and harvested them.

Speaking of harvesting.

I had some good harvesting at Town Talk today. But what am I going to do with a case of Avocados? 72 very big Avocados. I like Avocados. I like Guacamole. But, 72 Avocados?

I also harvested some very big yellow peppers. But not a case. Only 6.

Walking In The Rain With A Laboodle (AKA Labradoodle) On Top Of Fosdick Dam

When I left my abode this late morning to drive to the top of Mount Tandy, about a mile to the west, a very light drizzle began to moisten my windshield, but not in an amount copious enough to require the motorized window wiping device to be activated.

When the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth came in to view I could see that rain was falling that short distance further to the west.

So, I bailed on the Tandy Hills and turned left off Oakland Boulevard, rather than right, and went to Oakland Lake Park, instead, to walk around Fosdick Lake.

When I exited my vehicle the light misty drizzle had grown a bit less light. It reminded me of being on a Pacific Ocean beach in winter.

In the picture you are looking up at the massive earthen structure known as Fosdick Dam. On top of the dam, in the center of the picture, you can see a lady and the top of her dog.

When I passed the lady and her dog and did the requisite howdying, I remarked to the lady that that was a very cute doggy. I said I'd not seen a dog that looks like that before. I said he looks like he is part poodle. The lady then told me that the dog was a Laboodle. Made sense, it had the yellow coat of a Labrador, but it was curly, like a poodle. The face looked like a poodle. But this was a big dog, like a Labrador.

There were more people jogging around Fosdick Lake today than I've ever seen any time previous. I think the chilly weather, with natural cooling misting, causes people to want to run.

I soon found myself running, something I rarely do. I started to run because it started to rain. The pleasant drizzle morphed into your basic run of the mill rain. Not of the downpour sort, but with enough volume to render one quickly all wet.

Driving back to my abode I expected it to be wet here, but no, I am still dry. I must live in some sort of rain shadow. Maybe I'm in the rain shadow of Mount Tandy.

The Calm Before The Storm Of The Second Friday Of September

You are looking at my mid morning balcony view of the swimming pool and stormy sky on this 2nd Friday of September, Day 14.

It is only 63 degrees right now in the outer world at my location. The predicted high for today is only 76, with lightning strikes and possible rain also predicted.

So far I've seen no lightning striking or rain dripping.

I had myself an allergic meltdown last night. This morning that seems like ancient history.

I think the wind that has moved in with this cold front has cleared the nasty allergens out of the air. I hope the nasty allergens remain cleared out of the air. I do not like nasty allergens in the air that I breathe.

Speaking of nasty things in the air.

That Chesapeake Energy gas pipeline that I mentioned a few weeks ago, after I got a notice from Chesapeake kindly informing me they would be sticking a pipe in the ground in my neighborhood, is now underway. The operation was a bit noisy yesterday. No noise today.

I have my windows open to let in the cool breeze. The only noise I am hearing through the open windows is the sound of vehicular traffic, every once in awhile. Very peaceful. I think this may be the calm before the storm.

Almost Getting Wet From Rain At The Village Creek Bayou While Not Having A Camp Bowie Bingo Hot Dog

In the picture you are looking south across the east end of the viewing platform that overlooks the sometimes blue bayou in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

When I left my waterproof shelter, a half hour before noon, I'd just heard a voice on the radio say that rain was falling in Tarrant County, with up to a couple inches of wet stuff possible.

I was not long into my walk with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts when I felt a little moisture hitting a spot of exposed epidermis.

By the time I got to the sometimes blue bayou, multiple drops began falling, with ever increasing velocity. I decided to fast walk back to the waterproofness of my vehicular transport. However, by the time I got to waterproofness, the dripping had ceased.

And now, coming up on 3 in the afternoon, it appears the clouds have thinned, the sun is back shining. And I have not seen 2 inches of rain. Maybe it is still to come.

Changing the subject from non-existent rain to something else.

Yesterday evening, when I drove to West Fort Worth, my intention was to check out the new Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, which I did, then go to TCU, which I did, then go to Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo, which I did not.

