Walking With The Ghosts Along Arlington's Humid Village Creek Wildflowers

Til today, I had had no aerobic activity of the hiking sort since Tuesday.

I could not go swimming this morning due to the pool being shocked with chemicals.

Rain fell this morning, ruling out the Tandy Hills.

By noon I could take being cooped up no longer, so I took off to the Village Creek Natural Historic Area in Arlington.

The humidity was high before the rain. The humidity went super high after the rain. It was very windy whilst walking under the trees of Village Creek. The wind caused blobs of water to fall from the trees. That was a bit refreshing.

I like being outside when it is hot. I do not like being outside when it is humid.

I did not walk for long. Maybe 2 miles, tops. But, I feel better now, even though I don't think I aerobicized enough to generate any endorphin activity.

The Village Creek wildflowers, in the Village Creek Wildflower Area, were being much more colorful today than the last time I was in this area.

When I tried to take a close up picture of the bright red flower, in macro mode, I could not get a clear picture. So, I gave up and walked away, thinking something had gone wrong with my camera.

Then, as I walked away I remembered the first pictures I took of the Wildflower Area had been in zoom mode, which renders macro mode not macro-ing correctly.

So, I walked back to the Wildflower Area, got down on the ground and this time managed to take a clear picture of the bright red wildflower.

Lately I think I'm being distracted, without realizing it. I seem to be making dumb mistakes, like today's with the camera, with disturbing frequency.

Having A Bad Day Of Senility Signs & Train Blocks On The 3rd Day Of May In Texas

The picture is a perfect metaphor for how I'm feeling.

Blocked.

I had myself a rough night of rough nightmares and that had me waking up feeling beat up.

I thought swimming in really cold water would break me out of it, like shock therapy. This did not work. But it made me very cold.

My brain is just not working right today.

Well before noon I took off from here, heading to Pantego. I had multiple reasons to be going to Pantego.

The way to Pantego goes by Village Creek Natural Historic Area. I thought maybe a short walk was what I needed to get the synapses in my failing brain firing right again.

I was wrong. The walk provide no noticeable benefit.

I'm so badly malfunctioning I could not even manage to take a decent picture of the Village Creek Natural Wildflower area and the sign that tells you that that is what the sparse patch of wildflowers is.

Eventually this morning, at one point, I ended up in an ALDI Food Market. When I checked out my brain was still checked out, which caused me to use the wrong debit card. This was no big deal, but did require changing what I'd planned to do during the bank visit that was also part of this morning's adventure in minor senility.

When I left ALDI is when I came to the train blocking my way. I've heard more than once that Arlington is the only major city in America that allows itself to be cut in two by a train several times a day. There are only a couple ways to get past the track in Arlington.

That seems really odd to me. The little town I used to live in, Mount Vernon, has a train track running through it. There are several ways to get over the tracks. But, I do remember getting stuck waiting for a train a time or two on College Way, which was the main route I'd take back to my house.

It seems like a big waste of gas to have so many vehicles stopped and waiting for a train several times a day. A lot of money was spent fixing up the I-30 freeway in Arlington, with new bridges and new freeway that really does not seem to be all that big of an improvement.

Eventually the double-decker train came to an end and I was able to continue on my way.

Right now it is half past 3 in the afternoon and I feel so beat up I'm ready to go to bed. But, I don't see that happening for a few hours. In the meantime maybe I'll go try some more cold water pool therapy and do some sun lounging now that it is almost 70 degrees out there.

Just Another Spring Tuesday In Texas With Record Breaking Temperatures, Wildfires and Power Blackouts

In the picture you are looking at a hazy view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, from the Tandy Hills, today around noon.

I suspect the haziness is due to the huge wildfires burning to the west of Fort Worth, in the Lake Possum Kingdom zone. Dozens of homes have been destroyed. An area the size of Rhode Island is currently under flame in Texas.

We are heading to a record breaking temperature of 95 today. Currently it is 1 degree shy of the record.

It is very humid. The heat and the humidity turned the hiking today into a sauna steam bath.

It is now an hour later after typing "sauna steam bath." The power went out. Are we having rolling blackouts due to record breaking temperatures for this date?

It is only April 19. I think we are heading towards a super HOT summer in Texas. Currently I am not remembering how it is I can tolerate being out in it when the HEAT goes well over a 100. I am remembering why it is, if I fly up to Seattle in July or August, I'm a shivering mess pretty much the entire time I'm there.

Currently, as you can see, it is 94, with the humidity making it feel like 96. How is it one determines the temperature feels like a certain temperature, I can't help but wonder?

