I Am A Tree Hugging Idiot Rounding Up Sweetwater Rattlesnakes

The 2013 Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup started up this past Thursday, March 7, with the Roundup ending tomorrow, Sunday, March 10.

I do not know if there is a moratorium on the rattlesnake executions on Sunday.

I suspect today, that being Saturday, is the day when the most rattlesnake beheadings take place.

If you've never seen a rattlesnake beheaded and skinned and seeing that is on your Texas Bucket List, well, I guess you should make your way to Sweetwater today.

Last month I blogged about the upcoming rattlesnake beheadings. This generated some very earnest comments yesterday. One from someone named Anonymous, with someone named jh360 making a variation of the same comment twice, apparently due to not noticing that the comments are moderated prior to being published.

First the comment from Anonymous, then the two from jh360....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Apparently Children Are Witnessing Rattlesnake Beheadings In Sweetwater Texas":

these snakes are killed to control the population. otherwise, the great state of Texas would be over ran by deadly venomous rattlesnakes.just fyi for the first idiot blogger who posted about the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Round-up. YOU TREE HUGGIN HIPPIE IDIOT!!!! 

jh360 has left a new comment on your post "Apparently Children Are Witnessing Rattlesnake Beheadings In Sweetwater Texas": 

what you tree hugging anti everything hippie idiots understand is that we in Texas must keep the rattlesnake population down. that is one of the main reasons for the round-up. if we didn't, Texas would be flooded with rattlesnakes. would you want your backyard and house filled with deadly snakes? what if one slithered its way into your house and bit one of your children? if they were allowed to breed uninhibited, the population would explode and make they're way to your state. must i remind you again, these aren't your cute little garden snakes. these are venomous and deadly rattlesnakes, that can and do kill people. 

jh360 has left a new comment on your post "Apparently Children Are Witnessing Rattlesnake Beheadings In Sweetwater Texas": 

for all you tree hugging anti everything hippie idiots, here's the story. if these snakes in Texas were not kept in check, we would have a rattlesnake population explosion. that would equal an infestation into our houses and yards, then they would make they're way to your state. how would you feel if a deadly rattlesnake got into your house and bit your child? must i remind you idiots, these aren't your cute little garden snakes, these are venomous, deadly snakes. if they bite you, they can and will kill you! 

I'm a tree hugging hippie idiot?

I did not realize, til reading these comments, that the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup is all that stands between the rest of America and a massive rattlesnake invasion.

Murdering rattlesnakes really seems to rattle a lot of people. I have only been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup once. I think it was the 2002 Roundup.

One Roundup was enough for me.

I bought my first video camera the week before I drove to Sweetwater. The video I made from what I saw at the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup was the first video I made and the first I uploaded to YouTube. I've uploaded dozens upon dozens of videos to YouTube since the first one.

Sort of strangely, my Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup YouTube is the most viewed of my YouTube videos at a measly 37,488 views. Not quite viral. The video has generated 429 comments, most of the same quality level as those above. YouTube lets video viewers indicate if they like or dislike a video. My Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup video has 21 likes and 34 dislikes.

I suspect the likes are pro rattlesnake amnesty people, while the dislikes are from those who favor rattlesnake extermination.

I'm conflicted on the issue. I would be perfectly happy to live in a world with no venomous snakes. But, I don't know if mass extermination rattlesnake roundups are all that good an idea.

Below is my Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup video. Don't watch if you are even remotely squeamish....

Walking My Neighborhood Fort Worth Greenbelt Dodging Meteorites & Houseboats

Today I decided to get in my daily walk by once again hiking on my neighborhood's new, to me, parkland.

Today I did not hike into Fort Worth's unofficial newest park, that being Canyon Creek Park.

Instead I walked right past the entry to Canyon Creek Park and continued on to Canyon Creek Trail, which is a sidewalk-less paved road for motorized vehicles, upon which I headed north til I got to ultra-steep Palo Verde Lane, which I used to access the Fort Worth "Greenbelt" you see in the picture.

