Happy Mother's Day With Mom At Arizona's Tortilla Flat

Incoming Mother's Day related emails from my Favorite Nephew Jason, aka FNJ.

The compiled text of the three emails...

FUD- 

Happy Mother's Day 2025.  I asked your brother last night if he was going to drive up to Lynden and bring your mother flowers. His response indicated that there is a slim chance of that happening. I myself am going into the restaurant to supervise, as Mother's Day is typically the busiest restaurant day of the year.   

Thought I'd share a photo with related mothers in it that I dug out this morning. 

But, I find searching for pictures of your mother is nearly an impossible task, as there are so few.  But I did find one of me pictured with some of your other favorite mothers.   I'm not sure of the occasion, but your sister Nancy appears to be lighting a birthday candle.  Grandma Vera is looking annoyed and perhaps isn't enjoying herself and probably just wants to go home, or to BINGO.  My best guess is that this was taken circa 2000.  By then I think you had left the state.

-FNJ

Mother's Day 2025 Addendum

And I forgot to tell you, that if you ever truly miss your mother, I have a fix for that. I can arrange for you to spend time with Shirley 2.0.

I have no clue where Jason is in the above photo, with his Great-Grandma Vera, and a pair of his aunts. Nancy, aka Shirley 2.0, on the left, with Jackie, in blue, next to Nancy, who Jason suggests is lighting a candle.

Saying I have no clue where Jason is in the above photo, I was referring to the location where the photo was taken. I know where Jason is in the photo. That is him, next to his Great-Grandma.

As for Jason suggesting Nancy is lighting a candle, okay, looking at the photo, at full-size, before I shrunk it for blogging purposes, I can see that it looks like Nancy is lighting what may be a candle, with matches in her left hand. Here is the zoomed view...

As for Jason having a shortage of photos of my mom, also known as his Grandma. I do not suffer that same problem. I have a lot of photos, with many taken in the years 2017-2019, including the photo at the top, taken at Tortilla Flat, on the Apache Trail in Arizona. 

That is me behind mom, with Linda Lou on the left and Big Ed on the right.

Renders me a tad melancholy, seeing that photo of mom at Tortilla Flat, and realizing that at that point in time, there would not be many more days like that. Wish I could live that day's Apache Trail drive to Tortilla Flat over again...

Flooding Recedes Re-Opening Muddy Lucy Park

On this second Saturday of the 2025 version of May, I ventured back to Lucy Park, just like I did last Saturday.

Last Saturday I found Lucy Park flooded and closed.

A week later, as in today, the flooding has mostly receded, with walking in parts of the park possible, with a lot of dried-up river mud to walk over.

And, apparently, it is doable to be fishing in the still running high, Wichita River.

The Lucy Park suspension bridge over the Wichita River remains closed.

I could tell the river had flooded above the bridge deck, due to chunks of wood remaining, waiting to be removed. As you can see, the river currently remains almost as high as the bridge deck.

 My favorite area to hike in Lucy Park is the area I refer to as the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle.

The Jungle remains deeply flooded, as you can see via the photo documentation. It will likely be a couple months before the Backwoods Jungle dries out.

And there you have it, your look today at the Wichita Falls zone of Texas in which I currently reside...

Wichita Falls Friday Holliday Creek Hail & Rain Deluge With Egrets

Earlier on this second Friday of the 2025 version of May, I found myself driving north on Kemp Boulevard, a route which took me by Lake Wichita's dam spillway. Which I saw was still spilling a lot of water, after having been spilling no water for several years.

The water which spills over the Lake Wichita dam spillway spills into Holliday Creek.

Yes, that is spelled correctly. This particular version of that word has two l's, one more than the one l one is used to.

Holliday Creek eventually makes it way to the Wichita River, flowing by my abode on its way. The Circle Trail trails beside Holliday Creek, for a few miles, including by my abode.

And so, late this afternoon I took a rare late afternoon walk along the Circle Trail, hoping to get a good photo of Holliday Creek in its current state of flowing a lot of water, after having been dry for several years.

As you can see, via the above photo documentation, I was able to get a photograph of Holliday Creek, with a small white bird posing for me. I think this may be an Egret, maybe.

Soon after taking the photo, I began being hit by big drops of rain, plopping quite vigorously. 

And then some balls of hail were added to the mix.

I was only a couple hundred feet from getting under the cover of my carport. I made it there to wait out the deluge.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, I got bored and opted to make fast tracks back to my hail and rain-free interior space.

And now, a half hour later, no rain is falling, the sun is shining bright. And the A/C just turned on...

Favorite Nephew Jason's Current Plot To Get His Favorite Uncle Back To Washington

Shocking news today from my Favorite Nephew Jason. The house I built in 1985, that I sold after I moved to Texas, is for sale again.

