Final April Sunday Lucy Park Jungle Walk

On this super sunny last Sunday of the 2023 version of April it was back to the Lucy Park backwoods jungle I ventured today for some fast-walking nature communing.

A warm front blowing in from the south has evicted the cold front that blew in from the north a few days ago, returning the outer world to its pleasantly heated norm.

As in the temperature in the 70s, with no wind blowing. Hence no wind chill.

I thought the Lucy Park backwoods jungle might not be doable due to the recent rain.

I thought wrong.

It was easy to circumvent the flooded low areas. Usually such is not the case at Lucy Park after a rain.

But, currently the Lucy Park backwoods is being regularly mowed, so no tall grass prevents passage over it.

One would not want to try and walk through tall Lucy Park grass due to snakes that might be slithering. So, the new thing of keeping the Lucy Park backwoods jungle mowed is a real good thing...

Sikes Spring Sprung With Gosling Flotilla

This final Saturday of the 2023 version of April is being a mighty fine blue-sky day at my Texas location.

I have not done much nature communing the past couple turbulent thuderstorming days.

So, today I made my way a short distance north to walk around Sikes Lake, along with a lot of others out enjoying the return to non-inclement weather.

You know Spring has totally sprung when you see wildflowers blooming, along with freshly hatched goslings, like the flotilla you see above, which I found floating at the west end of Sikes Lake. A convoy with the goose parental units guarding both ends of the flotilla.

A short distance away I saw another goose family, but this unit had only two goslings, guarded by mom and dad...

Last Century Tulips With Jason & Joey Plus Mount Rainier

Incoming Tulip email, this morning, from my Favorite Nephew Jason, with a Tulip photo from way back in 1988. The explanatory text follows. And following that a new photo of Mount Rainier...

More Skagit flower photos to share…

This one was dated 1988.

Picture must have been taken on a Friday, as Umbarger students were asked to wear Red and White on Fridays. (I usually complied. FNJ2 was usually out of compliance).

This was taken before school in April of ‘88.  

I remember that morning well. We all ate breakfast out that morning.  This was for sure a real treat for me, at a newly opened Burlington restaurant.  I think I enjoyed my Egg McMuffin more that morning than the tulips.  It was better than the usual bowl of Cheerios or Oatmeal. McDonald’s at that time was new to Burlington.  And breakfast was very new to McDonald’s. 

Ironic, that FNJ2 and I and FBJ now live in the same spot 35 years later.

______________________

The Umbarger to which Jason refers is Lucille Umbarger Elementary School. The school colors of which are red and white. FNJ2 is Favorite Nephew Joey. FBJ is Favorite Brother Jake, who is the paternal parental unit of Jason and Joey.

And now the promised Mount Rainier photo.

 A week or so ago, two of my favorite Washingtonians, Chris and Sheila, moved to the new home they had built in the town known as Lacey, a few miles east of Washington's state capitol of Olympia.

Chris and Sheila picked a building lot with a backyard view of Mount Rainier, which is the view you see above.

I was recently asked by a Texan if it makes Washingtonians nervous to be living near so many volcanoes. The answer to that is no. I suppose due to the fact that we grow up in Washington with volcanoes always being a reality. And only one has blown up, Mount St. Helens, in our lifetimes.

Mount Rainier pulling a Mount St. Helens type big boom would be a real real real bad thing...

Mount Rainier Is Showing Off This Morning

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook. The sort of scenery I do not see at my current location.

No mountains no matter which direction I look, let alone a mountain in the form of a giant volcano.

The view here looks to me to be, maybe, from the Point Defiance area of Tacoma. Or it could be a view from Gig Harbor, which is slightly west of Tacoma, on the Olympic Peninsula side of the Tacoma Narrows.

Previously I thought I would be seeing Mount Rainier in person, this summer. But, currently I have no plan to see such.

Flying out of my current location has not yet returned to the pre-COVID norm.

I have not roadtripped back to Washington since July of 2001, the last of five roadtrips back to Washington, after the move to Texas a year before the turn of the century. 

I do not quite know why a long roadtrip has lost its appeal. Maybe it was that fuel pump failure in July of 2017, leaving me stranded on the freeway a few miles east of Flagstaff, in Arizona.

When one is young one worries not so much about a mishap on the road. When one is what is known as being borderline elderly, such concerns take over from the lackadaisical attitude that predominated decades ago.

I wish America had a high speed rail network like Japan, China and Europe have...

Dark Stormy Thunder Booming Flooding Wednesday At My Wichita Falls Location

The stormy view out my computer room window this morning of the final Wednesday of the 2023 version of April.

Rain has been falling copiously in downpour mode ever since today dawned dark and noisy with thunder booms closely following lightning flashes.