My neighborhood Fort Worth "Greenbelt" has a lot of towers, of various sorts, on it, with a lot of lines strung between the towers.

Last week it occurred to me that mountain biking might be fun on my neighborhood Fort Worth "Greenbelt."

I found myself wondering why I'd never seen anyone mountain biking on these hills.

Today I believe I saw the reason this might not be a good place to roll my tires. On the ground I saw a lot of thin branches with really sharp, tube puncturing type projectiles.

Hiking this particular Fort Worth "Greenbelt" there are homes and apartment complexes, at times, on both the west and east side of the "Greenbelt."

You walk past the backyards of a lot of these homes, seeing some interesting things in the process. Like the grounded "houseboat" you see for sale, below.

I doubt many people walk by the above location and see the "houseboat" for sale. It is a rather landlocked location for a boat. I could not figure out how it got there or how it would get out of there. I wonder if "houseboats" like this will float on Pond Granger if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle ever gets its promised pond filled with water?

Leaving my neighborhood Fort Worth "Greenbelt" I walked on Bridge Street past the giant sculptural monument that welcomes people to Fort Worth, as they head west on Interstate 30.

Eventually Bridge Street comes to the "Ghost Store" that used to be a Kroger's grocery. It was at this location I saw the strangest thing I saw today, which is what you are looking at below.

Is that a giant meteorite that has landed on the abandoned Kroger's parking lot? How did this giant hunk of rock get in this location? If it is a meteorite, should it not have made some sort of giant hole? And made a big noise when it did so?

Very perplexing.

I am really starting to enjoy my neighborhood explorations. I've decided I sort of live in Twin Peaks Texas.

It Has Been A Decade Since The Dixie Chicks Became One Of George W. Bush's Many Victims

When I lived in Washington I most definitely was not a Country music fan. On the move South I remember crossing the border into Texas, in the Panhandle, and the only stations I could get on the radio were Christian or Country music stations.

By the time I got to Amarillo, that night, I was sort of a Country music fan. I'd not realized much of it had become sort of like early rock 'n roll.

For a year, or two, Country music seemed fresh and fun to me. 99.5, The Wolf, was the station I listened to more than any other. And then there started to seem to be fewer fun and fresh sounding Country music songs. I very rarely hit the 99.5, The Wolf button anymore.

My favorite of all the Country music makers were The Dixie Chicks. They had me with Earl. And then Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition. And others. Like Travelin' Soldier.

When I moved to Texas I was sort of appalled to see in person, that the son of President Bush was the state's governor. When I was in Washington I knew that George W. Bush had replaced the popular, nationwide, Ann Richards. But, not til seeing it in person, did it sink in that this guy was this state's governor.

And then when the talk started up of Bush II running for president, I, in my naivete, thought no way. I was so naive back then, still suffering culture shock, that I opined that how could the Republicans nominate Bush? All the Democrats would need to do to win is show what it's like in Texas and ask do you want Bush to do this to the rest of America?

Like I said, I was naive. Very naive.

And then Bush got elected in the most bizarre election in my memory. I was appalled.

Soon much of America and the rest of the world would be equally appalled.

After the 9/11 shock to America and the World, everyone rallied around the flag and the president. This was only natural.

That rallying began to erode as Bush began to take the steps that led to America's most shameful act of war. The invasion and takeover of Iraq. A pre-emptive war of choice, the rationalization for which was based on lies.

I have opined previously that I agree with prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's case he made for George W. Bush being prosecuted for his crimes, which Bugliosi excellently explained in THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOR MURDER.

10 years ago this week The Dixie Chicks bravely exercised their free speech right, prior to the invasion of Iraq, when the war drums were being loudly banged, at a concert hall in London, where lead singer, Natalie Maines said, "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Reactionaries back in America reacted with a vengeance, pretty much destroying The Dixie Chicks, even though Natalie Maines apologized for her remarks.

I don't think she should have apologized.

