Tuesday Nature Communing With Sikes Lake Sunflowers

On this second Tuesday of the 2025 version of July it was back to nearby Sikes Lake I ventured for some naturally heated HOT nature communing.

According to my phone, whilst I was at Sikes Lake, the temperature, as measured by the Fahrenheit method, was 84 degrees, with the humidity making those 84 degrees really feel like 93 degrees. There was not much wind blowing, thus not much of a wind chill factor to factor into how HOT it really felt.

Since my last visit to Sikes Lake a patch of what I am assuming to be sunflowers decided to go into blooming mode. Maybe the blooming sunflowers were there on my last visit, and I did not notice. That seems likely, as it does not seem likely that such a big bright patch of yellow would have sprouted up since a couple days ago.

We are heading into a period where day after day the temperature prediction is over 100 degrees. Am not looking forward to that.

Not much of a fan of having to retreat from the heat, or rain, to do my daily nature communing in Walmart, or some similar location, like the nearby Sikes Senter mall.

Any time I type Sikes Senter it causes me to wonder how anyone could have thought it clever to spell 'Center' with an 'S', because of the Sikes name, even though 'Senter' and 'Center' are pronounced the same in the American English version of pronouncing those words, it really makes no sense, since I do not think 'Senter' is even an actual word in American version of English...

First July 2025 Monday Getting A Texas Suntan

This first Monday of the 2025 version of July I decided I needed to start working on getting some suntanning happening, hopefully thus not getting so easily sunburned whilst future frolicking on the beaches of the United States Virgin Islands.

It has been a few years since I bothered trying to get an overall suntan. Pre-COVID would have been the last time I browned myself. 

My almost daily nature communing, frequently under a clear blue sky, has some parts of me adequately suntanned.

I am not much of a fan of broiling under the hot sun. Jumping in the pool to cool off is not a good idea, as that washes off the suntan lotion, which can then lead to a sunburn. 

I lasted about 45 minutes before I could take it no longer and retreated to my interior space's air-conditioned comfort....

Sunday Sikes Lake Nature Communing Mushrooms With No Local Texas Flooding

On this first Sunday of the 2025 version of July, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured this morning, for some salubrious nature communing.

The temperature was a relatively pleasant 80 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method. But the Heat Index, measured via factoring in the humidity and wind, had those 80 degrees really feeling like 90 degrees.

But, it really did not feel all that HOT, to me. I suspect the clouds blocking the sun helped mitigate the HOT feeling.

Since my last Sikes Lake visit, a couple days ago, mushrooms have sprouted from the ground, which is what you see photo documented above.

Big mushrooms.

I harvested a few to possibly turn into Beef Stroganoff this week.

I have been asked by answer seekers, living in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley in Washington, if the Texas floods they have been seeing on the news are flooding where I am located.

No. I am far north of the area being catastrophically flooded.

From the Skagit Valley perspective, distance-wise, it'd be like a bad flood happening south of Portland, Oregon. In other words, around 300 miles south of my Wichita Falls location.

However, rain, and possible flash flooding, is on the weather menu for my location today. Along with possible thunderstorms. So far, not a drop, nor a thunder boom...

Humid Hot Lucy Park 5th of July Walk

Saturday, the day after 2025's 4th of July, it was to Lucy Park I ventured for some much-needed nature communing and endorphin acquisition.

You can almost see, via the photo documentation, how steamy HOT the outer world is being at my location.

The weather forecast indicated thunderstorming was likely to be encountered during my time today in the outer world. Along with possible flash flooding.

However, though clouds blotted out the clear blue sky, I saw no lightning striking, heard no thunder booming, felt no rain dripping, whilst I had me a mighty fine time overheating in the ultra-humidity.

That ultra-humidity had me sort of overheating for the first time this HOT time of the year. So much so I overcame my usual bashful modesty and removed my shirt to avail myself of some potential cooling.

This worked a little.

But, I never truly felt cool til back in the air-conditioned comfort of my mechanized means of motion.

Yesterday, on Facebook, I replied to someone's posting about the lack of hearing any firecrackers cracking in the Fort Worth zone. This was during the day. The poster wondered if such was due to the population feeling a bit subdued, patriotic fever-wise, due to, well, you know.

