Fast Talking & Slow Walking Around Fosdic Lake With Elsie Hotpepper

You are looking at the Oakland Lake Park Forest, south of Fosdic Lake, late this afternoon.

There were a lot of people today, walking and jogging and playing around Fosdic Lake.

Including Elsie Hotpepper.

Elsie Hotpepper had not previously had the Fosdic Lake  Experience. With the temperature in the balmy low 60s I thought it was a good time for Elsie to get some fresh air.

That and Miss Hotpepper wanted to consult with me regarding one of her current plots.

Elsie Hotpepper is a fast talker and a slow walker. My preference is that both talking and walking be fast.

I don't think I was of much use regarding helping Elsie with her plotting.

I really do not have a very well developed Machiavellian type mind. While Elsie Hotpepper may be a direct descendant of Lucretia Borgia.

Lucretia is such a nice name. I wonder why it is not used more often?

If I were to reproduce again, and the reproduction was a girl, I think I would name her Lucretia. Lucretia Jones has a real nice ring to it.

The NFL & City Of Fort Worth Ban Yum Yum Food Truck From Downtown For The Duration Of The Super Bowl Madness

I learned of the latest Downtown Fort Worth Super Bowl Nonsense this morning from Agent cd0103.

And then a few minutes later I logged into Facebook to get beat by the Scrabble Queen of Washington.

On Facebook I saw this latest Downtown Fort Worth Super Bowl Nonsense mentioned in a Facebook comment by former Fort Worth native, MBK, currently exiled in Tacoma.

MBK said, "Is Fort Worth turning into OLDFOGIEVILLE? So much for small businesses getting a piece of the Super Bowl action!"

MBK is referencing Downtown Fort Worth banning the very popular Yum Yum Food Truck til after the Super Bowl.

The Yum Yum Food Truck also has a Facebook page, where MBK further commented about this latest Downtown Fort Worth Super Bowl Nonsense, saying, "This is outrageous. The old FOGIES that run DTFW should be ashamed! The restaurants downtown won't be able to provide good service to massive crowds. It will be WORSE than during concerts/Main Street Arts Fest. Big Wigs are turning downtown to Oldfogieville!"

Til sanity returns the Yum Yum Food Truck is moving to south of Downtown Fort Worth, to 1220 Pennsylvania Avenue in the Hospital District.

However there is a complication. The Food Network is coming to Downtown Fort Worth next week, with the hope of taping a show called Outrageous Foods on the Yum Yum Food Truck. Apparently Yum Yum is known for its massive 10 pound Super Super Monster Burrito.

On December 14 the Fort Worth City Toadies, I mean, City Council, adopted an ordinance that bans non-NFL Vendors from Downtown Fort Worth. Only approved Vendor Booths will be allowed on the parking lots known as Sundance Square.

The verbiage in the City Council's order banning non-NFL Vendors is interesting, saying this ordinance is needed to "promote and protect the festive image in the downtown area" and to remove anything that might "hinder security, obstruct traffic or cause congestion."

The City's Code Compliance Director claims the city is not out to harm any business, saying "We're just looking to protect that area  of downtown."

Yes, I can see how the Yum Yum Food Truck selling hamburgers and burritos would pose a security risk, impede the flow of traffic and greatly diminish that festive image that Downtown Fort Worth is so good at projecting.

I wonder how many Porta-Potties are being brought in to line up on the Sundance Square Parking Lots? Can only NFL-Approved Porta-Potties be used? Are they bringing in some of those really cool custom made Dallas Cowboy Porta-Potties that look so attractive on the Dallas Cowboy Stadium parking lots?

With the Super Bowl being played in Arlington and with Downtown Fort Worth really not having all that much going for it, I'm wondering why the Fort Worth Fogies think there is going to be a big crowd downtown during the Super Bowl Week? Downtown Fort Worth does not have a single department store. Not a one. No Nordstroms, Neiman-Marcus, Macy's. Not even a Sears.

This department store deficit really is a sad indication of just how lively Downtown Fort Worth actually is. But removing the Yum Yum Food Truck will help make Downtown Fort Worth appropriately festive.

The Yum Yum Food Truck's location, prior to its banning, had been on Throckmorton by the Tarrant County Courthouse. You know, that building across the street from Downtown Fort Worth's #1 Neglected Eyesore, Heritage Park. In its current sad condition Heritage Park really does not add a lot to that festive image Downtown Fort Worth thinks it is protecting and promoting.

And now the smallest downtown, of any town in America with over a half million residents, doesn't even have a Yum Yum Food Truck. Plenty of Grackles though. Very festive birds.

The Last Wednesday Of The First Month Of 2011

Looking out my viewing portal this last Wednesday of the first month of 2011 the sky is bright and blue.

And the temperature is a balmy one degree above freezing.

I don't think I will go swimming this morning.

I made it through President Obama's State of the Union speech last night. I previously have had some trouble making it through his speechifying. But last night made two in a row where I listened to the entire speech without my ADD kicking in.

I am heading to the north end of the D/FW Metro zone around noon. I don't know when I'll make it back to my current location. But it will likely be sometime before the sun disappears for the day.

Thousands Of Grackles Are Massing In Anticipation Of The Upcoming Super Bowl

In the picture you are seeing just a few of the Grackles that have taken up residence at my neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenter and Sam's Club.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of the birds, all over the buildings, on vehicles. And standing all over the parking lot.

The Grackles have been hanging out in this location for weeks now. They seem to be getting very comfortable with their surroundings and are not as easily startled as they were a few weeks ago.

If you've ever watched The Birds, the whole scene is very Hitchcockian.

I read this morning. Or was it yesterday? That an attempt is being made to move the Grackles from their various locations, due to some people thinking this is yet one more local embarrassment in need of being hidden from the upcoming Super Bowl.

This particular Grackle infested Wal-Mart is just a few miles to the west of the Dallas Cowboy Stadium where the Super Bowl will take place. You can see the Cowboy Stadium from this location.

Across the street from the Cowboy Stadium is one of the nicest Wal-Marts I've ever seen. With the Grackles being such Wal-Mart fans I wonder if they have taken over that Wal-Mart yet? Or, are they waiting for the Super Bowl to make their move? They seem to be very smart birds. Smart birds are not Jerry Jones fans.

Maybe the Grackles are planning to fly into the stadium, en masse, through the open end zone doors. That would be poetic.

Efforts to move the Grackles have proven to be fairly futile in the past. Methinks the locals should embrace their Grackle Colonies and turn them into yet one more tourist attraction for the visiting football fans.

I'm having a bad reaction to the efforts to spruce up this place because of the Super Bowl.

I have known a slob or two who only cleans up their clutter on the rare occasions that company is expected.

That is how this local Super Bowl cleanup strikes me.

Really embarrassing.

A sloppy place picking up its clutter because company is arriving in town.

Shouldn't the litter be picked up all the time?

And I think I've already mentioned that there is no way to control where the Super Bowl visitors might be driving.

