An Extremely Foggy Tandy Hills Hike With A Monkey On My Back

In the picture you are looking at the wagon trail on top of Mount Tandy which heads west towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

When I was on the Tandy Hills today the skyline of Fort Worth was not visible, due to a very thick fog, along with a very light drizzle, rendering drastically reduced visibility.

For those of you who have always lived landlocked, this fog and drizzle thing, that is happening today in parts of North Texas, is what a day on the Pacific Coast is like, at times.

Only in North Texas you hear no pounding surf, no matter how hard you try and listen. You may see an occasional seagull, though.

Obviously with the thick fog, and I assume clouds, no direct solar radiation is hitting the planet's surface today in my location.

The lack of direct solar radiation on the water in my pool may make it a little more cool than it was this morning. Yesterday's 80 some degrees heated up the pool quite nicely for this morning's regularly scheduled swim.

Changing the subject from one thing to something else.

Those of you who were worried about Elsie Hotpepper being missing and who were participating in the search for the missing EH, after the BOLO was issued, well, Elsie Hotpepper has surfaced, a little worn from the ordeals she has been going through, but surfaced, nonetheless.

Changing the subject once again to something else.

I took advantage of yesterday's rare appearance of the sun to make a big jug of sun tea, using Kava Kava tea, Tension Tamer tea, decaf Sleepytime  Green Jasmine Lemon tea, plus lemon and lime juice and a tea bobber filled with ginger paste.

The sun tea brewed all day yesterday, til the sun set. After the sun set last night I drank two glasses of this brew and soon found myself being way too relaxed and tension free.

Being too relaxed and tension free is not my norm, so this was very unsettling.

I was so unsettled I ended up staying up til around midnight, and then back up well before the sun, drinking coffee.

I've got a coffee/tea monkey on my back.

It is a living hell having an addictive personality.

Running Sprints While Befuddled By The Welcome To Quanah Parker Park Sign's Verbiage

Earlier today I indicated I would be running sprints at Quanah Parker Park today for my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

The sprinting went well. The temperature was in the high 60s at that point in time. It is 76 currently, a couple hours later.

Til today, I don't think I'd bothered to read the Welcome to Quanah Parker Park sign that one comes to soon upon walking from the Quanah Parker Park parking lot.

The sign says...

Quanah Parker Park has different habitats for you to enjoy and is home to many animals. Hike along the trails and learn a little about which animals live here. Enjoy the open prairie and watch butterflies and dragonflies flit from flower to flower. Delight in your surroundings as you see lizards race across your path. Walk in wonder through a maze of trees and listen to the serenade of the birds. Enjoy a day at Quanah Parker Park.

Who makes up this stuff? Open prairie? A maze of trees? Flowers? Dragonflies flitting? Lizards?

I have never seen a lizard in Quanah Parker Park. I'm not saying there are no lizards there, I"m just saying I've not seen one. I have seen a bobcat a couple times. There is no mention of bobcats on the sign. Quanah Parker Park may be the home to many animals, but somehow I've not seen many of them.

I like Quanah Parker Park because it is very close to my abode, as in the closest park, with trails, to where I live.

The open prairie reference on that sign is the oddest element. There is a large field of mowed grass and weeds, that is open. I don't think it's a prairie.

And where is the maze of trees? A maze of trees sounds sort of fun.

An Early Morning Swim The Day After Record Breaking North Texas Cold

Looking out the window at the turquoise sea below, and the cloudy sky above, one would think the morning of the second Tuesday of October of 2012 is dark and stormy at my location in North Texas.

Looks can be deceiving. I hope. We are, supposedly scheduled to heat up today to a possibly needing air-conditioning temperature of 82, with a few clouds doing a little sun blocking. Currently it is 20 degrees less than 82 at my location.

Yesterday's low of 39 was a record breaking chill at the official North Texas temperature monitoring location at D/FW International Airport.

Yesterday's morning chill had me quickly aborting my attempt at swimming in the turquoise sea. This morning I did not abort, I had myself a long swim in the refreshingly brisk water.

Today my additional endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation will take place at Quanah Parker Park in the form of running sprints. Running sprints is a fast track way to get back into jogging shape. I hope.