I commented that Wichita Falls was also being firecracker-free, along with the 4th of July Parade being cancelled.

Well.

Last night, about an hour before midnight, firecrackers began exploding. This continued, at various levels of loudness, for a couple hours.

I hope by the time next year's 4th of July arrives America is feeling happier than the current sad state....

Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade's Unexpected Misinformed Cancellation

Yesterday I checked my online local news source, the Wichita Falls Times Record News, hoping to find an article confirming there was a 4th of July Parade happening in downtown Wichita Falls this morning.

I found the confirmation I sought, parade to begin at 9 am.

I headed downtown about a half hour before 9. Arrived at my parking location at the Wichita Falls Public Library and found myself surprised to see no one else was parking there.

Then found myself even more surprised to see few people on the street.

I began the walk to my parade viewing location, south of the intersection of Scott Avenue and 9th Street. I was a block away when I realized Scott Avenue was not closed to traffic. Then I saw vehicles driving on 9th Street. Got to the parade location and saw the parade route had not been cleared of parking vehicles.

That and there were no parade viewers waiting to watch the parade parade on by, as you can see via the above photo documentation, looking south across Scott Avenue, at my parade viewing location on 9th Street.

I got back to my home zone, woke up my computer, clicked on the Wichita Falls Times Record News link to see the following...

I did not see the above when I checked on local news this morning. The decision to cancel the parade had to have been made many hours prior to the event, due to the fact that there was absolutely no parade preparation in evidence, such as barriers to effect street closures, that and all the parked cars on the parade route.

How did people find out there was to be no parade? I think I am somewhat news savvy. In addition to reading news online, I listen to local radio.

As it turned out, there was no lightning and thunder during the scheduled parade time. There were a couple raindrops dripping once I got back to my vehicle, but nothing measurable.

I am dropping Wichita Falls Times Record News as my local online news source. Cancelling the subscription, for many reasons. Bottom line it just a terrible excuse for a newspaper.

I have found a much better local news source, Texoma's Homepage...

Dry Hiking Wichita Bluff Nature Area Before Tomorrow's 4th Of July Parade

Yesterday I aborted my Lake Wichita Dam walk before reaching my regular mileage goal, due to rain deciding to drip in downpour mode.

Today, on this third day of the 2025 version of July, I opted to return to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area for some brisk walking in a hilly location and managed to stay dry.

In the photo documentation we are about halfway to the Wichita Bluff summit, looking north, at what looks like a mountain range, but instead is a range of clouds.

Tomorrow, also known as the 4th of July, my daily walking will take place early in downtown Wichita Falls, beginning at the Wichita Falls Public Library parking lot, walking to 9th street, where I will stand for about an hour, in the shade of a short skyscraper, to watch the 4th of July Parade, which begins parading at 9 in the morning, and should reach my viewing location 10 or 15 minutes after that.

I enjoy the people watching at this parade as much as I enjoy the parade.

A feature of the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade is candy being thrown out to the delight of a lot of kids.

I'm talking a lot of candy, so much candy that not all of it gets picked up.

If I was a candy consumer, which I am not, it would be tempting to pick up some of that candy that lands by me whilst watching this parade....

Wet July 2 Lake Wichita Dam Boardwalk Walk

On this second day of the 2025 version of July, it was to Lake Wichita I ventured, for the first time since the rains of Spring brought Lake Wichita to full pool for the first time in years.

In the photo documentation you see a little water is spilling over the Lake Wichita dam's spillway. That spillage likely slightly increased during my time walking at this location, due to rain which began to drip soon upon arrival, which eventually reached downpour drenching mode.

A drenching downpour was not in the forecast for today's mid-morning, at my location.

Continuing on.

At this point the rain was still in random drops mode, as I headed out onto the Lake Wichita Boardwalk. As you can see, the sky does look a bit threatening.

Now we are at the termination point of the Lake Wichita Boardwalk, looking northwest across Lake Wichita, with the Mount Wichita pseudo mini-volcano on the horizon.

Thunderstorms are on the weather menu for my location for later today. Of late those type predicted storms only seem to arrive, maybe, 25% of the time.