Today on the Tandy Hills is the third day in a row that, what I believe to be sewer water, is running through a Tandy Hills Creek. The water flows at a steady rate, but has still not reached Tandy Falls. The malodorousness of the Tandy Hills Sewer Creek was a bit amped up today. I assume due to the elevated temperature.

The only new wildflower color on the hills that I saw today was the solo pink tulip-like buttercup bloom you see in the picture.

I think I need to take an anti-histamine pill for the second time during this itchy eyes bout, which may be brought to me courtesy of wildfire smoke.

I went swimming again, during the blackout. But I did not enjoy lounging in the HOT sun for more than a couple minutes after I got out of the pool.

Miss Puerto Rico returns tomorrow, likely after midnight. I am under instructions not to turn the A/C on unless it goes over 100.

I see I have some Elsie Hotpepper incoming. I must brace myself and see what that's about.

It Is A Hot Monday In Texas Bringing Blooming Wildflowers On The Tandy Hills

It is currently 8 degrees short of being 100 in my zone of North Texas. I believe the temperature today on the Tandy Hills was the hottest hiking so far this year.

I believe it was in the mid-80s when I hit the hills. This had me wondering how it is I can manage to hike the hills when it is 110. I do know I bring water along. And drink it. I had 3 bottles of water with me today. But I did not take them on the hike.

The daisy-like wildflower was my new Tandy Hills wildflower sighting of the day.

Water is continuing to stream across the formerly dry creek bed near the point where the south trail down Mount Tandy meets the Tandy Highway.

Today I lingered a bit longer by the flood. Yesterday someone opined this was a sewage leak, opining this because of the smell and the look of the water. Today I did a better job of smelling and looking and I think I agree with the sewer system leak theory.

Then again, water in streams in these parts can be a bit polluted, creating the illusion of being an open sewer, like when the Trinity River is in flood mode, not in destination happy hour inner tube floating mode.

It is only 5 days til the Prairie Fest floods the Tandy Hills with humans and other stuff.

Some forecasters are forecasting T-Storms for Friday and Sunday. With Saturday, the day of the Prairie Fest being a non-stormy day.

Below is an optimistic 7 day forecast for Fort Worth. If this holds it bodes well for the Prairie Fest. I hope.

A Yellow Flower Blooms On The Tandy Hills While The Paradise Center Re-Opens

Today there was pretty much nothing wet that would make one think it rained an inch or more on the Tandy Hills during Monday's Thunderstorm.

Monday's short bout of wetness seems to have activated some new wildflower activity. Like the yellow wildflowers you see in the picture, that appear to grow out of a rock.

These particular yellow wildflowers may be my favorite. The blooms are relatively large, wildflower-wise, about 3 or 4 inches across.

I mentioned yesterday that I might soon have good news to report regarding the Paradise Center. I got the go ahead to spread that good news this morning. And so I did on The Paradise Scandal blog. You can read the long version there. Short version, they have found a new location for the center and are moving in.

I called the Phoenix zone whilst driving to the Tandy Hills today. I called my sister in Chandler. My mom and and were at my sister's. I got an email a couple days ago, from my sister, because they'd had their first 100 degree day and my mom wanted me to make it there by early May at the latest.

Or wait til September or October. I think my mom remembered I live in Tornado Alley and spring is tornado season.

The plan is for me to fly to Phoenix and then drive back to Texas.

Did I mention that that bright yellow wildflower, at the top, is a perfect metaphor for my currently sunny disposition?

Well, it is.

Up Late On The Last Day Of March Thinking About Wildflowers, Sweet Tomatoes & Shooting Ronald Reagan

I was up way after midnight, well into the wee hours of the last day of March of 2011.

Which has me up well after the arrival of the sun has revealed that the last day of the month is a clear blue sky day, so far, in my zone of North Texas.

I am not going swimming this morning. It is only 42 degrees out there. I don't know if the 24 hour average has been over 50 degrees. I suspect not. I'm not in the mood for a shivering episode of the extreme trembles.

I learned, this morning, from one of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin's botanists, that this year's Texas wildflower crop will not be a bumper one.

I also learned that a Sweet Tomatoes restaurant is coming to Fort Worth. Sweet Tomatoes is a good thing. A really good thing. The Fort Worth Sweet Tomatoes will be among all the other restaurants in the booming Fort Worth zone of West 7th.

It was 30 years ago, yesterday, that Ronald Reagan was shot by a Jodie Foster addled crazy man. How can that be 3 decades ago? Time flies way way too fast.

Case in point, it is already past 8 this last morning of March of 2011. It is now time to go do something other than swimming. Like maybe have breakfast.

Today I Was Stranded On The Tandy Hills Causing Me To Walk To My Home Base

Well. I have had me a day. And it's not even 5 yet.

Monday started off fine, going swimming with the air heated to about 46, with the water a lot warmer than 46.