Rather than take I-30 into Fort Worth or Dallas, they might choose Division or Lancaster.

Division goes through some real eye-popping scenery in Dallas, while Fort Worth tops Dallas with Lancaster, Berry and Rosedale.

What if a visitor gets lost in the Fort Worth Stockyards zone and meanders around the neighborhood to the west? That won't leave a good impression.

Speaking of the Stockyards. Is the New Isis Theater being spruced up for the Super Bowl? It has been boarded up since I first laid eyes on it over 11 years ago. It is in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. I've been told a number of times that the New Isis is in the process of being restored.

But, unless it has been fixed up, without me knowing about it, the New Isis is still an Old Eyesore, that would be really easy to at least make look better from the outside.

Switching the subject back to the Texas Grackle Invasion. The Wikipedia article about these birds was amusing. And has a Texas connection.

From Wikipedia.....

Unlike many birds, the grackle benefits from the expansion of human populations due to its resourceful and opportunistic nature. The common grackle population has greatly increased in the Austin, Texas, area in recent years and is regarded as nuisance by some, due to aggressive behavior. Common grackles are considered a serious threat to crops by some, and notoriously difficult to exterminate and usually require the use of hawks or similar large birds of prey.

With just a few word changes the above paragraph could be an accurate description of Chesapeake Energy and its fellow gas drillers.

Hiking Through The New Tandy Canyon Looking At A New View Of The Envy Of The Nation While Thinking About Guarding Donuts & Gas Drilling

Today when I accessed the Tandy Hills via the View Street Trail I was pleasantly surprised to see a cool new Tandy Hills feature. With that feature being a canyon of cut brush rising from both sides of the trail.

And then when you exit the canyon you are treated to a new view of the stunning skyline of the beautiful downtown of the city that is currently the Envy of the Nation.

An awful lot of brush was bashed to expose this new view of downtown Fort Worth that you see here, looking across Texas prairie freshly rendered back to its pristine state free of invasive plant species.

Yesterday I mentioned that I did not remember the last time I worked as hard as I did this past Saturday. I did not say what it was I was working hard at. And then today someone calling him or herself Anonymous asked, "Does being in charge of dozens of donuts count as hard work, Mr. Tandy Hills Hiker?"

Well, in answer to that Anonymous question, yes being in charge of dozens of donuts can count as hard work.

An hour or so later, after my arrival on the Tandy Hills, as I headed back to View Street, I heard motorized racket. When I saw what was making the racket I was appalled to see a bulldozer dismantling the cool new Tandy Brush Canyon and depositing it piece by piece into a dump truck.

If you look closely at the picture of the bulldozer, above the bulldozer you will see the latest addition to the scenery you can view from the Tandy Hills. A Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Rig looking as if it is sitting on top of a Tandy Hill.

Up After The Sun On The 4th Tuesday Of 2011 Thinking About A Fat Bastard & Pain-Free Hiking

Looking out my window on the world this last Tuesday of the first month of 2011 I can sort of see that this may be a blue sky day over my zone of North Texas.

However, I read in the unreliable Fort Worth Star-Telegram, this morning, that snow may be falling this morning to the west of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

It is currently 5 degrees above freezing in my location, which would seem to render snow an unlikely occurrence.

Yesterday on my increasingly visited DurangObesity Blog the blog was visited by my new friend who calls himself "Fat Bastard." Fat Bastard is an amusing guy. He has a blog devoted to being a Fat Bastard.

A couple days ago I mentioned that I got a message from Elsie Hotpepper about landing an eagle which made no sense to me. Yesterday I got messages from Elsie Hotpepper which also made no sense to me. All about me being quiet. I had made no note of myself being particularly quiet, so this confused and perplexed me.

And I finally heard from the Scrabble Queen of Washington. I was starting to grow concerned.

My aching right foot ailment has greatly improved in the past couple days. This may make for some comfortable, pain-free hiking today. I hope.

Tandy Hills Brush Bash 3 Is A Successful Wrap

I can not remember the last time I worked as hard as I worked on Saturday.

This afternoon I got Don Young's report with all the specific stats about Saturday's Tandy Hills Brush Bash.....

The Third Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash is a wrap. On a beautiful clear, blue-sky day, a dedicated army of volunteers wrangled a mountain of brush up the steep Tandy Hills to the waiting trucks that hauled it away for composting. City of FW Parks & Community Services Department staffers led by, Michelle Villafranca and Dale Taylor, had cut the brush the previous week and assisted in the Bash.

The Tandy Hills Brush Bash Army came from all over the Metroplex. There were Boy Scouts, Master Naturalists, neighborhood folks, high school kids, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, a few PhD.'s and CEO's from all walks of life and all dedicated to getting the job done. And we did.

Wide open prairie vistas have been restored. The landscape looks measurably different and the prairie is much healthier thanks to our hard work. Here's the stats:

60+ volunteers

40+ community service workers

10+ dogs

36 large truck-fulls of brush

24 dozen donuts*

5 gallons of coffee, tea and hot chocolate*

1,000's of megabytes of digital photos which can be viewed on the Tandy Hills Facebook page, flicker and on our website.

Thanks to all who participated. For everyone else, pictures can't tell the story adequately. Don't wait until Prairie Fest. Come on out to Tandy Hills today and enjoy the new views.

Don Young

* Many thanks to Green Mountain Energy for providing coffee and donuts.

The Return Of The Short Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Thinking About Litter Chain Gangs

I was on the Tandy Hills shortly after noon today. The sun was fully exposed with no clouds impeding its brightness.

Which made for a very bright, very short shadow.

I saw some of the results of Saturday's Brush Bash today. Along the main trail from View Street the view to the west is now much more viewable.

On the way to the Tandy Hills I saw a highway crew on Interstate 30 picking up bags of litter.

Yesterday I mentioned seeing what I thought to be a Litter Chain Gang picking up litter on the other side of the freeway from where I saw litter being removed today.

I got a few comments and emails about the subject. The Envy of the Entire Universe thought these litter pickers might have been something called Super Clean 2011 Volunteers, cleaning up for the Super Bowl.

More than one person was of the opinion this was being done for the Super Bowl.

Trouble with that theory is the Super Bowl takes place about 2 weeks from now. That is plenty of time to freshly coat the sides of the freeway with litter. Texans are astonishingly adept at littering.

I am also fairly certain that those guys in green, that I saw on Sunday, were not part of any volunteer group. First off the bus that transported them to the location was the same type prison bus I've seen transport Litter Gangs to pick up litter along the Trinity River's banks.

And, yesterday there was more than one man acting like a guard, watching the Litter Gang slowly pick up litter.

Anonymous, if that is her or his real name, told me that inmates are used to pick up litter in Washington. I've never seen this happen. But, I do know one convicted Washington felon who would greatly benefit, exercise-wise, if she were made to spend weekends picking up litter.

On a totally different subject, yesterday, or the day before, Betty Jo Bouvier mentioned a goofy thing regarding her town of Sedro Woolley, that being that a Washington radio station was having a contest called "Are You Smarter Than Sedro Woolley?"