Jason sent me the Zillow listing, which had around 40 photos of the current condition of the house I left in excellent condition. I barely recognized it.

I did like the totally re-built deck out back. It looked way bigger, though not multi-level. But, it now has a big hot tub.

I hate what they've done to the carport. Closed it off with a tacky garage door. The stairs to the main floor have been totally re-done. The glass-roofed atrium on the rooftop deck is gone.

As is the big rhododendron which was to the right of the stairs. Why would someone remove that?

It looks like all the landscaping has been removed, except for the trees which were there before the house was.

Jason's final message of the day regarding my old house....

So, all I would need to do is buy it, renovate it to be as nice as when you left it, and then your long Texas Exodus would be over with?   Sound like a good plan?

Yes, that does sound like a good plan....

Finding Mom & Dad & Spencer Jack At Bay View State Park In 2008 With Hortense

Of late, a time or two, or three, I will come upon something whilst looking for something, a photo, usually, which renders me melancholy upon seeing that which I have come upon.

Last night I was looking for photos of Mount Rainier. I knew I should have plenty, including many from my most recent up-close visit to Washington's biggest volcano, back in August of 2008.

Some time back I realized that the archived photos I have on this computer are not actually stored on this computer, but are in the Cloud, stored via Microsoft OneDrive. Hence why I have trouble, sometimes, finding a photo I know I should be able to find.

Well, when I got the computer I am currently using, a few years back, I remember being quite impressed that once I logged into my Microsoft account my computer was mostly restored to what was on the previous computer. Things like saved bookmarks in the browser. Photos. Saved text in Notepad. And more.

I do not remember when it was I realized much of what I thought was on my computer, was actually in what is known as the Cloud.

So, last night, for some reason, it occurred to me to plug in a USB drive I'd long ago copied files on to. I remember doing that because I wanted to make sure I had some things, like the install files for Image Composer. 

Well.

On the USB drive there is a folder called photos. And in that folder are the photos that are now in the Cloud. Along with photos which are not in the Cloud, which I had feared to be lost, like the Mount Rainier photos. Or the photos of the first time I met my great grand nephew, Spencer Jack, back in August of 2008.

Some of the photos you see in this blog post are from that day, way back then, when a large group of my relatives assembled at Bay View State Park, in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley.

On that day, my mom and dad and I got to meet Spencer Jack for the first time. That is mom and dad, above, with Spencer Jack held by his mom, Jenny.

Spencer Jack is now 18. Hence the feeling melancholy. Time flies. And mom and dad are no longer with us. Seems so recent mom and dad were functioning fine.

Above we see Spencer Jack meet Blue and Max, the Tacoma poodles who lived with my sister and sister-in-law, prior to the arrival of David, Theo and Ruby a few years later. Blue and Max are also no longer with us.

One of the reasons I was in Washington, at that point in time, in addition to meeting Spencer Jack, was to babysit Blue and Max, whilst their parental units went to Washington, D.C. for a few days.

Leaving Bay View State Park, that day, for reasons I do not remember, we drove by my house in Mount Vernon, which was my abode prior to moving to Texas. Maybe sister-in-law, Kristin, wanted to see it. I know I really did not much want to, knowing seeing it would made me feel, well, melancholy. 

As you can see, this was a rather unique house, surrounded by trees. The roof deck garden above the carport is something I suppose I miss most. I grew a lot of things. Blueberries, basil, strawberries, tomatoes, lots of flowers.

The back of the house had another deck, multi-level, entered from the kitchen, overlooking a ravine and creek. 

My multiple Texas abodes have never been anywhere near what I was enjoying living in, in Washington, neither the abodes, nor the locations of the abodes, scenery-wise. I could see the Mount Baker volcano, hovering in the distance, from my living room windows.

Now, I am off to find photos I am sure exist which I took up close of Mt. St. Helens, way back in the 1990s.

Well, I found the Mt. St. Helens photos. And also found photos of my Mount Vernon, Pawnee Lane, abode, rendering a fresh melancholy bout.

Below are two of those Mount Vernon house photos...

Above we are on the deck above the carport. Most of the garden part of the deck is behind me. That is one of the blueberry bushes on the right. A large section of the deck had a glass-roofed awning above it. You can see that above the BBQ grill and the small table. There was also a hammock under that awning, which I spent many a fine hour on.

I have no daylight photos of the living room, from whence one could see the Mount Baker volcano, on a clear day. 

My morning ritual, back then, was to read the morning paper, as in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, whilst laying on the floor, drinking coffee, with my cat, Hortense, reading with me.

I miss having a real newspaper to read. Online versions are just really not the same thing.

Hortense made the move to Texas, arriving in the Lone Star State a couple months before I did. Hortense made the journey, sedated, in a special carrier device, made for flying felines.

Hortense did a lot of crying and hiding when she first arrived at her new Texas abode. To calm her, Hortense's temporary caretaker would call me so I could talk to Hortense. Just my voice calmed the nervous girl.

