Remembering Aunt Alice In Tootsie Tonasket Mode

That which you see here showed up this Monday morning in my email. A Microsoft OneDrive Memory of this Day.

As is usually the case, I've no clue why this is a memory of this day.

What we see here, in cowgirl mode, is the Washington entity known as Tootsie Tonasket. Also known as my Aunt Alice. And Alice O'Della. And Alice Hudson.

Clearly, Tootsie Tonasket is known by a lot of different names.

Every year a town near Tonasket, called Omak, has a rodeo type event known as the Omak Stampede.

I suspect Aunt Alice is in Omak Stampede mode in the photo, under an over-sized cowboy hat.

I cannot tell for sure if Aunt Alice is packing heat, via a six shooter, in a holster fastened around her waist.

What I do know for sure, you do not want to tangle with Aunt Alice. Aunt Alice is one tough cookie, with or without a loaded weapon.

Aunt Alice can win a fight just by lashing out with her sharp wit. 

I found myself in a Battle of Wits once with Aunt Alice. I lost the battle, followed by a long recovery period...

Microsoft's OneDrive Horse Memories From Today

That which you see above showed up in my email this morning. A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this day.

I do remember the memory, but I've no idea what day this memory is remembered.

My first Texas home location was in the hamlet of Haslet, located at the north end of Fort Worth, the puny skyline of which one could see in the distance.

The Haslet home location was sort of a ranch, sprawling over 10 acres. With a couple cows, and the three horses you see visiting in the backyard.

The horses were smart critters. They figured out how to open the gate to the backyard. One time they did this when the weather was in extreme heat wave mode. The horses could see the pool in the backyard, opened the gate, and all three got in the pool, which you can see behind the horses in the photo.

It was a bit difficult to get the horses out of the pool. It was a bad experience for the three boys, which they knew not to repeat.

Sunday Blown Cold Off Wichita Bluff Nature Area To Lucy Park

The leaves in the trees at my North Texas location have finally received the memo telling them it is time to change the color of the leaves from green to eye pleasing shades of golden yellow.

Even the Wichita River, as seen in the above photo documentation, is matching the new leaf colors, viewed this second Sunday of 2025's November, in Lucy Park.

A bit before 11 this morning I drove to the west entry to the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area for my nature communing. The temperature was barely in the 50s. A strong wind was busy blowing. I exited my vehicle and re-entered it a few seconds later, deciding it was too cold, and that nearby Lucy Park, would not be as exposed to the gusting wind.

Tonight the temperature is again predicted to dip below freezing, into the 20s. The past few days there have been freeze warnings, but no freezing has happened. I suspect such will no longer be the case by tomorrow morning.

Will tomorrow be that dreaded day where I switch my climate control from air-conditioning cooling, to heat mode? I hope not....

Microsoft One Drive Broaster Memory With Wendy, Beth & Urbs

Today's is one of the goofiest Microsoft OneDrive Memories from this Day yet to have shown up in my email.

I am fairly certain the above memory did not happen in November. 

This photo memory is an advertisement. Found in my high school senior year annual.

I am fairly certain this was in the Broaster Cafe in Mount Vernon. A cafe which years later turned into the new location of the Mexico Cafe.

The Mexico Cafe is a fond memory. It is where I learned to like Mexican food.

In the photo, that is me on the left, looking in need of a haircut. Sitting next to Wendy Newman. On the other side of the table, across from me, is the entity then known as Beth Schuerman (I hope I spelled that right), sitting next to her future first husband, Martin Barnes, more commonly known as Urbs.

I do not know why Urbs is cut out of the photo. 

I was on the annual team, as was, I think, Beth. I do not think either of us would have cropped out Urbs.

I wonder if time is wasted nowadays producing hard copy high school annuals. Or is it all an online production these days?

What I find remarkable, seeing this photo, is the clearly obvious fact that myself, Wendy and Beth have barely aged at all, still looking pretty much like teenagers, decades later...

Sunny Sikes Lake Nature Communing

On day three of 2025's November, also known as Monday, it was back to Sikes Lake I ventured for some salubrious outdoor activity.

Which would make the photo documentation you see above the view looking south from the bridge at the north end of Sikes Lake.

As you can see, it is a totally clue blue sky day at my North Texas location. What you cannot see is the temperature is in the low 70s, heading to a high today in the 80s.

We made it through the recent couple days of freeze warnings without the temperature getting anywhere near 32 degrees, as measured by the Fahrenheit method. I do not know how long the current semi-heat wave is predicted to last.

Since this is the first Monday of a new month, if I was up north in my old Washington home zone,
I might consider going to a Burlington restaurant called Coconut Kenny's, where every first Monday, unless a conflict prevents it, a group from my high school class meets.

A monthly high school reunion.

To each his or her own, but for me, I feel like I get totally enough high school reunion experience on Facebook...

Sunday Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle Hike With Tyrannosaurus Rex

 On this first Sunday of 2025's November, it was to Lucy Park I ventured for some salubrious nature communing gained via joining the throngs, well, three other people, hiking the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle.

Before entering the Backwoods Jungle I stopped to admire and photo document the Lucy Park archeological site.

No signage informs the observer which creature's remains the observer is observing.

Methinks it looks like it may be the remains of a T-rex.

Let's see if I can spell the full name without getting red flagged.

Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Spelled correctly on almost the first try. I was missing an 'n'.

Continuing on from the Lucy Park archeological site I soon entered the Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle.

The Wichita River is looking peaceful and serene as it flows through the jungle. This location is near where I encountered the biggest snake I have ever come across whilst in the outer world. That was several years ago.

Currently it is too cold for snakes to be slithering. A few weeks ago, when the outer world was heated closer to 100 than freezing I would have been vigilantly on the lookout for snakes as I made my way through the dense jungle.

