I Am Back In The Bike Saddle Again On Texas Trails

My New Bike

My K2 bike, that I bought in 2002, was stolen in October of 2010.

When my bike was stolen, after me being back biking for a very short time, after an over a year bike hiatus, I decided to give up on biking til I moved to a more bike friendly location.

Today I changed my mind and got a new bike.

Bike technology seems to have improved over the past decade. No longer do I have caliper brakes, I now have disc brakes.

The suspension seems a bit different than my former bike, but other than that, for the most part, it feels like I've not long been out of the saddle.

When I got the K2 bike a decade ago I had a few problems adjusting to it and getting it to feel right. This new bike feels right already.

Methinks I shall be having some fun pedaling to locations I've not seen for over a year. Pedaling by the Cowtown Wakepark perhaps. Or to the ends of the River Legacy Park trails.

A Good Friday Hike On The Tandy Hills With Wildflowers

It was a Good Friday to be hiking on the Tandy Hills today. I drove to the top of Mount Tandy, around noon, gambling that sufficient time had passed to dry the hills to hikability after Tuesday's Tornado Deluge.

I was in dire need of some endorphin therapy, that I can only get via some good aerobic stimulation.

Swimming does not seem to provide me enough aerobic stimulation. I need my hiking.

The wildflowers are now coloring up all over the Texas prairie.

Like the big yellow ones you see in the picture. These may be my favorite of the Texas Wildflowers. These yellow beauties were sprouted out all over the Tandy Hills today.

I think there may have been yet one more Tandy Hills sanitary sewer malfunction, caused by Tuesday's rain. The Tandy Highway has fresh truck tire ruts mucking up the road. I did not walk where the previous malfunction occurred to see if there was any evidence that a new river of untreated unsanitary water had been flowing.

I felt real good going up the hills today. Apparently I am completely recovered from that which recently ailed me, which I believe I acquired courtesy of my favorite brother-in-law.

Usually, at least a couple times a month, I get worried about Elsie Hotpepper being missing. Currently I am not worried about Elsie Hotpepper. But, I am concerned about 3 people up north in Washington. Carlotta Camano seems to have gone missing. And yesterday I learned that Betty Jo Bouvier and Honey Lulu hitched a ride to Seattle.

I do not think it is safe for young beauties, like Betty Jo Bouvier and Honey Lulu, to be hitchhiking. Particularly in Washington, with that state's history of breeding serial killers. Unlike Elsie Hotpepper, neither Betty Jo Bouvier or Honey Lulu pack heat, courtesy of a concealed weapon permit.

The 6th Morning Of April Dawns Chilly With Possible Irritation From Chesapeake Energy Fracking Flowback

This morning, the 6th morning of April, we are looking at the outer world via a rare look from my tertiary viewing portal.

When this day ends already 20% of April will have passed in to history.

Of late, each morning is colder than the morning previous, as if we are on a slow slip back to winter.

This morning, with the sun fully arrived and providing both light and heat, it is only 22 degrees above freezing. The high today is currently scheduled to get 22 degrees warmer than the current temperature of 22 degrees above freezing.

In other words it is currently 54 heading to a high of 76.

Overnight my brief respite from the eye irritation caused by the bad air pollution that plagues North Texas ended.

I had to resort to eye drops in the middle of the night to attempt to abate the eye woes. I have also begun reaching for one of my many bottles of nasal spray with increasing frequency.

Speaking of annoying air pollution, Chesapeake Energy is denying it, of course, but a lot of people in Arlington are claiming to be made miserable from fracking flowback.

Read all about it in Texas Sharon's Bluedaze article, Chesapeake Energy sickens Arlington residents again with fracking flowback operations.

I don't know if my breathing and eye woes are being caused by any Chesapeake fracking flowbacking. I do know I reside very close to two Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale holes in the ground.

I guess I will put goggles over my suffering eyes and go swimming now before it gets any colder.

Fosdic Lake Was Serene Today Walking With My Sister With Nary A Nipple

Fosdic Lake

My sister went walking with me around Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park today.

This was the first time my sister has gone walking with me since we climbed to the summit of Piestewa Peak two Fridays ago.

This was also the first time I've talked to my sister since she got very very sick the day after I left Arizona. Whatever it was that ailed us, I did not have it very bad, only 2 days of a really bad headache and not feeling my usual energetic self.

My sister was bedridden and lost 8 pounds during her bout with the mysterious ailment.

Again today there were a lot of people enjoying Oakland Lake Park. Have the locals finally figured out this is a nice place to enjoy what passes for fresh air in this polluted part of the planet?

Fosdic Lake was looking particularly serene today, with nary a ripple.

When I first typed ripple I typed nipple. Is that a typo or a Freudian Slip?

The Fosducks were seeming sedated. Usually the ducks waddle off if I get too near. Today they did not seem to care. I think the ducks may have grown fond of the humans because so many show up to give them duck food.

The Dawn Of April 5 Is Chilly & Calm In Texas

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on this 5th morning of April, as the sun starts shining some light, it appears the sky may be void of clouds.

It is very chilly this morning, only 23 degrees above freezing, heading to a scheduled high of 76 today.

This is almost like the return of winter.

With no chance of snow.

However, Tuesday's storms dropped a lot of ice balls.

A lot of ice balls hit hard on American Airline's planes, grounding a lot of them. Will there be a hail damage sale of pitted planes?

I think I'll put on my insulated swimsuit and go swimming in the icy pool now.

Taking A Trip With TRIP To A World Of Whimsy & Confusion

I mentioned earlier that the TRIP (Trinity River Improvement Partnership) website was back conscious after spending several weeks in a coma.

The TRIP website has not been restored to its full original glory, but, at least you can now watch the award winning documentary, Up a Creek.

When the TRIP website went comatose I was asked if I could help revive it. I asked basic questions like who is the host? Where is the server? Who registered the domain?

I could get no answers. I used WHOIS to find out the domain's name servers had been changed to point to a server in Karlsruhe Germany.

I tried to help, really I did, but everything I got told was really goofy.

Like...

I can give you what info I have to possibly get us back up and going.  But as of now, it appears that our webserver was compromised by a hack that made us an unwilling node of a botnet that attacked Facebook.  Fun stuff.  

Webserver hacked? By an unwilling node of a botnet attacking Facebook? Huh? Was it Al-Qaeda?

I then said if the webserver/host was hacked then the webserver/host should take care of the problem. But, no one seemed to know who or where the webserver/host was.

And then there was this....

The server is rebuilt, I have installed Wordpress. All the settings should be the same. Let me know what I can do to help, I was able to download files, but without a database structure, they are almost useless. We can use those files to copy and paste old information, but the table structure needs to be recreated. I do have all the graphics, and that should help, let me know if I need to send them to someone. I assume that we'll need to re-upload all the files we have via FTP. Being unfamiliar with the architecture of server file systems, I don't know if you can just re-upload everything you have and it'll all be in the right place or what. (I wish I could be more help). Will the host provide any support? This seems to be a lapse in security on their part.

