Pondering Fort Worth's Rail-Free Rise To World Class City Status With Litter, Eyesores & Dirt Paths

Northside Drive I-35 Exit To The Fort Worth Stockyards

In the picture you are looking at the northbound exit to Northside Drive from Interstate 35W. This is the  freeway exit that leads to the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Please make note of the fact that this freeway exit is not landscaped and is littered. We will come back to this later.

The cover story in the most recent edition of Fort Worth Weekly is titled "A Tale of Two Rail Systems." With the subtitle being "Tarrant and Dallas took different public transit routes. Guess who is ahead?"

A Dallas attorney, Walt Humann, is extensively quoted in this story, because the story is about public transit in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and attorney Humann is credited with the founding of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit).

In the article Walt Humann is quoted as saying...

“But if you are going to be a world-class city, you have to have a great mass- transit system, I think Fort Worth is at a point right now where that issue is gaining more importance. One way that big cities solve the transportation problem is to add different mass-transit options. That’s what world-class cities do. Fort Worth needs to start thinking of itself as a world-class city, because in many ways it already is.”

Can you guess the part of the above quote that had me perplexed? If you guessed it was the part that indicated that in many ways Fort Worth is already a world-class city, you guessed right.

I was baffled. I could not think of a single way in which Fort Worth is a world-class city. Is one of the ways the fact of having that extremely tacky looking Cowtown Wakeboard Park, that is part of the ongoing Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, which Boondoggle Leader, J.D. Granger, says is the World's Premiere Urban Wakeboard Park?

I thought to myself that I don't actually know what makes for a world-class city, so I turned to Google.

The Wikipedia article on this important subject says in part, "A world-class city is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade."

The Urban Dictionary article on this important subject says in part, "A world-class city is a major international destination. Most often it's a major, international political, cultural or commercial center. Includes cities of all sizes and not just the world's largest."

In the Wikipedia list of world-class cities the only town in Texas on the list is Austin. The list is broken down from Alpha towns at the top, like #1 New York City, to Beta towns, and then Gamma towns, of which Austin is one.

Apparently a world-class city comes to be one by being an important political, cultural or commercial center.

Well, Fort Worth does have a Cultural District. I don't know if any other world-class cities name the location of their town's museums as the town's "Cultural District."

Commercial center? Let's see. American Airlines is based in Fort Worth. And bankrupt.

Radio Shack is based in Fort Worth. But had to sell its new corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Worth, a corporate headquarters that was built by abusing eminent domain, taking acres of free parking and closing the world's shortest free subway, which was Fort Worth's only light rail.

Tarrant County College is now located in the defunct former Radio Shack headquarters, because of TCC's own building boondoggle in downtown Fort Worth that ran amok, cost-wise.

Pier One Imports is based in Fort Worth. Pier One Imports built a very nice new corporate headquarters, that Pier One Imports could not afford. So, Chesapeake Energy bought the Pier One Imports corporate headquarters for building space from which to run their shadow government of Fort Worth.

I know the locals take great pride in their collection of museums in the Cultural District. I had never heard of these museums until I moved to Texas. I recently bought the Lonely Planet travel guide to Texas. In the Lonely Planet Texas travel guide one section lists the Top 10 museums to see in Texas. The only one in Fort Worth, on the list, is the National Cowgirl Museum.

I don't think Fort Worth has any particular political influence on the nation or world that is of the world-class city sort. The town is run by an oligarchy, good ol' boy network type system of local government, that does not even allow its citizens to vote on public works projects, like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Fort Worth is the only city in America with a population over 500,000 without a department store in its downtown. There is also no grocery store in downtown Fort Worth. On the busiest shopping day of the year, that being the day after Thanksgiving, downtown Fort Worth is a ghost town.

I really don't think a town can be a world-class city with no downtown department stores or grocery stores.

I have never seen a big city with so many streets without sidewalks, as Fort Worth, with so many of its residents walking on dirt paths worn into the ground beside the streets. I really think world-class cities are likely big on having sidewalks.

Would a world-class city allow a park in its downtown, like Heritage Park, to become a closed, chain-link fence surrounded eyesore?

Fort Worth has more holes poked into its ground, by Natural Gas Drillers, than any other city in the world. Maybe this is what Mr. Humann means to be one of the ways Fort Worth is a world-class city.

Maybe someone could ask Dallas attorney, Walt Humann, in what ways he believes Fort Worth is a world-class city and help alleviate me of my bafflement.

Regarding being a world-class city, let's go back to that picture at the top of the freeway exit which leads to Fort Worth's top tourist attraction, the Fort Worth Stockyards.

A world-class city would landscape and keep litter free the exits to its top tourist attraction.

The two little towns in the valley I lived in in Washington, through which the I-5 freeway passes, landscape their freeway exits, those towns being Mount Vernon and Burlington, combined population around 40,000.

Fort Worth does not need to go all the way to Washington to see how grown up cities beautify their towns. Just go visit Grapevine. Or North Richland Hills. Both towns have done real good jobs of landscaping their main roads. And using native plants to do so.

Fort Worth's shabby freeway exits are a shameful thing.

For another example, for Fort Worth, look at what Arlington's done with the new bridges and freeway exits to the Six Flags-Ballpark in Arlington-Cowboys Stadium Entertainment District. It is quite impressive, the landscaping, the pedestrian crossings over the new bridges, the murals.

Maybe the City of Fort Worth should stop ticketing and fining Don Young for growing a native plant Xeriscaped yard, and instead enlist Mr. Young's help in designing some sensible, water-free landscaping for Fort Worth's eyesore freeway exits.

It just occurred to me. There is something called a Citizen's Arrest, where a citizen can arrest someone they see doing a bad thing. Is there such a thing as a Citizen's Citation? If the city can ticket and fine Don Young for growing native prairie grass, could Don Young serve Betsy Price with a citation for allowing the freeway exits to the Fort Worth Stockyards to be a weedy, littered mess?

I think a $500 fine would be apropos for Betsy, along with, maybe, 50 hours of community service. Picking up litter, perhaps.

I'm done now. For now.

The 2nd Monday Of 2012 Is Dripping In Texas With Butternut Squash

You can not tell by looking at the photo of the view through the bars of my patio prison cell that the sky is dripping on this second Monday morning of 2012.

The sky began dripping soon after the sun left for the day, Sunday night. The dripping continued its soothing rhythm, all night long. Well, more accurately, every time I woke up I heard rain hitting the window.

