Chilly Windy Sikes Lake Walk With Water Spilling

It was to Sikes Lake I drove this Ides of March Wednesday, to have my regularly scheduled nature walk. A strong wind was blowing, with the temperature in the 50s. Sweat pants kept me from getting too chilly.

Yesterday's day long rainstorm dropped a lot of water. Shortly before the sun went down for the night the power went out. That was a bit unsettling, triggering post traumatic stress with the lost power reminder of the power outage of February 2021, at a sub-zero temperature.

But the power came back on after being absent for only a few minutes, instead of a few days.

As you can see, via the above photo documentation, it is still looking a bit menacing, sky-wise. That cloudy view is looking north at the west end of the Sikes Lake trail. The gray building is a Hilton hotel.

Now we are at the southeast end of Sikes Lake, looking at water spilling over the dam. I don't recollect previously seeing this volume of water spilling at this location.

We are scheduled to return to blue sky and warmer air tomorrow, an end to the current natural air conditioning....

Rainy Day Tuesday With Leaking Walmart

The predicted rain rained as predicted, this morning of the next to last Tuesday of the 2022 version of May.

The rain rained down in copious amounts. By the time I left my abode, around noon, my regular route to my motorized motion device was blocked by a small lake.

The wet view through the windshield was how it looked in the Walmart parking lot, after I parked, after getting gas.

As you can see, gas is still under 4 bucks a gallon at my location. I do not recollect ever previously it costing almost a hundred bucks to fill the tank.

I remember filling the tank of my 65 Mustang for less than five bucks, a long long long time ago.

What is wrong with Walmart roofs that causes leaks anytime it rains hard? I have never seen so many leak catching buckets catching leaks as what I saw in Walmart today.

Do the Washington Walmart roofs leak when it rains? Walmart had only recently arrived when I moved to Texas from Washington. 

I doubt today's deluge will put an end to the current drought.

I am enjoying hearing the pitter patter and occasional thunder claps.

And it has been nice being back in long pants and flannel long sleeved shirts, again, with what will likely be a short lived return to winter...

Sunday Making Chilly Music In Lucy Park

It was back to Lucy Park for a Sunday stroll through the woods I ventured on this chilly next to last Sunday of the 2022 version of May.

The outer world was chilled to 61 degrees when I began my stroll through the Lucy Park backwoods. I saw a few other backwoods strollers. Usually I stroll alone through this area.

When it is HOT, and the Lucy Park jungle foliage is fully sprouted, I tend to avoid this area due to fear of snakes in the grass. But, snakes do not slither when the temperature is almost 40 degrees below 100.

A few days ago I noticed a Lucy Park addition which puzzled me. I thought it must have had to do with the multiple busloads of school children which had been swarming this area of late.

Today, after leaving the Lucy Park backwoods, I strolled over for a closer look at this new addition.

Several musical instruments have been secured to cement. So, this must be a permanent installation, with weather-proof instruments.

I did not attempt to make music.

Upon driving by, whilst leaving the park, I saw what looked to be a dad with his kids, each making music. I did not stop to listen...

Cold Front Chilly Walk Around Sikes Lake

The cold front arrived, as predicted, last night. lowering the outer world temperature almost 40 degrees.

Brrrr.

Strong gusts of wind came along with the cold. So, no bike ride.

Instead I drove the short distance to Sikes Lake to join the throngs enjoying the return of winter.

No flocks of geese or ducks were floating in the lake today. The flocks of geese and ducks were huddled on shore, trying to stay out of the wind.

My phone said it was 66 degrees when I was walking around Sikes Lake. The temperature taker in my vehicle said it was 61. I think my vehicle's temperature taker was closer to the reality than my phone was.

The 15 day forecast is for continued cool, Only getting back into the 90s a few days before the end of the 15 day forecast.

This bodes ill for summer.

Methinks it's gonna be a hot one, or in the famous words of Adam Levine and Maroon 5, "This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like A Motherflubber"...

Playing With Busloads Of Kids At Lucy Park

It was back to Lucy Park I drove today, again, to have some shady walking time under big green trees.

Along with multiple busloads of school children.

I couldn't figure out what that group of kids, you see in the photo, were doing. It appeared to involve being in a circle holding onto a large round multi-colored fabric, and then waving the large round multi-colored fabric, up and down.

I was not able to photo document the large round multi-colored fabric when it was in up mode.

The temperature was in the low 90s whilst I was doing my walking. I thought I had been told it would be cooler today. Maybe that happens tomorrow.

If it is cooler tomorrow I won't be going to Lucy Park. I will instead be rolling my bike's wheels on the Circle Trail.

104 Degree Shady Lucy Park Day

With the outer world being heated to over 100 again, today, it was back to the shade of Lucy Park I ventured to get me some salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic activity.

One more day of overheat is scheduled, and then a cold front blows in from the north, dropping the temperature some 30 degrees, give or take a degree or two.

