The Morning Of January 14 In Texas Thinking About Super Bowl Attendance Records & Not Freezing

We are almost to the mid-point of the 1st month of the New Year of 2011.

It is 23 Days til the Dallas Cowboys are not playing in the Super Bowl in their new stadium.

I read this morning that around 10,000 suckers, I mean fans, are expected to stand outside the Dallas Cowboy stadium during the Super Bowl, in the Party Pass Zones.

I do not know how much Party Pass tickets cost.

Jerry Jones is hoping to set an attendance record at the Super Bowl. I suppose this record is important for the all important bragging rights about such an important record.

There is currently a controversy over whether or not it is fair to count Party Pass people as actual attendees.

On a totally different subject, looking out the bars of my patio prison cell, this morning, it appears, again, that the day is starting off with a blue sky over North Texas. But, this has once again proved to be some sort of pre-dawn optical illusion. The sun has now lit up the place a lot brighter than when that photo was taken. And, now I can clearly see, we are still under a gray cloud cover.

But.

Good news.

It did not freeze last night. This morning it is a relatively balmy 36 degrees out there.

So, I guess I will head to the swimming pool now. No need for sunscreen.

The 3rd Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash

It seems like the Manly Men and Wild Women have barely been cleared from the Tandy Hills. And now it is time to clear some brush, according to the following message from the Tandy Hills Brushmaster, Don Young...

The annual Brush Bash gets to the core of what Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area is all about. Removing invasive and unwanted woody plant species is a cornerstone of the Master Plan for restoring Tandy Hills. The Master Plan was prepared for the City of Fort Worth in July 2008 to address community concerns about the preservation of this one-of-a-kind green space. The end result will be a more natural prairie ecosystem full of wildflowers and native grasses. One that is not overrun and shaded out by trees and shrubs.

That's where FOTHNA comes in. We ask you to help us help the City which benefits all. Here's how it works.

City crews have been busy the past two weeks cutting unwanted trees and other woody species. That material is now on the ground. Volunteers drag the material to designated locations where City crews load it into trucks and haul away to be composted.

We need you. Please see details below and make a commitment to help us care for our beautiful prairie.

DY

WHO:
Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. That means YOU!

WHAT:
3rd Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash

WHEN:
Saturday, January 22, 2011
9 am - Noon
1 pm - 3 pm
Work one or both shifts
(rain date is February 5.)

WHERE:
Tandy Hills Natural Area
3400 View Street
Fort Worth, TX 76103

BRING:
Gloves, work clothes, sturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen, picnic lunch

CONTACT - RSVP:
Don Young
donyoungglass@earthlink.net
817-731-2787

Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area

P.O. Box 470041
Fort Worth, TX 76147
817-731-2787
http://www.tandyhills.org

Texas Clouds & Cold Continue to Chill My Usual Sunny Disposition Despite Monosodium Glutamate Poisoning

I was erroneous earlier this morning when I optimistically opined that we were having ourselves a clear blue Texas sky this Wednesday morning.

As happens way too often, my optimism was unwarranted, with reality turning out to be the opposite.

Which means it is cloudy this morning, just like it was all day yesterday, as you can see via the dimly lit view from my gray dominated abode.

I don't think I am even going to attempt to go out in it today to get some salubrious aerobic activity. It was just too COLD when I was out in it yesterday.

I suppose I could dredge up the stuff I wear to go skiing.

I know all my ski equipment made the move with me to Texas and it is located somewhere inside these walls. I suppose ski pants, ski gloves and a ski jacket might make the Texas COLD tolerable.

The last time I saw my cross country skis I was not happy to see that they had somewhat de-laminated. I had foolishly stored them in a storage area that was not protected from the Texas HEAT.

Did I mention I got poisoned by Monosodium Glutamate the past couple days? I bought a bag of jerky at Town Talk. It said it was "All Natural." I've learned to be wary of "All Natural." But I was not this time. I looked at the ingredients only far enough to see that papaya extract had been used. I went no further on the list.

Then, starting late Tuesday I got a headache and felt like my head might explode. Woke up with the same woe Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon I recollected that the way I was feeling was how I've felt when succumbing to Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, back when MSG was widely used in such places.

I then again looked at the ingredient list on the bag of jerky and was appalled to see Monosodium Glutamate on the list.

Thursday morning I am free of symptoms. For the most part.

Except I am very very COLD.

Wednesday The 13th In Freezing Texas

It is a little less  frosty this Wednesday morning of the 13th of January, looking out the window at what appears to possibly be a clear blue sky.

It is only 9 degrees below freezing this morning. I am really ready for the temperature to return to being well above freezing.

Last night I watched the Memorial Service in Tuscon. This was one of the few times I thought President Obama gave a really good speech since I voted for him and he became President.

I was expecting a solemn memorial of the funeral sort, instead the memorial had more of a pep rally feeling. Which seemed to be a good thing.

I have too much I need to get done today. I don't know if I have time to go swimming. Or if the pool is still in liquid form.

Fort Worth's Special Sanitary Sewer Manholes & Sinkholes

A  couple months ago I arrived at Oakland Lake Park to see heavy equipment digging a deep ditch.

When this project was completed I was surprised to see the tell tale indicators indicating the deep ditch was for a sewer line.

Which seem sort of ironic for Oakland Lake Park to have a sewer line running through it since it has no public restrooms or running water.

Even though Oakland Lake Park does have picnic facilities.

I think in more, well, uh, civilized parts of America it is sort of a no-no to have public picnic facilities without running water or public restrooms.

Apparently Fort Worth can not afford to put such amenities in all its parks.

But, apparently Fort Worth can afford to have signature Sanitary Sewer Manhole Covers made that say "City of Fort Worth Sanitary Sewer" complete with the Fort Worth Longhorn Logo.

Is this done because Fort Worth is just so darn proud that it has a Sanitary Sewer? I remember years ago being surprised by how many of the Fort Worth Stockyards venues touted having indoor plumbing as one of their attractions.

Moving past the Sanitary Sewer Manhole to something more disturbing that is near the manhole.

A Sinkhole.

Seeing a Sinkhole sink right in a location that has recently been dug up, with new piping installed, does not seem to be a good sign.

In the picture you can see that "special" manhole cover in the background.

This new Fort Worth Sinkhole seems to present a bit of a problem. As in, someone could trip on that hole in the dark.

Every time I mention a Texas Sinkhole on my blog it erupts into a comment controversy. I hope that does not happen this time. Usually the Sinkhole controversies are caused by Gar the Texan going on about aquifers. I don't think this particular Sinkhole has anything to do with an aquifer.

I Lost A Pair Of Sunglasses & Got One Of The World's Biggest Tandy Hills Prairie Fest Coffee Mugs

After Saturday's Tandy Hills 2nd Annual Manly Men/Wild Women Hike I got a message from one of the Manly Men, initials "DY", telling me he'd lost his ultra-valuable Ray Ban Sunglasses somewhere on the Tandy Hills.

