Humid Walk Through Lucy Park Jungle With Mini-Alligators

Today, Saturday, the second Saturday of July, is the first of three days in a row with the temperature not predicted to get above 100 degrees. With this three day respite, followed by day after day after day with the predicted temperature many degrees above 100.

So, with the temperature in the 80s, it was to Lucy Park I ventured for a humid walk through the Lucy Park backwoods jungle.

As you can see, the grass in the Lucy Park jungle has grown tall. Taller than me in some places. With thick tall grass, along with a semi-HOT temperature, one must keep a cautious eye out of snakes in the grass slithering around.

Today, I saw no snakes slithering, not a one. I did see a couple mini-alligators, also known as lizards.

We are being warned to be wary of mosquitos in Wichita Falls, due to a cluster of mosquitoes being found in a water pond, with mosquitoes infected with the deadly West Nile virus.

I have seldom had a mosquito bite in Texas.

In Washington I frequently got mosquito, and other, bug bites. To go on a Washington mountain hike one copiously covered oneself with bug repellent. And even then a bite or two or three would happen.

One thing I never had to worry about on a Washington mountain hike was snakes slithering. Well, in Western Washington, that is. In Eastern Washington I did have a snake encounter a couple times on an Eastern Washington hike. 

On a Western Washington mountain hike the biggest danger I ever encountered was bears.

Lots of bears....

Great Uncle's First Look At Cade Christopher Weston

Now this is what you call a bundle of joy.

Cade Christopher.

Born July 5, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona, weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces. 18 inches tall.

Cade Christopher looks like he is smiling whilst getting held by Grandma Jackie.

 And here we are seeing Papa Christopher holding Cade.

Cade looks relaxed.

Christopher does not look quite as relaxed as his baby boy...

Welcome To The World Cade Christopher Weston

As I walked into Walmart, an hour before noon, my phone made its incoming text message noise.

I had my hands full at the time of the text message noise.

A few minutes later I remembered my phone had made its incoming text message noise.

So, I woke up the phone and found the following text message from my Sister Jackie, in Arizona...

"It's official. I'm a granny. 4 lbs 13 ounces 18" with strawberry hair 10 fingers and toes!"


 When I saw the message I quickly called Granny Jackie. No answer. Then I figured Sister Jackie must be at the hospital, which meant I would need to call her cell phone, not her landline.

Just as I was about to hit the call button on Jackie's cell phone number, Jackie's landline number popped up.

Jackie was home, not at the hospital. So, Jackie has not yet gotten to see her first grandson. The hospital has strict visiting rules. One visitor at a time. Something to do with COVID. 

The newborn baby boy's dad is my Favorite Nephew Christopher. The newborn baby boy's mom is my Favorite Niece-in-Law, Carissa. 

And the name of the newborn baby boy?

Cade Christopher Weston

I have now been a great Great Uncle three times. Spencer Jack, Hank Frank, and now, Cade Christopher.

I probably should mention that that is not a photo of Cade Christopher you see above. Sister Jackie is going to text me a photo when she gets to see Cade Christopher for the first time.

I Googled "newborn baby boy" and the photo above was the only one I found with what I thought might be strawberry colored hair.

At Sikes Lake With No Parade Or 4th of July Firecrackers Cracking Yet

I did not get horizontal til way too late on 4th of July Eve.

So, I got up this 4th of July morning too late to make it to downtown Wichita Falls for the 4th of July parade.

With the temperature barely 90, at 11 am, with a cooling breeze busy blowing, I drove the short distance to Sikes Lake for some 4th of July nature communing.

This was my first return to Sikes Lake since learning that 343 Sikes Lake geese had been exterminated, with a small population of around 40 geese left alive by the executioners.

Some of those survivors of the goose holocaust are what you see above, peacefully lounging in the shade of a gazebo and a couple trees.

This 4th of July I have yet to hear a single firecracker crack.

When I moved to Texas I figured Texans would be way more gungho exploding things than I was used to in Washington. My Mount Vernon location turned into a war zone on the 4th of July. 

Fireworks stands are plentiful in Washington, mostly on the Indian Reservations. Texas only has a couple Indian Reservations. And thus, few fireworks stands.

And thus Texas is not nearly as loud on the 4th of July as my old Washington home zone.

I suspect, though, before today is done, I will have heard at least one firecracker cracking...

Hot Sunday Under The Blue Sky Above The Lucy Park Pagoda Remains

With the temperature a relatively cool 90 degree, with humidity and a little wind making those 90 degrees really feel like 93 degrees, it was back to the shade of Lucy Park I ventured on this first Sunday of July.

Which would make that the ruins of the Lucy Park Pagoda you here. Inside the remains of the Pagoda, looking up at the clear blue sky

It has been a few months since the Lucy Park Pagoda went up in flames. Methinks the metal remains need to be painted with a rust-proof paint, in a pleasing color, before Mother Nature oxidizes that which remains.

My usual Lucy Park parking location by the log cabin was full today. Not due to anything going on at the log cabin, but instead due to the fact that the Lucy Park swimming pool, located on the opposite side of the parking lot from the log cabin, is now open, with a lot of screaming kids getting wet and shouting Marco Polo over and over again.

The current temperature predicted for the 4th of July is a high of 99 degrees. The 4th of July parade starts at 9 am. The air should be way cooler than 99 degrees at that point in time. And my parade viewing location is under the shade provided by a tall building. 