Naturally, some Sedro Woollians are taking umbrage. Meanwhile down in Portland, that's the biggest town in Oregon, Some Portlanders are taking a little umbrage at a TV show called Portlandia on some obscure cable channel called the Independent Film Channel.

You can read more about being smarter than Sedro Woolley and Portlandia on my Washington Blog, and watch an amusing video of Portlandia.

How come no one makes a funny comedy TV show using Fort Worth for material? It would seem this town would be a gold mine of comic material. Trinity River Vision, Moron Mayor Mike Moncrief, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Lancaster Avenue, the Stockyards, Shanty Towns, thousands of natural gas wells, the Stock Show, Sundance Square, TCU.

And all the other marvelous wonders that make Fort Worth the Envy of the Nation....

A Freezing Texas Monday Morning Thinking About Hiking With Jack LaLanne

Looking out my viewing portal it appears the 4th Monday of 2011 has dawned with a clear blue sky.

And we are back freezing again at 26 degrees.

I don't think I will be going swimming this morning, but I do believe I will be back on the Tandy Hills today.

It felt really good yesterday to be back hill hiking after many days of not doing so.

I was surprised this morning to learn that Jack LaLanne is no longer with us. I thought he would live forever. But he died 4 years shy of making it to the century mark.

I'll get in some extra exercise today in Jack LaLanne's memory. And make an eggplant casserole.

I Am Currently Not A Fugitive From A Modern Day Texas Chain Gang

I think what we are looking at in the picture is the modern day version of a Texas Chain Gang.

I was driving east on Brentwood Stair Road and saw dozens of guys in green with green bags picking up litter.

Brentwood Stair runs along Interstate 30 on the south side of the freeway.

I stopped and took a quick picture through my windshield. The picture does not even remotely do justice to how odd this scene looked. I only got maybe a quarter of the Litter Gang in the picture.

I know these modern era Texas Chain Gangs are part of the punishment system for serious crimes like failing to pay a speeding ticket or other small time type crimes.

I have seen the Concentration Camp that is just slightly to the northeast of downtown Fort Worth, where these criminals go on the weekend and then get shipped out on buses to do tasks like litter pickup.

What I'm wondering is how much do these type operations cost this cash strapped town? Special uniforms, special bags, a bus to transport the criminals, the running of that Concentration Camp.

I do not recollect ever seeing this type activity when I lived in Washington. Is there a "weekend" prison surrounded by fence and concertina wire somewhere near downtown Seattle, where 100s of convicted criminals go to pay penance on the weekends? I don't ever recollect seeing a modern day Washington Chain Gang picking up litter by the freeway.

But, then, there is way way way less litter in the Evergreen State than you see in this Littering Lone Star State.

Sunday Hiking On The Tandy Hills With Dogs, Humans & Waterfalls

I parked on top of Mount Tandy today, not knowing if the Tandy Trails were hikable.

Upon arrival at the mountain top I saw a pair of hikers with a canine passing the Fort Worth Space Needle. This was to be the first of many human and canine Tandy Encounters today.

A short time later I came upon 3 guys who I thought, at first, were homeless people, possibly scouting out a new Shanty Town location. One of them asked where I was parked. I pointed back towards the road that leads to the Fort Worth Space Needle. The spokesman told me they'd hiked from "way over there," pointing towards View Street.

For some reason they wanted to get a look at the Fort Worth Space Needle and did not realize they could drive right up to it. This trio did not have the look of regular hikers.

A short time later I found myself facing a German Shepherd type dog, who was in a pack of two, with another dog of a brand not recognized by me. I don't think the dogs were rabid and they were not too menacing. I never did see a human to match with these dogs.

About a half hour after that dog encounter I was hearing the rushing water sounds of the Tandy River as it roars over Tandy Falls. I'd not seen water flowing over the falls in a long time.

As Tandy Falls came in to view, to the south of the falls I saw 3 more humans, with 3 dogs. These dogs were leashed. I did not have a close encounter with this particular human/dog combo, because they took a different path at the next junction.

This was my first successful Tandy Hills Hiking Day in a couple weeks.

As you can see in the view to the right, looking west at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, it is a gray, wintry day this Sunday in Texas.

Looking at that stunning skyline, I wonder if Fort Worth's Moron Mayor Moncrief thinks that skyline is yet one more reason Fort Worth is the Envy of the Nation?

This afternoon I am more than a little worried about Elsie Hotpepper. The last I heard from Elsie was yesterday, with a very cryptic message that really made no sense to me. All the message said was "I landed the eagle."

What can that possibly mean? I hope Elsie Hotpepper is not out somewhere shooting eagles. I'm fairly certain this is not legal to do.

The 4th Sunday Of 2011 In Texas Dawns 10 Degrees Above Freezing

Looking out my viewing window on this 4th Sunday of 2011 it does not looks as black and white as what my camera makes it look.

The sky is mostly blue, not white.

I have no clue as to what I'm going to do today. I do have a clue as to what I am not going to do today.

As in I am fairly certain I will not be going to church today.

I am just about 100% certain I will not be going on a bike ride today.

I am also about 100% certain I will not be leaving Texas today. Or tomorrow.

One thing I am about 100% certain I will be doing today is heading down to the pool in a few minutes.

Talk to you later. Maybe.

The Dawn Of The 4th Saturday Of 2011 In Cold Texas

Does it look cold looking out my viewing portal to the great outdoors this 4th Saturday of 2011?

It is only 4 degrees below freezing right now. Does this mean we are in a warming trend? I hope so.

Since the picture from my viewing portal was taken the sun has continued its illumination duty to a level where I can now clearly see the sky over my zone of North Texas is currently cloud free and a very nice shade of blue.

In a couple hours the Tandy Hills Brush Bash will be under way. I have a complication this morning that renders it impossible for me to bash brush. I may be able to do some afternoon brush bashing though.

I am not certain, as one can never be certain what Elsie Hotpepper is going to do, but I think the Hotpepper may be bashing brush today. Something to do with the lure of free donuts. I may have misrepresented the donuts as Krispy Kremes.

I skipped swimming yesterday. I never skip anything two days in a row.

Talk to you later.

A Fosdic Lake Gas Drilling Rig, Sinkhole Filling Operation & White Tree Buds

A Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Rig hovered above Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park today.

The hovering gas rig was the first interesting thing I saw when I drove in to East Fort Worth's best park today.

Or second or third best park in East Fort Worth. I forgot about Gateway Park. And the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

But both the Tandy Hills and Gateway Park are further west.

I have just decided that Oakland Boulevard is the arbitrary dividing line that is where East Fort Worth begins, which does make Oakland Lake Park the best park in East Fort Worth.

A week or so ago I found a sinkhole on the west side of Fosdic Lake. Within a couple days the growing Fosdic Sinkhole was surrounded by crime scene type tape to prevent anyone from sinking into the Fosdic Sinkhole.