Natalie Maines speaking the truth to power was a classic example of someone speaking freely, from their conscience, with those objecting to her opinion being equally free to express their opinion. While being moronically wrong.

The Dixie Chicks Travelin' Soldier song was a call for peace, a song about a young soldier going to Vietnam.

This was to be The Dixie Chicks last #1 hit song.

The Dixie Chicks were just one more victim of their fellow Texan somehow becoming president, a job for which he was no more qualified to hold than I am.

Well. Actually, I think I'd make a much better president than George W. Bush was. Millions of Americans would make a much better president than George W. Bush was....

Visiting A Big Village Creek Turtle After Zelda Del West Gave Me An Armadillo Leprosy Warning

Today I was visiting the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area, blissfully enjoying the peaceful serenity I get from gazing out at the Village Creek Blue Bayou, when I looked down to be startled by the big turtle you see in the picture, looking up at me.

This turtle was unusually un-skittish. The big guy just sat there winking at me.

Last Sunday I mentioned that I was hunting for an armadillo in the Village Creek zone, for lunch, after having read that armadillos were considered a delicacy, by some, in Texas, back during the Great Depression, calling the cute critters Hoover Hogs.

I then heard from Zelda del West, who recently escaped Texas, after a multi-year exile, to now reside in Walla Walla, Washington, from whence she informed me that "...you can make an armadillo into stew using it's own armor as the pot. You should be nice to armadillos. They can also give you leprosy."

If I felt the need to be nice to all the various things from which I might catch leprosy I would exhaust myself, daily, from excessive niceness.

As for the Village Creek NHA armadillos,  I saw nary a one, again, today. Where have all the armadillos gone?

I did see an Arlington animal control officer releasing some possums from his animal control truck. I have seen this multiple times at this location. He picks the possums up by their tails, places them on the ground,  where they quickly scurry away, never to be seen, by me, again.

The closest I think I've come to a heart attack was years ago, in Mount Vernon, a town on the other side of the Cascade Mountains from Walla Walla, where a possum jumped out of my garbage can whilst I was depositing some garbage.

I know someone in Tacoma who had a horrible possum infestation in her basement. The possum infestation was so insidious that the lady moved to a new possum free location. It would not shock me to learn that the possums followed her there. Because it is well know that possums love chocolate...

The 2013 Great Texas Warrant Roundup Did Not Arrest Me On The Tandy Hills Today

In the picture you are halfway down Mount Tandy, looking west past a sign, at a zoomed view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, well known as one of the World's Greatest Cities.

Yesterday I did my hiking, without driving anywhere, by hiking across the street to the newly discovered newest un-official Fort Worth hiking venue, Canyon Creek Park.

On the drive to the summit of Mount Tandy I saw a billboard informing me of the 2013 Great Texas Warrant Roundup, with a giant pair of handcuffs, asking what size fits, or something like that.

I Googled "2013 Great North Texas Warrant Roundup" to find out that a couple hundred Texas jurisdictions are rounding up thousands of citizens with outstanding warrants to possibly throw them into the Texas Gulag.

Apparently the vast majority of the outstanding warrants are for motor vehicle operation crimes. Like breaking the speed limit, using your cell phone in a forbidden zone, being caught not using a seatbelt, parking where parking is banned, that type thing.

I'm guessing a lot of the those who chose to scoff at the law scoffed  because they did not feel they'd done anything wrong and then when trying to deal with it, learned the court system is one big clunky operation, and then decided to continue scoffing.

Today on the Tandy Hills I looked more closely at a sign I've seen for years. That being the one at the top that says "FOOT TRAFFIC ONLY NO BIKES, HORSES OR MOTORIZED VEHICLES".

I'd never noticed the bottom of the sign that says "CITY CODE SECTION 24 - 10, SECTION 24 - 15" before.

I'm guessing a ticket could be issued if one was caught on the other side of that sign riding a bike, horse or motorbike. And then if one scoffed at paying whatever the fine for the crime might be, one might find oneself in the Great Texas Warrant Roundup.

