Newspaper Daffodil Delivery To Skagit Valley Jones Family Compound

Email from FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason) this morning, with the daffodil newspaper photo above, and the text below...

First arrival of the largest local newspaper at the Jones family compound. I set this up for my incoming father who is set to arrive just a few days into the next month.

He should receive the print version of the SVHerald, 5 days a week, along with the weekend version of the Seattle Times and the weekly LaConner Weekly News (which is the best weekly newspaper I have ever ran across. Seriously). ((If some blog writer wanted to give them a plug on a blog site, It would be well justified)).

I support local journalism, as might you, and hopefully your brother will enjoy his reading material.

________________________

I checked out the online version of the LaConner Weekly News, I can see why Jason is impressed. This online version of La Conner's newspaper is way better than the online newspaper version of the town I now live in, that being the Wichita Falls Times Record News, or the Texas town I lived in prior to Wichita Falls, that being Fort Worth and that town's pitiful excuse for a newspaper, the Star-Telegram.

La Conner is one of Washington's tourist attractions. This time of year, when the flowers are blooming all over the Skagit Valley flatlands, La Conner is a traffic jam of tourists. The town has multiple restaurants and art galleries and a famous bridge over a channel one can use to float your boat to one of the town's restaurants.

Linda Lou has told me that when next I visit the Skagit Valley she will take me to a restaurant in La Conner which Linda Lou says makes the best fish and chips and clam chowder in the Puget Sound zone.

Lucy Park Dry After Last Night's Thunderstorm Downpour

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured on the morning of the next to last Friday of the 2023 version of March.

In the photo documentation you are with me on the middle of the Lucy Park suspension bridge, looking north at the muddy Wichita River.

At one point in the middle of the night, last night, a blast of wind was followed by a loud downpour, followed by thunder booms. 

A lot of water fell in a short time frame, but in sufficient volume that by morning the moat around my abode, which happens after a lot of rain, was the biggest I have ever seen the moat be.

When the moat happens a temporary detour is in place making it possible to get to the carport.

After last night's deluge I thought the Wichita River might be in flood mode. When that happens Lucy Park goes under water. I've only seen that happen twice. But, today the river was nowhere near flood level.

And after a couple days of getting warmed into the 80s, we are back in being chilly mode, on the 50s...

With The Virginian Pondering Hot Springs Pot & Port Townsend

 

There has been some discussion, of late, regarding traveling to the Pacific Northwest this coming summer.

COVID put a stop to doing so during the past couple summers. I have not been in Washington since August of 2017.

There is a big birthday party planned at a location on the Skagit Flats, in July. 

I have been communicating with another Washingtonian, currently exiled, like me, to another state, specifically, Virginia, whilst I am exiled in Texas.

The Virginian has been trying to convince me to make it to that aforementioned birthday party. 

We both live in repressive states where marijuana is pretty much illegal. Unlike freedom loving Washington, and the rest of the west coast, including Alaska, where marijuana has been decriminalized, particularly progressive, non-repressive Washington, where it has been decriminalized for years.

So, the Virginian has been wanting to try a thing or two or three she has not previously tried. One being marijuana, another being skinny dipping in Baker Hot Springs. I forget number three. Maybe floating the ferry to Port Townsend. 

Marijuana was legal when I was in Washington in 2017. But, I saw no stores selling it. The surprise that visit was it was my first return to Washington after the voters voted to take the state out of the liquor selling business. So, I was a bit surprised to go in the Lynden Safeway to see a couple aisles devoted to products like vodka and whiskey. When I was a kid Lynden made it illegal to sell any type booze inside the city limits.

How come Washington, and some other states, have on the ballot things like initiatives, propositions and referendums, letting the voters vote on things like legalizing marijuana or taking the state out of the liquor selling business?

Voting in Texas is so BORING due to there being few things of the initiative, proposition, referendum sort to vote on, letting voters approve of this that or the other thing.

Anyway, regarding pot selling stores in Washington. I Googled "pot selling stores in Washington" to find there are a lot of them.

My old hometown of Burlington, has one, called Western Bud, part of a pot selling franchise with multiple outlets. Western Bud sells a variety of pot products, including cannabis chocolate chip cookies.

So, I've got the pot problem solved for the Virginian. Port Townsend is easy. Just walk on the ferry.

But, it has been a lot of years since I have been to Baker Hot Springs, consequently I have no memory of how to get there, other than take the exit off Highway 20 to Baker Dam, but the multiple junctions taking one to Baker Hot Springs, that is a blank in my memory....

Brother Jake's New Skagit Valley Residence With Daffodils

Good news, via email, from FNJ (Favorite Nephew Jason) this morning. Jason's paternal parental unit, my little brother Jake, has been trying to sell his Scottsdale, Arizona abode, so that he can move to his new abode, back in his old home zone of the Skagit Valley.

The text in the email...

Picture 5 features your brother’s new residence.  He is expected to relocate in less than 2 weeks.  

__________________

Picture 5 is that which you see above, across from a field of daffodils. Jake's new residence being the house in the middle.

Jake's new residence is part of the Skagit Valley Jones Family Compound.

I am almost 100% certain brother Jake's youngest grandson, Hank Frank, and his parental units, FNJ2 (Favorite Nephew Joey) and Hank Frank's mama, Monique's abode is to the right in this photo, by that big evergreen tree.

Some day I may return to the Skagit Valley to visit the Jones Family Compound for the first time...

First Day Of Spring Chilly Lucy Park Nature Communing With Balloons

I have done no nature communing the past couple of days. I strained something in my lower back a few days ago, which put me in to take it easy mode, til the strain pain abated.