I did not get out of TCU til it was almost 9 o'clock. Too late to head further west to Camp Bowie Bingo. I think I am destined, somehow, to never get to have a Camp Bowie Bingo hot dog.

A Walk Across The Trinity River On The Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge

Yesterday in the early evening, prior to going to TCU (Texas Christian University, for you non locals) I went to Trinity Park to check out the newly opened for business Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge.

In the picture you are looking at the new pedestrian bridge, that thin shallow arch of white, below the 7th Street vehicular bridge.

From a distance the new bridge looks good. Up close, not so much.

The landscaping around the new bridge is a work in progress. The bridge itself appears to be a finished product, albeit a bit perplexing.

I could not figure out why the rails between the top rail and the bridge deck were so crooked, rather than paralleling the top rail. This made the bridge look, well, sloppy.

And why is a plastic pipe laying on the left side of the bridge deck? It appears to serve no purpose. Why is there an orange traffic cone at the top of the bridge? You can barely see this, in the picture, at the top right of the bridge deck.

Above you are looking at what the Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge leads to, across the Trinity River from Trinity Park. Is this what is meant when someone says, of a bridge, that it is a bridge to nowhere?

As for Trinity Park. I was really liking Trinity Park yesterday. There were a lot of people engaging in a lot of activities. It is a busy park, and very well kept by the City of Fort Worth park people responsible for the park's upkeep. Unlike Oakland Lake Park, in east Fort Worth, the grass in Trinity Park is mowed, and is actually grass, not weeds gone wild.

David Does The Puyallup On His Birthday At The Western Washington State Fair

David Driving at The Puyallup

My nephew, David, Did the Puyallup on his birthday, yesterday, 9/11. I learned David Did the Puyallup, on his birthday, when I called my mom yesterday afternoon. David Doing the Puyallup was confirmed this morning when I saw photo documentation on the Blue and Max Adventure Poodle Blog in a blogging titled David Does The Puyallup.

If you are in Texas reading this, or some other part of the world, or America, you might be wondering what it means to Do the Puyallup.

Well, to Do the Puyallup means one is going to the Western Washington State Fair.

In the town of Puyallup.

Puyallup, the town, is a few miles east and south of Tacoma. The Puyallup, the People, are a Washington Tribe of Indians, as in the Puyallup Tribe.

I do not know why, when one says one is going to Do The Dallas, it does not mean one is going to the State Fair of Texas. Very perplexing.

I don't enjoy the State Fair of Texas as much as I always enjoyed Doing the Puyallup. One thing is the food is better at The Puyallup. And you don't have to buy coupons to buy food. American currency is accepted.

The Midway of the State Fair of Texas is bigger and wilder than The Puyallup's. I'm not a big Carnival ride fan. But I greatly enjoy walking through the State Fair of Texas Midway. It is a bit of sensory overload. The Carnival/Midway zone of The Puyallup is puny compared to The Dallas.

David at The Puyallup in his Ask Me
My Secret Identity T-Shirt

Both fairs have gondola rides. The State Fair of Texas gondola skyride is only a few years old. The Puyallup's was born during the Seattle World's Fair, in 1962, moving to Puyallup, many years later.

If I remember right The Puyallup has a wooden roller coaster. I don't think there are one of those at the State Fair of Texas.

I always found shows I enjoyed watching at The Puyallup, not so much at The Dallas. Ironically, it was a Dallas based band, The Shoppe, that was always the highlight of a visit to The Puyallup, followed by a hypnotist show.

With Washington being a bit more of an agricultural area than Texas, that part, the produce and animals, is a bigger deal at The Puyallup.

The Puyallup has way more varied exhibits than the State Fair of Texas. Lots of demonstrations. Lots of temptations to buy. It was at The Puyallup I got my first Vita-Mix.

The State Fair of Texas seems to devote an awful lot of space to vehicle exhibits. I do not recollect seeing cars on display at The Puyallup.

The State Fair of Texas has some very cool permanent buildings, built in the Art Deco style, plus several museums. The Puyallup has a lot of permanent buildings, but not of the sort you see in Fair Park in Dallas.

