HOT Windy Saturday Return To Sikes Lake

With the temperature, like yesterday, in the 80s, but feeling HOTTER, due to high humidity, like yesterday, I was back at Sikes Lake to get myself some aerobic stimulation and accelerated calory burning.

As you can see, via the photo documentation of the clear blue sky, above the bridge at the north end of Sikes Lake, the outer world looks HOT.

What you cannot see, via the photo documentation, is a strong wind is blowing today. A steady wind of 18 mph, with wind gusts reaching 40 mph. A couple of those gusts almost rendered my horizontal.

I need to amp up my exercising and reduce my food consumption, to lose about 20 pounds by the end of July, so that I can fit into my one and only pair of dress slacks, which I have not fit comfortably into since pre-COVID.

I am currently not at liberty to make mention of the reason I need to stuff myself into dress slacks. 

If shrinking, via excess exercise and calory intake reduction fails, my fallback solution will need to be to go the bother of getting a new pair of dress slacks which I can comfortably fit into, via the clothes shopping method, an activity of which I am not fond.

Maybe I should start hiking to the summit of Mount Wichita multiple times, which is an activity I frequently found myself engaging in, pre-COVID...

Back At Sikes Lake With A Tesla Cyber Truck

With my phone telling me the outer world was heated to 88 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method of temperature measuring, with the humidity making those 88 degrees really feel like 93 degrees, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured, again, for my almost daily constitutional and its resulting endorphin acquisition via aerobic stimulation from high-speed walking.

I sure do like a good, long, run-on sentence.

I've seen the Tesla Cyber Truck you see above, previously, parked on the Sikes Lake parking lot. I do not remember if I photo documented any of the previous Tesla Cyber Truck sightings.

This time I saw the driver of the Tesla Cyber Truck, who arrived back at his vehicle right after I arrived back at my vehicle, which is not a Tesla Cyber Truck. The Tesla Cyber Truck driver did not look at all like a deranged wackydoodle crazy person.

Apparently, I am a bigoted prejudiced person regarding a Tesla Cyber Truck owner, what with me thinking that such would look wackydoodle. I suppose my erroneous prejudging, assuming Tesla Cyber Truck owners would look wackydoodle, comes from thinking a Tesla Cyber Truck looks totally wackydoodle.

I cannot imagine wanting to drive something that looks like a Tesla Cyber Truck, let alone buy one...

Is Fort Worth's Panther Island One Of America's Top 50 Most Beautiful Islands?

On Facebook, this morning, I saw the above list purporting to list the Top 50 most beautiful islands in the United States.

I was almost 100% sure that Fort Worth's beautiful Panther Island would be on this list. 

Several Texas islands are on this list of 50, including Galveston Island, South Padre Island, Padre Island and Mustang Island.

But not Panther Island.

Shocking.

Several islands in my old home state of Washington are on this list of 50, including San Juan Island, Whidbey Island, Orcas Island and Lopez Island. 

Apparently, Washington's Whidbey Island is so beautiful it is on this list of 50 twice. At #16 and #45.

Maybe the fact that Fort Worth's Panther Island is not yet a chunk of land surrounded by water, is what kept it off this list, even though that chunk of industrial wasteland, known as Panther Island, is quite beautiful.

Several years ago, Fort Worth took seven years to complete the building of three freeway overpass-like bridges, over dry land, long now in place, waiting for a cement-lined ditch to be built under those bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch, thus creating the imaginary island.

It has been awhile since I have heard anything about the current status of the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision. 

Have saner souls taken over leadership of Fort Worth and put a stop to the madness sold as a vitally needed economic development and flood control scheme, where there had been no flooding for over a half century thanks to levees the Army Corps of Engineers installed way back in the 1950s?

This ridiculous imaginary island, vitally needed project, has been limping along from the start of the current century. Should be obvious to all, by now, that this clearly has never been a vitally needed economic development or flood control project...

Hot Walk Around Sikes Lake With Regulation Fishing

When I began my walk around Sikes Lake, this morning, my phone was telling me the temperature was 88 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method. With the humidity making those 88 degrees really feel like 95 degrees.

However, my phone did not seem to know about the strong wind blowing, causing a wind chill factor to make those 88 degrees feel way cooler.

There were several groups of fisher people at various locations around the lake today, including the group above, I zoomed in to on the west side of the lake, from my vantage point on the east side of the lake.

I saw one angler successfully hook a lake creature. Of what variety, I have no clue.

I think I likely noticed the Community Fishing Lake Regulations sign previously, but don't remember, for sure. Age-related memory issues.

The regulations sign lists the types of fish one might catch in this lake. Several types of Bass, along with several types of Sunfish, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Channel Catfish and Crappies.

I do not think I'd want to be eating a fish called Crappie.

The regulation sign details regulations, such as a fishing license being required for those 17 and older, how many fish one can catch in a day and how big a Black Bass must be.

In all the years I have been walking around Sikes Lake, I have never seen any hint of a game warden.

NO Kings Protest In Burlington Washington

The day of the No Kings Protests I learned of the protest in the Skagit Valley town of Anacortes.

This morning, I read a report about the protest in the biggest town in the Skagit Valley, Mount Vernon.

And now, tonight, also known as Monday night, I heard from my Favorite Nephew Jason, about Saturday's No Kings Protest in the town I grew up in, a couple miles north of Mount Vernon, the town known as Burlington.

Burlington's population is only a little over 10,000.

Judging from the video, the No Kings Protest turnout in Burlington was way bigger than the Wichita Falls turnout, a town over 100,000 in population.

I hope the link to the Go Skagit (Skagit Valley Herald) VIDEO: 'No Kings' protest in Burlington article and video works.

