Hank Frank's Snowy Happy Valentine's Day

Hank Frank's papa, my Favorite Nephew Joey, sends a snowy Happy Valentine's Day message with four photos along with a few words, as in...

 "Howdy FUD. Here is Henry enjoying a Happy Valentine's Day snow."

And...

 "Here he is explaining to his mom where snow comes from and also waving hi."

It appears the snow is deeper at Hank Frank's location in the Skagit Valley Flats than my location in the North Texas Flats.

I think the below photo is the one where Hank Frank waves hi.

The trees in Hank Frank's apple orchard are covered in white. This has not happened to the bare limbs at my location. I suspect this is because the temperature here is near zero, with it well below freezing before the snow arrived, thus no ice accumulation in the trees.

Snow at this deep level happens seldom in the lowlands of Western Washington. I have no memory of playing in the snow with Hank Frank's papa, or Uncle Jason.

I do remember some snow fun with Hank Frank's papa and Uncle Jason's cousins, Christopher and Jeremy. But, not in the lowlands, but up in the mountains, sledding and cross country skiing.

Somewhere on this computer I have photos of hiking to the Ice Caves on the Mountain Loop Highway, with Christopher and Jeremy. Part of my Nephews in Danger series. I shall see if I can find those photos. But, not right now...

Slip Sliding To Walmart Through A Blizzard

Earlier this second Sunday of the 2021 version of February I mentioned that even though it was 18 degrees below zero I was likely going to make my way to my mailbox when I got the notice from Amazon that a package had been delivered.

Around 11 this morning that package delivered message arrived. And so I layered on the outerwear and exited my abode. I was pleased to find that the white coating was not too slippery. I had told myself that if making my way to the mailbox was easy I might drive to ALDI and Walmart. I was in need of mushrooms for Alfedo sauce, and ALDI is my supplier of that ingredient.

In the photo at the top I am stopped at the redlight intersection of Taft and Midwestern Boulevards. You might be able to make it out on the temperature info part of the rearview mirror that it as 9 degrees above zero at that point in time. That intersection was the first instance of finding the road to be a bit slippery.

I slowly made it to ALDI, got the mushrooms and some other stuff, and then slowly drove across the street to Walmart.

That's the view through my windshield in the Walmart parking lot. By the time I left Walmart, shortly after noon, the snow had greatly amped up, as had the wind. 

Above we are heading east on Midwestern Boulevard. The incoming snow now seemed to be in blizzard mode, with visibility greatly reduced.

A few minutes later, after taking the above picture, I was safely parked under the carport. 

 And then a few minutes later, back in my abode, I took a photo of the same view from my computer room as I had taken earlier. If you saw the previous photo you can see the amount of snow has greatly increased.

This deep freeze is scheduled to last most of the week. I do not foresee doing any more driving in it. 

18 Degrees Below Zero Along With Snow Has Arrived At My North Texas Location

The above is a screen shot from my TV a few minutes before watching Sunday Morning's Meet the Press. Those temperatures you are seeing are the wind chill temperatures. I did not realize that at first, and so was mortified thinking it was 18 degrees below zero.

If memory serves correctly the coldest I have ever experienced is 17 degrees below zero, years ago, in Ellensburg in Eastern Washington, where I was going to school. Returning to Ellensburg from Christmas vacation on the west side of the mountains I remember exiting the I-90 freeway and soon seeing a bank's temperature sign saying it was -17 degrees.

And those were real degrees, not wind chill degrees. 

I remember the following weeks that winter in Ellensburg being brutally cold. Walking between classes would cause ice crystals to form in locations like eye lids.

When I looked outside this morning upon awakening I saw a slight dusting of snow. In the past 10 minutes snow has begun descending copiously.

I shall see if I can take a snow falling photo from my computer room window.

Nope. The photo does not match what my eyes see. As in a lot of powdery snow blowing in.

In the above view we are looking slightly southwest. You can see via the flag waving that a strong wind is blowing in from the northwest. It is all that powdery snow which is making it look foggy in the photo.

I was not planning on venturing out today.

But I just got a notification from Amazon that a package is out for delivery. When did the USPS start delivering stuff on Sunday? Today is not the first time something has arrived on a Sunday.

To get to the location of my mailbox involves about 50 feet of outdoor exposure. When I get the notification that the delivery has been made I may work up the courage and sufficient outwear to venture as far as the mailbox.

Where In The PNW Are Theo, Ruby & David Sledding Today?

 

I was asked that question via my phone a few minutes ago, "Where in the PNW are they sledding today?" Along with the photo hint you see above.

I replied with "I'm gonna guess they are sledding in nearby Wright Park cuz it's too treacherous to drive very far."

Which got the reply of "Yep. So much snow!"

Previous to seeing snow documentation from the Tacoma Trio I already knew it was snowing thick in Tacoma via photo documentation I saw from Tacoma's Queen V.

Apparently all of Western Washington is getting a lot of snow. That does not happen too often. Not in the lowlands.