I think you can find some fried food at The Puyallup, but nothing of the exotic deep-fried Big Tex Choice Award sort that can be a bit horrifying at the State Fair of Texas.

Right now I'm thinking if I weren't such a procrastinator, I would likely have gone to The Puyallup with my nephew, David, yesterday. And had a scone. Or two. Or three. But, nothing deep-fried. Not even butter.

Watching The Old Man In The Fosdic Sea And A Los Angeles Police Chase With Robin Hood Throwing Money To Poor People

The Old Man was back fishing in the Fosdick Sea, in Oakland Lake Park, again today, fishing whilst sitting on his mini-dock, with his feet in the water one is forbidden to swim in, trying to catch fish one is forbidden to eat.

It was an idyllic scene. Sort of Tom Sawyerish. Becky Thatcher is not in the picture. She had her pole in the water about 10 feet to the right of the Old Man in the Fosdick Sea. Becky fished from shore, not from a mini-deck.

Speaking of idyllic scenes, my lunchtime entertainment, whilst enjoying Beef Stroganoff, was to watch a Los Angeles police car chase through the streets of LA, eventually stopping a pair of Robin Hoods, who had engaged in an armed robbery.

Eventually a lot of Los Angelenos, who were watching, like I was, the live chase on their TVs, with the chase taking place on their streets, left their TVs to go out to the streets, where the armed robber Robin Hoods began throwing money to the poor people of Sherwood Forest.

The Robin Hoods throwing money added an added element of mayhem to the chase, as the moneyseekers got between the robbers and the police cars, at times.

This is not the first time I've watched one of these bizarre police chases. I think I've watched 2 that have taken place in the D/FW zone. I never quite understand why these are broadcast live. It seems, like it did today, the live broadcast creates problems.

Although, on the other hand, some poor people got themselves a little unexpected cash today, after seeing the potential easy money being thrown live on their TVs.

Wednesday Night Free Dinner At Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo

When I don't hear from the good people at Paradise Center I know all is going well in their world.

It has been months since I've heard a Paradise Center peep, except for weekly emails about Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo.

This morning the incoming email included a Camp Bowie Bingo invite for free dinner, tonight, as in Wednesday, September 12.

Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo must be doing real well, with it now expanded to weekdays, in addition to weekends, and offering free dinners.

I am currently scheduled to be at TCU this early evening. I was going to follow being at TCU with biking to check out the new Phyllis Tilley Bridge, it being a massive pedestrian crossing structure that spans the mighty Trinity River, giving Fort Worth a much needed pedestrian connection between downtown Fort Worth and West Fort Worth.

Now that I've gotten this dinner invite from Camp Bowie Bingo I may add heading a bit further west to this evening's agenda.

Sneezing On Top Of Mount Tandy Before Navigating A Maze Of Thorns

I returned to the Tandy Hills today for the first time since my recent bout of allergic woes became even more woeful after my visit to the Tandy Hills last Saturday.

I parked on top of Mount Tandy and barely exited my vehicular transport when the sneeze impulse hit me.

Fighting back the sneeze impulse I thought to myself, this is not good, it's the Tandy Hills to which I am allergic.

As I walked down Mount Tandy, past the maze of purple thorns you see in the picture, the allergic woes began to abate, once again. The more hill hiking I did the better I felt.

I have concluded it is not the Tandy Hills tot which I am allergic.

What a relief.

Another relief that I found on the Tandy Hills today, was to find that someone has removed the mysterious ice chest that has laid next to the trail, by the equally mysterious burial crypt, since August 25, which remains intact.

Wishing My Nephew David A Happy 9/11 Birthday

That is my nephew, David, getting ready to take a swing at a pinata at his birthday party this past  weekend.

Have I mentioned, previously, that David is bilingual? He is learning Spanish at the Montessori school he attends.

I do not know if David's bilingual bi-cultureness is the reason for the birthday pinata.

I was invited to David's birthday party, but was unable to make it to Tacoma in time to attend.

Even though David's birthday party was this past weekend, his actual birthday is today. September 11.

Yes, David is a 9/11 baby. Born 4 years ago, today.

Happy Birthday David!