Hortense was noticeably happy to see me when I finally arrived in Texas. She lasted for a couple years, before suffering a fatal stroke. Hortense is buried in a horse pasture that was part of my first Texas abode, in the small hamlet of Haslet, at the far north side of Fort Worth.

And now I must do something aerobic to break me free from this current melancholy mood...

Tuesday May Morning Cool Rain Flash Flooding Thunderstorm

This first Tuesday of the 2025 version of May is being wildly stormy at my North Texas location of Wichita Falls.

Rain is falling copiously in loud downpour mode.

Lightning bolts strike, thunder booms.

So far, no tornado sirens.

But wind is blowing in gust mode.

I suspect I shall not be getting my daily endorphin dose gained via aerobic stimulation from fast walking in an outdoor venue. Walmart likely will be my exercise location, if I deem it doable to make it around the moat between me and my vehicle.

Below is the current view from my kitchen window...

Two hours later the downpouring has not abated. The downpouring has accelerated. And is noisy. Below is the latest photo documentation of such...

May The 4th Be With You This First Sikes Lake Sunday Of May

 "May the 4th Be with You..."

I heard the above bit of pseudo cleverness on the radio whilst walking around Sikes Lake on this first Sunday of the 2025 version of May.

As you can see, via the photo documentation, this particular Sunday in this particular part of North Texas is being an extremely sunny Sunday.

Sunny and pleasantly warm.

A welcome break from all the recent excessive storminess.

Excessive storminess is back on the weather menu for a couple days this coming week.

This morning's Wichita Falls Times Record News warned that the recent bout of day after day of rain will be bringing a plague of mosquitoes.

The usual Spring plague of biting bugs usually does not abate until the HOT heat of Summer dries up the biting pests.

I must remember to buy bug spray the next time I am in Walmart...

Saturday Library Visit Takes Me Back To Lucy Park Flood

On this first Saturday of the fifth month of 2025, I found I had exhausted my supply of reading materials.

So, it was to downtown Wichita Falls I rolled my wheels this morning to do some checking out of books.

I read this morning, in the online version of the Wichita Falls Times Record News, that the Wichita River was expected to crest today.

And so, after the library visit, it was back to Lucy Park to find that the flood had risen substantially since yesterday.

I was not the only looky-loo looking today.

That sign you see above the flood water is pointing you to The Falls.

It is the Circle Trail which takes one to The Falls. As you can see, the Circle Trail is currently not providing a path to walk on. Perhaps a kayak could provide a ride to The Falls.

As you can see via the photo documentation, clouds are no longer blocking the sun. A totally clear blue sky has returned to my North Texas location.

The current forecast is for a few weather drama-free days, and then a return to some thunderstorming...

Friday Return To Flooded Lucy Park Under Stormy Sky

On this first Friday of the 5th month of 2025, also known as May, it was back to Lucy Park I ventured, since I was in the neighborhood, and was curious to see how much more of Lucy Park has flooded since checking in yesterday.

Well. the Wichita River has added several more feet, since yesterday, totally covering the road, as you can clearly see via the photo documentation.

And rain continues to fall, despite the weather prediction not predicting the drips to be falling for multiple hours today.

I had planned to return to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, for a repeat of yesterday's flood viewing.

But, by the time I got to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area rain was dripping copiously, lightning bolts were striking. And the clouds had that dark look I have seen before, with a tornado soon to start twisting.

So, it did not seem a wise idea to hike the bluffs under umbrella cover, with the umbrella making for a possible lightning strike target.

Thus, it was to Walmart I retreated for my high-speed walking and its resultant endorphin acquisition and anthropological observations.

It is now noon. The sky has ceased dripping. There are some breaks in the clouds, allowing some sunlight to break through.

The birds are sounding celebratory...

Taking A Look At The Wichita River Flood & Jungle

On the way to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area's west entrance, I detoured to Lucy Park to see how much of the park the flooding Wichita River has covered with reddish-brown water.

I was expecting the flood waters to have reached a level higher than I saw several years ago, what with the prediction for this flood event being for it to exceed the flood of 2007.

Well, the water is still rising, so maximum flood level is yet to be reached. And more rain is on the weather menu for later on this first day of May.

But, already, Wichita River water has flooded over the road which takes you to the Lucy Park pool and log cabin, as you can see via the below photo documentation.

I thought when I reached the high points of the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area that I would be seeing big expanses of flatland flooded.

Instead, what I saw was the Wichita River looking way bigger than its norm.

I have had feedback of late from non-Texans surprised at how some of my photos make it look like the Texas foliage appears to be almost jungle-like.

The above photo, looking east towards downtown Wichita Falls, is a good such jungle example, with the Wichita River being almost Amazon-like, if one stretches one's imagination...