At no point did the rain come down at a copious volume of the sort I call a Classic Texas Downpour.

Instead the dripping seemed to be of the slow motion sort that plagues the Puget Sound zone of Western Washington for about 9 months of the year.

Changing the subject from rain to squash.

When I was a kid there were not many food items that I had a distaste for. One of the few was Squash. I did not like anything about it. How it tasted, how it smelled. And its texture.

Years ago, during one of my periods of extreme obesity, I went on the Atkins Diet. One of the recipes on the Atkins Diet had you making spaghetti using Spaghetti Squash for the noodles. I never tried  Spaghetti Squash  whilst on the Atkins Diet due to my Squash aversion.

Well.

Last week I found  Spaghetti Squash  at Town Talk. Bought one, Googled for cooking instructions, cooked it and was amazed how much like spaghetti the stuff that came out of the gourd was. Spaghetti Squash  is not too flavorful, thus a good combo with spaghetti sauce.

On Saturday, at Town Talk I got a Butternut Squash and an Acorn Squash. Yesterday I cooked the Butternut Squash. This one turned out to be similar to the Squash of my younger years that my mom would insist at least a bite of which needed to be consumed.

Well.

I now, in my almost elderly years, have discovered Butternut Squash is real tasty. I must return to Town Talk and get myself a Squash supply.

In the meantime, I am not going swimming.

Listening To Bird Jazz With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts & Finding The Gate To Fort Chesapeake Still Open

A very cloudy sky made for a not very blue Village Creek Blue Bayou today.

Today I think there were more vehicles parked in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot than I've ever seen before.

Apparently walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Village Creek is growing popular with the locals.

I can understand why walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Village Creek is growing popular with the locals.

It is very relaxing.

Today the walk with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts was both very relaxing and very quiet. The only sound was the symphony of chirping birds tweeting the bird version of improvisational jazz.

After I was done listening to bird jazz I drove to the ALDI Food Market in Pantego to get some food. Like a big spiral cut ham.

Upon arrival back in my home zone I saw that the gates of Fort Chesapeake are still open.

Fort Chesapeake's Gate Was Wide Open So I Walked Inside

Water Flowing Past The Open Gate Of
Fort Chesapeake

I mentioned earlier that last night I saw an odd thing at my neighborhood Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Site that I call Fort Chesapeake.

That odd thing was the gate to the pad site was wide open.

I thought maybe Chesapeake had someone staying on the site 24 hours a day. I told myself I'd find out in the morning.

Well.

The gate was still wide open this morning. I did not want to walk into the drill pad site until I checked to see if there was any sign of life inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake.

Looking Inside Fort Chesapeake From The
Loop 820 Vantage Point

So, I walked to the side of the site that faces the Loop 820 freeway. No wall blocks the view from this side.

As you can see via the view from the wall-less east side of the pad site, there is no sign of human activity inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake.

An unsecured Fort Chesapeake gas drilling site with a well at its center. An unprotected well.

After determining that Fort Chesapeake was unguarded I walked back to the open gate.

In the above photo I am standing where the gate should be. As you can see, some of our precious, dwindling supply of Trinity River water is leaking from the pipes. This seemed odd to me, because the pipes are not fully installed, near as I could tell. And the fracking is not yet happening, as you can see on the sign below.

The sign says "Frac Job Will Begin 1-10-12". That is tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what volume of leaking occurs when the fracking happens. Now that we know when the fracking starts, let's continue our look inside the open gate.

I only walked inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake for a few feet. I felt way too exposed to too many eyes. That bump in the middle of the picture, to the right of the red train car looking box, is the point where the ground has been poked into which the fracking water will be injected. It is currently totally unsecured. I could have easily walked up to it and turned a valve, if there was a valve to be turned.

Above is a view of the leaky pipes, west of Fort Chesapeake, heading north towards the Trinity River. How is permission granted to run 3 pipes across some of which I do not believe is land owned by Chesapeake Energy? That is a storage unit business on the right, Havenwood Apartments on the left.

Up Late The 2nd Sunday Of 2012 After Saturday Night's Republican Debate

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world you might guess I got up after the sun on this second Sunday of the New Year.

Your guess would be correct.

The sky appears to be bluer than yestermorning's gray, cloud-covered sky.

I was not at a location with television viewing capability until about a half hour in to last night's Republican Debate.

On my way back to a location with television viewing capability, that being my abode, I saw some oddness at my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake. It was dark at that point in time, so I did not think I could document the oddness with photos. I will walk to Fort Chesapeake this morning, with the hope that the oddness will be available for photo documenting.

Regarding last night's Republican Debate. Methinks there have been way too many Republican Debates this election cycle. To me the debates have seemed to spiraled down to being somewhat farcical.

The most strangely farcical moment last night came from a bizarre, nonsensical question from George Stephanopoulos, asking something about contraception. The question was asked of Mitt Romney, who was just as perplexed as the viewers about the question. Even after Romney made it clear that Stephanopoulos' question made no sense, Stephanopoulos proceeded with pressing for an answer to his nonsensical question.

Ron Paul seemed to loop into loopyland more than normal last night. I like Ron Paul. But, he has articulation problems at times.

Rick Perry continues to embarrass me. And himself.

Rick Santorum bugs me. I'm not quite sure why.

It was an improvement to be rid of Michelle Bachmann.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now.

Reservations About The Tandy Hills Manly Men Wild Women Hike & Elsie Hotpepper's Baby Talk

The Stunning Skyline Of Beautiful Downtown Fort Worth
On The Cloudy 1st Saturday Of The new Year

As you may be able to tell from the non-blue sky, it is a cloudy day in North Texas.

Today's view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth is from the far northeast corner of the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

I hiked to the far northeast corner of the Tandy Hills today because I wanted to see what the Fort Worth Water Crews have been up to the past couple days.

I made it to the Tandy Hills well after the Manly Men and Wild Women had finished their yellow ribbon guided hike.

I did not go on the Manly Men Wild Women Hike because I'd sent in my RSVP ASAP as directed, but my reservation had not been confirmed by hiking time and I just did not feel right about showing up without a confirmed reservation.

Okay, the real reason I did not go hiking with the legion of Manly Men and Wild Women is I learned on the first Manly Men Wild Women Hike that I am unable to keep up with the fast pace set by the leader of the Manly Men, Godfather Don.

