Linda Lou Takes Me To Spencer Jack's Scholarship Award

Incoming text message this morning whilst I was driving.

When I got to my destination and pulled the phone from its pocket location I soon saw it was a message from Linda Lou, currently residing in Mount Vernon, in the Skagit Valley of Washington.

Linda Lou and I both originally came from another Skagit Valley town, a couple miles north of Mount Vernon, called Burlington.

The text in Linda Lou's message said she had had the opportunity to be on a committee choosing scholarship recipients.

And, that yesterday was Mount Vernon High School's Scholarship Awards night.

Followed by saying, "This is who I saw, had to take a photo and send it off to a proud uncle."

The who who Linda Lou saw (in the above photo) was my Nephew Jason's first born, Spencer Jack.

I can never remember if Spencer Jack is my Great or Grand Nephew. Or if I am Spencer Jack's Great or Grand Uncle.

What I do know is recently Spencer Jack's dad told me that in the Fall Spencer Jack will be attending Flight School at Central Washington State University. I assume this is what the scholarship is for.

I have not seen Spencer Jack since August 13, 2017. If I remember right, and seldom I do, at that point in time Spencer Jack was 10 years old. Maybe 11. Which would seem to make Spencer Jack around 18 years old now. 

I met Spencer Jack for the first time in August of 2008, at Bay View State Park, in Washington. I next saw Spencer Jack in, I think, March of 2012, at his Aunt Jackie's in Chandler, Arizona. It took me some looking to find a photo from that day...

We did not get in Aunt Jackie's pool that March Day back in 2012. A March Day, five years later, I did get some nephew and niece pool time. But, not with Spencer Jack, but with Nephews David and Theo, and my one and only Neice Ruby.

Kids sure do seem to grow up fast nowadays...

UPDATE: I forgot to add the link to the blog post where I found the photo of Spencer Jack. That blog post had multiple photos. And marked the final time Spencer Jack was with his Great Grandparents, also known as my Parental Units. 

Friday BBQ In Arizona With Spencer Jack, Super Hot Potato Chips & Refrigerator Slide Shows

The Anonymous comment on this blog post is amusing. I had to read the whole post to understand where the comment was coming from...

Tuesday Hails Wichita Falls Wild Windy Thunderstorm

Today's, third day of 2025's June, also known as Tuesday, is being stormy, as was predicted. 

HOT muggy heat was the primary feature from the time the sun arrived, til about 5 this afternoon. At that point in time the sky darkened, wind began to gust, lightning began to bolt and thunder began to roll.

So far, none of the predicted hail.

The view you see photo documented above, is the view looking west from my living room's large window which faces that direction.

The photo documentation does not quite manage to document how strong the wind is blowing. Or how loud it is due to the rain being blown at the window at high speed.

During my regularly pre-noon endorphin acquisition time I opted to avoid the hot humidity and instead do my high-speed walking in air-conditioned Walmart. 

Currently we are scheduled to continue being stormy, off and on, all night long. And into tomorrow.

The tornado warning sirens did their first noon-time Monday testing yesterday for the first time in several weeks. Apparently testing the tornado sirens is not done when we are under a possible tornado warning, as doing such would create a false alarm situation.

During the short course of time typing this short blog post the storm has settled into constant downpouring, not as windy, total cloud cover, not hearing thunder. 

But, hail has now loudly arrived. I will go see if I can get a photo which at all captures what the hail looks like....

Well, above is the current view out my kitchen window. A wall of hail obstructs the view. This is looking south. The hail has now calmed down...

HOT First June Monday Walk Around The Sikes Lake Prickly Pear Desert

On this second day, a Monday, of the 2025 month of June, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured for some salubrious endorphin acquisition in an outer world heated to almost 90 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method.

After several years of drought at my North Texas location, the last couple months of copious amounts of rain has caused the landscape to be a lot greener, and more colorful, than has been the case for a long time previous.

As you can see, via the above photo documentation, the Sikes Lake Desert is blooming with bright yellow Prickly Pear Cactus flowers.

Pink Evening Primrose continues to color the ground. In the above view we are looking north, at a tree's remains, a patch of wildflowers, a blue lake and a blue, cloudless sky.

Today's walk around Sikes Lake was just on the near edge of being too HOT.

As the HOT time of the years progresses, I gradually acclimate to the HEAT. Eventually 95 won't feel too oppressive. As long as humidity stays low...