Snow Closes Fidalgo Drive-In Taking Us Sledding Mount Vernon's Pawnee Lane

From Spencer Jack and his Favorite Dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, that which you see above and below, along with text telling us...

"We are snowed in today, unable to get to our hamburger stand. View below from our front porch looking east."

Additional text opining "Pawnee Lane would be a good sledding location today if one was able to get there."

Pawnee Lane is the location of my Mount Vernon house. It is located a couple miles northeast of Jason and Spencer Jack's abode. Mount Vernon is blessed with a lot of hills. And one mountain. I think those hills would be called mountains at my current location.

On those rare occasions when a lot of snow fell, Pawnee Lane and the other hilly lanes in my neighborhood became a sledding mecca. Because of the good street lighting the sledding would go on well after dark. Pawnee Lane is steep. I never joined the sledders. Cross country skiing around the neighborhood was what I did instead.

Below is some photo documentation of the deepest snowstorm I experienced in all my years of living in Washington. I do not remember what year this was, other than it was during the 1990s. I was stuck on my hill for over a week. Not possible to drive down the hill, let alone back up the hill.

The first photo shows the snowstorm shortly underway. This is looking out at my backyard. It was starting to get dark, so I wanted to get a photo taken, thinking it might be melted by morning. Instead the snow fell in copious amounts for hours. As you will see.

The back yard, well, it really was not a yard, it was more the back of the house. A door exited from the kitchen to the back deck and picnic table, overlooking a ravine with a creek running through it. 

And above sort of the same scene, the next morning, with the picnic table sporting a thick cover of snow.

The above is the front deck, accessed from the second floor exit. If the snow was not covering everything you would see my blueberry bushes and various planters. 

This was the view from my bedroom window, looking out at snow covered vehicles. I know the vehicle on the left is a van. Next to it looks like a pickup. There is room for two vehicles in the carport. I am drawing a blank trying to remember what those vehicles are, or why the van and pickup were not parked in the carport.

You really don't get much of an inkling from this photo that this is on a hill. You can not make out Pawnee Lane under the snow. 

When all this snow finally got around to melting, after about a week of refusing to go away, it was a mess. Frozen drain pipes broke away from the house, drains were clogged with ice. 

I hope tomorrow's predicted heavy snow does not get anywhere close to what you see above. 

Will Biden Be More Friendly To Fort Worth's Imaginary Island Than Trump?

I saw that which you see here first appearing Friday in the online version of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

I did not try to read the article, assuming it was hidden behind a paywall, though sometimes that paywall is easily breeched, I did not feel the need to read in order to get the gist of the latest Star-Telegram absurdity regarding Fort Worth's imaginary island and the Boondoggle of which it is only one part.

Will Biden be friendly to the Fort Worth project?

This is a public works project the public has never approved of via the voting method.

This is a public works project touted by those behind foisting it on the public as being a vitally needed flood control and economic development scheme. With that vitally needed flood control being in an area which has not flooded in well over a half century due to flood control already in place, already paid for by the rest of America.

Many have long opined that if this project is so vitally needed then why has it not been financed in the way towns wearing their Big City pants finance projects? Why has this vitally needed project limped along in ultra slow motion for two decades? Why does any sane person think federal funds should bail Fort Worth out of this mess of a Boondoggle?

The Star-Telegram choice for a photo to illustrate this project is highly ironic. See that odd structure that looks like some sort of giant trash can, or to some, like a giant cheese grater. That is an aluminum piece of kinetic supposed art. This art was installed at the center of one of the Boondoggle's roundabouts which is near one of the Boondoggle's unfinished bridges.

The Boondoggle's bridges are unfinished, after years of construction. And that roundabout, when last we saw it, was an unfinished, weed-infested mess, with that piece of art sitting there for years at the center of the unfinished roundabout. I memory serves correctly that aluminum homage to a trash can has been sitting there for as long, or longer, than the Boondoggle's three pitiful little bridges have been being built over dry land.

Oh, almost forgot the main point regarding that homage to an aluminum trash can and it being used to illustrate wondering if Biden will be friendly to the Fort Worth project.

The Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District paid a million bucks for that piece of art. The Star-Telegram has never reported on how it came to be that someone was paid a million bucks for this. As in how was this decided? Who decided? Why?

So, the question becomes if this Fort Worth project can afford to spend a million bucks on an homage to an aluminum trash can to install at the center of an unfinished roundabout, why would the more prosperous parts of America be expected to funnel money to this ill-conceived, ineptly implemented Boondoggle?

Do those who think federal money will one day be forthcoming think something like wasting a million bucks on an homage to an aluminum trash can is not going to factor into the discussion?

And won't those begging for this federal welfare be asked why those behind this project have not asked Fort Worth voters to approve some sort of funding bond? Local support for a local project in the form of approving a bond issue is usually key to securing any sort of federal matching funding. 