My hiking on the Tandy Hills is done real slow, at a very relaxing speed. Like a turtle. Those high speed Manly Men and Wild Women quickly leave me running out of breath and hyperventilating.

Changing the subject from Manly Men to Elsie Hotpepper and having a baby.

I just got email from Elsie Hotpepper asking me if I'm not talking to her because her talk about having a baby gave me nightmares. I was not even aware I was not talking to Elsie Hotpepper, let alone not doing so because of all the Elsie Hotpepper baby talk.

Changing the subject from Elsie Hotpepper and having a baby, back to the Tandy Hills.

I underestimated my clothing needs needed for hiking today. A t-shirt was not shirt enough. Very chilly. Eventually I was able to warm up. To do so I had to accelerate slightly faster than my usual turtle pace.

The work the Fort Worth Water Crew has done to the "road" that heads east from the Tandy Highway is interesting. Previously that "road" had a section where a creek had eroded a big ditch/gully that was a slight challenge to cross.

The ditch/gully has now been basically dammed.

Rain is predicted to fall on this parched part of the planet this coming week. It will be interesting to see how long the new "bridges" on the Tandy "roads" last before they are washed out again.

Betty Jo Bouvier Takes Me On The Last Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

Last night, for the first time since the Great Recession, I watched what I think is the best movie made about the Great Depression, that being The Grapes of Wrath.

The Grapes of Wrath is the movie version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath novel. It is the best movie adaptation of a book that I have ever read and seen.

Watching The Grapes of Wrath always gets to me.

There is one scene where Ma Joad is deciding what to take from their home in the Dust Bowl to California. At one point Ma Joad picks up a souvenir from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

The wistful, melancholy look that glows from Ma Joad's face as she looks at that souvenir, as she thinks back to a better time, a fun time, decades earlier, well that melancholy look on Ma Joad's face had me being a melancholy baby.

I was still being a melancholy baby when I got email from Betty Jo Bouvier this morning. That email contained the story of a cab driver and a passenger. Reading that story had me feeling even more melancholy. I Googled "cab ride old lady" to find that this story has been around awhile, with various titles. The version Betty Jo sent me is titled "The Last Cab Ride." On a website called Zen Moments the story is called "The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget."

Below is the version of the story Betty Jo sent me. Be warned. Reading this may temporarily turn you into a melancholy baby....

The Last Cab Ride 

I arrived at the address and honked the horn.  After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?  What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware - beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

At the bottom of this great story was a request to forward this - I deleted that request because if you have read to this point, you won't have to be asked to pass it along you just will.

Thank you, my friend.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance....

The First Saturday Of 2012 In Texas With A Record Breaking Drought In 2011

You can not tell it by looking at the picture of the view from my primary viewing portal on the outer world that I got up after the arrival of the sun on this first Saturday of the first month of the new year of 2012.

There appears to be some cloud action in the sky. I do not believe there is any prediction for today for rain to rain down up the throngs on the Tandy Hills partaking in the Manly Men Wild Women Hike.

It is currently only 44 degrees in the outer world at my location. By the time of the Manly Men Wild Women Hike, a couple hours from now, the temperature should be a pleasant hiking temperature.

Continuing with my favorite subject, the weather.

The National Weather Service has made it official. 2011 was the driest year ever in Texas.

And the second hottest.

The average rainfall on this parched part of the planet, for 2011, was only 14.88 inches. If I remember correctly 10 inches, or less, a year qualifies your parched part of the planet to be designated a desert.

The temperature average for 2011 was 67.2 degrees. In 1921 the average temperature was 67.5 degrees, so 1921 remains the hottest year in Texas.

The current 24 hour temperature average at my location has been above 50 degrees. I may try to go swimming this morning. I dipped my hand in the pool yesterday morning and decided against getting any wetter. We'll see if my hand feels warmer this morning.

Chasing Dump Trucks On The Tandy Hills While Losing 2 Pounds In Preparation For Tomorrow's Manly Men Wild Women Hike

A Diesel Spewing Dump Truck On The Tandy Hills Today

I am not much of a fan of breathing in diesel fumes whilst I am experiencing nature in any of my favorite natural areas that I frequent.

As long as the weather holds I will be visiting the Tandy Hills Natural Area every day as part of my program to reduce my HWG (Hideous Weight Gain).

Information Literature made available from the weight loss experts at the Friends of the Tandy Hills Natural Area promises a 2 pound weight loss from 1.5 hours of Tandy Hills exposure.

The diesel fumes that perfumed the Tandy Hills air today were brought by two of the dump trucks you see in the picture, and that small Caterpillar bulldozer I mentioned yesterday.

The City of Fort Worth Water Crews have quite a project underway, with those big dump trucks going where I would not have thought it possible for them to go. But the bulldozer smoothed the way and added gravel where needed. Whatever it is the Water Crews are doing, they are doing it on the trail that heads east from the trail that leads to the top of Mount Tandy, from the north side.

Giant Tandy Tire Tomb

The Yellow Ribbons that Godfather Don scolded me for removing yesterday, were in place today, ready for tomorrow's Manly Men Wild Women Hike. In addition to scolding me Godfather Don told me there would be no Wild Women for me. What a strict Godfather.

The new bridges across the Tandy Creeks have had a smooth top layer added to the big boulders that you see in the picture of the Giant Tandy Tire Tomb.

This seems, to me, to be a very disrespectful burial of the infamous Giant Tandy Tire.

Speaking of tomorrow's Manly Men Wild Women Hike.

In the latest Informational Literature, sent this morning, I see one must RSVP to Godfather Don ASAP, via the Godfather's email address.

I have not seen a confirmation of my RSVP, so I don't know what the status is, currently, of my Manly Man Hiking.

From the Manly Men Wild Women Informational Literature.....

There's nothing complicated about it. Just show up at Tandy Hills Natural Area, the coolest green space in the inner city, and enjoy the great out-of-doors. Our goal is to hike border-to border-to-border-to-border, tracing the steel cable that defines the 160 acre boundary.

Your rewards include but are not restricted to:

1) You will lose at least 2 pounds. (They don't call it Tandy HILLS for nothing!)

2) See sections of the park known only to a few hawks and a couple of unicorns. 

3) Celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the coolest park in Fort Worth. 

4) Get in shape for the upcoming Brush Bash

Who: Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area

What: Manly Men & Wild Women Hike. All ages welcome. Leashed dogs welcome. 