Today I was surprised to see a crew filling the Fosdic Sinkhole.

What fortuitous timing, on my part, to happen to be in Oakland Lake Park right when this operation was underway.

Now, I am no Sinkhole Engineer, but, as a rank amateur, as far as the Science of Sinkholes goes, I think one should find out what is causing a sinkhole, rather than simply filling the hole with dirt. That just seems sort of common sensical.

It will be interesting to see if the Fosdic Sinkhole now reappears. I will try and closely monitor the sinking situation.

Today while I was walking around Fosdic Lake I noticed several trees have had white buds spring out on them.

The picture I took of the buds does not do justice to how cool and sort of otherworldly the white buds looked.

Even though we chilled to around 20 last night here in North Texas, apparently some trees are somehow getting the message that spring will soon be here and it is time to start sending out some new growth.

I hope further freezing does not nip this budding trend in the bud.

Saturday January 22 Is The First Tandy Hills Brush Bash Of 2011

Tomorrow Mother Nature will be providing some extreme air conditioning to the Tandy Hills to help facilitate a lot of brush bashing without causing the brush bashers to overheat on the 3rd Annual Tandy Hills Brush Bash.

Below is the latest Brush Bash Memo from the #1 Brush Basher, Don Young....

Greetings, Prairie Keepers, Nature Mystics and Grass Huggers-

Grab you gloves and jump into your boots. Saturday is our big day of the year to fulfill our stated mission at the Tandy Hills prairie, in situ. The weather forecast calls for blue sky and chilly temps, perfect conditions for brush-bashing. Wear layers. You'll shed them quickly. 

Green Mountain Energy is providing coffee and donuts for the volunteers. Hot tea and cocoa will also be available. Green Mountain will also donate $20. to Friends of Tandy Hills NA for every new account they sign up at Brush Bash. The only energy cleaner than Green Mountain is the kind you will burn bashing brush.

> > > BTW: You are welcome to take home any wood that has been cut. There is Ash, Mesquite, Hackberry and Eastern Red Cedar cut and ready for you. Bring your garden carts, wheel barrows and wagons. 

See you Saturday morning!

DY

20 Degrees In North Texas Thinking About It Being 50 Years Since JFK's Inauguration

That is one icy view looking out my viewing window this morning.

20 degrees.

A totally clear, blue sky and 20 degrees. I will not be going swimming this morning.

But, I will need to find something to do today that is aerobically stimulating because endorphin withdrawal is making me cranky and slightly headachy.

Being an addict is such a burden.

On a totally non-temperature related subject, today is the 50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's Inauguration. It seems like only yesterday JFK told America that the torch had been passed to a new generation, saying, among many other things, that "civility is not a sign of weakness," and the more remembered, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Typing "JFK" caused me to think it's been a long time since we've had a President to whom we referred to by his initials. Methinks "LBJ" was the last one.

Switching from JFK and LBJ to a totally different subject.

For months now my various blogs have been inundated with increasingly weird, nonsensical comments. Strange gibberish things written as if by someone for whom English is a totally foreign language.

A mild example of what I'm talking about......

Excellent blog! I genuinely passion how it's acquiescent on my eyes as grammatically as the info are ooze written. I am wondering how I may be notified whenever a different record has been made. I own subscribed to your rss maintain which should do the dodge! Get a nice daytime!

Why would anyone go to the bother of making such a comment? And to what purpose? It is very perplexing.

It Is Feeling Like 17 Degrees This Windy Thursday Morning In North Texas

 I was a little surprised this morning when I stepped outside to take a picture of the view through the bars of my prison cell patio to find water falling from the sky.

Water falling and wind blowing.

As in a heavy wind blowing, so much so that the current temperature of 34 degrees, with the Wind Chill Factor, supposedly causing a Real Feel of  17.

It did feel cold out there taking a picture with the wind blowing rain on me.

I did not realize we were scheduled to have a return to be frozen with the low today possibly getting as cold as 21.

The Nation Weather Service has issued one of its Severe Weather Alerts in shouting mode, as in ALL CAPITALS. Below is a screencap of the current cold conditions and the forecast for my zone of Texas and below that is the National Weather Service shouting a Severe Weather Alert at you.

...WINTERY PRECIPITATION POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF NORTH TEXAS TODAY...

A STRONG COLD FRONT IS MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTH TEXAS THIS MORNING. THIS FRONT WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHEAST TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON. NORTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED TODAY BEHIND THE FRONT WHICH WILL USHER IN MUCH COLDER AIR. THERE IS A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN ACROSS MOST OF NORTH TEXAS THIS MORNING...WITH PRECIPITATION CONTINUING INTO THE AFTERNOON ALONG AND EAST OF THE I-35 CORRIDOR. AS TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW FREEZING...THE RAIN WILL CHANGE OVER TO LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR. THE PRECIPITATION MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE OVER TO SLEET OR SNOW ALONG AND EAST OF A BONHAM TO CANTON LINE THIS AFTERNOON. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE LIGHT SO NO ADVISORIES ARE BEING ISSUED. SOME LIGHT ICING IS POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ON ELEVATED SURFACES. AREAS NORTHEAST OF A SHERMAN TO EMORY LINE APPEAR TO HAVE THE GREATEST THREAT OF HAVING SOME TRAVEL IMPACTS...AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON IF THE PRECIPITATION IS A LITTLE HEAVIER THAN IS CURRENTLY FORECAST.

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

If The Chicago Bears Get In The Super Bowl President Obama Plans To Be In Arlington Watching

I learned today that if the Chicago Bears get in the Super Bowl, that President Obama plans to attend.

How does that work?

Does he pay the $2,000 that other people pay for a ticket? How many people are in the Presidential Entourage? Several dozen?

How is room found for the President and all who accompany him to a game that will be sold out?

Will room for President Obama be found in the Party Pass area?

Now, if I were currently President, during these very trouble economic times, I am 100% certain I would not be wasting taxpayer money flying Air Force One to D/FW International Airport to take the Presidential Limousine to the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington.

My 100% certainty that I would not do this has nothing to do with me not being much of a football fan, it would have 100% to do with the fact that I would not want to be seen so frivolously wasting money at a time of record breaking deficits.

I like President Obama. Not as much as I did when I voted for him though. I have thought more than a time or two that he seems to enjoy the perks of office more than what would seem seemly to me in the current era.

I am likely being thoroughly wrong-headed about this and will thoroughly deserve being chastised for my wrong-headedness.

Looking At The Envy Of The Nation From On Top Of Mount Tandy Thinking Good God This Town Has An Idiot For A Mayor

I was not able to get outside for any salubrious walking until after 4 this afternoon. I decided to go to the Tandy Hills, even though I was fairly certain the trails would not be dried out, I figured I could do some cross-prairie hiking.

I figured right.

In the picture you are looking west across the prairie on top of Mount Tandy. In the distance you can see the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, you know that town that recently became the Envy of the Nation because a school in the town won the Rose Bowl.