Then around noon I headed to the Tandy Hills.

Interstate 30, westbound, was still backed up due to the explosion earlier today of a tanker truck that was hit by a car going the wrong way on the freeway.

I just learned from Cat's Paw that the drunk driver of the car that hit the tanker survived.

This had the freeway closed at Beach Street. The Beach Street freeway exit is what you are looking at in the picture, in a zoomed view from the Tandy Hills.

If I had planned to go to Town Talk today I would have changed that plan due to Town Talk being on Beach Street.

When I was done with my hill hiking I got back in my vehicular transport to find that it would not start. I flipped open my phone to call for help to find my phone dead.

After a few minutes of pondering what to do, the only option I could think of was to walk the 4 miles to my home base. So, that is what I did.

Walking the mean streets of this town is a real eye opener. Does Fort Worth have the fewest miles of sidewalk in any major America city? It is real annoying to have to walk on the street. Or like you see above, the skinny sidewalk ends, turning into a dirt path. I remember walking all over Tacoma. I never saw any street without a sidewalk. With the sidewalks being of the wide variety.

In the above picture I am looking back towards the sidewalk's end you saw in the previous picture. What I'm trying to show in the above picture is the astonishing amount of litter.

I also saw one of my favorite Texas wildflowers for the first time this year. I believe these are called Evening Primroses, but I am not sure about that. We had a little bit of rain yesterday. I think that may have prompted the appearance.

The first time I saw these pink wildflowers was when I came to Fort Worth in May of 1998 to see if it was remotely possible that I would want to move here. Barely east of Amarillo I started seeing these delicate looking pink flowers along the road. After about 100 miles of seeing them I had to stop and check them out up close.

I have made arrangements to have my vehicular transport towed to a fix-it place. This will take place tomorrow. I hope.

Missing My Camera On The Tandy Hills Looking At The Stunning Skyline Of Beautiful Downtown Fort Worth

You are looking at a rare middle of the afternoon view through the bars of my patio prison cell.

As you can see it is yet one more nice blue sky day in North Texas. Heated, currently, to 83 degrees.

More often than not at this time of the day I have downloaded a picture taken on the Tandy Hills, Veterans Park, Village Creek Natural Historic Area, or some other park.

I went hiking on the Tandy Hills today. The hike went much longer than the norm. Longer than the norm because of my picture taking camera.

I was at the western most part of today's Tandy Hills hike, looking at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth. I reached into my pocket to get my camera to take a picture of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth.

But.

There was no camera.

Earlier on today's hike, heading down a steep trail, I had a bit of a stumble. I did not fall. But I stumbled enough that I thought the camera may have fallen out of its pocket.

So, I backtracked to the scene of the stumble.

No camera.

When I got back to my current location I was not too shocked to see my camera sitting in its usual location on my desk.

I am pleased to report that overnight the wildflowers have suddenly grown more numerous. I saw several large patches of bluebonnets along the freeway. Indian paintbrush is sprouting out in large numbers on top of Mount Tandy. I think it is going to be a good wildflower season after all.

The Tandy Hills Sprouts A New Wildflower With Me Pondering Fort Worth's Various Scandals

A couple wildflowers made their first appearance of the year on the Tandy Hills today. With one of the two being the pink wildflower you see on the left.

It was very cloudy and windy when I hiked the hills around noon. There was no Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man today.

But now, 3 hours later, shadows have returned, with the removal of most of the clouds.

Change of subject.

The Paradise Center Scandal is wearing me down. I thought when I made a blog, just for the Paradise Center Scandal, that the comments would go there. Instead there are a lot of nasty con and nice pro comments still coming to this blog. As well as the new one.

Yesterday someone called Jessie Girl commented on the the Paradise Center Scandal blog, to a blogging titled "Scandal Madness Fan is Appalled at the Lack of Civility and Decency of the MHMR Cons," asking "Just one quick question. What is the scandal? I'm confused."

I thought way back on March 4 County Commission Gal did a pretty good job of breaking down the MHMR-Gate/Paradise Center Scandal.

In many ways the Paradise Center Scandal is a worse scandal than Watergate. No one was actually hurt in Watergate, except for the perpetrators of the break-in and those who tried to cover up the crime. In the Paradise Center Scandal you have actual victims who have suffered damage due to the perpetrator's bad, likely illegal, behavior.

Unlike Watergate, the city where the Paradise Center Scandal took place has no real newspaper of the Washington Post sort.

And Fort Worth definitely has no Woodward and Bernstein in town doing any sort of investigative reporting regarding the wanton wrongdoing perpetrated by MHMR of Tarrant County.

