Hank Frank & The Great Halloween Pumpkin

Earlier this 2021 Halloween, in a blogging about a Super Slug Halloween I wondered if I would be seeing Trick or Treat costume pictures today of David, Theo, Ruby, Spencer Jack and Hank Frank.

About an hour later the photo you see above showed up on my phone.

Hank Frank with a great giant pumpkin.

That is the Mount Baker volcano hovering above the foothills you see in the background behind Hank Frank.

Happy Super Slug Halloween

 

Most people who have spent any time at all in the Pacific Northwest will know what the above Halloween costume is costuming.

Known by most as slugs. By some as snails. They come in several sizes and colors, including the version known as a banana slug, due to being yellow.

Slugs are sort of the PNW pest equivalent of cockroaches. I never saw a cockroach til I moved to Texas. I don't think they exist in the Pacific Northwest. 

A couple years ago a friend of mine here, a lifelong Texan, flew up to Washington for the first time. Being surrounded by mountains for the first time in her life impressed her the most. She said she found the mountains mesmerizing.

And then there was this other thing she'd never seen before that she found disturbing.

Slugs.

On her first morning in Seattle she went out to the backyard of the friend's house in which she was staying and saw dozens of giant worm-like things leaving a trail of slime in their wake. She quickly retreated back into the house and alarmingly reported some sort of invasion was taking place in the backyard. The friends rushed outside, saw the invaders, and simultaneously said "slugs".

Slugs can be a big nuisance. I had a rooftop garden at my house in Mount Vernon. I grew strawberries, basil, spinach, blueberries and I forget what else. Somehow slugs managed to get up the stairs and into the various food growing containers.

You can buy slug bait which attracts and kills them, leaving a trail of slime and a slug corpse in its wake. Or you can put beer in a saucer. The beer attracts the slug, which then drowns, happily drunk.

I wonder if I will be getting Halloween costume pictures of David, Theo, Ruby, Spencer Jack and Hank Frank today?

Spencer Jack may have reached that age where he thinks he is too old to go trick or treating...

Looking At Memories I Don't Remember

Google continues its sporadic sending of email with the subject line of "Look back at your memories from this day". This last Saturday morning of the 2021 version of October Google sent two memory looks. The one you see above and another made up of photos of Aunt Alice, and one of me.

In the look at memories above I only remember two of the memories. In the lower left that is me, at Dinosaur Valley State Park. There is a swimming zone there, with no life guard, but does provide Life Jugs to throw at a drowning person. The only other memory I remember from above is that is Reunion Tower in Dallas at the lower right.

Above all but the lower right are Aunt Alice in her various Halloween costumes. In the upper left and right Aunt Alice is Mary Todd Lincoln. Lower left Aunt Alice is Marilyn Monroe. Next to Marilyn, Aunt Alice is Gloria Swanson. And then on the lower right, that is me and Wanda on a houseboat on Lake Powell.

What fond memories to not remember...

Another Windy Texas Day Grounds Me

Another extremely windy day at my location on the planet. With gusts gusting to around 40 mph riding my bike had zero appeal. So, it was to nearby Sikes Lake my motorized motion device took me for a walk around Sikes Lake.

Above you are standing in the middle of the bridge at the west end of Sikes Lake, looking west at what looks like a lagoon, but is, in reality, the creek which delivers the water which makes Sikes Lake. 

The high wind had the Sikes Lake Geese Fleet grounded today. Out of the water, out of the air. Above you are seeing only a small portion of the Sikes Lake goose population. There is also a flock of ducks in residence, some of whom mingle with the geese.

Soon after getting past the flock of grounded geese we come upon the scene above. I have blogged about this previously, but never got an answer to the question I asked. Soon after the plaque you see in the foreground was installed the information on the plaque became wrong. Mention is made of the small horse you see above the plaque, indicating the small horse's name is "Painters Parade". And then mention is made of a large horse named "Apple-oosa".

Well, Apple-oosa disappeared soon after this plaque was installed. Was Apple-oosa stolen? Or moved to a new location by the Wichita Falls Museum of Art? If it was stolen it was a rather brazen act of thievery. As in there is no easy access via vehicle to this location. And there are a lot of eyes at this location.

New Problems With Fort Worth's Three Bridges To An Imaginary Island

Apparently the Contractor, Panther Island partners at odds on final cost of three bridges.

We learn of this latest chapter in the multi-year Fort Worth bridge building boondoggle via an article in the Fort Worth Business Press.

Below are four paragraphs from this article. Below these four paragraphs we are going to talk about the second paragraph...