I learned this morning that in the same batch of utterings where Fort Worth's Moron Mayor, Mike Moncrief, told the people listening to him, at a celebration for TCU's Rose Bowl win, that that win made Fort Worth the Envy of the Nation, that additionally, apparently, the mentally challenged mayor also spewed out some profanity that offended the delicate sensibilities of some of the Texas Christian University Christians in the crowd.

I do not know what exactly the mayor said, but whatever it was, some considered it to be a case of taking the  Good Lord's name in vain.

Am I the only person in this town who thinks Fort Worth would be well rid of this sad excuse for a mayor? I've given up on the idea that the dishonorable mayor is ever going to get in any trouble for his conflicts of interest violations, making millions from the gas drillers operating in his town.

Maybe with Fort Worth being part of the Buckle of the Bible Belt, the dishonored mayor will be run out of town for taking the Lord's name in vain. In these parts this may be a worse crime than making big bucks violating conflicts of interest laws.

If You Qualify You Have Til Thursday To Pay $200 So You Can Stand Outside the Dallas Cowboy Stadium During The Super Bowl

That's the Rose Bowl you're looking at. In Pasadena. A long time ago, with UCLA playing Wisconsin. The top Pac-10 team against the top Big-10 team.

In my younger years the Rose Bowl seemed like a big deal. Nowadays, not so much, even though Fort Worth recently became the Envy of the Nation because a Fort Worth school won the most recent Rose Bowl.

Yesterday brought more weird local football news.

Jerry Jones desperately, for who knows what demented reason, wants to break the NFL Super Bowl attendance record, which is currently 103,985, a record set in the Rose Bowl in 1980 when Los Angeles won Super Bowl XIV.

Jerry Jones has been working on getting the NFL to agree that people buying tickets to stand outside the Dallas Cowboy Stadium during the upcoming Super Bowl should be counted as having attended the game.

Even though these attendees will not be in the stadium and will not be watching the football game in live action mode, instead viewing the game on TV screens. While standing.

The new Dallas Cowboy Stadium has around 93,000 legitimate seats. Jerry Jones will need to sell around 12,000 Party Pass tickets to beat the Rose Bowl record.

Well.

Yesterday NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy announced that the NFL will count Outdoor Party Pass tickets, purchased by season ticket club seat holders, as part of the official attendance.

I can't help but wonder how many palms got the Jerry Jones grease treatment to cause this ultra-goofy decision to come about.

There are no plans to sell the $200 Party Pass tickets to the general public. Only the 15,000, or so, club seat ticket holders can buy up to 4 Party Pass tickets. Club seat owners have til Thursday to buy Party Pass tickets.

If you are a club seat personal seat license holder in the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, paying anywhere from $16,000 to $100,000 for your seat, you are not guaranteed a chance to buy your seat for the Super Bowl.

Hence the ability to buy 4 Party Passes so you can stand outside while Jerry Jones sells your seat to someone else.

For the Super Bowl the outdoor Party Plaza will be at the east end zone plaza where you get to watch the game on a big TV screen for your $200.

In addition to getting to stand outside the stadium, in your Package of 4 Party Passes, you get one free parking pass, 4 commemorative programs, 4 commemorative scarves (to keep you warm in the likely cold temperatures?). And you will have the privilege of being able to buy overpriced food and beverages. And on top of all that the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders will put in an appearance to try and warm you up.

I do not know what the restroom situation is for the Party Passers. Do you get to go inside the stadium and use modern facilities. Or, for your $200, do you get to use one of those really cool custom-made Dallas Cowboy Outhouses?

Methinks if mine was one of the houses taken to build this stadium, I would be really annoyed to not be allowed to stand, for free, on my former property, outside the stadium, during a football game.

I can't be the only one who thinks this is all nuts, charging $200 per person to stand outside a stadium during a Super Bowl and then counting those standees as having attended the game.

Two Degrees Above Freezing On The 3rd Wednesday Of 2011 In Texas Aggravated By The Dallas Morning News

The temperature chilled to 34 degrees overnight, which seems to have caused a lot of condensation on my viewing window.

But, not enough condensation that I am prevented from seeing that this 3rd Wednesday of 2011 is starting off with a nice, clear, blue sky.

This morning my #1 Aggravation is the Dallas Morning New online. The hard copy version of the Dallas Morning New is the last newspaper to which I subscribed, til they aggravated me well over a year ago.

The online version of the DMN had a total makeover in the past couple days. You have to be a "Registered" user in order to read the full text of an article. I was already a "Registered" user, but had to confirm my info when the DMN switched to its new format.

One supposedly only needed to confirm ones info once and from that point on logging in would be automatic.

However, this morning the Dallas Morning News online did not remember me. I re-entered the info again. I then got a message that I had til some particular date to do some particular thing that made no sense.

I really don't need to be reading both the Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News, even though, for the most part, the Dallas paper seems the better of the two.

So, I'll give the Dallas Morning News online one more chance and if it fails that chance it'll be going in to delete-ville.

And in the meantime I'm going swimming.

Fort Worth's Shanty Town Has Vanished While The World's Biggest Outhouse Graveyard Is Still Prominently On Display

Last week I learned of, and blogged about, Fort Worth's Shanty Town of Homeless People.

The Fort Worth Shanty Town had existed for over two years, becoming a town with about 50 dwellings. The Shanty Town was visible from Interstate 30, that being the freeway that runs from Arlington, with Arlington being where the Super Bowl will be played in a couple weeks, and Fort Worth, where no Super Bowl will likely ever be played.

Even though Fort Worth is the envy of the entire nation.

When I wrote about it, I had not actually seen Fort Worth's Shanty Town with my own eyes. So I asked for directions to it from one of my fellow Eyes on Texas, known as YSD. YSD told me to drive down Bomar Street and before I got to Lancaster and the homeless shelter zone I would see the Fort Worth Shanty Town.

However, on Saturday, all I saw was one tent and some sort of ramshackle structure, where I thought I should be seeing the Shanty Town.

I turned from Lancaster on to Riverside, thinking I'd then see the Shanty Town, but I saw nothing, except what I believe may be the World's Biggest Outhouse Graveyard.

Clearly viewable, from I-30, are 100s of Outhouses, just to the west of where I had expected to find Fort Worth's Shanty Town.

I returned to Bomar Street on Sunday, taking along an extra pair of eyes to look for the elusive Shanty Town.

Still no luck. But I did stop to take some pictures of the Outhouse Graveyard.

Most of the Outhouses are labeled "Texas Toilet.." But one had the special label of "CAN DOO DFW."

Yesterday I told YSD of my inability to locate Fort Worth's Shanty Town. So, YSD took off to check it out and reported back that it was just as I saw on both Saturday and Sunday.

Fort Worth's Shanty Town is gone.

All that remains is one tent and one ramshackle structure. With no Homeless People to be seen.