I said I'd look for the Lost Sunglasses the following day, even though I was fairly certain I would have about as much luck as finding a needle in the proverbial haystack.

Well, the next day, Sunday, it rained and snowed, rendering Sunglass Hunting impossible.

Yesterday, Tuesday around noon, I returned to the Tandy Hills and began a Systematic Sunglasses Search.

After an undetermined length of time I miraculously found the Missing Sunglasses.

On my way to Oakland Lake Park, this afternoon, to walk around frigid Fosdic Lake I pulled up to "DY's" abode just as he and his lovely wife "D" were leaving.

"DY" stopped his vehicle and went to his front porch to retrieve the BIG Prairie Fest 2010 Coffee Mug you see above. "DY" told me this mug is a valuable collector's item worth $100s.

Which sort of indicates that those lost Ray Ban Sunglasses must have been very valuable.

That Prairie Fest Coffee Mug is so big, I'm not sure I can lift it if it has coffee in it. I sat it beside my pool with the hot tub in the background just to give you an idea as to the ENORMITY of this Coffee Mug.

An Extremely Cold Walk Around Fosdic Lake After Talking To My Latest Tacoma Sister

Around 4 this afternoon I headed towards Fort Worth's most dangerous neighborhood to conduct a Glasses/Mug Exchange.

More on the Glasses/Mug Exchange later. With pictures. Well, a picture.

After the Glasses/Mug Exchange I went to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake.

The air was warmer, at 30, than yesterday's Tandy Hills Hike at 22 or 21, the 30 degrees felt way colder today because the sun was being blocked by clouds.

I did not enjoy walking in the cold too much.

Earlier today I was up in Southlake. On the way back from Southlake I called my Arizona sister who is currently under a form of self-imposed house arrest in Tacoma, helping take care of one of my other sister's new babies, Theodore Ryan and Ruby Jean.

It sounded like the twin care was going well. My Arizona sister, who is used to being warm, is being kept in the Tacoma House Dungeon. I was incarcerated there for a week, during a horribly long month in the summer of 2008, before I got a reprieve and was allowed to move to the much warmer third floor. I don't think these type issues are as serious in winter when the furnace is running.

I do not know how long my Arizona sister is planning on being in Tacoma. I would think a week, at the max, is a safe duration.

I must go for a long soak in a hot tub to try and put a stop to this shivering sensation I have going on right now.

Up Way Before The Sun On An Icy Cold Wednesday In North Texas

I am up a bit early on this frosty Wednesday morning in North Texas. Looking out my computer room window it looks very cold and dark out there, with the view somewhat restricted by a somewhat frosty window.

21 degrees this morning before the sun arrives.

I believe after today we are scheduled to warm up slightly. I am ready for more than a slight warm up.

I heard from someone last night, calling himself Don, who told me those sunglasses I found yesterday on the Tandy Hills are his. Don was able to correctly articulate the serial number on the sunglasses, thus establishing himself as their rightful owner. I will attempt to return the sunglasses to Don today. Apparently without them Don is virtually blind in the bright sun.

This morning in the Dallas Morning News there was an article, the theme of which was, what the 8 teams in the NFL playoffs have going for them that the Dallas Cowboys don't have going for them.

For Seattle, apparently, it is the noisy 12th man, as in very loud fans.

I thought what the article writer, Tim Cowlishaw had to say about the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium was amusing, but I doubt that ancient artifact who built that stadium, Jerry Jones, will find it amusing.....

"As for Cowboys Stadium, well, Jerry Jones figured out how to pack 100,000 people in there. But he also created a cavernous building in which half the fans stare at the big screen hoping to see themselves. A 2-6 home record in 2010 speaks loudly. Like Seattle.--Tim Cowlishaw"

Trying To Hike On The Frozen Tandy Hills With A Lost & Found Operation

With the temperature being well below freezing I thought that the muddy trail conditions created by Sunday's rain and snow would be rendered frozen and thus the trails on the Tandy Hills hikable.

As is way to often the case, I thought wrong.

Though there was some mud on the trails I was still able to go hiking, by going cross country and blazing my own trail.

Before I bailed on the Tandy Trails I found the sunglasses you see in the picture. Ray Bans. The sunglasses appear to be in good condition, successfully surviving being snowed on and frozen.

I now somehow need to find a way to reunite these sunglasses with their rightful owner.

By the time I finished with the ICY hiking and got back to the relative warmth of my vehicle I have seldom seen my cheeks look so red. I don't know what the blowing wind made the Wind Chill Factor  real feel of the temperature. I'm guessing near zero.

From the Tandy Hills I went to Town Talk. In summer the Town Talk walk-in cooler can be very refreshing after over heating on the Tandy Hills. Today the Town Talk walk-in cooler was warmer than the outdoors. It is above freezing in the Town Talk walk-in cooler.

20 Degrees In North Texas On The Second Tuesday Of The New Year

As you can sort of see, looking out my computer room frosty window, the predicted Deep Freeze has arrived in North Texas.

It is only 20 degrees out there, soon after the dawn of the second Tuesday of 2011.

That is cold. Really cold.

My furnace has been running nonstop ever since I got up and turned it on. It's still not all that warm in here.

On the bright side, the sun is no longer being impeded from shining by a thick cloud cover. In simpler words, blue sky has returned. I am pleased about that.

I guess I will go swimming now. It should be refreshing.

Village Creek Bayou Egrets & The Queen Of Wink's Adult Diapers

Egrets. I've seen a few. But then again, too few to mention.

I think I saw an Egret in the Village Creek Bayou today. Big white bird with a long neck. I think that's an Egret. I am fairly certain it is not a swan.

When I approached the Village Creek Bayou today a flock of geese startled me after I had apparently startled them, sending the nervous birds quickly into flight mode.

Looking at the refection of the Egret in the Village Creek Bayou you might think that smooth mirror-like surface was ice.

It was cold enough to be ice, but it was still liquid.

It would be my guess that the slough of chemicals that are likely in the stew of the Village Creek Bayou likely lower the temperature required to freeze that water, just like the water in my vehicle's radiator, which I remembered to add anti-freeze to today, because tonight we are currently scheduled to be chilled down in to the teens.

This morning I received a somewhat disturbing message from Elsie Hotpepper saying she is so distraught over our current dire weather situation, here in North Texas, that the Hotpepper is plotting to go somewhere warm where she can hibernate. I believe a beach was mentioned.

Last night I got multiple messages from the Queen of Wink. It was very confusing. Something about inviting myself and Gar the Texan to Wink, not scamming the Queen on the Internet and my possible need for adult diapers.

I understood most of what the Queen of Wink was saying, except for being able to follow her train of thought that somehow ended up thinking of adult diapers.

I tell you, there are many signs that something is amiss out in the Realm of Wink. An investigative team may need to investigate.

Monday Morning With No Snow On The Ground In My Zone Of North Texas

Looking out my bedroom window this Monday morning we can see there is no snow on the ground. At 30 degrees it is cold enough for snow to stick if some fell after it was cold enough to avoid melting.