Maybe the Washington Post could send a reporter or two to Fort Worth. In addition to learning about the Paradise Center Scandal the rest of America would likely find it interesting that Fort Worth has a mayor who has made millions of dollars from the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drillers poking holes all over the town of which he is mayor.

Maybe the Washington Post could find a way to explain to the people of Fort Worth what a conflict of interest is.

After telling the story of Fort Worth's corrupt mayor the Washington Post might want to tell the rest of America about Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision and explain what nepotism is to the people of Fort Worth.

I would think the rest of America would be a bit surprised to learn that their tax dollars are helping fund a huge, unneeded public works project.

And that Fort Worth's Congresswoman Kay Granger's son, J.D., was given the job of running this huge public works project, a job for which he had no qualifications.

But those who practice what is known as 'The Fort Worth Way" figured it would make the congresswoman beholden to them if they gave her son a job, with Ms. Granger getting behind sending some earmark money to help fund Fort Worth's unfunded Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Unfortunately for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, that earmark funding method is not working out too well.

Meanwhile, J.D. Granger has been having himself a real fine time on the public's dime, with fine dining, junkets, parties, expensive hotel rooms, a steady supply of liquor and all sorts of other perks.

I wish my mom was a congresswoman so she could get me a cool job with lots of booze and broads.

Not really.

The First Bluebonnet Of 2011 Coloring Up The Tandy Hills Caused Me To Be Viciously Attacked With Dozens Of Wounds

Today is feeling like it is being the hottest day of the new year. It was definitely the hottest day of the new year on the Tandy Hills today. I think it was almost 80.

I entered the Tandy Hills from the top of Mount Tandy today. As I was walking along I thought to myself  that I should be seeing wildflowers. Thinking that by this point in time, a few days before the start of spring, in years past, there would already be wildflowers.

But, all I'd seen, so far, this year has been a purple flower I saw for the first time a couple weeks ago, on the Tandy Hills and a bright yellow flower at Oakland Lake Park.

As I was hiking the currently mostly colorless Tandy Hills I wondered if maybe the harsh winter had dealt a death blow to the Texas wildflowers this year. A time of year which is my favorite part of the year in North Texas. The usually drab landscape puts on a show of color for several months, usually with some colorful thunderstorms to add a soundtrack.

Well, on the way back up Mount Tandy today I saw the blue beauty you see above, which I'd walked right by without noticing on my way down Mount Tandy.

A bluebonnet. The State Flower of Texas. The harbinger of spring and the start of wildflower season.

You may be wondering what that is on the left.

Well, that is me. The underside of my right arm to be more precise, with the narrow part being my wrist, which is connected to my right hand.

See the red bumps?

Well. To take the picture of the bluebonnet I had to get real close. With the camera set in macro mode. I pretty much got down on the ground, on my knees, leaning on my arms to take the picture.

It is not a wise thing to get on the ground in Texas without first carefully examining the ground you are are getting down on.

Today I was not wise, which is not the first time I have been un-wise in Texas.

I had kneeled down over a fire ant nest. I quickly had dozens of the little beasts on me. I thought I'd brushed them off before they could do their burning thing. I thought wrong.

I felt no stinging, I saw no signs I'd been stung. But by the time I got back here both arms had developed dozens of fire ant hot spots.

I am almost sure I will recover from this latest attack by Mother Nature. I am willing to do some suffering to get a good picture.

The First Wildflowers Of 2011 Are Showing Their Colors In Fort Worth

Just this morning I mentioned that in less than a month it will be Spring. I did not say in less than a month it will be Spring and Texas will be putting on its annual wildflower show.

Today for my mid-day constitutional I went to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake.

Upon arrival I was a bit surprised to see color carpeting the ground in blue and purple wildflowers. And some of those beautiful yellow wildflowers that someone at some point in time told me are called Dandelions.

The pleasantly high temperatures that followed our unpleasantly cold temperatures must have confused some confusable plants into thinking Spring had arrived. And so they woke up and turned on the color.

It is 63 right now, a little before 3. I don't know if it is being warm enough to wake up the cold-blooded reptiles. Like snakes. Where does a big reptile, like an alligator, go when it gets way below freezing?

Elsie Hotpepper called me soon upon my arrival at Oakland Lake Park. I'd gotten out my camera and had it turned on to take a picture of a deflated boat that had joined the collection of litter that trashes up Fosdic Lake.

I turned off the camera and turned my attention to Elsie Hotpepper. Elsie was driving down the freeway at a high rate of speed when she called. It sounded like she was on a motorcycle.

I just saw incoming email on the other screen. Stenotrophomonas says it was not he who demolished the Tandy Bamboo Teepee. I fear the mystery of the Tandy Bamboo Teepee is going to remain an unsolved mystery.