Now, how did this happen? Last week the local supposed newspaper of record, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reported that the city code people were taking issue with the Shanty Town. Some of the Homeless People claimed they'd been given 10 days to get out of there.

City officials claimed no evacuation order had been given.

So, where did the Shanty Town and its residents go?

Where is the mother with the baby in a stroller? Where is the pregnant lady?

How was the Shanty Town so quickly de-Hoovervilled?

And does the City of Fort Worth really think a little Shanty Town of tents was more embarrassing than having what must be the World's Largest Graveyard of Outhouses so prominently displayed?

It is all very perplexing.

UPDATE: cd0103 has informed me that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram did have an article regarding the disappearance of Fort Worth's Shanty Town. Apparently I arrived on Saturday after the removal had taken place.

Taking A Long Walk Under A Blue Sky On Arlington's Veterans Park Boardwalk

The early morning cloudy gray sky soon gave way to blue. I prefer my sky to be blue and not gray.

I had to be in Pantego today. Being in Pantego gave me a perfect opportunity to take a long walk on the boardwalk in Arlington's Veterans Park.

Ahead of me on the boardwalk, where it takes a left, there was a little kid screaming at his dad because the kid was sure there was a troll hiding under the boardwalk. I think the dad was egging the kid on about the troll.

I told the kid I'd seen no trolls, just snakes.

How was I to know the kid was more scared of snakes than trolls?

There is a lot of work being done on Veterans Park. There was a "Bridge Closed For Construction" sign. But I saw no construction on the already constructed bridge.

The playground equipment has been removed with the new playground construction underway. The previous playground equipment was quite nice, so this new playground is likely going to be spectacular.

Unlike Fort Worth's parks, the Arlington parks have restrooms of the modern sort, with indoor plumbing. Plus picnic facilities, with running water.

If you live within 20 miles, give or take a mile or two, of Arlington's Veterans Park it is worth a look. The park has a variety of hiking choices, a Xeriscape to show you what you can grow in a low water Texas climate. A composting exhibit that shows you what you can do constructively with your lawn clippings. And a disc golf course where you can dodge flying discs.

Clouds Return On The Morning Of The 3rd Tuesday Of 2011 While My Drinking Water Source Changes

The sun has not quite illuminated my surroundings enough to make an absolute determination, but currently it appears we are back under a gray cloud cover on this 3rd Tuesday of 2011.

On a warmer note it is not freezing at only 2 degrees shy of being 50. Which you can sort of tell because no steam is fuming from my hot tub.

This morning I learned my drinking water may be tasting not so good for a few days. Apparently the Tarrant Regional Water District will be working on the water supply lines that bring water in from East Texas.

While the water lines are being worked on, the water I drink will be coming from Benbrook Lake. That is to the southwest of my location.

One thing I've not understood about Texas drinking water coming from lake sources is the lakes are also used for recreation. As in boats and swimming. Where my drinking water came from in Washington, the Judy Reservoir, that lake is surrounded by high fence with concertina wire on top.

I am used to enhancing the drinkability of my Texas water by keeping a big pitcher of water with lemon slices floating in it, in the fridge.

All this water talk is making me think it is time to go swimming now. Talk to you later.

Martin Luther King Day With Blue Sky At Village Creek Thinking About An Unstoppable Woman, A Hotpepper & A Grammar Challenged Queen

You are looking at an impoundment of part of Village Creek, at least I think it is part of Village Creek, although the main branch of the creek is to the left of the water in the picture. This impoundment may have something to do with the system that puts water in to the cool canals of Interlochen.

But. What is really important about this picture is something else that is shows.

Can you see it?

Blue sky has returned to my zone of North Texas.

And it is almost 60 degrees.

I really was starting to suffer my first bout of SAD of this winter. If I remember correctly I had several bouts of Seasonally Affected Disorder last winter.

I never was a SAD sufferer when I lived in Western Washington. A place with way more SAD type days than North Texas has. I guess I had developed a tolerance for drippy, gray days when I was a Washingtonian and Texas has caused me to lose my immunity.

Texas has caused me to lose so many things.

I heard from my favorite Unstoppable Woman today. The Unstoppable Woman is just about my favorite person I ever worked with to make a website. So many people do not communicate well. The Unstoppable Woman knew exactly what she wanted and was able to explain exactly what she wanted. It made it all so easy.

My other favorite Unstoppable Woman, Elsie Hotpepper, well, it goes without saying you really can not stop the Hotpepper. Even if you are foolish enough to try. Anyway, Elsie is safely back from her long weekend of tropical island saloon hopping.

And then there is the Queen of Wink. Near as I can tell her Wink Realm is growing evermore chaotic. I am not even certain that the Queen is still the Queen and has not been replaced by a King, who is now keeping the former Queen prisoner in the Wink Tower.

I got the oddest message from the Queen of Wink this morning, going on about her grammar errors, which the Queen called grammatical errors, as she complained, out of nowhere, about me being a Grammar Bully. I don't even know what a Grammar Bully is, let alone how to be one. And then, in her message complaining about me being a Grammar Bully, the Queen made at least one rather bad grammar error. I'd point it out, but I don't want to be a bully.

So, there you go, my exciting Martin Luther King Day. So far.

Fort Worth Mayor Moncrief Thanks TCU For Making Fort Worth The Envy Of America

You are looking at Fort Worth's ultra-goofy, ultra-corrupt mayor, Mike Moncrief, in purple shirt and tie, in Texas Christian University's Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Sunday for a public celebration where only around 6,000 TCU fans showed up to celebrate TCU winning the Rose Bowl.

You who live in the part of America that is not Fort Worth may be surprised to learn that Fort Worth is the "envy of the nation" because a university in this town won the Rose Bowl.

At Sunday's celebration Mayor Mike Moncrief thanked TCU "for making us the envy of the entire nation."

The "entire nation."

That is impressive.

I no longer subscribe to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Because it was no longer worth subscribing to. So, I do not know if the paper has reverted to using its "Green with Envy" type verbiage over and over again in its print version regarding some nonsensical thing that no one is envious of. Like some little known country music singer moving to town.

But.

I do look at the online Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and, though I missed it til Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to it, there it was, once more the goofy "envy of" conceit. This time in quote form on the front page, linked to an article titled "More than 6,000 TCU fans pay tribute to 'unbelievable' season for Horned Frogs" in which the Star-Telegram repeats the "envy of the nation" verbiage....

FORT WORTH -- As the community heralded its university and Rose Bowl champions as the "envy of the nation," one couldn't help but wonder whether guys named Baugh, O'Brien, Meyer and even Wacker weren't somewhere looking down and sporting smiles as big as Fort Worth.

More than 6,000 enthusiastic Texas Christian University fans filled Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on Sunday for a public celebration honoring coach Gary Patterson's football team and recognizing a 2010 season that was about as good as any in the 110-year history of the program.

I have no clue who guys name Baugh, O'Brien, Meyer and Wacker are.