When: Saturday, January 7, 2012, 10:00 am (allow 1.5 hours for hike)

Where: Tandy Hills Natural Area, 3400 View Street. Meet at the Prairie Fest entrance.

Why: For the fun and glory of it and to prepare yourself for the upcoming Brush Bash.

Bring: Water, camera, hiking boots, hat, walking stick. 

The 6th Day Of The New Year With Having A Baby Nightmares & Pondering Swimmability

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell you can not tell that the outer world is currently heated to almost halfway to 100, at 48 degrees, this 6th day of the New Year of 2012.

Already almost a 5th of January has passed into history.

I believe the outer world temperature got to, or neared, 70 yesterday. With the low barely below 50 that would make the 24 average above 50, and thus, possibly, the pool may be warmed up enough that a salubrious swim may be doable.

I had a very disturbing nightmare last night that involved dozens of babies. I think this nightmare may have been triggered by a conversation yesterday evening, with Elsie Hotpepper, in which having a baby was discussed.

Having a baby or adopting.

I can see where a conversation about this type subject would be significantly disturbing to a level that it would trigger nightmares in a hypersensitive sort, such as myself.

I got up way too early this morning, thus making for a long wait for the sun to begin its daily illumination duties. I see I have lost 2 temperature degrees since I woke up my computer. We may lose another couple degrees before the day breaks.

I may need to recalculate the idea of testing the pool for swimmability this morning.

Why does the spell checker feel the need to flag a word like "swimmability" as a misspelling with suggestions such as summability, snowmobiled, stumbled or switchblade as possibly the word I was trying to spell?

If swimmablity is not a word, it should be.

Young Couple Fights Fort Worth City Hall & Wins The Right To Have A Yard Requiring No Watering

Young Couple On Criminal Yard

This afternoon I read an article in this week's Fort Worth Weekly, titled As Long as the Grass Should Grow, about the young couple you see in the picture and their 5 year battle with the Corrupt City of Fort Worth, a battle which the young couple won.

For now.

The battle with the city was over this young couple's landscaping.

The young couple's house sits across the street from the Tandy Hills Natural Area. So, they landscaped their yard with the same natural plants that grow in the natural area.

Including native grasses.

The yard has never been an overgrown jungle. The edges are trimmed, and part of the yard is conventionally grassed.

I have seen this particular yard many times whilst driving by on my way to hike the Tandy Hills. I have long made note of how nice this yard looks, how natural it looks and how well it fits in with its setting.

5 years ago an anonymous neighbor anonymously complained to the city that the young couple's grass was too tall.

I really am starting to develop a dislike for all the anonymous complainers out there in the world anonymously complaining about matters that really are none of their anonymous business.

The young couple got a ticket for having grass taller than a foot. The ticket was contested, with the judge siding with the city and the anonymous complainer, with the young couple fined $315.

After years of court time, on December 7, 2011 a Tarrant County Criminal Court Judge reversed the original judgment.

The city is now working towards re-working the inept wording of its codes as they pertain to property owner's landscaping.

Now, where this really bugs me is this is a city which employs someone to look like Sherlock Holmes who calls himself the Lawn Whisperer, to encourage people to conserve water used on their landscaping.

The yard of the young couple, who got fined, is Xeriscaped to a fine tuned level, requiring no watering.

One would think a city, with even a little common sense, would ally this young couple with the Lawn Whisperer to show other yard owners in Fort Worth how to replicate their water saving success.

This is a city, with a government which turns a blind eye to all the various depredations the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Industry foists upon the landscape of Fort Worth.

Gas Drillers in Fort Worth can put up a roadblock on a Fort Worth road, forcing motorists to detour, with no threat of a fine possible.

I daily see a giant, ugly brown wall, that I call Fort Chesapeake, that hovers over my neighborhood like a metaphor for a city gone mad. $315 fine because someone has some tall grass. A blind eye to multiple ugly brown wall eyesores.

Gas Drillers in Fort Worth suck copious amounts of water out of the Trinity River, with nary a peep from the Lawn Whisperer. And with the shills in charge making ridiculous claims that the millions of gallons sucked by the gas drillers are just a teeny fraction of what all those lawn watering water wasters waste.

And then this corrupt town has a young couple, trying to be good citizens, setting a good example, doing a good thing.

Using no precious water to water their yard.

And they get fined.

I'm surprised they didn't get tasered and taken to jail.

The nerve.

Growing a natural yard across from a natural area.

Hiking The Tandy Hills With 100s Of Yellow Ribbons Desecrating The Natural Area Unnaturally

Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around A Tandy Tree

Well, the Tandy Hills Guerrilla Artist struck again. Stringing hundreds of yellow ribbons along various trails in the Tandy Hills.

Yellow Ribbons are often tied to trees, or other sticks, for various reasons, thanks to a Golden Oldie song by a one hit wonder named Tony Orlando, with the title being something like "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around An Old Tree."

I am almost 100% certain today's Tandy Hills Yellow Ribbons were not tied to Tandy branches to make note of the end of the Chesapeake Energy Blockade on Fort Worth's Bridgewood Drive.

Speaking of which, even though the Chesapeake Energy Blockade has been lifted, the "Road Closed" and "Detour" signs remain, as of early this afternoon.

Perhaps the road signage is a City of Fort Worth Road Crew responsibility, which would explain the dawdling and incompetence.

To get my daily endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation, today I parked on top of Mount Tandy, under the Tandy Tower, also known as the Fort Worth Space Needle.

I walked down Mount Tandy and when I came to the Tandy Trojan Horse Shrine, I took the north option and headed towards Tandy Falls. It was soon after that I came upon the first Yellow Ribbon.

In the photo you see above, that is the first Yellow Ribbon I came upon. By the time I came upon the 3rd Yellow Ribbon I realized this must be a Tandy Hills Guerrilla Artist Operation.

All these Yellow Ribbons were not seeming all that natural to me, festooning, as they were, the Natural Area, with their flamboyant flashes of unnatural yellow. What with Saturday's Manly Men Wild Women hikers hiking the Tandy Hills, this Yellow Ribbon thing seemed quite worrisome to me.

This made me wonder to myself, what would the Tandy Hill's Godfather Don do?

I decided it was my duty today to clear the Tandy Hillls of those un-natural Yellow Ribbons, even though it greatly prolonged my hiking time.*

Soon after I saw the first Yellow Ribbon I saw a small piece of heavy equipment zip by, heading towards the Tandy Highway.