First June Day Back To Lucy Park Not Getting Dizzy On Swaying Suspension Bridge

On this first day, and first Sunday, of the 2025 version of June, it was back to Lucy Park I ventured for some nature communing with the outer world pleasantly temperatured into the upper 70s, with a cooling breeze blowing.

As you can see, via the photo documentation of the Lucy Park Suspension Bridge over the Wichita River, the river is still running high. What you cannot see, in a still photograph, is that that high water is flowing fast.

I did not walk out onto the bridge today. I learned a couple weeks ago, with the river high and moving fast, the swaying of the bridge causes me to get dizzy, like being on a bad carnival ride. The younger version of me likely would have enjoyed this sensation. But, elderly me does not enjoy any sort of vertigo sensation.

Today Lucy Park was having the most visitor action I have seen so far this year. I suspect this being the first day of June, coupled with being borderline perfect weather conditions, made it appealing to visit the best park in Wichita Falls.

May zipped by fast. I suspect the same for June. The 4th of July will soon arrive. I think I shall go to the downtown 4th of July Parade. Have not done so for a few years. It is an entertaining parade.

Ferry Through San Juan Islands Takes Me To Fort Worth

Saw the photo you see above, on Facebook, yesterday. Motivated me to blog about it on my Washington blog. Did so in Ferry Friday Harbor to Anacortes Looking at Mount Baker. 

For Texans reading this, let me explain what you are looking at. That big white thing is a volcano. Its name is Mount Baker. Mount Baker is part of what is known as the Cascade Mountain Range.

Those little mountains surrounded by water are what are known as islands. In this case, the San Juan Islands, an archipelago of a lot of islands, most small, but several large enough for habitation, and needing a ferry dock.

That little white thing you see in the water, is actually not small at all. It is a Washington State Ferry, photographed soon after leaving Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, on its way back to Anacortes on the mainland. 

When I saw this photo of the San Juan Islands yesterday it brought to mind a conversation I had had the day before, when someone asked me if I knew what the current status was of Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision.

I replied that as far as I knew Fort Worth's supposedly vitally needed flood control and economic development scheme is still stuck with only three little freeway overpass type bridges, built over dry land, in anticipation of one day a cement lined ditch being dug under the bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, creating an imaginary island, to be known as Panther Island.

Fort Worth's vitally needed project, sold as such by its incompetent advocates, has been limping along since this century began.

Just one fact alone has bugged me from the start. As in, what sane city would name something an island, when the creation of such is due to a cement lined ditch diverting river water? Having grown up in a state which has oodles of actual islands, this was a hard bit of nonsense to try and swallow.

During the same time frame, as in, during the years of this century, whilst Fort Worth has not managed to see hardly anything of its embarrassing Trinity River Vision, other parts of America have seen all sorts of things.

The town I moved to Texas from, Mount Vernon, Washington, has built an actual vitally needed flood control development. Which turned a stretch of the Skagit River, as it passes by downtown Mount Vernon, into what basically is a mini-Riverwalk.

This century Seattle has built two downtown ballparks, re-built its waterfront, built a tunnel to replace a waterfront viaduct, and more, like, well, the entire Amazon complex.

All over America, other than Fort Worth, major projects have been proposed and come to fruition, during the same time frame in which Fort Worth has been unable to get water to flow under those three bridges built over dry land.

Los Angeles built its huge So-Fi Stadium.

Arlington built the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

New York City re-built the site of the Twin Towers. 

Fort Worth began to perplex me soon upon my arrival in Texas. There were so many things that just were not right. And now, all these years later, still the same.

Why? It is perplexing....

Cool Sikes Lake Museum of Art Nature Communing With Vinculum

An almost totally blue sky has returned to my North Texas location on this final Friday of the 2025 version of May.

The clouds were blown away by a cold front which blew in yesterday, dropping the temperature into the 60s, as measured via the Fahrenheit method. It was so chilly I wore long pants, for the first time in a long time, when I ventured to Walmart after the cold front blew in.

The temperature had climbed out of the 60s, into the 70s, when I ventured to Sikes Lake, an hour before noon, for some nature communing, endorphin acquisition and art appreciation.

My current Sikes Lake walking route takes me through the Wichita Falls Museum of Art's Sculpture Garden.

That is one of the works of sculpture art you see above.

Inset is the signage telling you that you are looking at something called "Vinculum".

And that Vinculum was created by Jonathan Hils, in 2009, by welding with powder coated steel. 

In the inset photo of the signage, you can see Vinculum in the background. Obviously, I got closer for the close-up photo documentation.

Perhaps I shall remember to do a blog post of all the works of art in the Wichita Falls Museum of Art's Sculpture Garden...