This morning I decided that doing some nature communing might be salubrious abating the strain pain.

So, it was to Lucy Park I ventured, under multiple layers of outerwear, due to the first day of Spring being chilly, as in the temperature being somewhere in the 40s, with a strong constant wind blowing, making those 40 degrees feel cooler.

I fast walked the Lucy Park backwoods off trail zone today. And came upon the odd thing you see photo documented above. 

Were these balloons filled with helium, which broke away from wherever they were tethered, and then eventually came back to earth when too much helium leaked?

I am fairly certain these are not spy balloons sent by China...

Seeing Skagit Valley Daffodils With A Few Daffodils In Wichita Falls

This morning, on Facebook, the Skagit Valley's Miss Carol BD posted a photo featuring some daffodils.

I commented regarding that photo, saying I seldom see such things as daffodils and tulips at my current North Texas location.

But that yesterday I did make note of driving by a small patch of daffodils, and that I might photo document that daffodil patch today, if I remembered to.

Which I did. Remember, that is.

Below is that rare North Texas daffodil patch, spotted near the intersection of Midwestern Boulevard and Maplewood.

That photo at the top, that is a field of Skagit Valley daffodils in a photo from the Seattle Times.

That big white thing hovering above the daffodils is the Mount Baker volcano.

In front of Mount Baker, those are what are known as Cascade Mountain foothills.

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival will soon be happening, with the Skagit flatlands carpeted in multiple colors, from multiple types of flowers, but, primarily tulips.

Over a million visitors descend on the Skagit Valley during the Tulip Festival.

MPEC Visit Walking To Wichita Falls With Bluebonnets

The morning trek, this morning, was to MPEC (Multi-Purpose Event Center) to locate the location of a meeting taking place next week. 

MPEC is close to Wichita Falls, the manmade waterfall. MPEC is in Wichita Falls, the town.

So, I walked from MPEC to Wichita Falls. One never knows if Wichita Falls will be turned on, or not falling. As you can see, water is falling over the falls.

Dirty looking water.

On the way to the falls I came upon something I have rarely seen in Wichita Falls.

Bluebonnets.

The State Wildflower of Texas.

 I am not totally sure these are bluebonnets, but if they are not, they are a close relative.

Further south, in Texas, in wildflower season, one comes up massive displays of bluebonnets in multiple locations.

Sikes Lake Prickly Pear Cactus On Chilly Walkabout

Sikes Lake was my go to location for a long walk this chilly Tuesday morning, a day before the Ides of March.

Chilly, in that the temperature was in the mid 40s.

Meanwhile, this morning I got snow reports from two unlikely locations.

That little darling, known as Miss Tessie, located in the Redding, California area, had enough snow on the ground to make her leery of trying to drive anywhere.

And that bigger darling, known as Madame McNutty, had snow falling, but not sticking at her location in Appomattox, Virginia.

I might get some rain at my location, today, but no chance of snow.

I forgot to mention, that is a patch of Sikes Lake Prickly Pear Cactus you see photo documented above.

Prickly Pear Cactus, in the Spring, produce a flower that turns into an edible fruit-like product. People make various edible items from Prickly Pears.

I have had Prickly Pear jam and Prickly Pear syrup. Terribly sweet with no noteworthy flavor.

Chilly Green Lucy Park With Bright Yellow Wildflowers

Two days ago we nearly hit 90 degrees in the temperature department.

Today the outer world was chilled to 46 degrees when I did some nature communing at Lucy Park.

As you can see, green has become the dominant color in the Lucy Park color scheme.

And I saw my first wildflower of the wildflower season which will soon be sprouting colorful sprouts all over most of Texas.

Today I came upon several instances of that big, bright yellow wildflower you see above. 

One would think such a big, bright yellow wildflower such this would spew out a pleasant fragrance. But that is not the case with this flower.

Pungent is the word I would use to describe this wildflower's fragrance...

Fort Worth's Imaginary Iconic Irony

It has been a while since I have seen something in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram which cause an eye rolling reaction.

Can you guess what word in the above headline caused that eye rolling reaction?

If you guessed "iconic" you guessed correctly.

Does no editor at the Star-Telegram know what iconic means? 

I developed a disdain for the Star-Telegram's frequent hyperbolizing soon after first exposure to this newspaper.

Just Googling "iconic" quickly makes clear that an old bottling plant can not possibly be iconic.

There is only one thing in Fort Worth which is remotely iconic, in that you see it, and you know it is Fort Worth.  And that is because the town's name is part of the iconic thing.

What comes up when one Google's "iconic"?

i·con·ic

/īˈkänik/

Relating to or of the nature of an icon; regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration.

Synonyms for iconic---archetypal, epochal, exemplary, paradigmatic, quintessential, and recognizable.

What makes something iconic? An iconic design is something recognizable and memorable and comes in many forms such as people, architecture, branding, typography, automobiles, industrial design, cinema, and popular culture.

What is example of iconic? Iconic often describes something or someone that is considered symbolic of something else, like spirituality, virtue, or evil and corruption. The iconic Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom. Michelangelo's iconic statue of David was supposed to represent anatomical perfection.

________________

So, could the Star-Telegram please explain to us why this old Dr Pepper bottling plant is iconic?

When a structure is iconic it is not a mystery why it is iconic.

The Golden Gate Bridge, the White House, the Hollywood sign, the Dallas skyline, the Alamo, the Space Needle, the Eiffel Tower.

Well, you get the gist, there is a long long list of actual iconic entities in the world.

An old Dr Pepper bottling plant in Fort Worth is not one of them....