Semi-Chilly Humid July 1 Wichita Bluff Nature Hike

Yesterday's predicted afternoon thunderstorm, which had been predicted as having an only 15% chance of happening, and if it did happen, would last about half an hour, instead arrived with a boom, late afternoon, and continued booming for hours. Along with copious amounts of rain.

And a temperature drop.

So, on this first July day of 2025, it was back to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area I ventured for some salubrious endorphin acquisition acquired by brisk walking.

On the way to the Bluffs some large raindrops dripped on my windshield. I considered bailing on the Bluffs, but, by the time I got to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area parking lot there was no rain dripping.

You can see, via the photo documentation, above, how stormy the sky is appearing. This view is looking slightly northwest, a short distance from the parking lot.

Near the Wichita Bluff Nature Area summit, I saw the yellow wildflowers you see above. Wildflowers seem to be blooming longer this wildflower season, than the previous several years. A benefit of being blessed with a lot of rain, after years of drought.

This two-bench lookout is one of the installations at the Wichita Bluff Nature Area summit. The yellow wildflowers were directly behind me when I took the bench photo.

The temperature was only 72 degrees, as measured via the Fahrenheit method, when I did the Bluff hiking, according to my phone, which also claimed those 72 degrees really felt like 72 degrees, with no real feel increase in the temperature.

However, due to the copious amount of rain, the humidity was high, real high. I was a sweaty mess by the time I got back to the air-conditioned comfort of my vehicle. 

Hiking the Wichita Bluffs is the most extreme exercise I currently get.

The only other spot where one might get extreme exercise is hiking to the top of Mount Wichita. But, I long ago decided doing that was way too treacherous....

Final 2025 June Day Windy Sikes Lake Walk Anticipating Thunder

With the temperature, as measured by the Fahrenheit method, 88 degrees, with the humidity making those 88 degrees really feel like 93 degrees, according to my phone's weather monitoring application, it was back to Sikes Lake I ventured on this final day of the 2025 version of June.

On Saturday, two days prior to today, I was also at Sikes Lake, but on that day the dead calm had turned Sikes Lake into a motionless mirror.

Today was not dead calm. As you can see via the view from the rocky shore on the east end of Sikes Lake, wind is whipping up some wave action. 

I do not know if my phone's weather monitoring application factors in the wind chill factor when calculating what the temperature really feels like.

According to my home-based weather monitoring application, as in the AccuWeather forecast information acquired via a website, some thunderstorming is on the weather menu for this afternoon.

21 mph wind gusts do not sound too daunting. When the wind gusts get over 40 mph it can affect the ease of staying vertical. A wind gust can hit like a slap.

I have read nothing about a downtown Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade. It seems like previous years I would read details of this well ahead of the parade date.

If I remember right, and sometimes I do, the Wichita Falls 4th of July Parade was cancelled one of the COVID years. I do not remember if I watched the parade last year. 

HOT Humid Saturday Sikes Lake Prickly Pears & Geese

On this final Saturday of the 2025 version of June, with the temperature, as measured by the Fahrenheit method, a HOT 86 degrees, with the humidity, and lack of wind, making those 86 degrees feel like 93 degrees, according to my phone's temperature monitoring, it was back to Sikes Lake I ventured for some much needed salubrious endorphin acquisition from aerobic stimulation.

I sure do like a long run-on sentence.

In the photo documentation, above, you are looking west, across Sikes Lake, from the lake's eastern shore. The lake is being mirror-like, due to that aforementioned lack of wind.

A few wet drops dripped on me whilst I was enjoying the outer world.

Soon after walking from the location of that first photo, we come to the colorful scene you see photo documented above. A patch of prickly pear cactus, minus their flowers and most of the resulting prickly pears, along with a colorful red bush.

A couple years ago Sikes Lake was the shocking scene of the mass murder of hundreds of geese. The executions brought multiple protests. The outrage slowly seemed to abate.

And now, a couple years later, the Sikes Lake goose population seems to be growing again. The new geese do not seem to be as skittish as the ones who were executed. Maybe no one has chased these new geese or done any other bad deed which causes the geese to fear the humans.

One would think the geese have rational reason to fear the humans, after that mass execution.

Maybe the new Sikes Lake geese are not aware of what has happened previously at this location.

I have no idea if geese have good memories or can communicate with one another regarding the history of what has previously happened to their species at this location.