I agree with the last sentence. But that first sentence? The "server is rebuilt"? No one knows where the server is, but it has now been rebuilt? How do you rebuild a server? I have no idea. Files were downloaded, but without a database structure they are useless? Unfamiliar with the architecture of server file systems?

I've been making websites since the early 1990s. None of this stuff I was being told made any sense to me. At one point I said if I got the FTP login info I could easily make a simple website with the movie on it. I was then sent FTP login info. That did not work.

I still don't know what happened to the TRIP website that caused this woe. TRIP's domain's Domain Name Server (DNS) now points to a server in Wayne, United States. That info comes from WHOIS. Where is Wayne? I've no idea. The domain's name servers are still coming from Germany.

This experience with TRIP reminded my of a painful experience that started in 2004 when I made a website for an elderly man in Tacoma. The elderly man did not understand websites or the Internet. But he was full of ideas about what he wanted. A lot of it was pure fanciful magic. And there was a fixation on making font sizes too big. Among many other annoying fixations.

When a new product was added to the website, rather than just sending me the URL, the elderly man would send me an email that said something like "type in 'Dotties cottage chocolate bunny', then click on the 4th item on the list (meaning the Google search results), then click on 'chocolate', then go to the 5th page and get the picture of the 7th bunny from the top."

I am not exaggerating.

In 2006 I was sort of relieved when I got an email from the elderly man in Tacoma telling me he'd decided to have a local guy work on his website. That local guy totally messed up importing the webfiles. The website remains messed up to this day. And looks really outdated. I get some sort of poetic justice pleasure from this.

Now that the TRIP website is back working I hope someone somewhere can figure out who the server/host is, who has control over the domain and the real reason why the TRIP website went comatose.

One more thing, the TRIP domain expires on October 14, 2012. Someone somewhere needs to figure out who registered the domain and get it renewed before the expiration date, or it will go comatose again. But, I will know the reason why, this time.

Admiring The Chocolate Trinity River While Worrying About The Daily Don Young Attacks

That beautiful chocolate brown body of water you are looking at in the picture is the Trinity River flowing by Quanah Parker Park today.

Yesterday's storming did not drop a lot of rain, so the Trinity is not overflowing like it does when it goes into flood mode, covered with an astonishing volume of litter.

The Trinity River was on my mind earlier today when I saw that the dead TRIP website has been revived. More on that later. Maybe.

Regarding yesterday's tornado storms, Don Young sent out an amusing email sort of on that subject...

A few very nice people from around the country have emailed asking if I survived Tuesday's tornado attack around Fort Worth. Thankfully, the storm went around my home. Nothing but heavy rain struck my house. With roughly 25,000 gas wells in the vicinity and a rogue's gallery of corrupt officials and formerly legitimate organizations attacking me daily, a few tornadoes are no big deal. You haven't heard the last from FWCANDO.

These daily attacks on Don Young must cease at once. I saw Don Young's "natural" landscaping on Saturday.  I think the local moronic minions may be attacking Don Young's tall grass any day now, if they have not already done so.

Today Don Young also emailed his April Prairie Notes.

I'd link to the April Prairie Notes, but they aren't up yet on the Friends of the Tandy Hills Natural Area website.

What I can tell you about the April Prairie Notes is you need to go to the Star-Telegram's Spring Snapshots Photo Contest and vote for Don Young's 4 Tandy Hills pics. The Star-Telegram does not make it easy to vote for a pic.

I think yesterday's storming, with its lightning strikes and tornadoes, amped up the amount of negative ions ionizing the air of North Texas. I am breathing easy, as if I was back in Arizona. I have not touched any of my many nasal sprays since yesterday's storm blew past.

I know it won't last, but I am going to enjoy breathing free in Texas while I can.

The 4th Day Of April Dawns Chilly & Free Of Texas Tornadoes

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at one of my favorite destinations on the 4th morning of April the outer world appears calm and the sky appears to be mostly clear of clouds.

All indicators indicate today should be a tornado free day in Texas.

Tornado free and cold. The temperature is currently only 25 degrees above freezing, heading to a relatively chilly high today of 73.

It seems a bit of a miracle to me that all that tornadic action twisting through the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone yesterday did not result in anyone being killed. I've not even heard of anyone being badly injured. Truck trailers were tossed into the air like matchsticks, but no humans, apparently, were tossed.

Yesterday I mentioned hearing on the radio that a tornado had touched down in the Ballpark in Arlington. This caused someone named Anonymous to make a comment...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Mom & Big Sister: I Am Still On The Ground In Texas Waiting To Ride A Tornado To Oz": 

The safest place to be in Dallas during tornado happenings would have to be the football stadium. As they rarely have touchdowns.

I'm guessing this is supposed to be a reference to the Dallas Cowboys. But the Dallas Cowboys do not play football in Dallas. They play next door to the Ballpark in Arlington in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Maybe Anonymous is suggesting the Cotton Bowl in Dallas  is the safest place to be in Dallas when tornadoes are in town.

Right now I'm thinking the safest place to be is my swimming pool. So that is where I'm going to go right now.

Mom & Big Sister: I Am Still On The Ground In Texas Waiting To Ride A Tornado To Oz

In the picture it is about 5 in the afternoon, heading east on John T. White Road. If the clouds were not wreaking havoc with visibility, I would be seeing the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, popping up on the horizon.

Today is the first BIG Texas Storm I've experienced in what seems a long time. Til today it had been a long time since I've heard tornado sirens.

I believe the tornado sirens I heard today were due to the tornado that struck an Old Folk's Home south of Lake Arlington, blowing apart one wing.

At my location I had some thunder action and a few big balls of hail that made a lot of noise. And some heavy rain.

My mom was watching the coverage on CNN which made it sound as if the Dallas/Fort Worth area was being obliterated by an onslaught of killer tornadoes. I assured my mom that it was not as bad as it sounds.

I was barely off the phone with my mom when my big sister called. By big sister I mean oldest sister. My big sister had also been watching CNN, up in Washington. My sister told me she'd seen video of semi-trailers being blown away by a tornado.

At that point in time I'd not seen any video of blowing semi-trailers.

So, after I finished talking to my big sister I turned on CNN.

Well, CNN did make it sound as if we were in the throes of a major emergency, using phrases like "Breaking Emergency News."

I then saw the video of the flying semi-trailers. It did look scary.

I heard on the radio, a few minutes ago, that a tornado touched down on the ball field in the Ballpark in Arlington. I find that a bit hard to believe.

However, when my mom called I did tell her that one of the tornadoes was following a path that took it by Six Flags and the motel they stayed in when they were last here. So, I suppose that tornado could have visited the Ballpark in Arlington.

And this just in from Elsie Hotpepper, relating to Arlington...

Explain this to me, from my experience declaring a disaster is done by the Governor.  Arlington's mayor made his own declaration?? 

Well,  Elsie, isn't Arlington's mayor still Chuck Cluck? Isn't Mayor Chuck Cluck known for running around like a chicken with his head cut off? And for being part of the worst abuse of eminent domain in American history. You really expect him to know the proper protocol for declaring a disaster area?

