Seeking Sikes Lake Cherry Blossom at Wichita Falls Museum of Art

 
Under a cloudy September sky, a Monday, the second such day in the 2025 version of this particular month, I once again ventured to nearby Sikes Lake to commune with nature whilst acquiring much needed endorphins, along with other benefits one gains when one communes with nature.

Today, in addition to my regular route, when I walked around the Wichita Falls Museum of Art I opted to add a walk around the Museum's Sculpture Garden to gander at the many wonderful works of art.

Such as the work of sculptured art you see photo documented above.

Looking at this creation, the work's name is obviously obvious to even the most casual of art lovers.

But, I shall type the art work's name in case someone is somehow not able to easily glean it.

Cherry Blossom & Astronomy

Now, don't you feel foolish if you didn't realize the name without having it spelled out for you?

Recovering From The Attack Of The Karen

If you are so lucky as to never having had the experience of experiencing the wrath of what is commonly known as a "Karen", or in my old Skagit Valley home zone, as a "Carol", consider yourself blessed.

The Karen types are programmed different from the bulk of humanity.

The life energy of the Karen type seems to be devoted to finding something to be upset about.

Upset about something which the bulk of humanity would not react to with upset, anger and irrational vitriol.

When one is the focus of a Karen it is difficult to know how to respond. 

Not responding is probably the best strategy.

But, it is just too tempting to flip the Karen's nonsense back at her. But, wising up of a Karen is never the result. It only amps up the Karen-ness.

For today's Karen photo documentation, I morphed the Karen with whom I dealt today, with the most infamous of the breed, that being the Central Park Karen.

And now I look forward to the rest of September, and the rest of 2025, and beyond, being totally Karen-free...

Fun Friday Night Football At My B-EHS Alma Mater

Attending a Friday night football game at my alma mater, Burlington-Edion High School, in Burlington, Washington, in the beautiful Skagit Valley.

Attending an event I never thought I would ever find myself ever again attending.

You get older and everything looks smaller.

The football field grandstands look way smaller than I remembered.

Burlington Hill looks way smaller.

The people look way way smaller than the large number of bloated blimps I see all the time at my Texas locations.

I do not remember the football field grandstands being painted in the gold and blue color scheme. Or the cheerleader outfits being so garishly blue and gold.

Anyway, it is fun being back home, if only vicariously....

Saturday Return To Sikes Lake Getting Chilled With Multiple Communists

On this first Saturday of 2025's September, it was back to Sikes Lake I ventured for a healthy bout of nature communing, along with oodles of other communists communing with nature.

Methinks the reason for the size of the number of nature communers is due to the outer world being chilled to 15 degrees cooler than my usual air-conditioning setting of 78 degrees.

I will do the math for you.

The temperature was a chilly 63 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method, whilst I was getting myself some good feeling endorphins.

Unlike yesterday, today I remembered to photo document my nature communing, before I got back to my motorized means of motion.

Which would make that above view looking west across Sikes Lake from the lake's rocky east shore.

Yesterday's predicted thunderstorm did not happen. But rain did pour down, but not in downpour mode, for a short duration.

Possible rain is on the weather menu for today. 

Yesterday my air-conditioner did not cycle on for the first time in many months.

Last night, sleeping in my regular mode, in the buff, atop my bedding, I was almost chilly enough to get up and walk into the closet to get a throw blanket. This morning, anticipating tonight being colder than last night, my bed is already equipped with that previously closeted throw blanket.

I wonder if the currently early in the chilly season chill is a harbinger of an extremely cold upcoming winter. I hope not...

Friday Sikes Lake Nature Communing

Since Labor Day, til today, the 5th day of the 2025 version of September, also known as Friday, I have not felt like nature communing in the outer world, due to a combo of factors making the outer world way too humid for me to enjoy subjecting myself to it.

But, today clouds are mostly blocking the sun, the resulting temperature in the low 80s, a nice cooling breeze blowing, so I drove myself to nearby Sikes Lake to do some of that aforementioned nature communing.

Even with the outer world conditions improved, I managed to get a bit overheated.

On the weather menu for later today we have some thunderstorming to look forward to, with strong wind gusts and possible flash flooding.

When I got back to my motorized means of motion I realized I'd forgotten to photo document my nature communing.

Since the phone was in hand, due to checking how many Google Move Minutes I'd accumulated, I switched to camera mode, aimed the phone at the windshield and shot the above photo documentation of the parked view in the Sikes Lake parking lot.