TxDOT officials also identified a “malfunction of design” as the cause of delays as far back as 2016.

Built over dry land to save money, the three bridges will eventually span a Trinity River channel to connect with the $1.17 billion Panther Island development north of downtown Fort Worth.

Prior to start of construction, there were suggestions that the design of the 7th Street bridge could be replicated and constructed quicker and less expensively than the V-pier design of Freese and Nichols.

But J.D. Granger, who oversees the Panther Island project and is the son of project champion U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, argued that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer had signed off on the V-pier design and a change would delay and possibly increase the cost of the bridges as well as possibly jeopardize the $526 million the project is expected to receive for channelizing the Trinity River to improve flood control.

____________________

For longer than seven years we have been told, over and over and over again, that these three bridges were being built over dry land to save money. This article's mention of this is the first time I've seen it not mentioned that the bridges were also being built over dry land to save time.

The being built over dry land to save time claim becomes obviously ridiculous when it took an astonishing seven years to build three simple freeway overpass type bridges over dry land. Longer than it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge, over actual deep, fast moving water.

With the final price tag being way higher than originally projected, the saving money claim is also rendered bogus.

But, what is most annoying about this built over dry land to save time and money claim is that to suggest such is totally idiotic. 

I mean, how hard is it to see why claiming the bridges were purposefully being built over dry land to save time and money is totally idiotic?

There never was any other option but to build the three bridges over dry land.

That this must even be pointed out is like a metaphor for the entire Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

If that cement lined ditch were built first, before the bridges, how would drivers drive to the other side of the channel? How could it ever have been an option to dig the ditch first, and add the bridges later?

I have read so many supposedly responsible adults repeat the bogus, ridiculous "built over dry land to save time and money" claim.

Congresswoman Kay Granger has repeated this nonsense. As has her son, J.D. Granger, currently paid $242,000 a year, to do what? No one seems to know what J.D. does to warrant being paid so much. Former Fort Worth Mayor, Betsy Price has spewed the "built over dry land to save time and money" nonsense. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has repeatedly repeated the "built over dry land to save time and money" nonsense. As have other supposed news sources, including, now, the Fort Worth Business Press.

When will this absurdly ridiculous nonsense end?

Thelma McNutty Learning To Surfboard In Florida

Yesterday I learned via photo documentation on Facebook, and an on the scene observer, that Madame Thelma McNutty is taking surfing lessons at a school which teaches that skill, whilst Thelma waits out her exile on Florida's Treasure Island.

Earlier on her stay on Treasure Island the McNutty one said she and her caretaker, Ben, were going to go swimming with Manatees at a location on or near Treasure Island which provides the adventure of swimming with those loveable sea creatures.

I have seen no photo documentation of a McNutty swim with the Manatees.

I do not know the name of the surfboard position Thelma is demonstrating above. I am pretty sure it is not what is known as Hanging Ten. 

Windblown Gusty Walk To Circle Trail's End With Fly Hats

With the outer world temperature barely into the 60s, with a steady breeze blowing at 30 mph, with gusts predicted to be blowing as high as 46 mph, I layered on the outerwear and drove to the east parking lot access to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area to walk in the direction opposite the Nature Area, to head east to the current termination point of the Circle Trail.

By the current point in time the new section of Circle Trail was supposed to be connected to Lucy Park and Mile One of the Circle Trail.

That is Trail's end you see above.

I do recollect, when it was announced that this section of Circle Trail was given the go ahead, that the funding was a bit short, so the last 1,000 feet were not going to be paved, would be gravel instead, awaiting the funding for future pavement.

As for today's gusting. The steady gale was easy to deal with. But at one point a gust gusted gustily, faster, it seemed, than the predicted 46 mph. During the gust my hat blew off, flying about 100 feet before getting stuck on a bush. I retrieved the hat, re-installed it, and secured it by flipping the hoodie of the sweatshirt I was wearing on top of the no longer airborne hat.

The 10 day forecast for my location looks like we are heading towards a few stormy days and nights. I don't like it when Mother Nature gets herself riled up...

After Last Night's Deluge A Cold Windy Lucy Park Walk With Flying Acorns

Last night rain poured down in downpour mode, doing so in copious amounts.

Thunder did some rumbling whilst the rain poured down.

By the time the sun arrived to do its daily illumination duty rain was no longer falling.

However the amount of rain which had poured down managed to make a lake blocking my regular route to where my motorized motion device is kept under cover.

So, I took the alternate route to where that motion device is parked and then managed to drive to Lucy Park for an extremely windy, extremely cold communing with nature.