Relaxing Hot Humid Monday Walk Around Sikes Lake

After a wild weekend of protesting, pool partying, pork barbecuing and thunderstorming, it is a pleasant Monday to be beginning the second half of the 2025 version of June with a clear blue sky, free of clouds blocking the sun, thus allowing the sun to heat up the outer world, well into the 80s, when I returned to Sikes Lake to get some much needed aerobic activity and its resulting endorphin acquisition.

No wind was blowing whilst I walked around the lake. As you can see evidenced by the lake view, looking west from Sikes Lake's rocky eastern shore. Yesterday's copious rain has amped up the humidity. So, 86 degrees feels way hotter than it should. Made even hotter feeling due to the lack of wind.

After several years of being in drought mode, the Wichita Falls area is blooming much more colorfully and greener than has been the case the past several years.

An example of this is the patch of wildflowers I photo documented above. The wildflower patch has sprouted since I walked by this location just a few days ago. 

The current weather forecast for the next 15 days is no rain, no thunderstorms, temperatures in the 90s and low 100s.

Happy 2025 Father's Day!

That's my dad, you see above, long long ago, with a really happy baby, who was me.

I have little memory of this photo being taken.

I look to be less than a year old.

Which, I think, would make dad 23 or 24. 

They married young, way back then...

Sunday Morning Turns Extremely Stormy With Warning To Watch For Flash Floods

This Sunday morning's unpredicted rain has now been dripping for a couple hours, and has now turned into extreme downpour mode, the rain so copiously thick that visibility is about zero, as evidenced by the view above, looking west from one of my living room windows.

A Flash Flood Watch Warning for Wichita Falls has just arrived on my computer screen, and my phone. 

I strongly suspect I will not be doing any outdoor aerobic endorphin inducing activity today.

But, maybe the outer world will lighten up by the time when my regularly scheduled fast-walking time arrives.

If such is the case, it will be to Sikes Lake I shall venture.

Sunday Morning Thunderstorm Look At Yesterday's No King Protests

The early Sunday morning zoomed view from my kitchen window. Rain is downpouring, thunder is booming. 

It has now rained, hard, for almost an hour. 

I have greatly enjoyed seeing all the photo documentation on the various news sources documenting how HUGE yesterday's world-wide NO KINGS Protests were.

Well, more precisely, enjoyed news sources other than FOX News, which has a alternative reality version of yesterday, including not letting the FOX propaganda recipients know what a low attendance debacle Trump's embarrassing parade turned out to be. 

I could only take a couple minutes of watching that parade. It looked ridiculous. Big tanks rolling by Trump's viewing stand, where he did not look like a happy birthday boy, sitting next to his bizarre Secretary of Defense and his wife. To be clear, the wife I refer to is Trump's, not the bizarre Secretary of Defense's current wife.

I blogged about my NO KINGS Protest experience yesterday in Downtown Wichita Falls Texas No Kings In America Protest. That blog post has had an unusually high number of page views.

The Wichita Falls Times New Record online version had zero coverage of yesterday's downtown Wichita Falls well attended protest. 

But, the Texoma Homepage did report the protest. The Texoma Homepage is the online version of the local NBC affiliate, KFDX Channel 3

Compared to elsewhere in America, the turnout protesting in Wichita Falls was not as big. The hundreds gathered seemed like a large crowd to me.

My old home zone's Skagit Valley Herald had zero photos or reporting about yesterday's NO KING Protests in any of the Skagit Valley towns. I know large crowds were expected in Mount Vernon and Burlington.

Former Burlingtonian, Miss Tamara A, currently residing in the Skagit Valley town of Anacortes, last night Facebook messaged me the following, documenting the NO KINGS Protest in Anacortes.

1,000! Now that is a big turnout.

But, not quite as big as the turnout in another town in my old home zone.

Other photos of the Seattle NO KINGS Protest gave a better look at the crowd size than the one I screen capped from the Seattle Times.

I have not yet seen an estimate of the total number estimated to have participated yesterday, worldwide in the NO KINGS Protests. The number has be in the millions. The number of millions is the question not yet answered.

Downtown Wichita Falls Texas No Kings In America Protest

The temperature was well into the 80s when I arrived in downtown Wichita Falls a few minutes past 10 this Saturday, June 14, 2025 morning, to participate in my local version of the National and International "No Kings In America" protests taking place all over America and the World today.

I did not know what to expect, crowd-size wise. And found myself pleased to find the protest so well attended so early in the three-hour protest.

The large number of clever signs also impressed me.

The mood of the crowd seemed upbeat. Passing vehicles honked horns and waved thumbs up. You can see and hear that in the video below.

My reaction to this was surprising to me. It was the first uplifting feeling I have experienced, at the level experienced today, since that absurd election result, last November.

Eventually I joined the others sitting under the shade of a heavily branched tree. Wind gusts brought some relief.

After several minutes of shade sitting the taco truck you see above showed up.

Before the taco truck driver could get totally parked, that lady with the sign was asking a guy to take a photo of her, with her phone, whilst she stood in front of the taco truck.

Why?

I don't know.

Show of support for our Mexican neighbors?

By the time I got my phone back on she was no longer holding the sign, straight up, in front of her. But you can still read the message on her sign.

And below is the previously referenced video. It has been awhile since I have made a video and uploaded it to YouTube. The process seems to have been made simpler than when last I uploaded a video.

Text message from Linda Lou, soon after I arrived at the protest, The message said, "Now Minnesota. I am so upset."

I had no clue what Linda Lou was talking about, so called her and learned what had happened in Minnesota.

At the downtown Wichita Falls protest today I saw absolutely no police presence. No police vehicle. No police on foot.

Wichita Falls is a peaceful town...