Apparently I Side With Jill Stein & The Democrats While Gar The Texan Sides With Right Wing Romney Republicans

When I hit the publish button on my most recent blogging and then checked to see if the blog published correctly I saw that Gar the Texan had freshly ranted.

Gar the Texan had major surgery recently, replacing some body parts that had worn out, which has required a lengthy convalescence, a motorized wheel chair, a live-in nurse and a lot of potent pain medications.

I think the potent pain medication may be the explanation for some of Gar the Texan's recent rather convoluted rantings, so I don't comment on them, since I feel that would not be fair to do, considering the boy's compromised thinking due to his medical maladies.

So, in Gar the Texan's most recent blogging, titled I Side With, Gar the Texan is talking about a website called I Side With, on which one answers a series of questions to find out which presidential candidate and party one sides with.

These type surveys are very scientific and accurate.

Apparently I side with someone named Jill Stein whom I don't believe I have ever heard of.

By party I am 93% with the Democrats, 90% with the Greens, 37% with the Libertarians and only 4% with the Republicans.

Meanwhile, that conservative nutjob, Gar the Texan, sides 37% with the Republicans.

Finally, a legitimate survey confirming that Gar the Texan is a right wing fruitcake.

Gar the Texan's best friend, Ed the Indian, also made known his Who I Side With results. Ed the Indian is like me, a sider with Jill Stein, only with Ed the Indian being 1% more of a Jill Stein sider.

I'm 13% on the side of Mitt Romney, Ed the Indian is an 8% Romney sider, while that reactionary right winger, Gar the Texan, is 57% on the side of Mitt Romney.

I am feeling just a tad embarrassed for Gar the Texan right now, but I try to keep in mind that he is in a lot of pain and heavily medicated, and thus, not in his right mind.

A Texas Blue Sky Columbus Day With Prickly Pears & Long Lost Cousin Freddy Found

As you can see via the top part of the picture, blue sky has returned to North Texas, after several days in a row of no sun.

With the return of the sun I returned to the Tandy Hills for the first time in what seems a long time.

I was overdressed when I departed my abode, with a sweatshirt over a t-shirt and a wool cap crowning my cranium.

By the time I got to the top of Mount Tandy it was obvious that the solar radiation was radiating sufficient warmth that the sweatshirt and cap could be doffed. And so they were.

I think I must have had a nightmare about my favorite patch of Tandy Hills prickly pear cactus being missing its prickly pears, because when I came upon the patch of prickly pear cactus you see in the picture I was surprised by the horde of prickly pears. This particular prickly pear cactus patch is the only one I make note of whilst hiking the Tandy Hills. So, it can't be some other patch of cactus that I saw missing its prickly pears, it had to be a nightmare related confusion.

I would have harvested this horde of prickly pears to make prickly pear jam, except for a couple reasons. One being I have no idea how to make any sort of jam. With the other reason being that one should not harvest anything from a natural area like the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Unless you are Don Young and need a Christmas tree.

Changing the subject from prickly pears to something else.

My mom called me late last night to tell me my long lost cousin Freddy (aka Kurt) called. Mom said it was real good to hear from Freddy and, for me, it was real good to hear from mom that she'd heard from Freddy.

Apparently cousin Freddy's wife's parental units also live in Arizona, with cousin Freddy and his family visiting once a year, usually in March. So, my mom wants me to fly to Phoenix in March for a Cousin Reunion at my sister's house. I'm onboard. Sounds fun.

I have not seen cousin Freddy in decades. Freddy grew up in Alaska. The last time I saw cousin Freddy he was visiting Washington when he was, I think, around 8 years old. I recollect cousin Freddy and his mom, my Aunt Mike, being out on Samish Island, and me driving cousin Freddy to McDonald's in Mount Vernon in my classic 65 Fastback Mustang.

Trouble with that memory is my sister, she being the sister whose husband runs a McDonald's empire, told me McDonald's had not arrived in Mount Vernon, yet, at that point in time.

Maybe I drove cousin Freddy to the Kow Korner and my damned age-related memory woes have confused me. Again.