Shady Lucy Park With Geese Mass Murder Protestors AT MSU

The temperature in the outer world was cold enough this morning to motivate me to drive to Lucy Park for some shady high speed walking. On the way to Lucy Park, on Taft Boulevard, on the Midwestern State University campus, I saw the lady you see above, protesting the mass murder of 343 Sikes Lake geese.

On the way back from Lucy Park I slowed up when I came upon the protesting lady, hoping to take a picture, and read what the sign said.

"HONK FOR The GEESE Who CAN'T"

I added the much needed apostrophe to CANT.

I recognized this lady. I have made mention of her, previously, as recently as a week ago in More Details About The Mass Murder Of Sikes Lake Geese.

When I saw the Goose Extermination Protestor on the way to Lucy Park she was protesting solo. When I saw her on the way back from Lucy Park she had been joined by another protestor. A bearded man holding a sign. I did not get a photo of him, nor do I remember what his sign precisely said, but I do remember the phrase, "GEESE MURDER" was part of it.

Now, on to shady Lucy Park.

The Lucy Park suspension bridge over the Wichita River was looking hot today. The temperature when I arrived at Lucy Park was 93, with a strong wind blowing, but the humidity supposedly making those 93 degrees really feel like 99.

I did not overheat.

But, by the end of the walking I was no longer wearing a shirt.

As you can see, the Lucy Park trees provide a nice cover of shade. The temperature is pleasantly cooler under the shade.

Lucy Park is the only one of my various walking locations which provides a lot of shade.

Tomorrow a cold front arrives, with the temperature scheduled not to go over 100, instead only heating into the 90s.

I am hoping Tuesday is another semi-cool day, so I can comfortably go to the 4th of July parade in downtown Wichita Falls. This parade was cancelled a couple years due to COVID. It is a fun parade....

Remembering Archer City, Deception Pass & Skinny-Dipping With Cybil Shepherd

I had not, of late, made note of the daily Microsoft OneDrive memories which show up in my email.

Today I learned the reason I had not, of late, made note of the daily Microsoft OneDrive memories, was because those memory emails have been going into the Promotions folder, which I tend to ignore, instead of the Primary folder, which is the folder where the email I pay attention to goes.

Today's OneDrive memories from today are of Archer City, here in Texas, and Deception Pass, in my old home zone of Washington.

It may have been in June that I drove from my old former location, in Fort Worth, to Archer City, during the period of time I was making my Eyes on Texas website.

It was a long drive from Fort Worth. From my current Wichita Falls location Archer City is about 20 miles to the south.

Archer City was where The Last Picture Show was filmed. The Last Picture Show was based on a book with the same title, by Larry McMurtry.

Archer City was Larry McMurtry's hometown. Eventually he opened a Booked Up bookstore in Archer City which became a destination tourist attraction.

I made the Archer City webpage in Black and White because The Last Picture Show was a rare, at that point in time, black and white movie.

There is a scene in The Last Picture Show which takes place at a pool party, an indoor pool party.

This scene was filmed in a Wichita Falls house which is in the area slightly to the north of my location, which I refer to as the Wichita Falls Beverly Hills.

I have never learned which of the Wichita Falls Beverly Hills mansions is the one in which Cybil Shepherd did her famous skinny-dipping scene.

As for this June memory of Deception Pass. I have zero recollection of being in Washington, in June, since I moved to Texas. So, a June memory of Deception Pass would have to be from some point in time in the previous century...

Most Of Texas Hotter Today Than 99% OF The Planet

Saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook. Apparently, most of Texas, along with an area of northeast Africa, and a large area of the Middle East, are scheduled to be HOTTER than 99% of the Earth planet today.

Are we actually HOTTER today, here in Texas, than the Valley of the Sun in Arizona? And Death Valley in California?

My heat pump air conditioning system is keeping the temperature a relatively cool 78 degrees in my interior space. I drove to ALDI and Walmart yesterday around 5 with the temperature a sizzling 111. 

Walmart will be my air conditioned endorphin inducing via walking fast venue today...
 

107 Deadly Degrees Roasting My Texas Location

107 degrees is the predicted high today at my North Texas location. The humidity remains high, but a strong wind will be blowing today, making those 107 degrees really feel like a relatively chilly 106 degrees.

I won't be going on a walk in the outer world today. At my advanced elderly age doing such risks a heat stroke.

So far that predicted strong wind has yet to blow a single gust...

The Ongoing Spread Of Deadly Texas Heat

Saw that which you see here a couple minutes ago on the online version of CNN. 

Apparently deadly Texas heat is spreading and is going to get hotter.

Three paragraphs from the CNN article...

Parts of Texas have been roasting for more than two weeks and flirting with the state’s record high temperature, and now, temperatures could get even hotter and expand to other areas across the South.

“Many areas outside south and south-central Texas (will) experience their most significant heat of the season thus far,” the Weather Prediction Center said on Friday.

More than 90 record high temperatures could be broken this week from Texas to Missouri to Florida, with the majority of those occurring Wednesday through Friday.

____________________

I no longer have hot and cold running water. I have hot and lukewarm running water.

I did my endorphin acquiring aerobic stimulation today in the air-conditioned comfort of Walmart.

If the Texas grid collapses, like it did during a deep freeze a couple winters ago, I am escaping to the north, to Oklahoma...