The Relocated Tandy Tires

I was not fast enough, with the camera, to get a photo of the small piece of heavy equipment. I thought it might be the Tandy Hills Guerrilla Artist driving the small piece of heavy equipment.

Upon reaching the Tandy Highway I saw that the Tandy Tires I caught coupling on Saturday had moved way closer to Tandy Falls. That is the coupling tires in the second photo.

I crossed the dry Tandy Falls, then headed west to the main trail that enters the Natural Area from View Street, collecting Yellow Ribbons along the way.

The New Big Boulder Bridge Across Tandy Creek

Eventually I found myself back on the Tandy Highway, with a heavy load of Yellow Ribbons. I came to the first, formerly washed out bridge across Tandy Creek to find what the small piece of heavy equipment had been up to.

Big boulders have been dumped on top of the flood erosion exposed drain pipe. And also on top of Tandy Giant Tire #1.

Soon after gingerly making my crossing over the giant boulder bridge I came upon the trailer that likely hauled in the small piece of heavy equipment, along with the pickup that likely pulled the trailer.

Soon after that I came upon the small piece of heavy equipment and the heavy equipment operator, operating on the second bridge across Tandy Creek, this time with fewer big boulders.

The Heavy Equipment Hauling Trailer & Pickup

The small piece of heavy equipment said "Caterpillar" on its front. It appeared to be a mini-bulldozer of some sort.

So, that was my adventure on the Tandy Hills on the 5th day of 2012.

*I was joking about taking down all the Yellow Ribbons. Clearly they'd been tied to limbs in order to mark the way for Saturday's Manly Men Wild Women Hike. I'm guessing Godfather Don will fire off an earnest comment or email informing me of the bad bad thing I'd done, before he gets to the point where I indicate I did not take down any Yellow Ribbons.

See you on Saturday along with 100s of other Manly Men and Wild Women who'd get lost without Yellow Ribbons.

My Neighborhood Chesapeake Energy Blockade Has Been Lifted

One Of The Sheep Coming To A Stop Before Detouring

Yesterday after I found myself having to take a detour to get around a Chesapeake Energy Blockade  I took a picture of the blockade and blogged about it.

Early in the evening, last night, when I left my abode to go to an appointment, I saw that the Chesapeake Energy Blockade had been lifted,

But the "DETOUR" signs were still up.

The "DETOUR" signs still being up made for an interesting observing humans and their various reactions to perceived authority moment.

Most drivers correctly calculated that the Chesapeake Energy Blockade had been lifted and drove under the overhead fracking water pipelines.

I saw several drivers slow to a virtual stop as they approached the former blockade, obviously wondering if they should drive under the former blockade, risking a traffic ticket and possible jail time, or be a good sheep and follow the "DETOUR" sign and turn in the direction the arrow was pointing.

Within just a few minutes I saw 6 sheeple opt not to risk a ticket and jail time.

In the picture above you see one of the sheeple stopped, wondering what in the world to do, before deciding to take the directed right turn detour.

The Dawn Of The 5th Morning Of 2012 Thinking About Michelle Bachmann's Gaffes, Rick Perry's Flip Flopping, Newt Gingrich & Abraham Lincoln

The very dark, pre-dawn, 5th morning of 2012 look out my primary viewing portal of the outer world, at the currently unusable turquoise oasis, through a frost-free window, gives no indication how cold it is or if the sky is free of clouds.

But, my computer based temperature monitoring device provides me the information my viewing portal does not afford me. As in it is currently 37 degrees in the outer world at my location on the planet, with a clear sky, which should be blue when the sun arrives to heat the day to a predicted 64 degrees.

Why can I not break my habit of writing long run-on sentences?

Changing the subject from my bad writing skills to bad politicians.

Did Rick Perry not realize it would cause voters to take him even less serious, when he flip flopped back into running for president, after indicating he was giving up and going home to Texas, after his bad showing in Iowa?

Speaking of other dumb politicians. The Seattle P-I had a list, this morning, of the Best of Michelle Bachmann's Embarrassing Gaffes.

 A few of my favorite Bachmann Gaffes...

Michelle Bachmann apparently thinks the Founding Fathers lived extraordinarily long lives, saying that slave owners may have drafted the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, "but we also know that the very Founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States.”

None of the Founding Fathers were alive when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Showing that we would definitely not want Michelle Bachmann having anything to do with America's economy she said, “If we took away the minimum wage — if, conceivably, it was gone — we could virtually wipe out unemployment completely because we would be able to offer jobs at whatever level.”

Speaking of the Founding Fathers and Abraham Lincoln. In all of America is there no one alive who operates at the quality level of those men? Well, maybe Newt Gingrich comes close. At least, unlike Michelle Bachmann, Newt knows, in depth, the history of America.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now.

So Far North Texas Has No Modern Day Ghost Towns Like Centralia Pennsylvania

In North Texas we have the Barnett Shale.

In Pennsylvania they have the Marcellus Shale.

Many of the same Shale drillers who poke holes in North Texas are also doing so in Pennsylvania, like Chesapeake Energy.

Some people are of the opinion that Texas is an Environmental Wasteland, that reputation earned by things like the world's biggest experiment in urban gas drilling, that being the thousand of Barnett Shale Natural Gas Wells that have been poked in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

While some may think Texas is a bit irresponsible, methinks Pennsylvania outdoes Texas in the Environmental Wasteland area.

Pennsylvania actually has a town named Frackville. No, it was not named to honor all the fracking taking place in the Marcellus Shale.

Frackville sprang up at the time of the start of the Civil War, 1861, and was incorporated in 1876, the year of America's 1st Centennial, well over 100 years before Aubrey McClendon's greedy beady eyes started looking for places to do damage to the planet.

A very short distance from Frackville, walking distance if your idea of walking distance is around 8 miles, is the former town of Centralia.

Centralia is a rarity in America. A modern day Ghost Town.

Centralia was doing just fine as a mining town, with, at times in its history, up to a couple thousand residents.

The Sprawling Centralia Mine Fire

And then, in 1962, a fire began. No one knows what started the fire. There are several theories. The fire continues to burn to this day, 50 years later.

The fire that turned Centralia into a Ghost Town is burning in a coal vein under that town.

People continued to live in Centralia, though the earth under them was burning.

Eventually the fire got too big and too hot, to the point that Centrailia was no longer fit for human habitation.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in 1992, began condemning Centralia property by eminent domain. Some fought having their property taken.

The most recent count has 10 or 11 people still living in Centralia.