Methinks there are way too many tickets written by way too many Texas cops for "violations" that really should warrant nothing more than a warning. And never warrant a warrant.

This 2013 Great Texas Warrant Roundup thing really bugs me.

If I had wanted to experience living in a Police State I would have moved to Nazi Germany, not Texas....

Crossing The Street To Discover A New Fort Worth Park

My one longtime reader may look at the picture on the left and think it must be a new view of Lake Tandy in the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

My one longtime reader would be wrong.

That is newly christened Canyon Creek Lake you are looking at.

Today I took another walk in my neighborhood to find that all this time I have been living across the street from a big area that is a lot like the Tandy Hills, but with no trails.

I do not know if the lack of trails makes the newly discovered Canyon Creek Natural Area more or less natural than the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

In addition to having a seriously sad sidewalk shortage situation, East Fort Worth also suffers from a seriously sad park shortage situation. The seriously sad park shortage situation seems particularly sad to be existing in what we learned yesterday is one of the greatest cities in the entire world.

It seems to me that the Canyon Creek Natural Area could quite easily be turned into a very nice park.

For years there have been two large signs advertising the fact that this acreage is for sale, saying that the land is a prime location for developers.

I think Canyon Creek is a prime location for developers of the sort who develop parks.

Why does the far east zone of Fort Worth have such a serious park shortage? The next town to the east, Arlington, seems to have many more parks than the much bigger town of Fort Worth. And Arlington is not known the world over as one of the world's greatest cities.

River Legacy Park, in Arlington, is a HUGE park, spanning the north and south banks of the Trinity River for miles. Just a short distance from River Legacy Park is one of Arlington's newest parks, that being Crystal Canyon Park.

Both River Legacy Park and Crystal Canyon Park are parks at a quality level higher than any park I've seen in Fort Worth.

I almost forgot to add, the easiest entry to what could be a new park in East Fort Worth, Canyon Creek Park, can be found on the north side of Boca Raton Boulevard a sort distance west of Boca Raton's intersection with Bridgewood Drive.

The Texas Nationalist Movement Is Helping Me Declare My Independence Today!

Last month I blogged about talk about Texas seceding from the American Union after reading an article in the Seattle P-I that sort of tongue in cheekedly went over some of the pros and cons of Texas no longer being part of the United States.

A pair of Texas Nationalists commented to that blogging this morning. Their comment included a link to their Texas Nationalist Movement website. That website contained some amusingly interesting content. First the comment, then the content....

RJ, TNM has left a new comment on your post "Is America Making A Case To Kick Texas Out Of The Union?": 

Durango, Shouldnt worry what others think of you when your right. Don't want a complex! Check us out and you decide if we are as bad as that article claims. Perhaps they're just jealous, most are.

_______________________________

Content from the Texas Nationalist Movement website.....

The objective of the Texas Nationalist Movement is the complete, total and unencumbered political, cultural and economic independence of Texas. It is to restore Texas to its rightful status as an independent state according to Article 1 Section 1 of the Texas Constitution, guaranteeing the individual rights of every Texan, and achieve our place as a nation among nations as promoted by Sam Houston. It is to fulfill our national destiny and achieve the greatness envisioned by our Founding Fathers, desired by this generation of Texians and required by future generations to live in freedom. It is to be an independent light in a world that is being plunged into darkness.

The Texas Nationalist Movement works to:

• promote, secure and protect the political, cultural and economic independence of the nation of Texas
• restore and protect a constitutional Texas
• defend the inherent and inalienable rights of the people of Texas
• promote the values of Texas nationalism

Principles

Nationhood - Texas is a state with a distinct culture, economy and government.

Independence - Texas should always be politically, culturally and economically independent.

Individualism - The basic political building block of Texas is the individual.

Entrepreneurialism - The basic economic building block of Texas is the entrepreneur.

Family - The basic cultural building block of Texas is the family.

Inherent Rights - Texas is the embodiment of natural rights.