I was not much in the mood to deal with multiple inches of snow, so I'm glad the predicted accumulation did not accumulate.

I keep forgetting to get anti-freeze. I am going to have to make sure I remember this as we slide ever deeper into an Arctic Deep Freeze this week.

I learned this morning that the Seattle Seahawk's next step towards playing in the Super Bowl next month in the Dallas Cowboy Stadium is beating the Chicago Bears. Apparently Seattle already beat the Bears this current football season, doing so on Chicago's home field, where the Seahawks will need to beat them again to get to the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile the Dallas Cowboys have a new coach. Methinks if the Dallas Cowboys ever want a winning season again what they need to do is somehow get rid of that re-animated cadaver who runs the team who has the same last name as me. Until that happens it really seems hopeless that that hapless football team will ever have a winning season.

But.

What do I know? I really don't like football at all.

The Predicted Sunday Snow Has Begun To Fall On Fort Worth Earlier Than Predicted

A few minutes past noon the snow began to fall on my zone of North Texas, that being far east Fort Worth. I had to zoom the view from my patio in order to get the blizzard to show up in a picture.

The air temperature is currently 38, so no snow is currently sticking.

This white stuff has arrived hours before it was scheduled to start falling.

Does this portend a big pileup, like Christmas Eve of 2009? Will tomorrow bring Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex Snow Gridlock?

Or worse?

I am heading out in a bit, to head to Hurst, to ALDI Food Market, to stock up on vittles in anticipation of a possible long snow siege. That and being out in it sounds fun to me.

Wish me luck. I am not the best snow/ice driver in the world.

A Rainy Sunday In Texas Musing About America's Team: The Seattle Seahawks

Saturday night when the sun set on North Texas the sky was blue. By Sunday morning's arrival of the sun the sky had filled with clouds and was dripping with extreme prejudice.

In other words, it is raining. Cold and raining. 36 degrees out there right now, with the temperature dropping and snow scheduled to arrive as Sunday progresses towards Monday.

I had planned to return to the Tandy Hills today to search for missing sunglasses. Not mine. Sunglasses belonging to one of those Manly Men who was hiking the Tandy Hills yesterday. I suspect, due to the rain, the lost sunglasses will remain safe until hiking conditions return to normal.

Yesterday, in yet one more clear indicator that I do not pay much attention to NFL football I said something like I did not know if the Seattle Seahawks are out of Super Bowl contention or not.

By Saturday night I was watching the Seahawks play the New Orleans Saints in what I was to learn was a Wild Card game in which the Seahawks had themselves an upset win over the reigning Super  Bowl champs.

Back when the Kingdome was still alive it was known as the loudest stadium in both the NFL and whatever you call the league baseball is played in. I did not know, til reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article about yesterday's Seahawk upset, that the new Qwest Field is also known as the NFL's loudest stadium.

How can Qwest Field be louder than the new Cowboy Stadium? Qwest Field is open on the north end with a view of downtown Seattle. Qwest Field has no roof to reflect back noise, Qwest Field holds only something like 70,000 screamers while the Dallas Cowboy Stadium can hold around 100,000.

Has it yet to rain on a Seahawk game in Qwest Field? I read a couple years ago the lack of rainy games was wreaking havoc with Lesser Seattle's ongoing campaign to always portray Seattle as perpetually dripping.

Apparently Qwest Field is ruled out for a Super Bowl game. Partly because of the weather. The Super Bowl likes a warmer climate. So, why is it being played this year in Arlington? We are currently scheduled for snow followed by a DEEP FREEZE. Come Super Bowl Sunday we could easily be under a 4 inch coating of ice courtesy of an Ice Storm.

Seattle does not get Ice Storms. At least not in my experience. Holding a Super Bowl in Seattle you are right in the downtown of one of the world's trendiest towns, with Qwest Field served by multiple mass transit options. Arlington, where the Dallas Cowboy Stadium sits, has no mass transit.

Qwest Field sits surrounded by all sorts of touristy attractions, including a waterfront. The Dallas Cowboy Stadium is near Six Flags Over Texas and the Ballpark in Arlington, but other than that it sits surrounded by an awful lot of embarrassing urban blight. There is no urban blight surrounding Qwest Field.

I have no idea how many steps remain for the Seattle Seahawks to hurdle to get to the Super Bowl again. I strongly suspect the Seahawks will likely fail to get over one of those hurdles.

I really think, since the Dallas Cowboys don't even play in Dallas, as in the town could not manage to figure out how to erect a new football stadium in the town the team is named after, that this really should be the last nail in the coffin killing Dallas' ridiculous referring to itself as America's Team, which apparently dates from decades ago when Dallas actually had a winning football team.

I think Seattle should be the new America's Team. Seattle has been in a Super Bowl more recently than Dallas. Seattle apparently plays in America's loudest stadium. The team's stadium is actually in its namesake town. Qwest Field is in, by far, a more scenic setting than the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. Plus Seattle always shows up near the top of any of those Best of type lists, while Arlington rarely shows up on such lists.

Okay, that is enough locally politically incorrect verbiage from me this rainy Sunday morning....

The Manly Men & Wild Women Had Mostly Abandoned The Tandy Hills By The Time Of My Arrival

I was not able to make it back from Dallas in time for the 10 in the morning Manly Men/Wild Women Hike on the Tandy Hills today.

By the time I made it to the top of Mount Tandy it was well past noon. Nary a Manly Man or Wild Woman in sight from the view atop Mount Tandy.

Later on my daily hike I did see a man and woman hiking.

I was unable to ascertain if they were either manly or wild. I also saw a kid on a mountain bike pedaling north on the Tandy Highway, stopping at Tandy Falls.

As you can see by looking at the view from the top of Mount Tandy of the stunning skyline of the futuristic looking downtown of Fort Worth, it is a perfect blue sky day today in North Texas. A little bit on the side of being chilly, though, thus requiring long pants and two layers of long sleeved t-shirts, for the first time in several days.

On a totally different subject, this morning, Betty Jo Bouvier, after missing her plane that would have taken her to Texas to hike on the Tandy Hills, told me about a Beer Scandal that had erupted in the place where the Seattle Seahawks play football, a stadium that goes by the name of Qwest Field. Qwest is a phone company we don't have in Texas.

The Qwest Field Seattle Seahawk Beer Scandal seemed familiar to me. Has a similar thing happened in the Dallas Cowboy Stadium? Is that what I'm remembering? Anyway, I blogged about the Qwest Field Seattle Seahawk Beer Scandal on my Washington Blog.

I do not know if the Seahawks are out of Super Bowl contention yet. I do know their record is better than the Dallas Cowboys, who are out of contention to play football in the first Super Bowl to take place in their new stadium.

I must go watch the Seahawks/Saints game now, to cheer the Seahawks on to victory and that possible Super Bowl spot.

