Late Out The Door, Two Drivers on Different Buses DIdn't Show----

 misinformation on Transit Centers being opened on the weekends, but I had one driver that is absolutely the most safe driver I have ever ridden with. My driver that gave me misinformation was new, so I can excuse her this time. She sent me to Carpenter Park and the comfort station there on her return trip to the East Transit Station. It was there that I meet three great people taking care of the facility and the security guard. I ask them if I could shoot all three of them and got the thumbs up. When 

Seen from Carpenter Park

Decorations at Urban Taco at Mockingbird Station's Retail Level. My favorite place to eat when I'm out and about for the whole day.

The crew at the comfort station at Carpenter Park. Two thumbs up and a "Sweet" when he said that he would put it on his Facebook page. He has my permission to do that. 

Only that could be topped by my first encounter with a passenger on the DART rail that was standing in the well as the train was taking on passengers. I had come on for the opposite end of the car and moved forward looking for a seat. The guy in the well was talking in a confused way and when I looked up from my seat, he was holding a metal bar with a point on it. He said to me, "did you hear me?" and I replied"No, I didn't, sir." Then I said, "do you want this seat?" He replied, "No, it's okay" and had a rather frightening expression on his face. I got up and moved to the end of that car, passed into the second car and went to the far end. I never saw or hear from the guy again. 

Outside of that---I made it to Mockingbird Station via two buses and two more train rides. I got off at Mockingbird and went down to the retail level to my favorite place to eat---Urban Taco. The crew there are always nice, helpful and the food is amazing!!. I didn't have desert today but I sure would have liked to have had the time to take on that piece of  their wonderful cake again. 

The decorations were really nice. I always ask if I can shoot the decorations in side and then  came the reply, "Certainly" . Today, I had three servers taking care of my table and I got a lot of looks from people wondering what was going on.... I could have replied, "just shooting my usual", pardon the pun! We all got a laugh and my head waiter said to me, "It's good to see you again Mr. [Paparazzo].

New Drought Monitor Shows little lessening after the 10.38 inches of rain

 which set a new record for the most rainfall in a 24-hour period at DFW. The bummer was an added blow because we also went from 67 days without any rain to the wettest record for rain during August. 

Even more odd is that Europe is experiencing the same thing. Old Roman settlements are popping up as the water drops. Lake Powell is revealing bodies all over the place with the drop in one of the two largest reservoirs in the states. Sharks are being found in places not seen before. Nothing is normal any more. It makes one wonder just what is yet to come. On second thought, maybe, I don't want to know in the short term.

Yet, I had two DART employees that were super yesterday. One was driving the 200 and the other was in the Transit Center at Addison. She said,"Don't I know you?" Then she said that she had seen me earlier in another transit center. We got a good laugh together, so even the stressed out ones  still on the job after COVID seem to be returning to an even better attitude, which is a great thing any day. 

The Silver Line's new Addison station construction shown here and in the other direction is the work toward the Knoll Trail Station. The 26-mile commuter line will bridge the north corridor from Garland to DFW to join  Ft.Worth's TEXrail in terminal B. Can't wait!! I've ridden the TEXrail and it is quiet, smooth and comfort plus. The Silver Line will be very much the same. Now. if we can get Arlington hooked up to the TRE or the DART Red Line---even the Bullet Train, I might be able to enjoy a Rangers Game before I start to push up a daisy or two.

Shot More Imags Today Than Total for Last Six Weeks.

 Rode the 22 from downtown Garland to Addison Transit where I checked on the progress of the Silver Line's Addison Station, next door to the Transit Center. Progress has been made. Then, I walked to Addison Circle, checking out the architecture with great clouds as backdrops. Then, I had to go see my favorite guy at the Addison Market. Some think it is an insult to label the small market (7-Eleven style)  a bodega, but just because it's root came from Spanish, Latin and Greek is not really insulting at all. But, here's the thing. my cat, Hotdog, was the prime example of a Bodega Cat. Dawgie, was my joy for 13 years and we had a bond that was unlike any other cat that I had ever had. She was  an  Abyssinian breed This is my Dawgie, Hotdog the e-cat because she sent and received e-mails from my friend, Mo in the UK. But, her look-a-likes can be found in Bodegas across America and gets the tag: Bodega Cat. with long legs, pointed face and ears, short hair gray with black and white streak markings on the face. The Addison Market reminds me of Dawgie and I like the guy who is always there like a New York or Chicago bodega guy.

 

 

Today, he challenged me about taking his picture. As I left, a vendor was stocking the counter near the door and I hear him say, "smile" and my guy looked up! I was standing in the door way with the camera ready!. So funny.  But here's the thing. I blurred the facial image in his interest so his competitors didn't razz him so much. As Arnold always says, "I'll be back!!" 

                                   Addison Station for Silver Line construction work

Looking east from Quorum north of Belt Line toward the Knoll Trail Station
 

Fall Is Coming But Don't Be Looking For Much Color, For All Is Not Lost

 

Talk About How Things Can Change On A Dime...

 With no rain in over 60-odd days or more, and one of the hottest summers in the past 11 years, it's been a drought-ridden summer and my lawn shows it with brown dormant grass and soil pulling away from the foundations enough that I could put a one-by-four flat against my porch wall and the piece of lumber would go down several inches. Knowing this is not a good thing, I have tried to keep pouring a gallon milk carton of water down along side the foundation during the drought. It has helped some. However, you should see my neighbors!!