But, I do know I read in west coast online newspapers, more than one Pac-10 football fan opine that a Fort Worth school named TCU, from one of the non-top type conferences, playing in and winning the fabled Rose Bowl is the final nail in the coffin of the widely disliked BCS system of choosing who plays in what football Bowls.

This somehow does not sound like envy to me. It seems more like disappointment that a fabled institution like the annual Rose Bowl has been greatly lessened. And is no longer even played on New Year's Day.

Now, what I am really curious about is all the years some team other than a Fort Worth football team won the Rose Bowl, was Fort Worth collectively envious of the town in which that winning team was located?

I do not recollect ever reading in the Seattle P-I, or hearing anyone opine that Seattle was the "envy of the nation" because the University of Washington won the Rose Bowl.

Do these locals who tout this type verbiage have even the slightest clue that it gets read by people outside of Fort Worth, you know, out in America, and that it makes Fort Worth seem really silly? And that it is sort of embarrassing to be saying this that or the other thing in a town like Fort Worth is the "envy of the nation."

This type bragging really needs to be retired permanently from this town. Until the day comes where something is actually worthy of such lofty verbiage.

The Dawn Of Martin Luther King Day In Texas Thinking About Going To Fort Worth's Stock Show

I went to bed early Sunday night and yet still somehow managed to sleep in late after a long night of very strange nightmares which I will not go into detail about because my memory of the nightmares is sketchy.

My chicken football fajitas turned out good yesterday. Much better than the football game. I erroneously thought the Seahawks were scheduled to start getting beat by the Chicago Bears around 1 in the afternoon.

I did not get back to my TV until a bit after 1 in the afternoon yesterday. By then Seattle was behind by 3 touchdowns and the second half was under way. By the time the 4th quarter was ready so were my fajitas.

I did not last long watching Seattle play football before the boredom syndrome kicked in. How do people keep watching these games through all those commercial breaks? I think I suffer from a bad case of FADD, Football Attention Deficit Disorder.

Changing the subject from football back to my dire existence in Texas. As you can see looking out my computer room window, it is yet one more gray sky winter morning. Currently nothing is precipitating from the sky. And it is again a balmy 13 degrees above freezing.

I have no idea what lies ahead for me on this Monday Martin Luther King Day. If it were warmer I might consider going to the Fort Worth Stock Show. I've only gone twice. It can be interesting. Saturday's Fort Worth Stock Show Parade drew a smaller number of parade watchers than what shows up when it is not cold. It has been several years in a row now that it has not been warm for that parade. If I remember right, ice cancelled the parade a couple years ago.

Well, it is time to go for my morning swim before it gets any later.

Sunday Dawns Foggy In North Texas While I Ready Fajitas To Watch Seattle Beat Chicago On Their Way To The Super Bowl

The Ides of the first month of the New Year dawns late with the ground covered in wetness from last night's downpours and fog making a haze of the view into the distance, which you can sort of see from the view from the window I am currently looking out.

On a happier note, it is currently 13 degrees above freezing.

I did not stay up all that late Saturday night, but, for some reason, I got up later this Sunday morning than any time in recent memory, as in, my eyes did not open to the dawn of this Sunday til well after it dawned. As in, past 8 o'clock.

It feels borderline scandalous to sleep in in this manner.

It is now almost 9 am. I have just a few hours to get my Football Fajita Feeding ready to watch the Seattle Seahawks beat the Chicago Bears so that the Seahawks can play in the AFC Championship Game. Which apparently will be a home field advantage game for Seattle, if I understood what I was reading correctly.

All Seattle has to do is win today, and then one more game and then they will be visiting here in Texas to play in the Super Bowl in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys are not allowed to play in the Super Bowl.

In anticipation of an exciting day of football, I guess I will go swimming now, out in the fog.

Fort Worth's Fosdic Sinkhole Grows Bigger & Now Requires Protective Measures

On Wednesday I was surprised to see a sinkhole forming near Fosdic Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park.

Today, as I was on the phone talking to Elsie Hotpepper, who I am happy to report is not saloon hopping on a tropical island, I was surprised to drive in to Oakland Lake Park to see the Fosdic Sinkhole has sunk deeper since Wednesday.

And it is now surrounded by orange and white pylons and yellow crime scene type tape.

As you can see, this sinkhole is nothing you would want to accidentally walk into while you were out on a peaceful stroll.

I have not heard from Sinkhole Expert, Gar the Texan, as to his assessment as to the cause of the Fosdic Sinkhole. I suspect the Fosdic Sinkhole will not grow to Wink Sinkhole proportions. If it did it would swallow Fosdic Lake.

Is Fort Worth's Shanty Town Being Dismantled Because Of The Super Bowl?

Yesterday's blogging about Fort Worth's Shanty Town generated some interesting comments.

The comments from "Ashamed in FW" mentioned something that had totally not occurred to me.

That being that it is likely the sudden interest in this Shanty Town of Fort Worth Homeless People likely has something to do with the fact that in a few weeks the attention of the nation, and to a lesser degree, the world, will be focused on the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex with the Super Bowl coming to the Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington.

ESPN will be broadcasting from downtown Fort Worth. City officials are expecting HUGE crowds downtown. I think this expectation is delusional, but what do I know?

Visitors driving from Arlington to Fort Worth on Interstate 30 will be driving right by Fort Worth's Shanty Town.

Back during the era of the Soviet Union, when visits by western leaders were rare, when one did get invited to a town, like Moscow, the route traveled by the leader was tightly controlled, with the route all spruced up.

Russia has a long history of creating what are called Potemkin Villages to fool visitors about the quality of life in Russia.

If the City of Fort Worth succeeds in the coming weeks in dismantling the Fort Worth Shanty Town, to remove that embarrassment from the eyes of visitors, what about the other eyesores? What if a visitor visits downtown Fort Worth and decides to head back east on Lancaster, Rosedale or Berry?

I take visitors from the Northwest on drives down those roads. My visitors are always shocked and appalled, not realizing that such Third World type squalor exists in America.

Are there plans to paint some sort of pretty face on the eyesore areas of Fort Worth? What if a visitor gets a bit lost leaving the Fort Worth Stockyards, driving around in the neighborhood around the Stockyards? That won't leave a very good impression.

On a related, but different note, back when it was announced that the 2011 Super Bowl would be played in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium I opined that this was going to end up being embarrassing when the national press gets a look at that bizarre building plopped down in a rundown residential/industrial area.

However, there have been many events that have taken place in the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium and I have not heard a word mentioned of the urban blight that surrounds it on 2 sides.

This sort of tells me that other stadiums in America must be located in equally blighted zones. The only stadiums I have seen are those in Seattle, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Diego. All with no blight. And so, I guess I had some sort of elevated expectation of what sort of location a stadium is built.

Anyway, I hope the City of Fort Worth finds a more elevated solution to putting a pretty face on Fort Worth's Shanty Town than doing something ham-handed like when President Hoover sent in General MacArthur and the Army to clear out the Hoovervilles that had sprung up in Washington, D.C. during the Great Depression.

And.