Anyway, it seems the storms are over at my location. Til the next time.

Fort Worth's Schools Close So Children Can See Cynthia Ann Parker

In the photo you are looking at Quanah Parker's mom, Cynthia Ann and Quanah's little sister, Topsannah (Prairie Flower). This photo was taken at A.F. Corning's studio in Fort Worth at some point in time in 1861. This photo of Cynthia Ann was taken later than the first photo of Cynthia Ann, taken in Austin, referenced below.

The following are 2 interesting paragraphs lifted from Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.

They passed through Weatherford - the seat of Parker County, where the worst of Peta Nocona's raids had taken place - and then stopped in Fort Worth, where Cynthia Ann became an instant celebrity. It is not known why the travelers stopped here. Some accounts say it was to have a photograph taken, but the first known photograph of her - a tintype, actually - was not taken until a month later in Austin. Whatever the reasons, her arrival caused a great commotion as residents of Tarrant County (who totaled 6,020 that year) clamored to see the famous captive and her child. Her arrival was considered such an important event that local children were let out of school. They came in groups to gawk at the terrified captives, who were on display in front of a general store in downtown Fort Worth. It was sort of a freak show: Cynthia Ann was bound with rope and set out atop a large box so that everyone could see her.

Texans could not get enough of her. There were many newspaper accounts of her return, all of which were uniformly obsessed with the idea that a pretty little nine-year old white girl from a devout Baptist family had been transformed into a pagan savage who had mated with a redskin and borne his children and forgotten her mother tongue. She was thus, according to the morals of the day, grotesquely compromised. She had forsaken the virtues of Christianity for the wanton immorality of the Indian.

When the carnival in Fort Worth finally ended, Cynthia Ann's uncle, Issac Parker, took Cynthia Ann and Prairie Flower to his big log cabin in Birdsville, a house that for many years was considered the finest in Tarrant County.

Birdsville no longer exists. The town was located near the northeast side of River Legacy Park in Arlington, near Bird's Fort.

Years ago I got an email from someone telling me I should check out the Bird's Fort remains and the neglected Birdsville Cemetery. If I remember right I did manage to find the cemetery. I think whatever remained of Bird's Fort was obliterated by the mothballed Huffines development that has blighted the northeast side of River Legacy Park.

There is a historical marker in River Legacy Park that tells the short version of the history of Bird's Fort. I don't think any mention is made of Birdsville.

Methinks some effort should be made to make some sort of memorial in the former Birdsville zone. Like maybe restoring the Birdsville Cemetery. Or building a replica of Issac Parker's log cabin as a museum telling the story of Quanah Parker and his mom, Cynthia Ann.

Walking Around Fosdic Lake Lookng For Ping Pong Ball Sized Hail

A Mom, A Stroller & A Little Girl

As I drove towards Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake I heard on the radio that lightning was striking Weatherford, along with ping pong ball sized hail.

I'd not heard ping pong balls used as a hail size descriptor before. Usually that size hail is described as golf ball sized. Or so I thought.

The weather report that reported the ping pong ball sized hail in Weatherford said that particular storm should be entering the western edge of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex within an hour.

It is now about an hour later and I have heard no thunderclaps or seen any ping pong ball sized hail bouncing off the ground.

I did get hit with a few random raindrops whilst walking around Fosdic Lake.

An unusually large number of people were out and about in Oakland Lake Park today. Enjoying the cooler temperature? I have no idea.

The little girl who escaped her stroller, that you see in the picture, was very cute.

Up Early On The 3rd Day Of April Expecting Rain & Thunderstorms

The dark before the arrival of the sun is very black on this 3rd early morning of April. I think the timers are not working correctly on the automatic outdoor lighting.

The weather predictors are predicting there will be some lightning lighting up the sky today in North Texas.

Usually, if lightning strikes, rain also hits the ground.

Today the weather predictors are predicting an 80% chance of rain hitting the ground.

Lately I've been double dipping in the pool. Once in the early morning, then again in the late afternoon. I am trying to amp up my exercise because I am so out of shape.

My sister beating me to the top of Mount Piestewa was a wake up call for me.

There are no mountains for me to climb anywhere near where I live in Texas. But, I do have some puny hills available where I can get myself a little aerobic stimulation.

And I can go swimming. Which I think I will do right now.

Virtually Visiting Washington's Ocean Shores Has Me Freshly Perplexed By Fort Worth's Incoming Giant Cement Ditch

No, that is not an artist's rendering of the Fort Worth Trinity River Vision Boondoggle you are looking at in the picture. What you are looking at is a postcard my favorite aunt sent me a couple days ago from Ocean Shores.

Ocean Shores is a beach town in Washington that started as a private real estate development, with big dreams, back in the late 1950s.

You can read more about Ocean Shores on my Washington blog, where you will see pictures of my brother, ex-sister-in-law, sister and Big Ed, climbing on a shipwreck.

Ocean Shores got me thinking about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. And Fort Worth Boondoggles in general.

Ocean Shores has 23 miles of interconnected freshwater lakes and canals. And a new multi-million dollar convention center. All built without federal earmark money. Or abusing eminent domain.

Ocean Shores attracts millions of tourists annually. Real tourists, not shoppers at a sporting goods store.

Ocean Shores has a population of around 5,000 year round residents. Fort Worth has a population approaching 800,000. Little Ocean Shores has 23 miles of lakes and canals. Built without having to give a corrupt congresswoman's son a job.

The canals of Ocean Shores and the canals of Arlington's Interlochen got me thinking anew regarding how brain dead dumb the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is.

I also got freshly wondering why the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has yet to become a national laughing stock, along the line of Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere.

Over a half a century ago a really bad flood caused the Army Corps of Engineers to build levees that have kept Fort Worth's inner core flood free ever since.

The idiotic Trinity River Vision Boondoggle originally saw a very small lake around 30 acres big. With canals. The very small lake soon shrank to become a very small pond of around 12 acres. I don't know what the current estimated size is. It may have shrunk to puddle size.

To make this puddle pond and canals work it was deemed, by the dimbulbs who did the deeming, that the existing levees had to be removed.

If the levees were to be removed a flood diversion channel was needed. That diversion channel then became part of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Diverting the flood waters was needed so that the water level in the little puddle pond and the canals could be kept level.

No one considered the idea, I guess, of simply pumping water from the Trinity River into a new pond and some canals, separated from the levees. This would seem to be a much more cost effective idea. Which has worked in other locations on this particular planet.

And then there is that bizarre flood diversion channel. I assume this channel will be lined with cement.

Which will make it a big cement-lined ditch. It is across this ditch the former signature bridges are supposed to span.

Now, consider this. What other large city in the world, can you think of, has a humongous cement-lined ditch near its downtown core?

Will this humongous cement-lined ditch be so monstrous that it will be visible to the naked eye from the moon? Like the Great Wall of China?

