Wichita Falls Hotter 'N Hell 100 Degrees First Time in 2024

Today my Wichita Falls location is scheduled to get heated to 100 degrees HOT for the first time this year.

All indications are indicating that this coming Summer is going to be a real HOT one. 

The past two days high speed walking has taken place in Walmart, to escape the heat.

Today Lucy Park will be my walking venue, way earlier than the normal walking time, hoping to beat the heat by a few degrees.

I am hoping the high heat will kill off the biting bugs.

I've grown tired of being mealtime for biting bugs...

Scary Mount Baker Bridge Crossing With Nephew Jeremy 30 Years Ago

It seems, if my faulty memory is serving me at all well, that within the last year or so I previously blogged about the day the photo you see here was taken.

This photo showed up today in my daily email from Microsoft with OneDrive Memories from this Day.

Trouble is, I clearly remember this particular memory is from 30 years ago. In August.

Hard to believe 30 years have gone by since then.

That would be my nephew Jeremy, 30 years ago, on a suspension bridge over a creek on a trail that leads to the Mount Baker volcano.

When Jeremy saw that we were needing to cross the creek on that scary bridge he sort of panicked. It took some coaxing from Aunt Michele to convince Jeremy it was okay to cross the bridge. Jeremy insisted no one could be on the bridge at the same time as him.

So, I was posted at one end of the bridge, someone else at the other end.

With Jeremy triumphantly making the crossing, celebrating in the photo I took from the volcano side of the bridge.

30 years ago. 30 years gone by so fast. I shudder at the realization of how old I will be if I make it another 30 years...

Long Ago Microsoft OneDrive Memories I Don't Remember

Several long-ago photos showed up in my email in this morning's Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day.

I know what I am looking at in these photos. I just do not have any memory of the photos being taken.

In the above photo I would guess we are at Deception Pass State Park. That is my dad holding my eldest sister, Nancy. I am next to dad. And the little guy next to me is my little brother, Jake.

And now we are in the front yard of the house I grew up in, 1027 Washington Avenue in Burlington, Washington.

That would be me holding my little baby sister, Jackie, current mother of nephews Christopher and Jeremy and grandma of Cade.

That would be the aforementioned sister Nancy between me and brother Jake, current of father of nephews Jason and Joey and grandpa of Spencer Jack and Hank Frank.

It would be a few more years for a photo of me holding my youngest baby sister, Michele, mother of nephews David and Theo and niece Ruby.

I actually do not remember if there might be a group photo with me holding baby Michele. We shall see if one shows up in my Microsoft memories on some upcoming day...

Not HOT Walking Around Lake Wichita At Full Pool

Yesterday's temperature got to one degree shy of 100. That HOT day's walking took place at Lucy Park, where the shade from the trees made the HOT heat totally tolerable.

Today is another HOT one, but not as HOT as yesterday.

So, it was back to Lake Wichita, now at full pool, I ventured today, hoping for a cooling breeze to be blowing across the lake.

And, so it was. 

It was nice seeing the new Lake Wichita kayak launching dock totally floating for the first time, with the walkway to the dock level with the lake.

I have yet to see a kayak get launched from this launching platform.

I'm thinking of maybe getting a kayak. This likely will go no further than the thinking about it stage...

Getting Floored In Fort Worth By Ethan Hawke & His Grandpa

 I first saw the "Why was Ethan Hawke back in Fort Worth? Something to do with a movie starring his daughter" question this morning on the front page of the online version of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and thought to myself, like so many times previous, why is this newspaper so goofy?

And then, later this morning, on Facebook, I saw that which I screen capped above.

The Star-Telegram's #1 opinionator and Fort Worth promoter, Bud Kennedy, goofily saying, in reference to Ethan Hawke, "It always floors me to think that Ethan Hawke is County Judge Howard Green's grandson,"

Why in the world would it floor anyone to think someone was someone's grandson? Does getting floored literally mean you collapsed on the floor upon hearing this?

Is anyone else in the Fort Worth zone feeling floored to think Ethan Hawke's grandpa is a county judge named Howard Green?

I am fairly certain this "news" has not floored me....

Cautionary Flood Advisory From the City of Wichita Falls

A cautionary posting on Facebook from the City of Wichita Falls, Texas Government, advising that it would be wise to not drive on a flooded street without knowing how deep the water is.