As you can see, the outer world is already looking a bit stormy....

Microsoft Remembers Trekking To Mount Wichita Summit

Only two photos showed up today in the daily Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day email. Both photos were of the same subject.

Mount Wichita.

The only mountain to be found for miles and miles and miles at my current Wichita Falls location.

Mount Wichita is a manmade mountain, made from the silt dredged from Sikes Lake, back in, I think, the 1990s.

Sikes Lake is once again in dire need of being dredged. It would be a real good thing to add a companion mountain peak to the currently solo Mount Wichita.

Mount Wichita is located a couple miles from Sikes Lake but is only a few feet from Lake Wichita.

Lake Wichita is also a manmade lake which is in dire need of dredging.

Lake Wichita is much bigger than Sikes Lake. I suspect several mountains could be made from the dredging of Lake Wichita.

This could amount to being a small mountain range. The Wichita Mountain Range.

Could be a possible tourist attraction.

It has been several years since I have made the trek to the summit of Mount Wichita. That last time I did so, the trail seemed too treacherous. That, and I was attacked by a swarm of biting insects.

Labor Day Lucy Park Jungle Nature Communing

 On this first day of the 2025 version of September, also known as Labor Day, it was to Lucy Park I ventured for some much-needed salubrious endorphin acquisition.

As you can see, via the photo documentation, the outer world at my North Texas location remains lushly green.

Previous years the color scheme would have been multiple shades of brown by now.

My intention today was to hike the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle for the first time in a long time. Figuring that surely by now the pile of flood delivered debris would have been cleared out.

I figured wrong.

Above you see the flood debris obstruction which blocked going any further into the Lucy Park Jungle.

I would think all this dried out dead wood would be presenting a bit of a fire hazard.

The temperature was only 75 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method, when I did my nature communing. But, it felt a lot warmer than 75 degrees.

I think humidity was involved in causing the air to seem hotter than the thermometer indicated.

It being Labor Day I am scheduled to go to a Labor Day Picnic Party later today. That should be interesting. I hope...

Wichita Falls In A Fog Final Day Of August

This final day of the 2025 version of August dawned foggy, as evidenced by the photo documentation of the view from my kitchen window.

The weather forecast for this morning had been for rain, with possible thunderstorming.

No weather forecast mention was made of thick fog reminiscent of being in an ocean-side city.

The nearest ocean to Wichita Falls is several hundred miles away.

The outer world temperature is currently only 71 degrees.

Brrrr.

That is seven degrees colder than I have my air-conditioning set to.

I suppose I should try and find where I stored my long underwear...

Final August Friday Chilly Drizzling Sikes Lake Walk

On this final Friday of the 2025 version of August, the start of Labor Day weekend, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured for some salubrious endorphin acquisition acquired via high-speed walking.

The photo documentation is the view from the rocky shore of the east side of Sikes Lake, looking southwest.

As you can clearly see, clouds have obliterated the regular clear blue sky. 

Whilst walking around Sikes Lake those clouds were delivering some cooling light drizzle, making the relatively chilly 72 degrees feel even chillier.

Later yesterday afternoon the weather delivered a surprise, unpredicted thunderstorm, with heavy rain, for about a half an hour.

Does this seeming early arrival of cooler temperatures portend an upcoming extra cold fall and winter?

I hope not...

Robust Chilly Return To Wichita Bluff Nature Area

Today marked day 11 since I came down with my first cold in many many years. Most of the cold symptoms have now abated, and so, almost feeling back to normal, starting yesterday, I sort of reverted to my regular routines.

Including the daily salubrious endorphin acquiring aerobic stimulation gained via fast walking.

Yesterday it was walking around Sikes Lake. Today it was fast walking the Circle Trail hills in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area.

As you can see via the view looking northwest from the summit of the Bluffs the outer world at my North Texas location remains green. It is almost September, and we are still green. The norm, past years, would be for the color scheme to be multiple shades of brown, by now.

The outer world was almost chilly, at 78 degrees as measured via the Fahrenheit method when I did my hill climbing. Even though the air was relatively chilly I still somehow ended up being a sweaty mess by the time I got back to the air-conditioned comfort of my motorized means of motion.

Today's semi-chill portends for what is to come in a month, or two. The yearly end of artificial air-conditioning....