If I remember right the Seahawks have been in the Super Bowl one time previous. And blew it really bad.

Up Late The Chilly 2nd Saturday Morning Of 2011 In Texas

Looking out my bedroom window, this morning, you might guess I was up late Friday night, which is what has me up after the sun on the 2nd Saturday of 2011.

I do not like getting up after the sun, don't like it at all.

Even though the sun has been up for awhile it has only managed to warm the air outside my abode to a chilly 2 degrees above freezing.

Tomorrow we are scheduled, in North Texas, to go below freezing with snow making its first appearance of the current snow season. Not much snow is predicted to accumulate.

If I remember correctly the prediction was for not too much snow accumulating for Christmas of 2009. We ended up with about a foot of the white stuff that time.

Elsie Hotpepper has informed me that she is too heavily scheduled today to exhibit her hiking skills on the Tandy Hills during the Manly Men/Wild Women Hike that starts up in about 2 hours.

And I just heard from Betty Jo Bouvier regarding flying in for the Manly Men/Wild Women Hike, saying, "Sorry, I missed my flight. Maybe next year."

I have a sense that Betty Jo Bouvier is being a tad disingenuous.

As for me, I am currently scheduled to be on the Tandy Hills after the Manly Men & Wild Women have completed their hiking.

Josh Fox, Gasland Director, Calls For Civil Disobedience, Uses Fort Worth As Example Of What Happens When You Don't Fight Back

That is Josh Fox, director of Gasland the Movie, winner of multiple awards and worldwide acclaim, waving at you in the picture while giving a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is a state where the Marcellus Shale drillers pump their poisonous fracking fluids in to Pennsylvania rivers.

In his speech Josh Fox uses examples from the Barnett Shale as a cautionary tale, mentioning Fort Worth and its 10,000 gas wells. Mentioning the cancer cluster in Flower Mound. Mentioning the people made sick by the toxins in the air in DISH, courtesy of the huge natural gas operations in that Texas town.

Josh Fox explains how using Civil Disobedience is often the way things get done in America. Using Civil Disobedience to right wrongs is actually one of the concepts the Founding Fathers built into the U.S. Constitution, what with Freedom of Speech, the Freedom to Assemble. And various other Freedoms, all of which were put there to allow a single citizen to stand up to the powers that be.

Or the corrupt status quo.

Watch the YouTube video below of the Josh Fox Pittsburgh speech and hear what Josh had to say about Fort Worth and other parts of Texas...

Today's Brief Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Thinking About Elsie Hotpepper, Betty Jo Bouvier & The Queen Of Wink Being Wild Women Tomorrow

As you can see by the length of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man, I was semi-late to the Tandy Hills today. When I headed to the hills there was barely a hint of sun. When I started hiking the hills, no sun.

And then, for one brief moment the sun made one brief appearance. I whipped out my camera and was able to snap off one picture of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man before the sun went away for the day.

I got an email from the Other Tandy Hills Thin Man, Don Young, today, with additional info about tomorrow's Tandy Hills Manly Men/Wild Women Hike, starting at 10 am from Tandy Hills Park on View Street. I will copy and paste the pertinent new info from DY, regarding tomorrow, in the following paragraph...

"Post-hike lunch for those inclined at the 8.0 Bar & Restaurant in Sundance Square. They have a moderately priced menu for all ages and tastes. Meet in the Octopus Room. Dutch treat. Come as you are. I guarantee you'll have an appetite."

I do not know if Elsie Hotpepper is bringing her particular brand of Wild Woman to the Tandy Hills tomorrow. Near as I can tell Elsie is currently, for some unfathomable reason, being a bit reluctant about any form of exhibitionism, including exhibiting her hiking skills in hill mode.

I am fairly certain that the Queen of Wink and Princess Annie will not be attending the 2nd Annual Manly Men/Wild Women Hike. Near as I can tell the Queen is undergoing some sort of existential crises in her West Texas realm that is manifesting itself in a lot of Facebook introspection and navel gazing.

I heard from Betty Jo Bouvier, this morning, she being the well known Wild Woman of Woolley, that she may be being a Tandy Hills Wild Woman tomorrow.

I can say this for certain. If Betty Jo Bouvier is on the Tandy Hills tomorrow, for the Manly Men/Wild Women Hike, I can 100% certain guarantee I will be there as well, previous plans be damned.

Loud Warning For North Texas From The National Weather Service: SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT

The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement stating that North Texas has a chance of snow Sunday night through Monday. With incoming extremely cold temperatures.

The National Weather Service is very serious about this warning, apparently, because it was issued in all CAPITALS, which is the Internet version of shouting.

Below is the NWS Weather Statement, in full SHOUT mode....

...A CHANCE OF SNOW ACROSS THE NORTH SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY...

...COLD WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT WEEK...

AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT IS CURRENTLY OFF THE COAST OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF RAIN SATURDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY SOUTH OF I-20 AND AREA WIDE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. AS THIS SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS TEXAS SUNDAY...TEMPERATURES WILL COOL AND THE RAIN MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE TO SNOW NORTH OF I-20. THE BEST CHANCES OF SNOW WILL BE NORTH OF A JACKSBORO TO EMORY LINE...WHERE SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW IS POSSIBLE. THE EXACT TRACK OF THE UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL DETERMINE HOW FAR SOUTH THE SNOW OCCURS AND HOW MUCH SNOW ACCUMULATES.

AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO NORTH TEXAS MONDAY. THE BRISK NORTHERLY WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT ALONG WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILL READINGS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY MORNINGS. LOWS ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE UPPER TEENS NORTHWEST TO UPPER 20S SOUTHEAST BOTH TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY MORNINGS AND AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL ONLY BE IN THE 30S ACROSS MOST OF NORTH TEXAS. ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS OKLAHOMA MONDAY. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THERE WILL SOME LIGHT SNOW MAINLY NORTH OF A JACKSBORO TO EMORY LINE.

RESIDENTS ACROSS NORTH TEXAS SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER CLOSELY THROUGH THIS WEEKEND FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIAL WINTRY WEATHER EVENT.

Up Early In Texas On The First Friday Of 2011 Searching For Firewood

I am up early this first Friday of 2011, looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at my hot hot tub, sitting there in the balmy 44 degree heat, waiting to heat me up.

The forecast is looking good for tomorrow's 2nd Annual Tandy Hills Manly Men & Wild Women Hike.

I do not know how many Manly Men & Wild Women are expected to be in attendance tomorrow. Last year the number was in the 100 hikers zone. Plus a few dogs.

I need to get maximum enjoyment out of our current semi-balmy temperatures, before next week's predicted plunge into a Deep Freeze arrives.

I probably should stock up on some firewood in anticipation of a possible power outage during the upcoming Deep Freeze.

Several years ago the power went out during a Deep Freeze, with me finding myself quickly quite cold. I had no firewood. But I did have several big phone books. I figured the phone books had previously been wood. And so should burn and put off some heat.