Copious amounts of rain drenched Wichita Falls the first Sunday of June, with more drenching on the weather menu for today.

I do not recollect a thunderstorm seeming as violent as what struck yesterday.

The lightning strike and thunder were simultaneous several times. Felt concussive, like an explosion. The first instance startled me so much I fell out of my chair, wrenching my back.

Yesterday's daily walk took place in Walmart, due to the outer world being a bit wet, and dangerous, what with those aforementioned lightning strikes.

Sikes Senter Mall is closer than Walmart. Maybe that will be my walking venue today.

The mall is way more boring to walk in than Walmart, with not nearly the number of oddball types in the mall that one is sure to see in Walmart.

Super Sunday Storm In Wichita Falls

This first Sunday of the 2024 version of June is being dark, stormy and loud.

Nearby lightning strikes are causing ultra thunderous thunderclaps.

So far I have not heard the tornado sirens blaring.

Hearing tornado sirens blaring during a storm is a tad unsettling.

I have not heard the tornado sirens during a storm since I have been in Wichita Falls.

When I lived in the DFW zone three times I experienced the tornado sirens during a storm.

It is so dark now, at two in the afternoon, that the streetlights have switched on.

The scene you see above is from my kitchen window, about 10 minutes ago.

Rain is pouring down in heavy downpour mode, likely about to cause flash flooding.

I think I need to go batten down the hatches now, before the power goes out.

UPDATE:
Same view as the one above, only now with rain and the streetlights on....

Remembering The Scarborough Renaissance Festival

I saw that which you see here, this first day of June morning, in an email from Microsoft's OneDrive Memories of this Day.

A well-fed wench at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival.

This festival takes place every weekend in April and May, so this memory could not have happened on this day, since it is no longer May.

My one and only visit to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival happened early this century, pre 9/11, so maybe a weekend in May of the year 2000.

The visit to Scarborough Renaissance Festival was early on in the making of my massively big Eyes on Texas website. I webpaged that visit to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival.

My description of the Scarborough Renaissance Festival generated the most upset I have ever managed to generate. The people calling themselves Scarbies were downright irate. The reaction was both weird and amusing. 

Then the reactions caused more reactions, or counter-reactions, even weirder and more amusing.

I webpaged much of the reaction and counter-reaction in a webpage called Scarbo Feedback.

Among the irate comments were some complaining that I used the word "Scarbo" instead of their preferred word "Scarbie".

Like I said, weird and amusing.

Another Dark Stormy Night Followed By Lush Lucy Park Jungle Walk

A strong storm last night, in the middle of the night, dropped a lot of water, along with close, loud, lightning strikes.

Power was knocked out for a short duration.

By morning the sky was back being bright blue.

With the outer world temperature in the pleasant 70s, it was to Lucy Park I ventured for some salubrious endorphin acquisition via fast walking.

As you can see via the view looking across the Lucy Park suspension bridge, the Wichita River is running much higher than its norm, almost reaching the bridge deck.

All the rain has the Lucy Park jungle looking particularly lush this Spring season.

I continue to be plagued by bug bites, despite anti-bug bite countermeasures. I was talking to a fellow Lucy Park walker today and he said he is being plagued this year by bug bites, and, like me, has been trying to thwart them with various counter measures.

We need a good solid over 100 degrees day after day heat wave to kill off all the biting bugs.

I hope that happens soon...

Faulty Family Reunion Memory

Yesterday's email included one of those Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day, that I do not remember.

I knew this photo had to be on my computer for it to end up on Microsoft's cloud. This morning I found the photo file and saw it was named "Reunion76". 

Indicating, it would seem, that this reunion took place in 1976.

After seeing this photo, yesterday, I emailed it to my little sister, the sibling with the best memory. She identified one person as possibly being herself. The only ones in the photo I sort of recognized were Grandma Slotemaker, Uncle Mel and Aunt Judy.

This morning it was speculated that the one holding a baby is Aunt Jane, holding baby Amy. Aunt Jane, Uncle Mooch, the now grown up Amy and son Quan, currently in the Boston area, will be in Washington in a few weeks.

My little sister thinks one of those in the photo looks like me. I don't think so. I don't think I was at this reunion.

Methinks the only entities still on this mortal coil who might remember this reunion are the aforementioned Aunt Judy, Aunt Jane, and maybe, Uncle Mooch.