Tandy Hills Mascot Olive The Prairie Dog Missing Again

This morning I got multiple confusing text messages from someone for whom English is not her first language.

Amongst those messages I got a confusing text message from someone for whom the Texas variant of English is her first language.

To which I replied something like good gawd is no one speaking understandable English to me today?

The message from the speaker of the Texas variant of English said "the prairie dog is missing again."

I had no  idea what that meant, and said so via the reply I already mentioned.

The speaker of the Texas variant of English then clarified that the prairie dog she was talking about was Olive the Prairie Dog, the Mascot of the Tandy Hills.

How has this happened again? The last time Olive the Prairie Dog went missing it turned into a big deal, with Olive the Prairie Dog posters posted all over, including some big sign versions.

I gleaned the photo of Olive the Prairie Dog from her paternal parental figure, Don Young's Facebook page. You can go there is you have any information about Olive.

A Presidential Presidents Day Walk Around Fosdick Lake Debating Feeding Ducks

What with it being Presidents Day today I decided to go to the nearest location I know of which I think of as presidential.

That being Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park, for a walk around Fosdick Lake.

Don't ask me why I think of this location as being very presidential. A fortune cookie said I would utter a nonsensical sentence today, so I got that out of the way with that first sentence.

A lot of people were enjoying the ultra pleasant Presidents Day temperature at Oakland Lake Park, including the group of Fosduck feeders you see above. I was on the east side of the lake when I saw this group at the base of the Fosdick Steps on the west side of the lake. I zoomed in for the photo, with my steady hand rendering semi-good results.

Speaking of Presidents.

Last night I watched Saturday's Republican Presidential Debate whilst over at Miss Puerto Rico's. I'd set the DVR to record the circus the day before. Til last night I'd not made it through an entire Republican Presidential Debate during this current election debacle.

But, what happened in South Carolina on Saturday was an embarrassing train wreck that I could not quit watching. A monumental embarrassing entertaining train wreck.

How could the party of Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and Bush the First have devolved into such a mess of nincompoops running for President?

Last night Trump looked so orange. And I'd never noticed Marco Rubio's huge ears before. They looked like wings to me. Was this just because I was watching on an extra big screen? Ben Carson has written a book about the U.S. Constitution? But does not know that that document spells out how a new Supreme Court Justice is appointed? Jeb Bush whining about Trump picking on his family was funny, what with the back and forth between the two which then erupted.

I'd not witnessed a debate so out of control before. Is the Republican Party toast? It seems that might be the case, at least in its current version.....

Sending Valentines Day Jeep Pictures To Puerto Rico

This morning when I woke up my phone I saw an urgent text message from Miss Puerto Rico.

I think I have previously mentioned that Miss Puerto is currently visiting her home island and has left me with the task of cat sitting her babies, Coco and Belly Baby.

The text message asked me to take a picture of Miss Puerto Rico's Jeep.

Miss Puerto Rico took with her pictures of the babies, but not her Jeep. The reason for the picture of the Jeep request was because Miss Puerto Rico's dad wanted to see what the Jeep looked like. Today was the last day Miss PR will see her dad on this trip home, attending her dad's Valentines Day party in the Veterans residential place he now lives in.

So, that has been my exciting Valentines Day, taking Jeep pictures, sending them to Puerto Rico and altering Inwesco images. Don't ask, you don't need to know.....

Almost HOT Enough To Resume A Regular Swim Schedule

The pool is looking doable on this second Saturday day before Valentines Day in February.

However, looking doable does not make the pool doable, unless it is a chilling experience one is looking for.

Currently the outer world is heated to only 63 degrees at my location. Overnight was in the 40s. I think I need about five days in a row nearing 80 to make the pool pleasantly doable.

Past years the pool becomes doable in early March. I'm guessing with all this global warming we've got going on that the pool becoming doable will be happening earlier than any other year in recorded history.

This particular Saturday has me pondering all the habits I seem to have broken. It's Saturday and going to Town Talk  did not cross my mind. Nor did doing some hill hiking on the Tandy Hills. I can't remember the last time I hiked the Tandy Hills. I know I have not hill hiked since the most recent clear cutting removed foliage from a swath of the hills.

Now that you've got me thinking about it I'm wondering if a rare late afternoon hill hike on the Hills of Tandy might be a mighty fine thing.

Well, nix that idea. Just remembered I have something we will called the Inwesco PDF Nightmare to figure out.....