Flooding has made the moat that forms when too much rain falls the most moat I have seen since I have been at this location. 

The moat necessitates taking a detour, through some puddling, to make it to my vehicle's location, under cover, in the carport.

Any nature communing in walk mode will need to happen in Walmart today.

Nature communing in Walmart takes the form of fast walking the aisles whilst being in anthropologic observation mode making note of all the bizarre iterations of humanity who populate the Walmart closest to my home location...

Windy Tuesday Thunder-Free Walk Around Mount Wichita

Lake Wichita Park was my go-to location this final Tuesday of the 2023 version of April, for a windy walk around Mount Wichita.

Today the tide was not out as far as the last visit to this location, a couple weeks ago.

One would not think, so via the photo documentation of the harmless looking sky you see above, but severe weather is on the menu for today.

Rain, hail, wind, thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.

Currently, coming up on two in the afternoon, the forecast appears to be another dud.

Wind blowing in from the south has blown out the cold air that blew in from the north the past couple days. Climate control switched back from HEAT to COOL.

Final April Monday Walk Around Semi-Chilly Sikes Lake

Some sky drippage yesterday stopped me from doing any outdoor nature communing. Today, this final Monday of the 2023 version of April, sky drippage is predicted, along with thunderstorms, but by the time of my regularly scheduled nature communing the outer world looked relatively calm, a little cloudy, but calm.

So, it was to Sikes Lake I drove for a scenic walk around the lake, with the temperature barely in the 50s, appropriately attired in lined sweatpants, hoodie sweatshirt and stocking cap. I did not overheat, nor did I get cold...

There For The Sex At The Lucy Park Log Cabin

The temperature heated into the 90s yesterday. And then today, on the next to last Saturday of the 2023 version of April, the temperature plummeted to way below 90. Consequently, I was way under dressed when I went to Lucy Park this morning. I was in shorts and t-shirt, when sweatpants and sweatshirt were what was needed.

I pulled into my regular Lucy Park parking spot by the Lucy Park log cabin to find myself a bit surprised by a sign which had been hung on the fence that surrounds the Lucy Park log cabin.

"HERE FOR THE SEX"

It took dense me a moment or two to figure out one of those gender reveal events was taking place in the Lucy Park log cabin.

Way back in the middle of February I texted my sister, Jackie, and asked what was revealed at the gender reveal event of my Favorite Christopher Nephew and soon to be mama, Carissa.

The answer to that question came in the form of a photo sent to my phone.

Apparently, the gender reveal at the Chris and Carissa gender reveal event came in the form of some sort of smoke bomb. Pink smoke if a girl, blue smoke if a boy.

That is Christopher on the right, arms in the air, happy at the it's gonna be a boy news.

I do not know when the due date is. I must remember to inquire...

Visiting The Wichita Falls Public Safety Training Center With Breakfast Burritos

Last night I virtually visited the Wichita Falls Public Safety Training Center, where I got to meet an extremely clever police dog, among other things, like meeting the Wichita Falls SWAT Team, whilst seeing their impressive SWAT tools.

Since this was happening during the usual dinner hour time of the day, attendees were provided Breakfast Burritos, with two options, egg and ham or egg and bacon. I opted for both, as did many others. 

At the conclusion of the evening we were given a couple t-shirts. I am modeling one of those t-shirts, above.

I found out this morning it is not easy to use the phone to take a selfie photo of a shirt.

Walking Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle Without Snakes

This morning for reasons we need not talk about I drove to the eastside of Wichita Falls. This put me in the vicinity, sort of, of Lucy Park.

And so by 11 this morning I was at Lucy Park to do some nature communing in the Lucy Park backwoods jungle area.

As you can see via the photo documentation, the Wichita River is running low, despite some rain falling last night.

Last year I made note of the fact that the grass in the Lucy Park backwoods jungle zone grew to being taller than me, as in over six feet tall. This was a tad unnerving, activating the fear of snakes in the grass.

A few weeks ago someone set fire to the Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda.

I think the Pagoda fire, at the edge of the Lucy Park jungle, caused a rethinking of what to do about that tall grass. As in the tall grass is now being regularly mowed, totally changing the Lucy Park backwoods jungle experience.

I sort of like it. One can easily now walk off trail, making your own route through the woods, with no fear of snakes slithering unexpectedly.

Today I ran into one of the walkers I regularly see at Lucy Park but had not seen of late. He told me he'd been hiking the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, til yesterday, when he came upon two large rattlesnakes taking up residence on the Circle Trail cement.

That information put the kibosh on hiking the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. I have a strong aversion to all snakes, with the strongest aversion being to rattlesnakes.

Of the deadly snakes in Texas, I have seen more rattlesnakes than any other. I've only had a couple encounters with copperheads, water moccasins and cottonmouths...