Returning to Standard Time has caused me some confusion. Every six months I have trouble remembering how to change the time on some of my devices. I am grateful for the devices which can change the time without any input from me, like my phone, the TV, and the computer.

It is almost noon, Standard Time. My stomach is still on Daylight Savings Time, thus hungry. This calls for an early lunch today...

First November Nature Communing Around Peaceful Sikes Lake

It was to dead calm Sikes Lake I ventured on this first day of the 2025 version of November, for some much-needed salubrious nature communing, after last night's exhausting Halloween debauchery.

The photo documentation view is looking southwest from the rocky east shore of my favorite neighborhood lake.

My other neighborhood lake, Weeks Lake, is too small to be considered for favorite status. Weeks Lake does have a paved trail around it, with an offshoot trail which heads up a slight bluff, terminating at a gazebo, with a view of the lake.

I have never used the Weeks Lake trail for salubrious nature communing. I have used the Weeks Lake gazebo for peaceful contemplation purposes, a time or two.

27 days til I don't bake a turkey for Thanksgiving. I decided this morning I am not going to go through that whole regular ritual with all the trimmings. 

I think I'll have pizza, or some similar favored food item.

Happy Halloween From Disneyland With Goofy, Cade and Cambri June

I had my phone muted til a couple minutes ago. When I un-muted it I saw I had an incoming text message, with photo documentation, sent from a California town called Anaheim, and a specific location called Disneyland.

The text message...

"Took the grandkids to Disneyland for a few days. Too much fun!!!"

And the photo documentation is that which you see above.

Left to right, my absolutely favorite brother-in-law, Jack, standing next to his first wife, my second youngest sister, Jackie. 

Goofy is standing next to Jackie. We aren't related.

Then we have my one and only niece-in-law, Carissa, holding baby Cambri June, who can't be more than four months old. That would make that Carissa's first husband, my no longer little nephew, Christoper, holding his first born, Cade Christopher Weston.

Are there any Disneyland rides geared for little babies that are months from being able to walk? 

Seeing this has me realizing it has been almost 30 years since I have been to Disneyland. Christmas day, 1995. Stayed til closing time. Was so exhausted by the end of that day at Disneyland. 

Seeing a photo of little Cade is a tad startling. Cade looks just like his dad looked when he was a little kid. Cade's dad was such a fun little kid. The memories seem so recent, but they are decades old.

I wonder if the reason the Westons are in the Los Angeles zone is because they thought they might be going to a World Series game.

I remember the last time the Mariners had a real good season it was in the 1990s. They played in the now long-gone Kingdome. I remember watching one of those games from the McDonald's luxury suite, high up in the Kingdome.

This memory came up recently, with me not able to remember how I got to the Kingdome that day. Was it my sister or my brother-in-law who guided me to the McDonald's suite? Had to have been one of them, or both.

Anyway, Happy Halloween, everyone!

Strong Wind Blows Me To Lucy Park For Chilly Nature Communing

At my Texas location on the planet the wind has been busy blowing hard the last two days, with gusts nearing 50 miles per hour.

I am just about 100% this particular wind gusting has nothing to do with that super powerful Melissa Hurricane which is wreaking havoc a few miles to the east and south of my location.

It was to Lucy Park I opted to venture for some nature communing and endorphin acquisition and dodging blowing debris.

As you can see via the photo documentation of the Lucy Park suspension bridge over the Wichita River, the leaves have only barely began to lose their green color. That green color may start rapidly departing after tonight, as the first freeze of the freezing season is predicted for the next couple nights.

The wind chill today had me out of shorts and in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt for the first time in many months. Seems weird to go so rapidly from being in the 90s a couple days ago, to freezing tonight.

The route to Lucy Park takes me by MSU (Midwestern State University). I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to see the annual MSU Christmas display is already arriving. I forget the formal name of this HUGE installation. I think it is Burns something or other.

We have not even arrived at Halloween yet. Why is Christmas arriving so soon?

Nature Communing On Lake Wichita Dam Whilst Staying Off The Dam's Hazardous Spillway

With the weather forecast forecasting thunderstorms and heavy rain for this next to last Friday of the 2025 version of October, it was to Lake Wichita Dam I ventured for some salubrious outdoor nature communing and potential lightning strike dodging whilst totally exposed to such on the Circle Trail on top of the dam.

But, no lightning struck, or could be seen striking in any direction. And nary a drop of rain dripped whilst I was out and about, exposed to the elements.

In the photo above I am about to walk out on the Lake Wichita Boardwalk. This is an extremely nice addition to the lake, which was added a couple years ago.

And now we are at the end of the boardwalk, looking northwest at the Mount Wichita pseudo volcano, in the distance.

It has been a few years, I think pre-COVID, when last I trekked to the summit of Mount Wichita. The trek had seemed to have become a tad treacherous, so not wanting to twist an ankle, or worse, I terminated doing any local mountain climbing.

The bizarre sign you see above has been added since last I visited this location, where a spur off the Circle Trail leads to overlooking the Lake Wichita dam's spillway.

The bizarre sign says...

DANGER!
HAZARDOUS RECIRCULATING

CURRENTS BELOW THIS DAM

CAN TRAP AND DROWN A VICTIM

So, why would I say that this sign is a bit bizarre. Well. It has been years, maybe also not since pre-COVID, that I have seen Lake Wichita at a high enough level that water was spilling over the spillway.

There may have been a time or two in the past several years where enough rain fell to cause some water to spill over the spillway for a short period, but not long enough to drown the vegetation that has grown thick near the dam's spillway.

And certainly not at a level to present any sort of danger to anyone foolish enough to climb out on the dam's spillway that was currently spilling water.

We are no past noon. And still not even a hint of anything stormy....