I did not realize til this afternoon that today was Columbus Day, that being the day a European discovered America, even though America was not un-discovered and was populated by people at the time. Columbus did some pillaging and kidnapped some of the natives to take them back to Europe as exhibits, where they died.

Knowing what we now know, in our more enlightened times, I really don't think we should be having an annual Columbus Day.

Another Extremely Cold Day In Texas Wondering About The Texas State Fair Butter Sculpture

39 degrees this second Monday of the 10th month of 2012. I don't remember the temperature switching from air conditioning mode to heater mode, this abruptly, previously in Texas.

I do remember being weather shocked soon upon my arrival in Texas, way back late in the last century. It was in December. I left Washington with the rain pouring and arrived in Texas with the rain pouring. Rain pouring and warm, as in the 70s. Within a week I was to experience the shock of my first Ice Storm, with the temperature dropping to 15 degrees.

The temperature average the last 24 hours has been less than 50 degrees. Thus not meeting my getting in the pool criteria. However, I think I will try it anyway. Yesterday, when it was 49, swimming was pleasant after a short adjustment period.

This morning I got a blog comment asking me if I knew what the Butter Sculpture was this year at the State Fair of Texas. I have no idea what got sculpted this year.

Well, I guess I will go swimming now before it gets any colder.

UPDATE: Swimming did not go well. I lasted less than a minute.

Running With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Training To Jog Washington Park In Anacortes

In the picture you are looking at one of the dam bridges that cross Village Creek in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington, Texas, in the noon time frame, this first Sunday of October.

The air was chilled to a chilly 49 when I took off to visit my favorite Indian Ghosts. The air is now one degree warmer, several hours later.

The water in the pool was cooler than yesterday morning, but still warmer than the air, thus I had myself a long swim this morning.

Yesterday I was in long pants for the first time in many months. Today I was in sweat pants for the first time in many months.

To work up a sweat, in my sweat pants, I jogged. This was my second jog since my return to jogging, which started two days ago with a one mile jog around Fosdick Lake, which, at the time, I thought was two miles.

Today, after jogging for awhile, I switched to running. Running feels way more natural than jogging. Running also is far more exertion than jogging, causing my sweat pants to live up to their name.

When I jogged around Fosdick Lake two days ago I was thinking I'd given up jogging in 1985.

Today I remembered that that is not the case.

After giving up jogging in 1985, due to a medical malady, apparently I started up jogging again, because I now remember that in 1993 I jogged around Washington Park in Anacortes with my little sister and a girl who said "rad" way too much.

That jogging around Washington Park coincided with a birthday milestone.

My little sister is 17 years younger than me. I remember at the time of jogging around Washington Park my little sister and I made a pact that when she reached that particular birthday milestone, we'd return to Washington Park and jog it again.

At the time, my little sister and her "rad" friend were impressed that a much older geezer, like me, was able to out-jog such young kids.

Well, my little sister passed that birthday milestone a couple years ago, with me in Texas and my little sister in Tacoma, with my little sister in no mood to jog several miles up and down steep hills in Washington Park. And with me, at my advanced age, likely unable to do so, either.

But, as God is my witness, on my next return to Washington I am jogging the trails of Washington Park, complete with photo documentation.

The First Cold Sunday Morning Of October

48 degrees is 3 degrees chillier than yesterday's morning low. It is a little windy, still, in the outer world at my location, making it, apparently, really feel like 41 degrees. I am cursed with being inept with arithmetic, but I am fairly certain that 41 degrees is only 9 degrees above freezing.

The last 24 hours have averaged, temperature-wise, slightly above 50 degrees. Averaging 50 degrees, or above, is my requisite temperature requirement for going swimming.

I suspect going swimming this morning is going to be a bit more refreshingly bracing than it was yesterday.

I learned this morning that my morning online news reading has now been shortened. I clicked to read an article, this morning, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, to be solicited for a subscription in order to read the article.

99 cents for the first month, $6.95 a month after that first 99 cents month.

I  might consider paying this if it got rid of the annoying animated ads. But, I suspect the ads remain.

The sun has been up for around 45 minutes, so far this has not made the outer world any warmer.

It is time for my first chilly swim since last March.