Which they did. But the residue of the burned phone books remains in my fireplace to this day.

Maybe I can find myself some firewood on the Tandy Hills today. Mesquite should burn with a nice aroma.

In the meantime, I'm going swimming. Talk to you later.

Late On The Tandy Hills Thinking About Zumba Dancing With Elsie Hotpepper

In the picture you are looking at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, late this afternoon, from the top of Mount Tandy.

This is the first time I've taken a picture of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth since the loss of its 3 mile long Streetcar relegated Fort Worth to continue to linger beneath Top Tier City status.

Meanwhile Dallas got the federal public transit money that Fort Worth rejected. Which seems really unfair because Dallas is already a Top Tier City.

I was relieved when I arrived at the top of Mount Tandy today to find no randy Fort Worth cops engaged in any sort of illicit dalliance. Unlike yesterday.

The Randy Tandy Dalliance is what I've chosen to choose as the explanation for the two cop cars parked on top of Mount Tandy, and then scurrying like cockroaches in bright light upon my arrival, yesterday.

A mid-day doctor's visit is what had me late on the Tandy Hills today. Being late was a good thing. The temperature was in the 60s. Yesterday I wore shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. Today the t-shirt was short sleeved. Perfect conditions. I hiked a long long time.

Elsie Hotpepper was perplexing me today with her detailed verbalization about being an exhibitionist. I don't know if this has anything to do with saloon hopping. Or what.

Carlotta Del Rio, she being one of The Real Housewives of Camano Island, tried to get me to be in San Antonio today. I had to tell her, no, I am stuck in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex at the present moment.

Carlotta and Betty Jo Bouvier have been intriguing me about the idea of doing the Zumba thing. When I found out today that Shakira's hips not lying is a popular part of Zumba, it enhanced the appeal.

I wonder if Elsie Hotpepper would be willing to Zumba instead of saloon hopping?

The 6th Day Of 2011 Dawns Bright In Fort Worth With Casey Thompson Off Top Chef, Increased Murders & A City-Wide TCU Celebration In A Tiny Coliseum

The 6th day of 2011 seems to be dawning with yet one more blue sky day in Texas. Blue sky and we are at a balmy 6 degrees above freezing.

I need to remember to get anti-freeze before next week's predicted deep freeze.

I am in a better mood this morning than I was last night, because last night I went to blog on my TV Blog that Fort Worth's Casey Thompson had been told, on Top Chef, to pack her knives and go.

But, Google's Blogger program was in major malfunction mode. But, it's back working this morning.

Obviously, because you are reading this.

Yesterday in the Seattle P-I I learned that Seattle homicides are at a 60 year low. But this morning in the P-I I learned that domestic homicides are at a near record level. So, fewer strangers are being killed, but more family members?

Meanwhile, here in North Texas, I learned this morning in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the number of homicides rose in 2010 in North Texas.

What has more people killing each other in one part of the country and way fewer in another part? I suspect it's something in the water. Or air.

I also learned in the Star-Telegram that our Fort Worth city-wide celebration of the TCU Horned Frogs winning the Rose Bowl will not be city-wide. Instead it will take place January 16 in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The public is invited. But, I believe that particular coliseum holds less than 8,000. There are more than 700,000 people who call Fort Worth home.

What happens when all of Fort Worth shows up to celebrate at that tiny coliseum?

Well, I have myself a very busy day of blogging today, trying to catch up after last night's Google Blogger Breakdown stifled me from my blogging.

The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Pinhead Startling Scurrying Fort Worth Police Cockroaches

I was late in the afternoon today, making it to the Tandy Hills for my daily main dose of aerobicizing.

You can sort of tell I am late on the hills due to the lighting. And somehow that lighting made the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man into the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Pinhead.

The trails on the hills are in great shape, totally recovered from their recent bout of mud and totally ready to be trampled on by hundreds of Manly Men/Wild Women Feet this coming Saturday.

The temperature was nearing 60 when I headed for the hills this afternoon. So, once more, back in shorts and t-shirt.

Whilst moving fast today I snagged a stick and this somehow ripped a big tear in my favorite cargo shorts. These were my last remaining undamaged cargo shorts. This is nothing short of a minor tragedy.

Now, let's back up in time a bit to the point where I arrived at the Tandy Hills. Today I decided to hike from the top of Mount Tandy. When my usual parking place, underneath the Fort Worth Space Needle came in to view I saw two Fort Worth police cars.

Oh oh, this can't be good, I thought.

So, I parked far away from the cop cars, since they were blocking my access to my regular parking spot. As I began walking towards the cop cars one started towards me.

I had instant deju vu of last year's confrontations with white Express Energy pickups.

The cop car reached me. His window was down. He was talking into his microphone, but he stopped where I stood. I asked is there a problem? Is it safe to go hiking?

The cop said there's no problem. He continued on. So did I. Then the second cop car started moving. He drove right by me, driver's window closed. Passenger window open.

I reached in my pocket and got out my camera, turned it on and turned around to snap a picture. The first picture only showed the second cop car, blocking the view of the first one. I waited for the cops to turn to the left so I could get both in a picture.

Well, they drove past my vehicle and then pulled up beside each other again..

Now, why, when I showed up and started walking towards them, did the cops scurry like a pair of cockroaches when a light is turned on?

And why, after they thought I was gone, did they pull up side by side again? To continue talking through those open windows?

Were the two cops parked in this isolated location because they thought they could pass some of their duty time unnoticed? Was there no donut stand nearby?

It was all very very odd.

Looking At Chesapeake Energy Water Pipelines Today At Tarrant County College

I was heading east on Harwood today, driving past Tarrant County College. I don't know if this TCC campus is in Hurst or North Richland Hills.

Or both.

The Mid-Cities of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex all run together.

I was stopped at a light on Harwood and looked to my left to see the pipeline construction contraption you see in the picture, with 3 pipes going over an entry to the college grounds. There was another of these construction contraptions at the entry further east.

The three pipes lead to a pond located at the southeast end of the campus, at the intersection of Harwood and Precinct Line Road, at a diagonal across from the ALDI Food Market.

From the pond the three pipes run to a Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Gas Drilling Pad at the southwestern end of the TCC campus. It looks to me as if this is part of the college campus land.

Which had me curious. Did TCC strike a deal with Chesapeake? Is that how permission is granted to run the three pipes across TCC land to a pond that also appears to be on TCC land?

Is that water coming out of the pond metered and paid for?

The Chesapeake Energy Drill Pad Site was a beehive of activity today, crammed full of trucks and equipment.

I assume the well is being re-fracked. Or maybe it is a virgin well and is getting fracked for the very first time.

I always find it quite interesting when I see one of these operations. Seeing one always seems to cause me to wonder how permission is granted to do things like block entry to a college in order to build a pipeline tunnel contraption.

I assume money must be exchanged somehow, somewhere to someone.