When this cement-lined ditch is not filled with flood water, has anyone given any thought to how aesthetically stupid this thing is going to look?

I suspect, if common sense does not intervene, and the cement-lined ditch actually gets built, that it will be a world class eyesore that will give Fort Worth, for the first time, something the town has long lacked, that being an iconic structure the rest of the world recognizes as being Fort Worth.

I have learned from watching how things happen in this forsaken town, that results often do not match what the town's entrenched propagandists propagandize.

Santa Fe Rail Market, Mercado, Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters, Cabela's, Pier One Imports.

Barnett Shale Natural Gas Revenue.

And others I'm not remembering. Or don't know about.

The cement lined ditch must be in place before the levees come down. Before the first flood hits the cement lined ditch, the flood dispersal installations downriver must be in place. Like J.D. Granger's 80,000 Magic Trees that are designed to slow down the water that rushes through the cement lined ditch.

I am going to make a prediction right now. If this cement lined ditch is built and if the existing levees come down, the first flood that hits is going to bring with it at least one unexpected result.

And I am not talking about the total wipeout of the world's premiere urban wakeboard lake. I am predicting something much worse.

Walking Down The Tandy Trail Past The Elsie Hotpepper Obstacle

In the picture you are on top of Mount Tandy, looking at the old Tandy Trail heading towards the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, a few miles to the west.

As you can see the Tandy Trail has turned green, with a sprinkling of wildflowers adding some much needed color.

Some storminess is predicted to be hitting this part of the planet within the upcoming 24 hour time frame.

Today, when I was getting in some salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation, at a temperature below 80, I became drenched due to the humidity, I could not help but wonder how it is I manage to do this type thing when the temperature goes north of the century mark.  I think I've puzzled about this conundrum previously.

I heard from Elsie Hotpepper today asking me if she was an "obstacle" and then in a followup email Miss Hotpepper asked if I was not speaking to her.

I have no idea why Elsie Hotpepper is asking me these probing questions.

I don't see how Elsie Hotpepper can be an obstacle to anything. She is just a tiny, dainty, little thing. Yes, in the past few months, the Elsie Hotpepper bodonkadonk has grown noticeably more bootilicious, but this still does not present much of an obstacle.

I have no answer to Miss Hotpepper's question asking if I was not speaking to her.

The Second Day Of April Dawns Cloudy In Texas

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on the second day of April the only thing that appears to be illuminated is the hot tub shaped like a beehive.

That illumination shortage has since abated with the daily scheduled arrival of the celestial light bulb.

There appears to be a layer of clouds between my terrestrial location and that aforementioned celestial light bulb.

Even with those clouds preventing direct solar contact the sun has still managed to heat the outer world to 68 degrees at my location, heading to a predicted high, today, of 82.

Tomorrow the weather predictors are predicting a drop in temperature, along with some potential rain and electrical activity.

Changing the subject from my favorite to my second favorite.

Have I mentioned that despite 10 days of doing a lot more eating than my norm, including things like candy, which normally I never eat, a lot of peanuts, multiple hamburgers, fishburgers, potato chips, french fries, t-bone steaks, various pies, cinnamon rolls and non-diet Cokes, I somehow managed to lose weight when I was in Arizona?

I think the only thing that can explain the unexplained Arizona weight loss is the strenuous driving multiple miles over strenuous roads and the strenuous hiking over strenuous trails that my sister subjected me to. And maybe the strenuous swimming with the well-seasoned ladies of Sun Lakes.

I am thinking I would like to move to Arizona. There are a few obstacles in the way of making that happen, but I've hurdled obstacles in the past to make something happen when I wanted something to happen.

But, before I move to Arizona, I think I will go swimming before it gets any hotter.

My Regular Sunday Walk With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Was Uneventful

Today is Sunday, which usually means I go for a walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

The Village Creek Blue Bayou was looking like a serene watercolor painting today.

Upon my arrival at the Bayou a large critter made a big splash. I was unable to ascertain if it was an alligator. Or turtle.

Walking with the Indian Ghosts today reminded me that I intend to blog about Quanah Parker's mom, Cynthia Ann and his sister, Prairie Flower's visit to Fort Worth and its environs, after they were kidnapped from their Comanche tribe.

I was reminded of this this morning when the Fort Worth Library kindly emailed me to remind me I have 4 books due on April 4, including Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot was half full today. There seems to be an increase in the number of people who have discovered this is a nice place to walk under the shade of big oak trees.

At my location, away from air-conditioned comfort, it is currently 82 degrees, with the humidity making it feel like 90. I think I will go get 100% wet again via the cool pool water.

It Is A Happy April Fool's Day Morning In Texas With Noisy Birds

As you can sort of see, via looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world, the first day of April is a sunny Sunday at my currently location in Texas.

Since it is April Fool's Day I was going to say I won the lottery last night and wanted to buy a new car for anyone who wanted one.

But then I decided that was just plain dumb.

The past couple years, on April Fool's Day, I have said that I am finally exiting the Great State of Texas, moving to greener pastures elsewhere.

But, that always brought way too many glad to see you go messages, which sort of hurt my delicate feelers. A couple people, if memory serves, got that me saying I'm leaving Texas was April Fool's foolery.

The bird symphony this morning is lacking its usual melodic coherency and is instead sounding like bad jazz, with discordant notes and an erratic syncopation. If the birds don't get their music act together I may need to shut my windows to shut them up.

Or go swimming and let the noise of the fountain waterfall drown out the avian squawking.

At this very moment, just as I was complaining about them, the birds have all shut up. Spooky.

I Almost Made It All The Way To Pluto Tonight At The Prairie Fest

Prairie Fest 2012 Vendor Free

The entry to the Prairie Fest re-boot looks way different than the past few Prairie Fests, with no vendors on either side of the sidewalk. And beyond.

I did not realize, til I got there, that part of today's Prairie Fest Experience was a tour of the planets.

Near the entry to the planetary tour I ran into Olive the Prairie Dog and the young lady Olive keeps on a leash, Debra Young, who told me I should listen to the Planetary Guide's planetary spiel.

But, I knew my Adult Attention Deficit Disorder was in high gear and that listening to anything that took over 20 seconds was not a good idea.

Olive's leashee told me that the trail all the way to the freeway was strewn with planets, with Pluto being the final sun orbiter on display.

A Pair Of Tandy Hills Stroller Pushers

And so I took off on a tour of the planets.

Imagine my disappointment when I got to where I thought Pluto should be, to find Neptune. With no Pluto to be seen.

I was later told Pluto had lost its planet status.

I am a bit uncertain why the Tandy Hills is embroiled in this Pluto planetary brouhaha.

I don't think I've ever seen so many people out walking on the Tandy Hills' trails as I saw tonight. I know I've never seen moms pushing babies in strollers before.

I overheard 3 different people remarking about their surprise at the views they were seeing. I actually heard one guy remark that the skyline looks beautiful from here.

This said at the location I regularly snap a picture of downtown Fort Worth and use verbiage something like "looking west at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth."