I had not heard of this particular ecological disaster til a couple days ago.

Read the Wikipedia article about Centralia, Pennsylvania to get a much better idea than I can convey of how bad it can get if underground ignitables get inflamed.

Chesapeake Energy Has Closed The Road Where My Abode Is Located

Chesapeake Pipeline Over Bridgewood Drive

Yesterday when I left my abode and headed west on Boca Raton Boulevard I was confused by signs that were indicating that Boca Raton was a detour for the street I live on, that being Bridgewood Drive.

When I left my abode today, to head to the Tandy Hills, I clearly saw what was causing the detour.

Chesapeake Energy has closed a Fort Worth city street so a pipeline crossing can be installed, so that water can be pumped to frack the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Well that Chesapeake poked, last summer, a few hundred feet from my abode.

Three lines of pipe are snaking their way up from the Trinity River, across Randol Mill Road, then across Bridgewood Drive and then along the property line between Havenwood Apartments and a storage unit complex.

How does Chesapeake Energy acquire the right of ways to run these pipelines on what would seem to be private property?

How does Chesapeake Energy acquire the right to close a road, forcing drivers to burn extra gas to get around the detour?

Is there a Chesapeake Energy toll-free line I can call to request compensation for the extra gas and time Chesapeake caused me to burn up today?

Today I also noted a messy Gas Driller Operation south of the Trinity River, east of Beach Street. There was some pipeline preparation in evidence in this location a few weeks ago.

I do not know if this Beach Street activity is courtesy of Chesapeake Energy. A section of earth has been scraped off, maybe 15 feet wide, running as far as I could see, maybe to make it level to lay water sucking pipeline, maybe to put in a road. I have no idea.

All I know is this also had me wondering how the right of way is acquired to alter what I assume is public land between the river and the freeway.

The Tandy Bamboo Teepee Has Been Resurrected Just In Time For Saturday's Manly Men Wild Women Hike On The Tandy Hills

The Tandy Bamboo Teepee Stands Again

In a resurrection from the dead almost as amazing as one alleged to have happened a couple thousand years ago, today I found the Tandy Bamboo Teepee back standing tall, its triangulating poles piercing the cloudy blue sky.

On New Years Day I was shocked to find the Tandy Bamboo Teepee laying flat on the ground, the victim of what I assumed was a vandalous assault, but which others attributed to an alleged wind.

I do not know if the Tandy Bamboo Teepee was resurrected to serve some purpose for this coming Saturday's 3rd Annual Manly Men Wild Women Hike, led by William Wallace and Wonder Woman.

Speaking of Wonder Women. If this is the upcoming 3rd Annual Manly Men Wild Women Hike on the Tandy Hills, that means it is 2 years since the Queen of Wink and Princess Annie drove to Fort Worth to do the hike, all the way from their realm in West Texas.

How can that already be 2 years ago? I remember that day, fairly well. The hike started off easy, but I soon found myself lamenting what terrible shape I was in, as I found myself having trouble keeping up the pace set by the HUGE throng of Manly Men and Wild Women marching across the prairie.

A Very Rare Human Sighting On The Tandy Hills

Speaking of throngs of humans traipsing across the Tandy Hills prairie. Today I had a rare human sighting.

I was looking through my camera's view finder to find a human waving at me. That is the waving human at the center of the photo. I did not have a close up encounter with this human, the photo was as close as I got.

I think I may be in better shape, now, than I was the first time I joined the Manly Men and Wild Women. I am hoping to fare better this coming Saturday than I did 2 years ago.

I am almost 100% certain neither the Queen of Wink or Princess Annie will be in Fort Worth on Saturday. There have been some troubles that keep the Queen of Wink very close to her realm and her subjects, who have become a bit rebellious under her benevolent, albeit, autocratic rule.

The 4th Morning Of 2012 Dawns Almost Free Of Any Pain In Texas

Stepping outside to view the outer world on the 4th morning of the New Year it appears I am able to look at the pool below without having to look through the bars of my patio prison cell.

I think I may have been metaphorically liberated.

Every morning of the New Year I have greeted the new day in rather debilitating pain.

Yesterday morning I thought the pain had alleviated, but after sitting in my computer chair for a short while, when I got back vertical, I could do so only painfully.

This morning, so far, only a little residual aching remains. I'm hoping that remains the case.

Yesterday I resisted the urge to issue a BOLO for the missing Elsie Hotpepper. Miss Hotpepper has now established a pattern of going missing and then being found. So, I've learned not to be too concerned.

Well, this morning there was an email from Elsie Hotpepper with the short message being, "I have no food."

I suspect this may be a typo.

Seeing Grizzly Bears While Walking Around Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake In Oakland Lake Park

The start of a New Year always seems to bring out a lot of New Year's Resolution inspired newly resolved exercisers.

This increase in human activity has been noticed, this year, at every park I've visited since the start of the New Year, 3 days ago, except for the human-free Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Could it be Don Young's lurid tales of the Tandy Hills ghostly hauntings that scares people away?

I like how trees and bushes look after being stripped naked of their leaves. The photo of naked trees I took today, at Oakland Lake Park, where I went to walk around Fosdic Lake, looks, to me, like a bear standing up to confront a bigger bear.

I had a Grizzly Bear encounter years ago in the mountains east of Mount Baker in the Washington Cascades. I suspect that Grizzly Bear encounter imprinted deeply on my sub-conscious. Hence the absurdity of thinking a dead tree looks like a standing bear.

I learned this morning that former Fort Worth native, MLK, exiled, currently, in Tacoma, barely escaped being caught in that nightmare that happened in Mount Rainier National Park yesterday. As MLK was en route to Paradise, multiple emergency vehicles passed as MLK drove towards the park entry, which was closed, forcing a turn-a-round to seek snowy vistas elsewhere.

I hate it when a gunman, turned crazed by a crazy war, causes me to have to turn around to seek snowy vistas elsewhere. This does not happen to me in Texas. MLK should move back home where she will be safer.

The Paradise Center Has Given Me Something To Do On Friday Nights

Good news from Paradise Center this morning.

The good news from Paradise Center this morning finally gives me something fun to do on a Friday night.

Read the good news from Paradise Center on the Paradise Center blog.

See you there on Friday the 20th for the Grand Opening.

The 3rd Day Of 2012 Thinking About Paradise & Adolf Hitler

The view is steamy, via the pre-dawn view through my primary viewing portal on the world, on this 3rd day of the 1st month of the New Year of 2012.