Abraham Lincoln's And My Sister Jackie's Happy February 12 Birthday

On this day, February 12, over two centuries ago, Abraham Lincoln was born.

On this day, February 12, far less than two centuries ago, my Favorite Sister Jackie was born, later to become the mama of my Favorite Nephews Christopher and Jeremy.

To celebrate Abe's and my sister's birthday I was going to go to River Legacy Park in Arlington to have myself a peaceful, contemplative walk.

But, when the time came to go walking I opted for a shorter drive and instead went to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington to walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt that location.

Village Creek is currently looking very peaceful, with the water running so clear it looks almost clean enough to swim in, if one has no aversion to snapping turtles, water moccasins and sharp-toothed garfish.

Last Saturday someone told me they found what I write to be amusing. I said I had no idea I was amusing and verbalized my fear that this new found information would make me self-conscious regarding whether or not I was being amusing.

Ever since this amusing revelation I have been experiencing what I think is some version of what is known as writer's block.

I am on Day Five of Cat Sitting Duty. Miss Puerto Rico checks in several  times a day to make sure I am doing my duty. Last night when I went to check on the Babies I could  not find Coco. Belly Baby was in her regular spot on Miss Puerto Rico's bed, but Coco was hidden from me.

I do not know if Coco was playing a cat game with me, moving to various hiding locations, or what.

But, it took around a half hour before I finally located the little devil, on the bed, right next to Belly Baby, but hidden under a sheet. I am almost 100% certain that that cat was not there when I first discovered her to be missing.

I have not checked in on the meow-ers today. I supposed I should do so.....

Culinary Adventure Cracking A Giant Goose Egg

What you are looking at here is what I found inside one of the giant goose eggs I found in a mailbox on Monday.

One egg covering half a frying pan.

Cracking a goose egg is not as easy as cracking open a regular run of the mill chicken egg.

A hatchet would have come in handy, but eventually I whacked the goose egg hard enough on the side of the frying pan to crack the egg open.

And now you are wondering what a fried goose egg tastes like.

Well, if you have ever had yourself a fried chicken egg you have a fairly good idea of what a fried goose egg tastes like....

Walking With Ghosts In Arlington In The Old Caddoan Confederacy

That serene body of water you are looking at here is located in Arlington, Texas.

The body of water is known as Village Creek. Village Creek is so named because of the large Village of Native Americans which thrived in this area until early Texans used a primitive form of eminent domain to take the land away from its rightful owners.

The Village at Village Creek was made up of multiple tribes, bound together in what was known as the Caddo Confederacy.

The Tribes in the Caddoan Confederacy were agrarian. Which means they grew crops. Items like corn and squash. The Caddoan Confederacy extended to the east to what is now known as Louisiana.

The Comanche tribe was headquartered to the west and north. The Comanche were not an agrarian tribe. The Comanche often made raids into Caddoan Confederacy territory.

That is our local history lesson for today.

Today I had myself a mighty fine peaceful walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt this location. And now it is time to fire up the wok and make some stir fry.

60 Sunny Degrees Is No Big Deal In Texas In February Unlike The Chilly Northwest

I saw that which you see here this morning via the Seattle Times and thought it to be a variant of our popular series of bloggings about something read in a west coast online news source that I would likely not be reading in any local Texas news source.

As in, up north, in Western Washington, the outer world being heated to 60 degrees is not the chilly norm.

While at my location in Texas the outer world being heated to 60, or above, in February, is no big deal.

However, currently, this second Tuesday of February the outer world at my location is a somewhat chilly 43 degrees, heading to a predicted high in the 60s, with predicted highs in the 70s for a few of the days to follow today.

There are a couple other things in that photo I screen capped from the Seattle Times that I do not see at my currently location.

The obvious thing I don't see in Texas is that big mountain in the background. That would be Mount Rainier. I can not tell if the body of water is Lake Washington or Puget Sound.

My best guess is the body of water is Lake Washington, with that body of water being a less obvious thing that I can not find at my current location. That being a clean body of water in which one can catch salmon, and other fish, with the salmon, and other fish, being safe to eat.

And no one would think a person nuts if that person had themselves a Rockin' the Lake Happy Hour Inner Tube Float in Lake Washington.

I just realized, people would think a person was nuts if they went Rockin' that Lake in February when the temperature was only 60.....

Taking Miss Puerto Rico To The Airport Getting Goose Eggs On The Way

This morning I was informed that if I gave the go ahead a designated mailbox on Randol Mill Road would have some Goose Eggs installed in it.