The outer world was chilled to 61 degrees, with the brisk wind making it feel much colder. Wind was gusting to blows around 35 mph. This resulted in the occasional pummeling from acorns being blown out of their host trees.

As you can see via the photo evidence above, I am getting much better at taking a selfie. Due to it being cloudy I was able to see the screen to take the photo in what is known as the patented Elsie Hotpepper style.

In the selfie I am on the suspension bridge over the Wichita River.

Due to the copious amount of rain at my home location I thought the Wichita River might be in flood mode. When that happens much of Lucy Park goes underwater. But, as you can see the river today is running a bit higher than the norm, but nowhere near flooding. In the above photo we are in the middle of the suspension bridge, looking south.

One of the many paved trails winding through the Lucy Park trees. Lucy Park has a wide variety of trees. I think my favorite are the Cypress.

Directional signage was added awhile back, pointing people to the Falls. I recollect on my first visit to Lucy Park having to ask how to get to the Falls. And since then more than once I have found myself being asked where the Falls are.

I was way underdressed for today's commune with nature. It always takes me awhile to adjust to the arrival of frigid air.

Tomorrow is scheduled to also be cold. And windy. I do not foresee a bike ride happening tomorrow...

Brown Vs. Topeka While Battle Vs. Wichita Falls With Both Winning

I think I have made mention of that which you see above, previously. A Texas Historical Commission Marker telling the history of Midwestern University Desegregation.

I do not know when or why Midwestern University added "State" as its middle name. I do know that desegregation worked due to seeing a lot of African-Americans on the MSU campus.

This Historical Marker is located a short distance south of the one and only fountain on the MSU campus. I rolled by this location today. Additional signage has been installed, of the temporary sort. Apparently it is MSU Homecoming Week.

The interesting tale told on this Historical Marker...

In 1948, Emzy Downing and James O. Chandler, both graduates from the African American High School in Wichita Falls, Booker T. Washington High School, applied for admission to Hardin Junior College, a division of Midwestern University. The Board of Trustees denied their admission. In 1950, with encouragement from local NAACP leader, Professor C.E. Jackson, Willie Faye Battle, an honor graduate, applied by mail for admission to the two-year nursing school at Hardin Junior College. She was accepted, but when she and Professor Jackson went to the school to complete the application process, she was denied admission. Subsequently she was accepted to Prairie View A & M University.

In the Fall of 1951, Ms. Battle along with Maryland Virginia Menefee, Helen Muriel Davis, Golden E. Mitchell White, Carl Lawrence McBride and Wilma Jean Norris were encouraged to apply in person. Each applicant received rejection letters in the mail. Following this incident, a meeting was held between the University Board of Trustees and Representatives of the Texas State Council at Booker T. Washington High School. Alternative solutions were discussed such as a college at Booker T. Washington High School or Midwestern paying the tuition for African American students to attend African American colleges. These alternatives were rejected and a suit was filed in United States District Court, the first of its type. Initially Battle, Et Al v. Wichita Falls Junior College Dist., Et Al was decided in favor of the students. But, with appeals and injunctions, the final decision came through the Supreme Court in 1954, following the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling. The first African American students were enrolled in the Summer of 1954.

Wichita River Circle Trail Walk To New Hoodoo

On this final Monday of the 2021 version of October I took myself on a walk along the Wichita River, starting at the parking lot at the east entry to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. But, instead of walking to the Nature Area I walked east to the current end of the Circle Trail. 

When one walks east at this location one soon goes under the Loop 11 bridge over the Wichita River. To my eyes the underpinning of this bridge looks a little wonky.

Wichita Falls must rank near the top of any ranking of number of benches per capita of all the towns in America. Yet I seldom see someone sitting on one of these benches. The benches are comfortable. And they swing.

I think I have made mention of late regarding it seeming bizarre that I find what I call Hoodoos at two locations which I frequent. I have suggested that there must be other instances of this phenomenon at locations I do not frequent.

Well, this pair of dwarf Hoodoos showed up near the current end of the Circle Trail. Usually these rock formations show up where there are a lot of rocks. Not at locations such as above.

Speaking of the Circle Trail.

This new section was supposed to connect to the Circle Trail in Lucy Park. I have not learned why the construction halted prior to reaching the goal.

If the Circle Trail ever gets completed, I will be able to roll from my abode the short distance to the Circle Trail, and then roll 26 some miles, making a big circle around the perimeter of the town.

It has been a few years since I have rolled as many as 26 miles in one bike ride...