Flooding Lucy Park Tuesday Nature Communing

Back to Lucy Park on this final Tuesday of the 2025 version of May. The outer world was pleasantly temperatured today, making for an extremely pleasant Lucy Park salubrious nature communing walk. 

As you can see, via the above photo documentation, and below, the Wichita River is running high from the recent rains.

The Lucy Park backwoods jungle is totally flooded, again, rendering it not a pleasant location to wade through.

 As you can see, the river has almost reached being high enough to flood over the bridge.

I did not walk too far onto the bridge, due to the fact that the running high, fast moving river, combined with the swinging suspension bridge, renders me dizzy.

I sort of miss walking the Lucy Park backwoods jungle. It has long been my favorite local hiking location.

The jungle likely will not dry out to a walking level for a month or two, that is, if no more flooding rain arrives...

Hot Humid Lucy Park Sunday Catfishing

With the temperature hitting into the 80s, well before noon, on this final Sunday of the 2025 version of May, it was back to Lucy Park I trekked for some ultra-humid nature communing.

No that is not me sitting in the shade by the Lucy Park bridge over the Wichita River. I was a bit startled to see someone sitting there as I walked onto the bridge. 

Turns out the guy had a somewhat good reason to be sitting in that shade. Can you make out the fishing pole at a diagonal from his right elbow?

Wondering what type fish one was hoping to catch in this ultra-muddy river, I asked the fisherman what he was fishing for.

Catfish.

Yesterday he'd caught five.

So far, today, no luck.

The fisherman told me the five he caught yesterday were three different type catfish. The only name I remember was blue catfish. He said this was the most desirable catfish to catch in this river. Three of yesterday's five were blue catfish.

One of the five was a bottom feeder. I think the name was shovel catfish. All I remember for sure was he said this type catfish is the type with the muddy tasting reputation.

I have had catfish a couple times. I like most any type seafood.

Cod, crab, clams, oysters, shrimp, salmon, scallops, pollack, tuna.

But I have never partaken of any catfish which made me think it was tasty.

Anyway, I had myself a mighty fine time today getting some endorphins whilst nature communing in nature's natural sauna.

A thunderstorm is on the menu for later today. With flash flooding, strong winds and tornado conditions. Last night a thunderstorm woke me up at 2 in the morning. It lasted about an hour...

Dead Calm Sikes Lake Nature Communing After Last Night's Storms

Yesterday I did no nature communing, due to the weather not being pleasantly conducive to such an endeavor.

I did get some aerobic activity yesterday afternoon, dodging raindrops falling on the Walmart parking lot.

This morning, it being the next to last Friday morning of the current year's version of May, when dawn dawned the illumination revealed a thick fog had rolled in overnight, the type weather phenomenon one sees often when living near an ocean, but which rarely happens at my current location, hundreds of miles from any large bodies of water.

Around 7 last night a lightning strike struck close to my abode, with the resulting thunder being the loudest thunderclap boom I have ever experienced. My building shook like it was in rock and roll mode.

Around half past 10 this morning I ventured to Sikes Lake for some much-needed nature communing and its resulting endorphin acquisition.

As you can see, via the photo documentation at the top, looking west from the rocky beach on the east side of Sikes Lake, the weather conditions are currently totally calm, as in, dead calm, nary a ripple on the lake, rendering the lake's surface into mirror-like condition.

This current calm weather is predicted to end later today with the arrival of fresh thunderstorms.

Thursday Thunderstorming Getting Soaked At Walmart

Rain was dripping slightly a half hour before 5, this Thursday afternoon, when I left my abode to drive to Walmart.

Arriving at the Walmart parking lot rain was still dripping, but not copiously. I saw no reason to bring my umbrella into the store with me.

And then, about ten minutes into the store, a downpour began pouring down, copiously.

With hail.

Along with thunder booming.

The sound inside Walmart was like what it would likely be like to be inside a snare drum, when someone is pounding the drum.

As I self-checkout-ed the few items I'd collected, the noise grew significantly louder. The effect seemed sort of concussive.

By the time I got to the exit a crowd had gathered, waiting for the downpour to abate. I waited with them for about five minutes and then made a run for it.

Halfway to my vehicle I was soaked. But, the rain was warm, and hail had ceased pummeling, so getting totally soaked was not too miserable.

The photo documentation at the top is the view through my windshield after successfully making it back to my vehicle. 

Rain was still downpouring when I got back under my carport. The umbrella I wish I'd taken into Walmart with me, made the wet trek to my abode not another soaker.