Fort Worth's Finest On The Tandy Trails

If I remember right, I'm being a bit sarcastic and a tad ironic when I use the "stunning skyline" verbiage. This guy tonight truly thought the view showed a beautiful skyline.

I must admit, the lighting was good. I should have taken a picture, but bemusement overtook me.

Last year I was sort of appalled at the number of Fort Worth police at the Prairie Fest. It seemed very excessive for such a peaceful event.

This year I only saw two Fort Worth police officers. A pair of lady cops. And this pair was not just leaning on their cop car dipping donuts into coffee, they were out patrolling the Tandy Trails looking for evildoers.

All in all, methinks this re-thought Prairie Fest was well thought out.

Next month maybe misters need to be a cooling option. And, for sure, by the HOT time of the May Prairie Fest.

The Tandy Hills Are All Greened Up & Ready For Prairie Fest 2012 Part One

In the picture you are looking at the vast prairie atop Mount Tandy on the eastern edge of the Tandy Hills Natural Area, where, in a couple hours Prairie Fest 2012 Part One will begin.

I expect to arrive, with my picnic basket, some time between 4 and 5.

On my way to the top of Mount Tandy, today, I saw Prairie Fest signage installed, pointing the way to the Tandy Hills.

I have not heard from Elsie Hotpepper regarding if she is going to be at the Prairie Fest today. I will have a jar of peanuts with me in case Elsie is there and is in need of a feeding, which is usually the case at these type events attended by Elsie Hotpepper.

So far it is not too HOT. Only 73 degrees. I suspect it will be in the 80s by the time the Prairie Fest bands begin making noise. Maybe I should bring a bumbershoot with me to provide shade.

I learned last night that Fort Worth native, MKB, currently exiled in Tacoma, is returning to D/FW for a visit in July. July is much too late for MKB to be attending any of 2012's Prairie Fests.

But, MKB will be in Fort Worth just in time to have fun in the Trinity River at one of the Rockin' the River Inner Tube Happy Hours.

I forgot to mention, today I was back in light as a feather mode zipping up the Tandy Hills, which would seem to indicate that that which had been ailing me has completely abated. I am pleased about that.

Prairie Fest X3 Part 1 Today At 4 On The Tandy Hills

Come celebrate your connection to the natural world!

EVENT  HOURS: 4 PM - Dusk

STAGE  SCHEDULE
4pm  Matthew Broyles
5pm  Barbara Taylor
6pm  Trinity Dogs
7pm  Ginny Mac

SOLAR-POWERED  BY: The Solar Shuttle, North Texas Renewable Energy and that big ball o' fire in the sky.

DISCOVERY  HIKES  FOR KIDS  &  FAMILIES: 4 - 6 PM.

Led by the amazing Earth teacher, Heather Foote, of Prairie Keepers. This one will fill up fast so arrive early.

Discovery Hikes sponsored exclusively by Whole Foods Market.

PRAIRIE-WILDFLOWER  HIKES: 4 - 6 PM

Walking tours organized by the Google of Wildflowers, Suzanne Tuttle, of the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge and led by Master Naturalist volunteers.

FOOD  &  DRINK:
Chadra Mezza & Grill will offer samplings from the Mediterranean-style menu made famous at their venerable restaurant.

Good Karma Kitchen will be serving vegetarian and vegan options out of their famous food truck named, Lucy.

New Belgium Brewing and Rahr & Sons Brewing beers/ales will be available at the Chadra tent.

IMPROMPTU  PRAIRIE:
The big open space that used to have vendors is now your personal playground for kite-flying, frisbee throwing, dog-chasing and picnicking.

The Final Day Of March Dawns With Birds Chirping & 100% Humidity With Prairie Fest 2012 Part One Later Today

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell on this final day of the 3rd month of 2012 all I can see in the pre-dawn darkness is a swimming pool looking unnaturally blue.

We are still at 100% humidity at this opposite of a desert part of the planet. Chilled, this morning, to 64 degrees.

The predicted high for today has been dropped a degree, to 89.

That chillier temperature should make for a more pleasant Prairie Fest Part One, starting at 4 this afternoon on the Tandy Hills, which will be rocking to the sound of music.

I have my windows open this morning and I must say I am enjoying a rather complex symphony courtesy of a variety of birds who are sounding very happy. The birds must like high humidity.

I think I will go swimming now to try and cool off before it gets any hotter.

On The Tandy Hills Looking For Wildflowers While Feeling Like A Bloated Pig

That Is Not Wild Asparagus Growing On The Tandy Hills

Today, on the Tandy Hills, it became clear to me that whatever I brought back with me from Arizona, that gave me a really bad headache and other aches for a couple days, then slowly abated, is still with me.

As in, usually I go up the Tandy Hills light as a feather blowing in the wind. Today I plodded up the Tandy Hills feeling like a bloated pig being led to slaughter.

Not that I really know what a bloated pig feels like. It's just a guess on my part.

My mom called me Wednesday night and informed me that my sister got sick after I left Arizona, and my favorite brother-in-law relapsed, requiring a doctor's visit, where meds were prescribed. My mom and dad, with their superior immune systems, did not catch this particular ailment.

It is already a week since my now ailing sister and I hiked to the top of Piestewa Peak. On that hike I was still in light as a feather blowing in the wind mode. I could not have done that hike, last Friday, feeling like I do this Friday.

If I'm still feeling like I'm in ailing mode tomorrow, I will need to re-think my plan to go to the Prairie Fest. I would not want to start an epidemic.

I've been getting messages about tomorrow's Prairie Fest on the Tandy Hills.

Methinks someone forgot to send the Tandy Hills the message that tomorrow is the Prairie Fest, because the Tandy Hills is being unusually sparse with its wildflower display. Although, the top of Mount Tandy was quite a bit more colorful today than a couple days ago. But there was nary a bloom on Lost Sunglasses Ridge.

Boris & Natasha Comment About Fort Worth's Pravda While We Get Gritty Without Air Conditioning

A couple times yesterday I blogged about a really weird propaganda puff piece in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that claimed that Tim Love's new eatery had given new life to the, apparently, dying Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I opined that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram operated more like a government mouth piece than a real newspaper, comparing the Star-Telegram to the Soviet Union's party paper Pravda, opining...

One thing I will say in behalf of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, as compared to the Soviet Union's Pravda. I don't think Pravda printed comments from comrades pointing out the absurdity of Pravda's propaganda. If a comrade commented they likely were sent to the Gulag.

The above paragraph generated amusing comments from CatsPaw, Steve A and Boris & Natasha....

CatsPaw said...

Comrade, you are seeing krasnaya! Let no Crackpottsylvania no goodniks' fiendish plans go unremarked. Keep banging your shoe on the table. Spasibo. Da svidaniya. And yeehaw.

Steve A said...

How do you know those Startlegram commenters are not on their way to a long visit to Huntsville as I write this? Durango, you still around? Durango? Hello?

Boris & Natasha said...