And won't the issue of the grifting Grangers put a big black eye on securing federal funding? Won't questions be asked as to why J.D. Granger, congresswoman Kay Granger's son, was hired as Executive Director of this project, paid well over $200,000 a year, plus multiple perks, along with J.D.'s wife also being on the payroll, along with a lot of other instances of nepotism?

Would there not be some sort of federal investigation done before investing federal funds in this project which has become such an embarrassing Boondoggle?

How come the Fort Worth Star-Telegram does not ask these type questions? Perplexing...

We Have Learned Where In The PNW Raven Took David, Theo & Ruby

A couple days ago I wondered Where In The PNW Had Raven Taken David, Theo & Ruby?

I was asked that where in the PNW question with three photos giving me hints.

I had only two guesses. One of which was correct.

Raven had taken David, Theo and Ruby to a location on Hood Canal.

The Alderbrook Resort & Spa, to be precise.

No, that is not David or Theo kayaking in the above photo. That is a screen cap taken from the Alderbrook Resort & Spa website.

The photos on the Alderbrook Resort website made me a bit homesick. The scenes shown are stereotypical Pacific Northwest scenes, particularly the lush green rain forest trail, along with the clear clean water.

Yesterday I was asked if I had found out where Raven had taken David, Theo & Ruby. Well, now you know the answer to that probing question.

Happy Birthday Jackie!

On the morning of this February 12 date, well over a half century ago, my little brother and I sat on a curb on the south side of Fairhaven Avenue, in Burlington, Washington.

It was a cold February morning.

Why were we sitting on that cold curb?

Because on the north side of Fairhaven Avenue we could look at the then location of United General Hospital, known then as Burlington Matthews Hospital, located so close we could see it from our kitchen window on Washington Avenue, because our house was located on the other side of the block from Fairhaven Avenue.

But we wanted a closer look than that available from our kitchen window.

Why did we want a closer look?

Because dad had told us to sit on the curb whilst looking at the 2nd window from the left on the 3rd floor.

Why?

So, that dad could show us our new baby sister.

I remember this like it was yesterday. My little brother and I were so excited to see our new little sister for the first time.

We sat there maybe five minutes before we saw dad at that window, holding that little bundle of joy, waving at us.

That is little sister Jackie you see in the composite photo above.

You can sort of tell from that photo that we sorta doted on little sister Jackie. Little did we know then that by the end of the decade a new sister would be replacing Jackie in the baby sister role, and that we would get to do that doting thing all over again.

On the right side of that composite photo above, that would be little brother Jake, standing with Jackie and me. Jake and Jackie and Jackie's first husband, Jack, just returned from a Happy Birthday visit to Laughlin and Las Vegas. I was not able to attend this party.

Happy Birthday, Jackie! 

Get Well Miss Beth

A month or so ago Miss Beth was hospitalized at United General Hospital. That hospital is located halfway between my old home town of Burlington, and the town a few miles upriver from Burlington, called Sedro Woolley.

Miss Beth and I were born in the same hospital in Eugene, Oregon, with Miss Beth hatching a year before I did. 

When Miss Beth was hospitalized a month or so ago she was exposed to COVID-19. Upon release from the hospital she was put on quarantine. During the quarantine her exposure to COVID became a full blown Coronavirus attack. Soon passed on to her husband.

During the course of fighting the virus, Miss Beth has had good days and way worse days. The way worse days have become way worse.

Miss Beth is back in the hospital due to having trouble breathing.

I hope she does not have to be put on a ventilator.

I am looking forward to seeing Miss Beth next summer. There has been talk of having a making raspberry almond tarts party, using my mom's recipe, which Miss Beth thought she also had, via my mom giving it to her mom.

I am not much of a fan of that sending thoughts and prayers thing. It always sounds so superficial to me. But, if I was a fan of such, I would be sending thoughts and prayers to Miss Beth. 

Well, now that you are causing me to think about it, I am sending thoughts to Miss Beth, lots of them. The prayer thing, not so much...

Where In The PNW Has Raven Taken David, Theo & Ruby?

Text message on my phone last night with three photos. Text with the first photo, the one you see above, "Where in the PNW are David, Theo & Ruby?"

And then the second photo...

With the text "Hint #2, their favorite part of any getaway."

Followed by the third hint...

"Hint #3, your niece and nephews dreaming big."

The last time the Tacoma Trio presented me with this type mystery I was able to figure out they were at Larrabee State Park. I thought the bay and rocks looked familiar and a little Googling confirmed the location with matching scenery.

But this time I think I need more hints. My first thought was they were at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. That is a big resort area with a big marina with docks. But, the scenery in photo hint #1 did not look like what one might see at Roche Harbor.

That first photo hint had me thinking they were somewhere on Hood Canal, which is a short distance north of their Harstine Island cabin. But, I don't remember any long dock such as we see above, anywhere on Hood Canal.

Then again, I have not seen Hood Canal since 2005, and at that point in time I only went a short distance north on Hood Canal, to Hoodsport.

Perhaps some new hints will arrive today...