Values - Texas adheres to the values of fortitude, loyalty, righteousness, prudence, and broadmindedness.

Primacy of Cause - Texas Nationalism is the primary secular cause of all Texans and is distinct and superior to all other secular causes.

Primacy of Nation - The interests of Texas supersede the interests of all other nations and states.

Nature of Government - All political power is inherent in the Texan people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The Texan people have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.

Historical Foundation - Texas' unique history serves as the foundation for our current and future greatness.

Indomitability - There is no challenge that cannot be overcome by the individual initiative and collective will of Texans.

My Tacoma Poodle Nephew Blue Survived Being Attacked By A Vicious German

Blue Recovering From Savage German Blitzkrieg 

I just heard from my sister in Tacoma that Ruby, Theo and David's poodle brother, Blue, was viciously attacked yesterday, whilst on a walk.

Attacked by an unleashed German Shepherd.

Blue was rushed to the Emergency Vet where his condition was stabilized.

Blue is on potent antibiotics and pain meds, but is still feeling miserable.

I do not know what became of the vicious German Shepherd.  I assume the perp has been arrested and charged with assault, along with his irresponsible owner.

I think I have previously mentioned my aversion to most things German. Including German dogs.

Blue is not French, he is mostly Dutch. The Germans have a long history of being vicious to the Dutch.

Atmos Energy Warning Buried Gas Line Signs Have Sprouted In My Neighborhood

In the picture you are looking at an ATMOS Energy WARNING BURIED GAS LINE sign, stuck in the ground. Dozens of these yellow warning signs are stuck in the ground at this location.

The warning signs do not look very permanent. I'm hoping the buried gas line lasts longer than the yellow warning signs.

I saw these yellow warnings signs when I walked around my block this morning. My block is one of the few blocks in my neighborhood that has a sidewalk all the way around it.

These ATMOS yellow warning signs are stuck in the ground along the sidewalk that is due south of my newest Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling & Fracking Site, on Boca Raton Boulevard.

Some of the markings that you see on the sidewalk also have references to gas lines. One was a line that pointed across the street to the Albertson's parking lot, making me wonder how a buried gas line was going in that direction and why?

I know sidewalks are a really low priority in Fort Worth, but still, why does someone get to paint them in this manner?

I remember watching a video a few months ago where Santa Claus was arrested down in Austin for instigating kid's making chalk drawings on sidewalks.

I am almost 100% certain no one was arrested for making what look to be more permanent than chalk markings on this particular Fort Worth sidewalk.

Walking A Dirt Path Sidewalk To Get To The Airport In One Of The World's Greatest Cities

Continuing on with my popular Fort Worth's Sad Sidewalk Situation Series.

Today I took another walking tour of my neighborhood.

In the picture you are looking north, standing on the east side of Bridgewood Drive.

If I wanted to take public mass transit to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, without using any personal vehicular transport, it would be on this well worn dirt path I would need to walk to get to the Richland Hills Trinity Railway Express (TRE) Station to get on a train to get to the Centrepoint Station where I would need to get off the TRE train to get on a bus to get to the airport to get on a plane.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is a very modern, well-designed operation.

Transportation systems to get to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are not very modern or well-designed.

If I were flying from D/FW International Airport to Sea-Tac International Airport, needing to get to a location in North Seattle, 25 miles north of the airport, I would get on a Sound Transit Link Light Rail train right at the airport, ride the rail to the downtown Seattle transit tunnel where I'd switch to a bus that would take me to within a block of my destination.

Returning to D/FW from my North Seattle location, it's a one-block walk on a sidewalk to a bus stop, then a bus ride to the downtown Seattle transit tunnel, then back on the Sound Transit Link Light Rail train to Sea-Tac.

Then, back in Texas, it is off the plane, a wait for a bus to take me to the Centrepoint Station to wait for a TRE train to take me to the Richland Hills Station where a very tired me walks the well worn dirt path back to my abode.

It is a real amazing miracle to me that Fort Worth is known, far and wide, as one of the Greatest Cities in the World...