The Freedom In Dallas Of Wrongfully Convicted Cornelius Dupree

The guy with his right hand in the air is Cornelius Dupree Jr., a 51 year old man who was declared innocent on Tuesday, in Dallas, after spending 30 years in jail for a crime he did not commit.

Mr. Dupree is the latest victim of the formerly overzealous Dallas law enforcement system to be freed by the Innocence Project. DNA testing proved Dupree had not committed the rape he was convicted of committing.

Another man, Anthony Massingill, who was arrested and convicted, along with Dupree, for the same 1979 rape, is still behind bars, due to a conviction on a second, likely equally bogus rape. DNS testing is currently being done to exhonerate the second victim of this most recent revelation of a Dallas miscarriage of justice.

Dupree was only 20 when he was arrested and falsely accused. He has lost 31 free years of his life. I can't imagine what this would be like. I would be sort of mad, I think.

Due to Texas having an embarrassingly high number of these type wrongful conviction cases being overturned by modern era DNA testing, in 2009 the Texas Legislature passed America's most generous compensation law for the wrongly convicted.

Texas has freed 41 wrongly convicted victims via DNA testing since 2001, the highest number in the nation.

Under the Texas Compensation Law Dupree is owed $80,000 per year of incarceration, plus a lifetime annuity. Dupree could receive a total of $2.4 million. A  sum not subject to federal income tax.

I read of Dupree's freedom in this morning's Seattle P-I. I saw no mention of this in the online Dallas Morning News or the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Did I somehow miss it? Or did the two local newspapers of record not consider this news? While the Seattle P-I online featured this bit of news in a way that I did not miss it.

Perplexing.

Up Early On The 5th Day Of 2011 With My Allergy Attack Under Control

I was up well before the sun was on this 5th day of 2011. But, I did not look out the window until after the sun had begun to make its daily appearance.

And it appears we are, so far, having ourselves another clear, blue sky day here in North Texas.

I am currently under the medicative powers of a 24 hour anti-histamine.

Which means, for the first time in several days, I, first thing in the morning, am able to look at my computer screen without seeing it through the gauze of watery, burning eyes.

I am not an advocate of  one taking medications in order to successfully navigate oneself through the course of a regular day. But that is an objection more to those who drug themselves with psycho-tropic drugs to control their bizarre personality defects.

Is psycho-tropic the correct term? When I typed it, it seemed right. Now I am not so sure.

I think I am heading north today, past the Richland Hills, to the North Richland Hills. Then heading east to Hurst. Quite a long distance itinerary.

In the meantime the hot tub is back being hot so I'm going to be back getting hot in it this morning. After a refreshing dip in the pool. Very refreshing, I'm guessing, because it is only 38 degrees out there at the present moment.

Questioning TCEQ's Successful Project To Make It Safe To Fish Again In Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake

That beautiful green waterway you see in the picture is the north end of Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth, Texas a few months ago.

There are signs all around Fosdic Lake warning fishermen to be wary of fish they catch in Fosdic Lake. As in, don't eat them.

The signs are courtesy of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, more commonly known as TCEQ.

Well, imagine my surprise to find myself contacted by TCEQ, asking permission to use some of my photos for a story TCEQ is writing for an EPA publication about the successful project to make it safe to fish again in Fosdic Lake.

I read that and a big HUH? crossed my mind. What's been done to mitigate the Fosdic Lake pollution that has rendered the fish safe I wondered?

I replied to the message, giving permission to use the photos and asking, "Is it actually true? Fosdic Lake has been upgraded to being safe to eat the fish????"

Below is the first message I got from TCEQ, and below that is the perplexing reply I got to the question asking if it was actually true that the Fosdic fish are no longer deadly....

Hi, Durango,

I work for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in Austin, Texas. Our agency is writing a story for an EPA publication about the successful project to make it safe to fish again from Fosdic Lake. Unfortunately, all our good pictures of Fosdic Lake show "no fishing" signs!

You have several nice pictures of the lake posted on your blog site and also at durangotexas.com (a site I am happy to find!). May we use one or two of them? We would be glad to credit you for the photos if you will let us know how you want the credit to appear, and whether you want us to note them as copyrighted or not. 

If you give permission, we will let you know which specific pictures we might use. I'm currently favoring these:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBZt4uw4ldPm6kopy-K1ETs7jg2jwow5ZYY4KLGBadeNn_XFAY46PybW909duZdlBFyDXwjwpvD5re81IhAGRHb2ViHha25PL-ebVu41B8B79aMazpwedFsgkla0TyombDdtBglLCkyXY/s1600/Fosdic+Lake.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dvQ50Y5ozxvvSw_1Mjvg8VeP6YD5yTYCB1D6oX9iFezK9CrOfHaY9Thx2Mhe9nOuQExW-RziiZYosaaMPwQA6lc7OHv_ChBns6kHNf3UdUo7lFM9tXUa5ctX03kogRYGVcAh9fxnrLI/s1600-h/Fosdic+Ducks.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYceb3LWFxKjzVHKsJEFKa73i-FkMe_xdpchEqltDA1dtHVaorI0ce69Gi6gv68AuqpAplJMZrSjKpSDdReYuTL1qNaBRo6CD0aMymT9eOFsnHMBWzdLb1K2BNOo4IneeJDqCG4Zid9Ac/s1600/Oakland+Fosdic+Lake.jpg

http://www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/oaklandlakeparkfiles/oaklandlakepark2.jpg

Please advise as by 1/7/11 or soonest convenient for you. Thanks very much for your time and for considering our request. 

BTW, it is nice to know that somebody else in Texas does not like the Cowboys ;-)

--Louanne Jones 

So, like I already said, I replied, giving permission to use the photos and asking the question about Fosdic Lake. To that I got the following reply, telling me that Ms. Jones is out of the office and wishing me a Happy New Year...

This is an automatic reply to your message.
I am out of the office from December 24, 2010 through January 2, 2011.

Please contact one of the following people if you require assistance in my absence. 

Public inquiries: 
Gail Rothe, grothe@tceq.state.tx.us, 512-239-4617

Water Web pages: 
E-mail the contact e-mail address on the Web page of interest.

Communications Coordination tasks: 
ac@tceq.state.tx.us. 

Please direct all other inquiries to my manager, 
Ronald Stein, rstein@tceq.state.tx.us, 512-239-4507.

Happy New Year!
--Louanne Jones

So, if Ms. Jones is out of the office, who is it who asked to use some of my photos to embellish something being sent to the EPA about the supposedly successful project that has returned the Fosdic Lake fish to relative safety?

And if TCEQ is writing a story for an EPA publication about the successful Fosdic Lake Restoration, but can't find any photos, but mine, without those vexing "NO FISHING" signs, why does TCEQ not take down the signs if they are no longer relevant?

It is all very perplexing.

UPDATE: Ms. Jones later got back to me, and put an end, for the most part, to what was perplexing. Below is the message........

Thank you for permission to use your photos! We will use one of the credit lines following, depending on which photos we use. 