I hope the City of Fort Worth does not send in its Gestapo Army to clear out the Shanty Town that has sprung up during the Great Recession.

A Rainy Saturday In Texas Feeling Homesick For Washington & The San Juan Islands

I was up late Friday night, which has caused me to be up late Saturday morning. I hate it when that happens.

Rain was in the forecast for today. Looking out my peephole on the world this morning I can see it has already been raining.

Raining and 40 degrees. Welcome to a stereotypical Pacific Northwest Western Washington type winter day.

In Texas.

Speaking of Washington, this morning's New York Times had a list of "The 41 Places to Go in 2011.". The San Juan Islands of Washington was #2 on the list, between Santiago, Chile at #1 and Koh Sumai, Thailand at #3. Washington's Olympic National Park was a little further down the list.

I was shocked, shocked I tell you, that no location in Texas was on the list of places you need to go in 2011.

The dock to board the ferry to the San Juan Islands, in Anacortes, is about 20 miles from my abode in Washington. When I lived there I took the San Juan Islands for granted, but had a great time anytime I took the ferry out to the islands. I did this twice in the months leading to my move to Texas. If I remember right the last time included going to the San Juan County Fair at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, eventually sitting at an outdoor bar watching the harbor and catching the last ferry of the night to the mainland.

The San Juan Islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympics, hence getting way less rain than where I lived. What those who have never lived in the Northwest, who think it rains all the time, don't understand, is the geography is so diverse you can easily escape the rain, if you want to, unlike in my current location, where there is no escape, no ferry to anywhere.

So, I'm starting Saturday just slightly homesick for Washington. And all there is to do there on a rainy day.

Fort Worth's Shanty Town For Homeless People Under Attack By Fort Worth

I just listened to the most depressing video. Basically the world as we know it will soon come to an end. As in, within the next two years the American economy will collapse, the U.S. dollar will no longer be the world's reserve currency, inflation will be astronomical, food riots will break out.

And Shanty Towns will spring up all over America, as Americans lose their homes. On the depressing video the depressing video maker said Shanty Towns are already springing up, some big, like in Fresno, California, visited by that savior of the downtrodden, Oprah Winfrey.

The depressing video did not mention depressing Fort Worth and its Shanty Town. I knew of Fort Worth's Homeless Person Problem. But I did not know we had a Shanty Town of around 50 tents, until one of Fort Worth's Best Texans, Steve Doeung told me about it.

The Shanty Town is not all that far from my abode. Just a short distance west of the Tandy Hills Natural Area, on the south side of the Trinity River near Riverside Drive and Lancaster Avenue.

The Fort Worth Shanty Town has a mayor, There is a kitchen tent with two camp stoves. Another tent serves as the camp's food storehouse. The residents of Fort Worth's Shanty Town are pretty much a cross section of America; Black, White, Mexican, a mom with a baby in a stroller, some old, some young.

Some of the residents have lived in Fort Worth's Shanty Town since it was first founded, over two years ago.

Despite sending out study groups to other towns to take a look at their Homeless People Programs, in places like Portland, Seattle and Denver, the City of Fort Worth has not come up with any new solutions to the Homeless Problem

Local churches fill the void, delivering supplies to Fort Worth's Shanty Town.

And now, despite Fort Worth's Shanty Town not really creating any real problems. And despite the fact that Fort Worth's Shanty Town is providing a community where Homeless People can sleep safe at night, the City of Fort Worth apparently has decided the Homeless People must abandon their camp and move elsewhere.

City Code Officers descended upon Fort Worth's Shanty Town and supposedly found many violations.

I can't help but wonder if the veracity of those violations is just as legitimate as what Fort Worth Code Officers found during their Gestapo Raids on Steve Doeung's Carter Avenue home, in ham-handed attempts to stifle Steve Doeung in his successful fight against the City of Fort Worth and Chesapeake Energy.

Supposedly the Fort Worth Shanty Town is on private property with the owner unaware his property has sprouted a town and with the owner telling the Code Officers that the Shanty Town residents did not have his permission to set up camp.

The residents of Fort Worth's Shanty Town believe they have been given 10 days to get out of their Shanty Town. However, Brandon Bennett, he being Fort Worth's Code Compliance Director said no vacate deadline has been issued, but criminal trespass citations could start being issued if the property owner wants the Homeless People off his property.

The whole scenario reminds me of the Grapes of Wrath. The part where the Joad Family finally got to a safe camp, ironically run by the government, with the locals not wanting them there and trying to stage an incident to cause the shut down of the camp.

Methinks that since it seems obvious that Fort Worth's Shanty Town is solving a problem the City of Fort Worth has not addressed, as in, finding a safe place for Homeless People to seek refuge, that rather than working to destroy the Shanty Town, the City of Fort Worth, working with area churches, should find an acceptable piece of land, somewhere, land with running water. Bring in Port-a-Potties. Fort Worth has a big supply of Port-a-Potties in its parks. And bring in a couple big trash bins.

Fort Worth's City Homeless Program Director, Otis Thornton, claims Fort Worth's homeless shelters have room to accommodate the Shanty Town's residents and blames the church groups for causing the Shanty Town to grow by delivering food and supplies.

I really find it hard to believe that all these people would prefer living in tents in a Shanty Town if there were decent facilities available to accommodate them.

And, please, don't let me hear some City of Fort Worth official get all high and mighty about supposed code violations in Fort Worth's Shanty Town, not when more than one Fort Worth City Park lacks running water or restrooms, but has picnic facilities.

I wonder if my favorite Cambodian-American ever thought he would see something like Fort Worth's Shanty Town in the America he envisioned when his family escaped Cambodia to start a new life in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?

That is, the Brave who have a Home....

Giant White Puffballs & Startled Ducks Today At Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake

Today as I walked across the grassy field that surrounds Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park I came upon an area where stems with big white puffballs were sticking out of the ground like gray-haired wildflowers.

Such a delicate looking bloom.

The increase in temperature, to a relatively balmy 12 degrees above freezing, had more people out walking and running than when the temperature was 12 degrees on the other side of freezing.

When I got to Fosdic Lake I got out my phone to make a call and saw I had a message. It was Elsie Hotpepper, urgently wanting me to call her back because she had something to tell me that would amuse me.

I like to be amused, so I called Elsie back. But, she did not answer. Instead I got a long message about tropical islands, cruise ships and saloon hopping.

I take this to mean that Elsie Hotpepper is taking a cruise ship to a tropical island to do some saloon hopping. I guess I can see where I might find that amusing.

I don't previously recollect ever seeing as many ducks taking refuge on Fosdic Lake as I did today. Many of the ducks were huddled near the shore. Others were huddled in the water.

The lady in the picture is looking at the ducks with an expression of horror. I think she thought those were dead ducks that had washed up on shore, rather than live ducks who were at that location by choice.

The lady looked relieved when I startled the beached ducks and they flew out on to the lake.

Startling ducks and relieving old ladies passes for excitement in my sad little world.