I believe the steamy window has been steamed because of the temperature differential between the inner and outer world. I'm almost 100% certain that is the cause, due to it being only one degree above freezing in the outer world at my location on the planet.

My recovery from being in dire pain seems to be nearly complete. This pleases me due to the fact that I am not much of a fan of being in dire pain.

Changing the subject from being in dire pain to being in paradise.

I learned this morning that the Grand Opening of  Paradise Center Bingo is going to be Friday, January 20, 2012 at 7:00 pm.

I hope to be there for the Grand Opening where I hope to irritate the hell out of the difficult to irritate CatsPaw.

Paradise Center is now moved to their new permanent home at 8109 Camp Bowie West Boulevard.

Changing the subject from one paradise to another.

Yesterday's Mount Rainier nightmare, part of which had people stranded for their own protection at the Paradise Inn in Mount Rainier National Park, was yet one more instance where a veteran returned from the Iraq War, in dire need of getting mental health help, did not get the help he needed.

Which brought the Iraq War home to the park ranger, Margaret Anderson, mother of two, shot and killed by Benjamin Colton Barnes, the Iraq War Veteran found dead, facedown, in Paradise Creek.

I suppose the ultimate responsibility for the murder of Margaret Anderson goes to George W. Bush for instigating a war that did not need to happen. But that would be like blaming Adolf Hitler for all the people who died in World War II, which would be so unfair to do.

I am being ironic and sarcastic, to make it clear, for you literal types who need that pointed out to you.

Hunting For Endorphins With The Indian Ghosts Of Village Creek, Elsie Hotpepper, Turtles & Bamboo Teepee Mysteries

Looking At The Village Creek Bayou Through
A Slough Of Brambles

I needed to take my aching body on a gentle walk today. The place that seemed to best fit that need, that existed within a couple miles of my abode, was to go walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Just as I hit the period on the previous sentence, Elsie Hotpepper called.

Now, after 45 minutes of holding my phone to my left ear, with my left hand, that hand is aching.

In other words. I am a mess. A rapidly descending into elderly person type decrepitude mess.

The walk with the Indian Ghosts did make my pains a bit less painful for awhile.

Changing the subject from my abject pain to turtles.

It was not very warm when I walked today with the Indian Ghosts. As in less than 40 degrees. But, even though it was cold I saw a big turtle sunning itself on a big log in the Village Creek Bayou. I don't previously recollect seeing a turtle out in and exposed to such cold temperatures.

Changing the subject from Turtles to Teepees.

Yesterday I mentioned that the long-standing Tandy Bamboo Teepee had fallen sometime between when I saw it around one in the afternoon on Saturday and one in the afternoon on Sunday.

I opined that it appeared the Tandy Bamboo Teepee had fallen due to a vicious attack of sabotage or vandalism.

Then, after that, I heard from someone close to the Tandy Bamboo Teepee that, "The wind did it."

But, I don't see how it could be wind that killed the Tandy Bamboo Teepee. I don't recollect much wind blowing after I saw the Teepee still standing on Saturday. The Teepee stood at the base of a hill, protected from wind by a grove of trees.

Methinks it was not wind that did it. Maybe the culprit was caught on the Tandy Hills security cameras.

The Second Day Of 2012 Dawns Cold In Texas With Genetic Material From Christopher Columbus The Grand Marshall Of The Rose Bowl Parade

Looking at the outer world through the bars of my patio prison cell on this 2nd day of the New Year you can see I am up well before the sun on this first Monday of 2012.

What you can not tell, via the view through the bars of my patio prison cell, is that the outer world at my location on the planet is currently chilled to only 2 degrees above freezing.

For more reasons than the frigid temperatures, this morning will not see a repeat of the New Year's Day Polar Bear Plunge into that inviting pool of turquoise.

I am doing no plunging today of any sort. I am in full body ache mode. I think I may have strained myself on New Year's Eve. From the start of New Year's Day I was aching, but I thought it'd quickly get better, particularly after I flooded my bloodstream with pain reducing endorphins via aerobic stimulation on the Tandy Hills.

But the Tandy Hills hiking seemed only to exacerbate the aching. I think I may need a morphine drip. Can you get that at Wal-Mart?

Changing the subject from pain to football.

Didn't the Rose Bowl used to take place on New Year's Day, along with other bowls, like the Sugar and Orange and Cotton flavor of bowls?

I don't pay much attention to football, but I notice a football headline when I read the news. Like this morning,  I read the Dallas Cowboys lost once again, thus ending their playoff hopes, once again, for another season.

And I read the Rose Bowl Parade and football game are today, the day after New Year's Day. Some sort of "Occupy" action is being anticipated for the Rose Bowl Parade, along with righteously protesting Native Americans not liking the idea of having a descendant of Christopher Columbus being the Grand Marshall of the parade.

I've not watched the Rose Bowl Parade in a long long time. I probably won't be watching it today.

Friends Of The Tandy Hills Natural Area's Prairie Notes #61

That colorful sky in the picture is hovering above the Tandy Hills. This is one of the pretty pictures you can see via viewing the full version of Don Young's Prairie Notes #61.

I mentioned earlier today that in his latest Prairie Notes Don Young ponders why so few locals visit what may be the only thing in Fort Worth that no city of a similar size, in America, has.

I might even say it is the only thing in Fort Worth that could make any one in any other city in America even remotely Green with Envy.

Below is an excerpt from Prairie Notes #61......

"If Tandy Hills were in Austin it would be overrun with people hiking the hills seven days a week." 

I have often uttered that phrase with an edge of frustration when telling people about the wonders of Tandy Hills. When I reveal that I often have the place all to myself, I get a retort something like this: 

"Are you kidding me? A centrally located, 160-acre publicly-owned nature preserve with jaw-dropping plant diversity, gorgeous hilly terrain, open prairie and deep woods all in one place, in a city of nearly 800,000 people and nobody goes there???"

"No, not that many," I reply. The two cities are of similar size. But this is Fort Worth and for some reason people here are different, and not always for their own good. My pet theory is that, Fort Worthians have lost touch with the natural world because nearly all of it is gone. Very little of the beautiful landscape that inspired our ancestors to call Fort Worth, "Queen City of the Prairie" was protected. Tandy Hills survived only because of sheer luck.