Around one I picked up Miss Puerto Rico to deliver her to Terminal E at D/FW International.

When I did not go the regular way to get on the freeway Miss Puerto Rico said nothing. When I crossed the freeway, on Randol Mill Road, without getting on the freeway, Miss Puerto Rico said nothing.

Soon Miss Puerto Rico was seeing a lot of cows and saying look at all those cows. It was around then I was to learn that after two decades of living in the neighborhood Miss Puerto had never driven down Randol Mill Road east of I-820. She had no idea she was living so close to farms with cattle and horses.

Then came the fun part. Just as Miss Puerto Rico was pointing out one particular farm house and its critters I pulled into that farm house's driveway, put the vehicle in park, walked over to the mailbox and extracted two boxes and then got back in the vehicle.

What's going on? asked Miss Puerto Rico. It's just a contraband pickup said I. No big deal. I need to check and make sure all is in order. So I opened a box and pulled out a giant Goose Egg.

Miss Puerto Rico seemed to be a bit befuddled for a bit. I don't think Miss Puerto Rico is familiar with farms, because she was fixated on the electric fence warning signs, asking what goes on there that they have an electrified fence. You've never touched an electric fence? asked I. It just gives a little buzz, to keep the cows from escaping.

Soon after I turned north on to Precinct Line Road Miss Puerto Rico got out her phone so as to take a photo of a Goose Egg. Precinct Line Road is very bumpy, so this was not working out too well, with Miss Puerto Rico holding a Goose Egg in one hand whilst trying to take a picture with the other hand.

So, I hit the brakes, came to a stop, took the Goose Egg from Miss Puerto Rico, which is when she took the photo you see above.

Prior to Miss Puerto Rico texting me the above photo whilst she waits to board her plane I was back home and took the photo you see below of two giant Goose Eggs surrounded my a dozen mini-goose eggs, which were also in the mailbox.
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Terminal E is currently a construction mess. I hit the worst pothole I've ever hit soon after dropping off Miss Puerto Rico. I'm surprised that pothole jolt did not result in scrambled Goose Eggs.

My Favorite Nephew Jason Takes Me Back To The Grand Canyon

Last week Spencer Jack's great grandma told me that Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, was flying south to Phoenix to go on a roadtrip with Spencer Jack's grandpa, my Favorite Brother Jake, to the Grand Canyon.

Photo documentation of Jason at the Grand Canyon began arriving yesterday.

I looked at the picture of Jason pointing to the Grand Canyon and then looked to my left to see a  picture of myself at a different location on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

That would be the picture to which I refer below.

I have not been to the Grand Canyon since 1994. Two visits in one year.

The first 1994 Grand Canyon visit took place on 1994's New Years Day. That visit was to the South Rim. It was freezing, with the Bright Angel Trail to the Colorado not hikeable due to a thick covering of ice.

Years prior to that 1994 Grand Canyon visit I hiked the Bright Angel Trail all the way to the Colorado. Brutal hike. Most hikes one goes up, then down. Hiking the Grand Canyon, the easy part, going down, comes first. And then the hard hike back to the top. The sun set before reaching the top.

Like I said. Brutal.

My second 1994 visit to the Grand Canyon was in October, to stay in a log cabin on the North Rim. A blizzard blew in overnight. It was a bit jarring to have gone from very warm houseboating on the Colorado River via Lake Powell, to a day later shivering in a blizzard.

We arrived at the Grand Canyon after the sun set. A third of my travel companions had never seen the Grand Canyon. We assumed it would be available to be seen in the morning. But in the morning the photo below shows all that could be seen of the Grand Canyon.

We were told that what we were not seeing was very rare. The North Rim closes in winter, due to too much snow. Usually the snow arrives after the park is closed for the season, hence us getting stuck in a blizzard being a rare treat. It was kind of fun, I have to admit.

I have never seen a warning sign in Arizona like this one below that Jason is showing us.

Of the critters on that list, when I've been in Arizona, I have only seen lizards and spiders, with those spiders being in the form of tarantulas.

I suspect Jason had himself a mighty fine time seeing the Grand Canyon. Jason is returning to Arizona in a month or two, with Spencer Jack. I suspect Spencer Jack is likely going to get to see the Grand Canyon on that visit.

If Jason was a bit shocked at how overly developed the South Rim is, I know I was, well, it's a couple hundred mile drive to get the nine miles to the North Rim, with the North Rim not overly developed. No multiple hotels. No mall. No HUGE crowds.