Picking Quanah Parker Park Pecans With A Big Pile Of Litter

Quanah Parker Park Pecans

The Big Chill is being a bit of an adjustment.

Today when I left my abode to head to Quanah Parker Park to pick pecans off the ground I was wearing long pants for the first time since I flew to Phoenix in March.

That is around 8 months of being in short pants. We have a very long short pants season in North Texas.

I made the mistake of combining long pants with a short sleeved t-shirt. I should have worn something with long sleeves.

50 degrees is half of  100 degrees. I am really bad at math, but I am almost 100% certain I made that calculation correctly. It was not all that long ago we were being naturally heated to 100 degrees or more. And now, a short time later, Mother Nature has provided us a natural refrigerator.

I filled myself a plastic bag with pecans today. That is a couple of the pecans I picked up you are looking at in the picture above. What do I do with these pecans now that I've got a bag full of them? I have no idea. But, I think, maybe, roasting them in the oven is what needs to happen. I shall later Google for the answer.

Right at this precise point in time I'm not in the mood for any more oven roasting, because I just broiled 8 poblano peppers that I got at Town Talk today.

Speaking of Town Talk. Today was the busiest I have ever seen Town Talk. Inside the store there were no bad traffic jams. But, outside the store, there were bad traffic jams, with more vehicles than parking spaces.

Changing the subject from Town Talk back to Quanah Parker Park.

The Quanah Parker Park Garbage Dump

I was appalled to see what some litter bug on steroids has dumped in a ravine on the north side of the entry road, with the ravine leading to the Trinity River, a short distance away.

Someone had to be rather brazen to dump all this junk, risking someone driving in or out of the park, at any second, catching them in the criminal act.

I don't know why this type disposal method is used so much in Texas. Recently a lesser dumping of junk occurred next to the road that leads to the top of Mount Tandy.

One thing I do know. Where I lived in Washington, that being the Skagit Valley, I knew where I could haul junk to. I think it was called a Transfer Station, but I'm not sure of that. Time has reduced my ability to remember some things.

Where I live in Texas I have not the slightest idea where I would haul junk if I needed to get rid of it. Perhaps this is why, in desperation, slobby people do bad deeds, like throw away their garbage in a Fort Worth public park.

A Cold October Saturday In Texas Thinking About Harvesting Pecans & Not Pulling A Ryan

The morning of the first Saturday of October is the coldest it has been in North Texas for a long, long time. 51 degrees with the wind causing it to feel like 43 degrees.

The water in the pool was warmer than the air, this morning, which made for some very refreshing swimming, particularly after I overheated on the Nautilus machine.

The weather change has brought the ozone level down to being "Good" and the pollen level  has gone from "Extreme" to "Moderate".

My breathing apparatus is feeling like it is functioning totally back to normal. The idea of being stuck inside an airplane, and having a sneezing fit, no longer is mortifying me.

I was a little worried that yesterday's jogging episode around Fosdick Lake might cause some soreness.

I had erroneously thought I'd jogged around 2 miles, then someone named Anonymous informed me that the paved trail around Fosdick Lake is only 1 mile.

I don't know if it was the same Anonymous person, or another one, but someone named Anonymous made another anonymous comment on the blogging about jogging. This comment confused me at first, but I think I figured it out...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Jogging Around Fosdick Lake With Grandma & The Fosducks": 

OK, so long as you're not pulling a Ryan on us. 

I had no clue what "pulling a Ryan" might be. Then I remembered that that lightly qualified guy that Mitt Romney picked as his running mate, Paul Ryan, has gotten some bad press for obviously fudging his time on some running event he ran in. I don't remember the details, but I suspect this must be that to which Anonymous is referring.

Changing the subject from Paul Ryan's fibbery back to the weather.

Rain is on the schedule for today. I do not know if copious amounts are predicted. What I do know is no rain has dampened my location, so far.

If the rain holds off I think I'll go pecan harvesting at Quanah Parker Park today, on my way to Town Talk. On Wednesday I saw a lot of pecans on the ground under the big pecan trees in Quanah Parker Park. It did not cross my mind to get myself some pecans til Steve A caused that idea to cross my mind.