Regarding not getting sent to the Gulag when you criticize Fort Worth's version of Pravda; in Fort Worth, where could we get sent that is worse than where we already are?

________________________________

Mitchell Schnurman's Star-Telegram propaganda piece titled Love's eatery has given new life to river vision continues to be commented on. Below is a comment from someone who just does not seem to understand why so many people complain about so much in a city that is the envy of the world, which has another commenter explaining why it is Fort Worth citizens are cranky about the way Fort Worth operates....

shermrob

Unfortunately the comments on this article are the standard for Star-Telegram readers.  Out of fifteen comments, only three of them were on the positive side and the other twelve are the usual complaining about getting anything nice in Fort Worth regardless of who is trying to do something good for the city.

yakami11

City should really ask the citizens who pay for all of their dream projects what they want instead of telling citizens what they will do and get. I bet you would see much nicer comments if tax payers were asked, What would you like in your city.

_______________________________

I forgot to mention one really really odd bit of information in the Star-Telegram's Tim Love Woodshed propaganda puff piece. Below is an excerpt from the paragraph containing the really odd bit of information...

Granger wouldn't OK air conditioning in the restaurant, because he wanted a gritty, authentic feel and a natural connection with the river.

So, in the above we learn that J.D. Granger, the man with no experience running a big construction project, who was given the job of running the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, as a favor to his Congresswoman mama, so she would be motivated to get federal funds for Fort Worth's equivalent of a Bridge to Nowhere, is also a restaurant entrepreneur who was able to use his dictatorial powers to ban air-conditioning from a Texas restaurant, because everyone knows if you don't have air-conditioning it helps give you a gritty, authentic feel and a natural connection to an extremely polluted river.

Granger nixing air conditioning generated yet one more amusing comment to the Star-Telegram propaganda puff piece....

md
"Granger wouldn't OK air conditioning in the restaurant" Granger is stupid.

___________________________

Granger is stupid? That seems a bit harsh.

Methinks there is way more that is stupid about this entire mess than J.D. Granger.....

This Morning Is Finally The Final Friday Of March With Tomorrow Being The Final Saturday & Prairie Fest 2012 Part One

Stepping outside to my secondary viewing portal on the outer world, in the pre-dawn darkness, on this final Friday of the 3rd month of 2012, confirms that the pool illumination is in malfunction mode.

My air-conditioner malfunctioned and now this? How much hardship is one person supposed to bear?

Currently at my location the pre-dawn air is chilled to 68 degrees. And, according to my computer based weather monitoring device, it is foggy again this morning.

Fog so far from the ocean and any other large body of water always seems very odd to me.

Today is scheduled to heat up to 84 degrees. Tomorrow we are currently scheduled to hit 90 for the first time, I believe, this year.

Since tomorrow is the final Saturday of March, it is Part 1 of 2012's three-part Prairie Festival.

Tomorrow I currently plan to go hiking on the Tandy Hills in the noon time frame and then return at 4 in the afternoon, which is when the Tandy Hills turn festive with the start of Prairie Fest. I expect there to be a large crowd of revelers reveling.

I may go to the Tandy Hills today, weather conditions permitting. Before I do that I am going to go swimming as soon as Mother Nature decides to provide some natural illumination.

Down The Rabbit Hole With Fort Worth's Moribund Pravda Giving New Life To A Dying Vision

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram gets curiouser and curiouser.

I think curiouser and curiouser is a line from Alice in Wonderland. Which is a bit appropriate, I guess. Isn't Alice's Wonderland accessed down a rabbit hole, with Wonderland being a place where all is backwards?

Sort of like the Wonderland that is Fort Worth.

Earlier today I opined about a rather bizarre propaganda piece in Fort Worth's Pravda, known as the Star-Telegram.

Pravda means Truth, in Russian. Pravda rarely printed the truth, Pravda usually printed propaganda, as in bizarre articles in support of the communist regime's goofy schemes.

When I looked at the online version of Fort Worth's Pravda, a short while ago, the propaganda piece I'd opined about earlier had grown to be more prominently featured.

Just the title of the article is Alice in Wonderland Down the Rabbit Holish.

Love's eatery has given new life to river vision

Let's think about that title for a second. Love's Woodshed Smokehouse eatery has given new life to the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle? Really? Has the Star-Telegram had some articles about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle being moribund? As in dying?

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is in such bad shape that a little restaurant next to a muddy, polluted river, outside of the area that the vision originally was seeing, has somehow breathed new life into the barely breathing Boondoggle?

Such a claim is bizarre, even for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Pravda Propaganda Purveyor.

Apparently I am not the only one who is thinking the Star-Telegram is sinking to new lows.

The Lone Star Telegraph blog has opined about today's Star-Telegram TRVB propaganda with Star-Telegram gives away free advertising. The Lone Star Telegraph sometimes mentions my blog. I've been asked more than once who is behind the Star-Telegraph. The answer is I don't know. I've been told it is a guy named Moe, along with several others. I know no one in Fort Worth named Moe.

And then there is an email on the subject of today's latest S-T Propaganda, from Fort Worth's Gail Galtex, who said, in part....

I was writing to tell you about this article in today's paper but just noticed that you beat me to it, haha.  Barf. Glad I finally decided to cancel the sorry Fort Worth Star Telegram paper a few weeks ago.  This story confirms that I did the right thing.  The three-page glowing propaganda story a few weeks ago about how wonderful Kay Granger is made me want to barf too.  

And then there are the comments today to Mitchell Schnurman's Fort Worth Star-Telegram propaganda. Below are some of the comments.......

StBns
If you sit back long enough and look at this endeavour the little light indicating sweetheart backroom deal comes on. Also...Tim Love's food is unimaginative and overpriced. But I suppose some people enjoy that kind of stuff.

whitepeaks2002
Anyone who thinks this is going to be awesome dining in July/August (if not before) is simply fooling themselves. The people with big bucks always flock to the new unusual venues initially, but it's simply a matter of time (and weather) until the elite crowd, drifts to the "next big thing". All that will be left at The Woodshed will be a lot of sweaty college kids...probably the ones that work there.

When I read about people changing the course of a river, I still shake my head. Changing the natural flow of water is against the law of nature and will ultimately cause major problems. I wish all the people who are so insistent on building businesses on the river would go back and look at Montgomery Wards on 7th St. (now Montgomery Plaza) when it was under water up over the second floor, stemming from flooding in May of 1949. The entire area was completely submerged. Men were navigating the area in boats from the Trinity river up past University Drive. If you've never seen the pics or footage, you should Google it.

whitepeaks2002
Also, you've missed it if you haven't seen the river during the Texas hot summers... very slow moving water smelling stagnant....the trees on the banks filled with nesting birds, smelling of bird poop and inundated with flies...with trash of every description, tree limbs, logs and tons of miscellaneous debris piled up like mini-log jams at the overpass at University Dr. near the Zoo. Yeah...classy.    