Photograph© courtesy of durangotexas.blogspot.com or Photograph© courtesy of durangotexas.com

Sorry, my statement to you about the safety of fish consumption was a trifle imprecise. The consumption advisory has been lifted for all species except for common carp. 

The DSHS recommends adults and children 12 and older eat no more than two 8-ounce servings of carp per month. Children under 12 should eat no more than two 4-ounce servings per month. Women who are or might become pregnant and women who are nursing should not eat any carp from the lake. 

Sadly, there is often a long lag time between consumption advisories and posting of signs. The state Department of State Health Services (DSHS) issues the advisories but counties are responsible for posting signs. Though the advisories are usually up-to-date on the Web, the Internet is still not readily available to many folks. 

Thanks again, 
Louanne 

Hiking The Tandy Hills Today Wondering If Global Warming Is About To Warm Us In North Texas to Zero While Enjoying Avgolemono Soup

I decided to see if the Tandy Hills had been de-muddied by today, after staying away after last Friday's muddy stickiness.

Today, I was pleased to find nothing sticking to my hiking boots.

It is good the hills have decided to dry up.

Because they are scheduled to be trampled on this coming Saturday during the second annual Manly Men/Wild Women Hike.

I do not know if I will be able to be a Manly Man this year due to the news of this year's Manly Men/Wild Women Exhibition coming after I'd already made other plans for this coming Saturday.

However, plans can always change.

It is good the Manly Men/Wild Women Hike is this Saturday and not the Saturday following this Saturday, because, according to Fort Worth Weather Prognosticator, Bud Kennedy, reporting in his Facebook weather report, next week we are scheduled to get cold.

Real cold.

And the week following next week the projections are currently projecting the possibility that we could get down near zero here in North Texas.

I think I need to check the anti-freeze in my vehicle.

Let us change the subject from freezing to food.

I must say the Avgolemono Soup I made for lunch turned out way better than I thought it would. Lemon soup? How could that be good I thought? My mom and dad shipped me an awful lot of lemons. I needed to come up with some good way to use some of them. A classic Greek soup was a classic good solution.

I got some good stuff at Town Talk today. A lot of Roma Tomatoes. And a humongous container of Gorgonzola. Anyone need some Gorgonzola?

At times I wonder if former Fort Wortherite, current Tacoman, MLK, is right when she opines that Town Talk has made me fat. However, today I did buy 2 bags of Guiltless Gourmet Blue Corn Chips, in addition to all that cheese. Then again, those Guiltless chips will likely end up having an awful lot of cheese melted on them.

It is truly a wonder I am not fatter.

Up Early In Texas Thinking About Marcellus Shale Gas Drillers Disposing Of Fracking Fluids In Pennsylvania Rivers

It is the early morning of the 4th day of 2011 in North Texas. It is currently 10 degrees above freezing.

It was some fluke of the ISO setting on my camera that rendered the dark pre-dawn sky an un-sky-like shade of blue.

That shade of blue is sort of the unnatural shade of blue that Chesapeake Energy Hydraulic Fracturing Water Ponds are colored.

Speaking of which, the Chesapeake pond at the northeast corner of Cooks Lane and Brentwood Stair has been drawn low of late. I thought that water was the final resting place of fracking fluid that has already done its fracking, not fracking fluid waiting to do its fracking.

As long as we are on this fracking subject, I read a disturbing article in this morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer about disturbing fracking fluid practices of the Marcellus Shale gas drillers in Pennsylvania.

Apparently the Pennsylvania gas drillers have been disposing of their fracking fluids via the simple disposal method of dumping the liquid in Pennsylvania rivers.

I have read nary a word of this in the newspapers local to me in Texas. Do the local newspapers not want to give the local frackers any ideas?

And how do we know the local frackers are not surreptitiously disposing of their contaminated water in Texas rivers like the Trinity?

If the gas drillers are getting away with polluting Pennsylvania rivers, with those rivers in what I would think must be a more environmentally enlightened part of America than Texas, well, one can't help but wonder what those gas drillers might be getting away with in Texas, what with the Texas regulating agencies all co-opted by gas industry infiltration.

And with the state of Texas at odds with the federal agencies, like the EPA, who's job it is to see that bad stuff is not done to the air and water of America.

Is any testing done of the Trinity River to see if any nasty fracking fluids are floating towards the Gulf of Mexico? If not, why not?

It is so bizarre to me that over the past 30 years, or so, billions of federal dollars have been spent cleaning up Superfund sites. Those being dangerously polluted parts of America. And then to allow some industry to inject dangerous chemicals into underground storage, underground, where aquifers live, well, it just seems sort of obvious that at least one of those areas of injection, will become a Superfund site of the future that likely will dwarf the Superfund sites of the past.

Fracking and the gas drillers and the nasty stuff they spew into the air I breathe has been on my mind the past couple days due to myself having what seems like an allergic reaction to something. I am not an allergic type person.

But. For instance.

Last night I had a bizarre bout of sneezing, followed by watery, itchy eyes. I was unable to read. This morning all is fine. I live very close to a Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale gas pad. As in it is less than 1000 feet distant.

Today I am going to get myself some over the counter anti-histamines. I hope drugging myself helps.

2011 Tandy Hills Manly Men & Wild Women Hike

Yesterday I mentioned that it was a year ago yesterday that I went on my first Manly Men/Wild Women Hike on the Tandy Hills.

And that the Queen of Wink and Princess Annie came all the way from their West Texas realm to participate.

I was then informed by the Leader of the Manly Men, Don Young, that details of this year's Manly Men/Wild Women Hike would be forthcoming.

And so, those promised details came forth today.

This year's Forced March will occur on Saturday January 8, 2011.

At 10 AM.

The Hike will start from 3400 View Street. You know, the spot where the Prairie Fest takes place.

After the Hike, a group lunch, details to be announced, will take place.

I am a bit hazy regarding last year's group lunch. I seem to remember being some place in Arlington having lunch after the Manly Men/Wild Women Hike.

If you feel the need to RSVP your participation in one of Fort Worth's top annual events you may email Don Young.

Mr. Young is adding a bit of a teaser to this year's Manly Men/Wild Women announcement in that he is saying a side trip "might" be taken to the Witchey Tree of Tandy Hills. There have been some aspersions cast as to the legitimacy of Mr. Young's Witchey Tree Tale by some local skeptics.

I do not believe the well known Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier, will be able to make it to Fort Worth on January 8 to demonstrate her brand of Wild Womanliness.

I also do not believe Elsie Hotpepper will be able to hike the hills, even though she is pretty much the Wildest Woman I currently know.

I am fairly certain the Queen of Wink and Princess Annie will not be Wild Women this year. The Realm of Wink has been going through some regime change issues. There are some reports of a Queen Consort. And other reports that the Queen of Wink is in some sort of Eleanor of Aquitaine situation, kept under strict control, virtually under house arrest.

Anyway, the 2011 Tandy Hills Manly Man & Wild Women Hike is next Saturday.