Lucy Park is the only ultra-shady location I have hereabouts to go to when the sun gets into blistering mode. Lake Wichita Park, little shade. Wichita Bluff Nature Area, no shade. Sikes Lake, a little shade. 

I read this morning that the D/FW Metroplex is at a Red Level Ozone Alert, some of which is being caused by dust blowing in from Africa, Saharan Desert dust.

At my location, about 130 miles northwest of the outer edges of D/FW, there is not haze, no smog, just a clear blue sky.

Below we learn it is going to be a mighty fine upcoming weekend, with the outer world chilled cooler than I have my interior world's A/C set to...

42 Years Since Mount Saint Helens Blew Her Top

Saw that which you see here on Facebook, this morning, via Tacoma's Queen V.

Queen V commented "Amazing photo of a day I will certainly never forget."

The caption under the photo--- "Dramatic shot of Mount Saint Helens ash plume rising into the sky. About 540 million tons of ash came out over the hours of its eruption. Photographer unknown."

Hard to believe it was 42 years ago. The day seems so recent in my memory. The buildup to the eruption had gone on for weeks, maybe months. That part I don't remember so well. 

It was a Sunday morning, May 18, 1980. I was in a Mount Vernon bathtub, soaking my aching back, when I heard a loud concussive boom, followed by two more loud booms. It did not sound like thunder, it sounded like a bomb exploding.

I was out of the tub about 15 minutes when a neighbor waddled over to tell us to turn on our TV, that the mountain had blown.

A blurb I found via Googling to find out David Johnston's last words...

"Had David Johnston lived, he would be 55 years old now. But the young volcanologist perished along with 56 others when Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. His last words crackled excitedly over the radio to his fellow scientists as a cloud of hot steam and ash rushed toward him: "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!"

Only a little ash made its way as far north as the Skagit Valley, and Mount Vernon. We did get ash masks, just in case. 

Shortly before moving to Texas I drove the new Spirit Highway, to its end, at the location where David Johnston met his end. Where there is now a visitor's center with a view looking right into the crater. There are several interpretive visitor's center along the highway, leading to the final one. 

There is a move afoot to turn the Mount Saint Helens zone into a National Park. I've been to all the national parks of the western states. Mount Saint Helens is totally National Park worthy. 

HOT Walk In Lucy Park With Missing Bridge

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured, this morning, to commune with nature via doing some high speed walking.

The temperature is scheduled to get to 103 later today.

The air was chilled to the lower 90s whilst I was nature communing. But it felt way HOTTER. And humid. Blue sky is currently missing, replaced by a gray sky. Hence, I assume, the high humidity.

For a month, or two, the Circle Trail in Lucy Park has had a TRAIL CLOSED sign, which most people ignored, and walked around the sign, carefully crossing the sagging, failing bridge over a slight chasm.

Today when I got to the TRAIL CLOSED location I saw the sagging, failing bridge is no longer available for a careful crossing of the slight chasm.

I did not look over the abyss to see if the bridge had fallen to the bottom of the chasm. Either that happened, or it was removed.

Or maybe the hail storm a couple days ago knocked the bridge down.

Sunday Walk In The Lucy Park Jungle

With the outer world chilled to the low 90s, on the way to today's predicted high of 104, it was back to the backwoods zone of Lucy Park I ventured on this third Sunday of the 2022 version of May.

The hail storm two night's ago wreaked havoc on the Lucy Park foliage, knocking a lot of leaves out of the trees. 

I have yet, this year, to see a snake slithering whilst I walk the jungle of the Lucy Park undeveloped zone.

I know there are snakes in the grass.

Last year I saw the biggest snake I've seen, in Texas, slithering near the location you see in the above photo. I am fairly certain it was not a boa constrictor. But, it looked that big.

Some possible thunderstorming is predicted for later today. I do not know if this will make it not possible to see tonight's lunar eclipse. 

Bike Ride To Hamilton Park Splash Pad With Cranky Sikes Lake Geese

 

Today has been the first day in a couple months which has not been extremely windy.

I do not like riding a bike when the wind gusts over 40 mph, which has been the case, of late.

So, on this second Saturday of the 2022 version of May, with the outer world almost in dead calm mode, I let my bike take me on a ride today.

We rolled north on the Circle Trail to Hamilton Park, where a couple kids were having fun getting wet in the splash pad, which is what you see in the photo documentation.

Tomorrow is predicted to hit a high of 102. I expect this will have a lot of kids getting wet in the Hamilton Park Splash Pad.

Last night around the time the sun was setting after doing its daily illumination duty, all hail broke loose. Frozen balls of water, golf ball size, rained down, making a lot of noise. The pummeling did not last too long. 

I do not think the Sikes Lake geese like getting pummeled by hail. They seemed cranky, yet subdued, when I rolled by them today. Most of the geese were under the shady cover of tree leaves. None were floating on the lake.

That we are hitting the 100 degree mark, well before the arrival of Summer, bodes ill for the next few months, keeping cool-wise.