Chris Danger
Lake Benbrook was built to make sure an event like the '49 flood wouldn't happen again..

formaldehyde
See "Restaurant owners irked by no-bid deal with celebrity chef Tim Love" by Barry Schlacter in this same paper on November 26, 2011

fwcpc
"The TRV aims to move a river, reclaim acres of waterfront land near downtown and attract the development to pay for it" Mr. Schnurman is correct in describing this as a development project. Unfortunately it is our tax dollar that is paying for the work of moving the river. This project was cleverly disguised and sold as a flood control project. It is true the overall project is required for flood control in the event THE EXISITNG FLOOD CONTROL LEVEES COME DOWN TO ALLOW FOR DEVELOPMENT. This information is clearly presented in the Corps of Engineers 1,000 page study of the project and yet mayor Kay was able to push and win taxpayer funding. It is no wonder Tarrant County has the 22nd highest property tax rate in the nation (16 of those higher counties are in New York and New Jersey). This project may well prove to be a nice enhancement to the city but was presented in a very dishonest manner.

justfuninfw 
The food sucks and the service is terrible.  Fortunately the prices are too high too.

relic37
No A/C and the humidity of a nearby river - summer evenings should be delightful! 

blaneatt
First of all the food is unbelievable...second, the view is beautiful...third, the ambiance is relaxing and comfortable...fourth, they have live music (Blue Hat) http://www.facebook.com/Blueha... on the patio...this family friendly band will play next weekend on Saturday 6:30 to 10:00 pm. This place is amazing and shows that in Texas...people can get it right!!!! By the way, the pulled pork is to die for!!!

mpound17
I know I am not the only one here that sees irony in your regrettable use of the word "pork" in praising this particular result of yet another typical city hall backroom deal. The only thing getting "pulled" here is the taxpayers chain. What a scam.

____________________________

One thing I will say in behalf of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, as compared to the Soviet Union's Pravda. I don't think Pravda printed comments from comrades pointing out the absurdity of Pravda's propaganda. If a comrade commented they likely were sent to the Gulag.

The Final Thursday Of March Marveling At Fresh Bizarre Fort Worth Star-Telegram Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Woodshed Propaganda

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world on this final Thursday of the 3rd month of 2012 it appears to be very very dark this morning prior to the arrival of the illuminating nuclear sky orb.

My computer based weather monitoring device, this morning, is telling me at my location it is currently 61 degrees and foggy, with 100% humidity, heading to a high today of 81.

Changing the subject from my favorite one to one I find vexing.

That vexing subject being Fort Worth's propaganda purveyor that calls itself the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

This morning the Star-Telegram published a piece of propaganda titled "Love's eatery has given new life to river vision" written by a supposed reporter who appears to be a publicity agent for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and J.D. Granger, named Mitchell Schnurman.

The propaganda piece starts with...

If the Woodshed Smokehouse is any indication of what's ahead for the Trinity River Vision, maybe they could start digging that bypass channel a few years early. How will Fort Worth ever wait? The Woodshed is so good, so soon, that it gives the river project a jolt of new energy and even gives government a good name.

Yes, how will Fort Worth manage to wait for the un-needed flood diversion channel to protect the town from a flood? It seems to me, since this is such an important project, that it should be fast tracked, rather than built in the extremely slow motion way that Fort Worth is accustomed to building its public works projects.

The Woodshed is so good that it gives government a good name? A government entity, operating without openness and transparency, gives government a good name? The Woodshed gives the river project boondoggle a jolt of new energy? A restaurant built southwest of the area touted as the location of the TRV Boondoggle project has somehow given a jolt of new energy to the boondoggle? Really?

Apparently the Woodshed Smokehouse has taken in almost a third of a million dollars in its first month of operating.

Schnurman says....

Eventually, the water district will net several hundred thousand dollars a year, to be funneled into trail improvements and other river uses. That's great, but this was never about maximizing restaurant dollars, which is why some early critics had it so wrong.

I do not recollect any of the Woodshed/Granger critic's criticisms having anything to do with maximizing restaurant dollars. I believe the criticisms had to do with this being a backroom deal giving one specific restaurateur a sweetheart deal without allowing other local restaurateurs the option of competing. That and building a restaurant outside the "Uptown" development area seemed to stray far from what had been, previously, the "Vision."

They complained that J.D. Granger, executive director for the TRV Authority, hadn't asked for bids before signing a 10-year lease with Love. Texas law doesn't require competitive bidding for the water district, and that's fortunate, because Granger wasn't buying gravel for a riverbed.

I thought that previously the Star-Telegram revised its earlier version of how this sweetheart Woodshed deal came about, taking J.D. Granger out of the equation and claiming it was a Tarrant Regional Water District deal, not a J.D. Granger good ol' boy scheme. The Star-Telegram really should make an effort to keep track of its propaganda.

He was trying to prove that river development could be a big-time winner in Fort Worth -- that a prime location on the water might be worth three times more than land a few blocks away. Do that and stoke some pent-up demand, and a decade from now, the tax base would soar and the TRV economics would work.

The above is fascinating. Now the Star-Telegram, via Schnurman, is propagandizing us that the Woodshed deal was part of a brilliant scheme hatched by that savant, J.D. Granger, to prove that river development could be a big-time winner in Fort Worth. And that a location on the river might be worth a lot of money, proving, a decade from now, the tax base will soar and the TRV economics would work.

So, the TRV Boondoggle has been underway for quite some time. A lot of earth has been moved. A lot of businesses have been stolen via eminent domain abuse. Yet, even though all that took place prior to the building of the Woodshed Smokehouse, this restaurant was needed so that J.D. Granger could prove that river development could be a big-time winner in Fort Worth????

Yes, that really makes an awful lot of sense.

I need to go swimming now and experience the real world rather than the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Hunting For Sesame Seeds In Arlington's International District's Cho Saigon

A Field Of Bluebonnets In Arlington's Veterans Park

This morning I decided I wanted to make myself a Chinese type stir fry for my noontime feeding.

Checking supplies I saw I was suffering from a shortage of the type things I need to replicate Chinese food.

Before today it had been a long while since I'd been in the part of Arlington I've called Chinatown, in the past.

Today I realized the part of Arlington, along Pioneer Parkway, that I call Chinatown, would more properly be called Arlington's International District, due to the fact that while there are Asian grocery stores, featuring products enabling the cuisines of various Asian nations, like Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Korea and, of course, China, there are also grocery stores featuring Middle Eastern food products.

Arlington International District's Cho Saigon

And Russian food products.

And Mexican food products.

And even American food products.

Like the Jack in the Box next to the Cho Saigon grocery store I visited to stock up on my Asian ingredients.

On the way to Arlington's International District I got gas. So, I called my mom and dad to tell them I got gas. They were not home. What a surprise.

After getting gas I went to Arlington's Veterans Park to try and un-kink my kinky legs with some salubrious walking.

After Veterans Park I headed east to the former Chinatown. It takes awhile to find stuff at the Cho Saigon. There are dozens upon dozens of soy sauces to choose from. A long treasure hunt to find sesame oil.