Village Creek Natural Historic Area's Brown Bayou, Wildflowers & Canyon Animals

Freezing temperatures have turned brown the Village Creek Historic Natural Area's Bayou. Yet, even in its decayed state the bayou was a scenic spot today. A coldly scenic spot.

Deep inside the Grand Canyon of Village Creek I saw a helmeted female on a Village Creek Beach having a confrontation with some sort of wild animal that I was unable to identify.

I searched the Village Creek Natural Historic Area's designated Wildflower Area for some wildflowers, to no avail. I'll keep checking. In a few months I suspect wildflowers may appear.

The 3rd Day Of 2011 Dawns Cold In Texas With Thoughts Of Wild Women & TCU

The 3rd Day of 2011 dawns blue and one degree above freezing in my frigid zone of North Texas.

I saw no details, yet, in the Fort Worth newspaper of supposed record, the Star-Telegram, about our city-wide celebration celebrating Texas Christian University winning the Rose Bowl.

I believe TCU is the smallest school to ever win the Rose Bowl. And is also the only school with "Christian" as part of its name to win the Rose Bowl.

Or, likely, any other bowl.

I woke up this morning with an annoying twitch in my left eye. Why my left eye is twitching I have no idea. But I do know that I want it to stop.

Other than an unwanted twitching eye, I have no fresh maladies to report.

A day I wake up with no fresh aches or pains is the start of a good day.

I don't know, for sure, what I'm about to do on this first Monday of 2011. Except, maybe, finally get around to setting up the auto-deposit from Google to my new bank.

That and going walking somewhere other than the Tandy Hills. Speaking of which, I was informed last night, by someone who should know, that an announcement is soon to be forthcoming regarding the 2011 Manly Men and Wild Women Tandy Hills Hike.

I do not know if the Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier, will be in attendance. I suspect not.

The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Fat Man On The 2nd Day Of The New Year

I hauled my bloated carcass to the Tandy Hills today, parked on top of Mount Tandy. I was optimistic that the hills had dried out and were no longer muddy.

As is way too often the case, my optimism had no basis in reality.

Too much mud was quickly adding too many inches to my height.

I don't know what the deal was with the sun and the shadow today, but it appears I have gained a lot of weight since I last saw the formerly thin shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man.

Once I realized I'd picked up some mud, I decided to continue on, since the damage was already done. I had a fairly brisk hike. During most of it I was talking to Tootsie Tonasket, who had gotten me on the phone on the way to the Hills. Tootsie invited me over for Key Lime Pie.

And after that, Aunt Alice invited me over for ham cooked in ginger ale. I don't know if that sounds good, or not.

I realized, whilst navigating the mud, that today is exactly one year since the Tandy Hills Manly Men & Wild Women Hike. An event where about 100 hikers were strung out for miles on the Tandy Hills.

The Queen of Wink and Princess Annie drove all the way from their realm in West Texas in order to hike the Manly Men/Wild Women Hike. However, the hiking soon proved too strenuous for the Queen, when she developed a serious case of the vapors.

To recover from the vapors I drove to Arlington, to Sweet Tomatoes, where we found food. If I remember right, I then drove back to the Tandy Hills with the Queen of Wink and Princess Annie driving off into the sunset. Almost never to be seen again.

A year goes by so fast. And yet so much happens and changes during the course of a year. I'm looking forward to 2012. It's only about 364 days away.

The Dawn Of January 2 Thinking About Fort Worth's City-Wide TCU Rose Bowl Victory Celebration

This morning we are looking at the dawn of January 2 of 2011 from Miss Puerto's freezing balcony.

It is only 23 degrees this morning. That's cold.

Very cold.

I learned this morning that Fort Worth's TCU football team won the Rose Bowl.

Ten years ago I don't think anyone could have thought of a way the above sentence could possibly make sense.

I read this morning, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, we will be having a city-wide celebration to celebrate TCU's stunning Rose Bowl victory.

We have not had a city-wide celebration here in Fort Worth for years. Not since some obscure Washington, D.C. lobbying group picked Fort Worth as one of the Top Ten Most Livable Communities in America.

I do not know, yet, how the city-wide TCU Victory celebration will manifest itself. Will Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief make another attempt to dye the Trinity River purple?

I have no idea what this Sunday, 2nd day of the New Year, has in store for me. All I can rule out is I am almost 100% certain I will not be going to church.

A New Year's Day Walk Around Fosdic Lake Thinking About Fort Worth's TCU Beating Wisconsin In The Rose Bowl.

You are looking at Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth, Texas a little after noon on the first day of the New Year of 2011.

Usually on the first day of a New Year you see a lot of people in the parks getting on with their New Year's Resolution to live a more healthy lifestyle.

It was not all that many degrees above freezing today, and a wind was blowing, both factors which, I think, made it cold enough for some to postpone the start of their New Year's Resolution.

That and there are football games on TV today.

I got a call on my way to Fosdic Lake and during the course of that call I was asked if I knew what time the Rose Bowl game started.

I had no idea. I am not a football fan. I don't get what can be so interesting about watching a football game that causes people to watch them, over and over and over again. Endless variations of the same theme is what those games look like to me.

But, much, much, much more watchable than the version of football the rest of the world plays, that version of football that Americans call soccer.

The person asking me if I was watching the Rose Bowl seemed to be shocked when I said no, I won't be watching. But, Fort Worth is playing in the Rose Bowl, I was told.

Huh? The Rose Bowl is a game that goes back way into ancient times, where the top team in the Pac-10 plays the top team in the Big-10. Teams like Washington, Oregon, California, Stanford, Arizona, UCLA, playing teams like Michigan.

I was told that TCU from Fort Worth is playing Wisconsin. In the Rose Bowl. Today.

I tell you, Fort Worth playing in the Rose Bowl is just one more sign that our world has gone totally mad.

I looked it up. #3 TCU plays #5 Wisconsin, in the Rose Bowl, at 4:30 ET 3:30 CT. Today.

Now that I know there is a Fort Worth connection to the Rose Bowl, just try and stop me from watching.

Happy New Year From Texas

I am up after the sun, looking out a frosty 29 degree window at this first day of the New Year of 2011, which appears to have dawned with a bright blue clear sky.

I was greeted this morning with a message sent from Long Beach from the Scrabble Queen of Washington, telling me they got their razor clam limits on the last day of the Old Year and were having oysters from Wilkie Bay, crab cocktails and razor clams for their New Year's Eve dinner.

The Long Beach part made me homesick for the sound of big waves crashing on to a Pacific beach. And that seafood make my want seafood. I do not know where the nearest razor clam is in my current location, landlocked deep in the Heart of Texas.

My New Year's Eve Party went well. I was back in my domicile before the start of the New Year. I'm not a big fan of the whole ringing in the New Year thing. It really is just another day, with the calendar just an arbitrary passage of time recording device.

Well, it is time for my first swim of the New Year. It'll be a cold one.