By contrast, the Austin greenbelt is, indeed, overrun with people of all ages, blissfully celebrating their connection to the natural world seven days a week. There is a palpable sense of appreciation for nature and an urgency to protect it, expand it and preserve it. 

Fort Worthians can and must do better. I have devoted much of my time and energy in the past few years encouraging you to "Get out" to "Come on in" to "See deeper" at Tandy Hills for your own mental, physical and spiritual health and that of the City, itself. More people do so than ever before but the numbers are still pitifully low for a treasure like Tandy Hills.

Looking back over the past years' Prairie Notes, my overriding theme has been urging you to stay "tuned in." Tuned in to the subtle and not so subtle messages of nature and, especially our place in it. This has been the core message of these Notes from the first one in 2004 and it's even more important in 2012.

So what can be done? 

Staying connected to the natural world is essential to our well-being. The open prairie, deep woods, hilly terrain and spectacular diversity of Tandy Hills is a kind of microcosm of Spaceship Earth. It's an excellent place to find the solitude necessary to pick up the larger frequency to which we are all connected.

Stay tuned.

DY

On The Tandy Hills On The First Day Of The New Year Finding A Horse On A Pedestal A Fallen Teepee Plus A Couple Tires Being Friendly

The Tandy Trojan Horse With A Stunning View

It was back on the Tandy Hills again today for a cooler hike than yesterday's warmer hike.

I'd not seen the Tandy Trojan Horse Shrine for several weeks. The Tandy Trojan Horse has now been put on a pedestal, with a ribbon around its neck, tethering the horse to the pedestal.

I suppose the Tandy Trojan Horse has been put on a pedestal so it can enjoy a better view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

Speaking of Fort Worth and the Tandy Hills, when I returned to my abode, and checked email, I found incoming from Don Young. This is both the first day of a New Year and the first day of the first month of the New Year.

Since this is the first day of the month this means Don Young's Prairie Notes have arrived. More on that later, but among the things made mention of was how few people, in a town of nearly 800,000, enjoy the natural world via the Tandy Hills. Apparently Don Young has frequently opined that if the Tandy Hills were in Austin it would be over-run by people. I have often said the same thing, but have substituted Seattle for Austin.

The Tandy Bamboo Teepee Massacre

I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to come across an act of sabotage, or vandalism, or both, on the Tandy Hills today. Yesterday I walked through the open grove where the Tandy Bamboo Teepee had been installed by the Tandy Hills Guerrilla Artist. The Bamboo Teepee was standing tall yesterday, with 2 bamboo poles added to it since I'd previously seen it.

Sometime after one in the afternoon, of New Year's Eve, the Tandy Bamboo Teepee was destroyed, and is now laying on the ground.

There are few things sadder than a fallen teepee. It put me in mind of the Sand Creek Massacre.

A Tandy Tire Mounted On A Tandy Tire

I'd not walked the Tandy Highway for maybe a month. The last time I checked on the mysterious Tandy Tires  I found two of them had moved close to each other, about 30 feet apart.

Today I was sort of embarrassed to find that tire pair coupling, flagrante dilecto, with the female tire on top of the male, right out in the open on the highway.

I suspect the next time I walk the Tandy Highway I may find a litter of little baby tires.

I did not see a single human on the Tandy Hills today, unless I count myself as a human. I thought what with it being such a nice first day of the New Year that I would see some locals enjoying the natural outer world.

Happy New Year From The Fort Worth Fat Man

2012 New Years Day Morning Polar Bear Swim

Happy New Year.

I'm starting off the New Year doing something drastically different on my blog. Instead of my usual morning view from one of my viewing portals on the outer world, I am starting off my first blogging of the New Year already out in the outer world.

It got into the 70s here yesterday. This made this morning's Annual Polar Bear Swim much more pleasant than last year's much colder Polar Bear Swim.

The Polar Bear photo rather clearly documents the number one problem I am going to be confronting in this New Year.

That is my obvious HWG (Hideous Weight Gain).

In late December of 2010 I started a blog to chronicle my struggle with obesity, documenting my attempt to get back under 200 pounds and down to 190 by the time of the Super Bowl. I managed to do that, and then managed, over the course of the rest of the year, to reverse what I'd managed to do.

This has me now weighing almost 220 pounds. Most of this poundage seems to have grown in my gut zone, giving me a beer gut without having had the pleasure of drinking beer.

I don't find myself having any difficulty zipping up the Tandy Hills, which makes this added poundage thing a bit perplexing. Maybe it is all muscle and what I think is a beer gut is actually a really muscular abdominal zone. Yeah, I'm sure that's it.

Changing the subject from me being a fat slob to some other mistake I made.

A couple days ago when I blogged about getting sour cream at Krogers because I was making Beef Stroganoff, cd0103 asked me for my recipe. I don't do a lot of measuring and don't think in terms of recipes when I am doing the cooking thing.

So, I typed out my directions for how I make Beef Stroganoff, for cd0103. A short time later a nice Anonymous person commented that I'd missed a key ingredient. I hit the publish button on that comment without really reading the entire comment. I get a lot of comments, sometimes when I realize it is not a spam comment and the person is making a useful point I hit the publish button without reading the entire comment.

Last night Betty Jo Bouvier emailed me telling me she was using my Beef Stroganoff directions to make New Year's Eve dinner. I then went back and looked at my directions. At that point I read the Anonymous comment which told me that "You made, no doubt a tasty dish, but it was not Beef Stroganoff." Anonymous then informed me my directions lacked sour cream.

I was mortified. The directions should have said that after the Strognoff mixture is done cooking, turn off the heat and stir in a pint, more or less, of sour cream. Without the sour cream it wouldn't even taste like Stroganoff.

I immediately emailed Betty Jo, hoping she was not already eating the non-Beef Stroganoff.

Well, tragedy was averted. Betty Jo knew Beef Stroganoff has sour cream in it. I'm guessing Betty Jo may have known this because in the blogging, with all the bad mis-direction, I said I'd gone to Krogers for sour cream for my Beef Stroganoff. Which I suppose in my mind was already in the directions without adding it to the directions I typed out for cd0103.

Changing the subject from Beef Stroganoff to New Year's Eve.

I think I may be too close to being elderly to stay up past midnight to ring in the New Year. Doing this did not used to be exhausting. Staying up way too late caused me to get up way too late on the first day of the New Year.

I do not like getting up late. New Year's Eve of 2012 I am not going to be awake ringing in the New Year. That is one of my New Year's Resolution. Along with ceasing being a Fat Tub of Lard.