No use asking anyone who works there where anything is located. The helpless hunt makes it funner. Eventually I found the sweet chili sauce I wanted. I gave up on finding sesame seeds.

The stir fry I concocted, after I got back to my abode, turned out quite tasty. Baby bok choy is a good stir fry ingredient, as are oyster and shitake mushrooms. And red peppers.

The Tarrant Regional Water District's Muddy Board Report 2011 Vision

In the picture you are looking at the cover of a publication I found in my mailbox this morning. Actually, I found two copies of this publication in my mailbox this morning.

The publication is Board Report 2011 from the Tarrant Regional Water District.

It is currently 2012. Not 2011.

I do not recollect receiving, previously, in the mail, Board Reports from the TRWD, for years previous to 2011.

On the cover it says that the report is "A clear vision for  a substantial and growth-oriented future."

Looking through Board Report 2011 it appears to be a slick propaganda piece touting the alleged virtues of the Water Board.

I did not see any mention made regarding the Tarrant Regional Water District's branching out into the restaurant business in cahoots with J.D. Granger and his Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and Celebrity Chef Tim Love and the controversial Woodshed Smokehouse.

In the Board Report there is a lot of verbiage about saving water, water restrictions and the Lawn Whisperer.

There is no mention made of the volume of water sold to gas drillers by the TRWD to frac Barnett Shale natural gas wells.

I find the water restrictions really bizarre in the TRWD zone, what with all the millions of gallons of water taken out of the system to be polluted with chemicals and then injected into gas wells.

I recently spent 10 days in the Sonoran Desert.

North Texas, and the area served by the TRWD, is not a desert.

The region may occasionally suffer from droughts, but it is not a desert.

So, how is it that in the Phoenix Metropolitan area there are so many water features? Like town lakes, such the Tempe Town Lake, built without the help of J.D. Granger and his earmark-happy Mama, and with actual signature bridges? Or Scottsdale's Waterfront?

Fort Worth might want to send a task force to Tempe and Scottsdale to see how towns which wear Big Boy Pants manage to create such developments, while Fort Worth is stuck in its Little Boy Knickers, relying on a corrupt congresswoman, (who got this corrupt town earmark money favors, in exchange for her little boy getting a job managing Fort Worth's bizarro water feature project), hinky funding mechanisms and never, God forbid, never, a public vote approving taxes to raise funds to build the pathetic little water feature, its unneeded flood control channel and what used to be signature bridges across the unneeded flood control channel.

And how is it the Phoenix metropolitan area, in a desert, a dry, hot desert, manages to manage its water supply without putting the public on Water Restrictions?

Is it because the Phoenix Regional Water District, or whatever that area's government water management agency is called, does not divert any of its water supply to gas drillers pumping millions of gallons of water into  gas wells?

All the water I saw in the Phoenix zone looked clear and clean. I saw no dirty looking Trinity River type water flowing. Why is that? I saw very little litter in that dusty, windy part of the planet. Why is that?

It is all very perplexing.

And in addition to all I've already mentioned that perplexes me about this issue, I am also perplexed as to how the Tarrant Regional Water District justifies spending what must be a large sum of taxpayer money, on this self-serving propaganda publication.

The Final Wednesday Of March Dawns Dark With News Of Fort Worthington Bluebonnets

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at the outer world on this final Wednesday of the 3rd month of 2012, I can see the lights of the pool are not on, thus making the pre-dawn darkness appear darker than the norm.

I hope the lights being out in the pool are simply a timer switch issue and not a dead light bulb issue requiring a partial pool draining to repair.

Currently the temperature in Fort Worth and Phoenix are only one degree apart, with Fort Worth being the the hotter town. temperature-wise only, at 62.

The humidity in Fort Worth remains high, at 86%. With my air-conditioner back working the humidity is not bothering me when I am in my interior space.

Speaking of Fort Worth, I got an amusing blog comment this morning from someone named Anonymous telling me about yet one more thing in Fort Worth causing spasms of Green with Envy syndrome in other cities...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Hiking The Slightly Muddy Tandy Hills Admiring Fort Worth's Iconic Downtown & Bluebonnets": 

Fort Worthington Bluebonnets?

Years ago the Worthington Hotel in downtown Fort Worth commissioned Texas A&M to create a new variety of Bluebonnet that is/was a lighter shade of blue. I think it was named the Worthington Bluebonnet and all other cities were, of course, green with envy over Fort Worth's very own variety of Bluebonnet. Whatever became of that Bluebonnet I cannot tell you. 

The Bluebonnets I found yesterday, blooming bright atop Mount Tandy, appear to maybe be a lighter shade of blue than the Bluebonnet norm. Could these be a patch of the fabled Worthington Bluebonnets that cause spasms of Green with Envy Syndrome in towns that don't have their own town specific brand of Bluebonnet?

Fort Worth really needs to think about dialing back on its incredible specialness that is making way too many towns way too envious.

I think it is time to go swimming now, in the pre-dawn, light-free pool.

Hiking The Slightly Muddy Tandy Hills Admiring Fort Worth's Iconic Downtown & Bluebonnets

The Stunning Skyline Of The Downtown
 Of The Museum Capital Of The Southwest

I was back on the hills of the Tandy Hills Natural Area today for the first time in weeks. The hills were still a bit muddy in places from last week's heavy rain.

The wildflowers are being a bit more sparse than I thought they would be, what with all the rain.

Today was my first look at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth since I learned that Fort Worth's arty aspects are the envy of many other older, larger cities.

I must concede, that, just like New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, Seattle, Moscow and countless other cities, the iconic skyline of Fort Worth is recognizable world-wide, with constructions as well-known as the Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Space Needle and Eiffel Tower.

It really is no wonder that Fort Worth draws art lovers from all over the world to experience the brilliance of the Amon Carter Museum, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the triumvirate that collectively makes Fort Worth the Museum Capital of the Southwest.

And soon, when the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle becomes clear, in addition to being the Museum Capital of the Southwest, Fort Worth will also be the Vancouver of the Southwest.

Imagine the waves of out of control envy that will bedevil cities, far and wide, when Fort Worth becomes the Vancouver of the Southwest.

Mysterious Un-Natural Arrow Point To What?

I can hardly wait.

Changing the subject to something else that makes Fort Worth the envy of the world. That being the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Part One of the 2012 Prairie Fest takes place this coming Saturday. From 4 PM til the sun goes down there will be music, wildflower hikes, plus food & drink from Chadra Mezza & Grill, Good Karma Kitchen and New Belgium Brewing and Rahr & Sons Brewing.

Today, on the Tandy Hills I saw the arrow you see in the picture, spray painted on the ground. This did not seem very natural too me. There were additional flags stuck in the ground, in addition to the one you see in the picture.

A Bed Of Bluebonnets Glowing Blue

Marking off what? I could not help but wonder.

Mother Nature was also marking her territory, with the State Flower of Texas, the Bluebonnet, being the wildflower most abundant.

Changing the subject from something blue to getting  cold.

The A/C fix-it guy fixed my A/C today. So, I'm ready for a HEAT wave.