This morning, while listening to the news and weather, it was obvious, that the much talked about tropical moisture from 4-seperate systems had arrive. North Dallas has recorded 15-inches of rain in the past 24-hours. Think goodness I live on top of a small ridge. The official bucket at DFW airport finally had some water in it's bucket. Like, at this writing, 9.02 inches in the past 24-hour period, the third all-time record rain fall in a 24-hour period and it is still coming down as the slow-moving Low Pressure system continues to move East and out of here. However, rain is still in the forecast for the rest of the week and this thing isn't over just yet.

When the official drought totals come out this week, it is most surely going to reflect that this rainfall has made a solid impact on our drought conditions, but the long-range forecast is already saying that we will continue to keep getting more dry over time. 

If I were 30 years younger, I'd be looking for property in Canada or Alaska. In short---it ain't gonna be getting any cooler here any time soon!

Flooding on major streets looked like rivers and lakes this morning. There were a few shots,  where the cameras of the local media, caught a current rushing by cars on 635 LBJ Expressway. That ads more credence to the fact that there really are express lanes on LBJ, especially if you remembered to bring your kayak with you on the way to work. Having said all this, I'm thankful that I don't drive anymore on a daily basis and I sure enough to have more common sense to "turn around and don't drown" watching high water rescue operations and people trying to walk through the water. One guy did that and had to swim to get out of the deep end. The roof of his car was all that could be seen. But, thankful for the water, I am and continue to be thankful as this crazy summer has begun to make a turn toward fall weather. It will now be a watchful one to see what kind of winter we will have. At least we have a new CEO at E.R.C.O.T. (Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc) the operating arm of the Texas Grid. The new guy comes from AEP Energy-Texas (American Electric Power) a member of the eastern 11-state grid in the US. I have a bit more confidence with an AEP guy at the helm of Texas' grid than the mess we had in most recent winter's past. 

So the old adage that the only way out of a drought is with a flood has now arrived it seems. And the other common old adage that "Mother Nature has a way of balancing things out" seems to be right on target. The problem that I wonder about is what is she going to balance next with fires, earthquakes, blizzard conditions, volcano eruptions, hurricanes, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, falling space junk or solar eruptions and flares. Maybe, I should be looking for not only land in Canada but also an underground bunker. Then, the unthinkable. our atmosphere escaping into space as other planets have experienced since creation of the universe.

I try not to worry to much. Worry is interest paid twice and avoiding that situation has long been a goal mastered. I don't mind doing work, but I hate to do work twice.

As School Starts, the weekends will be busy again at Zero Gravity.

It's in one of those hard to get to places without a car and although, I have been able to cover most of the places that I did when I had my car. It's close but not that close to the rail station or bus routes and it's one of those places that would not justify Uber in this case. So, I'm working on it....it's a fun place to watch people bite off more extreme ride than they had expected until it's to late. Then the focal point shifts to capturing faces. That is the tell-all tale of  people's personalities and that makes for worthwhile images of life in the world of extreme rides!

 

It's That Time of Year Again

 and if you haven't figured it out yet, or to new of a reader to have gone through one of our cycles, here's the scoop!

It's two weeks from the first day of fall on the easy calendar and about 5 and one-half weeks from the old "hard" calendar. In other words, the weather men count fall as September 1 to November 30 and winter from December 1 to February 28/29 (depending on leap years). That's the easy calendar. the old "hard calendar" are the 20-21-22 days when the sun crosses the equator at a precision time that can be calculated to the very minute. What's two weeks? It isn't really a big deal to take the easy calendar over the precision of minutes.  Having said that, now...I change the headers "big time" in the Spring and in the Fall. The rest of the year there are just a few cosmetic changes made outside of those two big changes. Well, the big change of fall is underway already since I have so much time on my hands because of a few trips to the ER that were not planned. But, I would rather be ahead of the game rather than behind the 8-ball so you get to see the new changes sooner. 

It's really been a long, hot and indoors more than I like, but I do listen to my doctors and tend to do what they tell me in addition to me watching abnormal changes in my body. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand what you body tells you---all you have to do is to listen to it when you feel little subtle changes or notice something in your senses; smell, taste, color, a bit dizziness, things like that. But Fall and Spring is when my shutter goes into rapid fire mode. 

We have had 44 days of 100°F days with three more due during the next 3 days. AARGH! I really do hope this is the last. It's got to change as the hours of daylight are now shorter and our daily average high temperature of 97°F has started to fall with it being 93°F by end of the month. 

So, as far as the blog goes--the major reset for fall is already done. We hope you like it. It's only the headings that changed. The same format of postings remain the same. We are still working on a major change for the website itself and hope that my Spring we might be able to introduce that to you as our Spring update to our little postcard to our world.

Found The Traveling Parking Lot Carnival of the old Valley View Past.

 It really is amazing what you can see from the trains with their wide view windows and with not worry about driving in traffic and looking for unique things. But, when the old Valley View Mall was torn down and moved into the prime residential development mode with park settings, Dallas' trail system with enter-points at the complex. Immediately, the question arose as to were would the traveling parking lot carnival go from there? 

Over the period of the pandemic, the carnival must have suffered badly. No where could I find it set up around the city. Then, I got off at City Line Station that was another development of businesses, restaurants, resident living and the like that was built in a massive acreage where big rolls of hay were harvested each year.To add a side bar to that last statement, that was the second large hay field where I shot the annual pumpkin and hay themes for the Halloween Fall media buyers that was wiped out by developments. Never-the-less, After the train

pulled away from the station I then realized that I had gotten off a stop to soon. But, knowing me, I make the best of a situation, in this case not lemon aide but walking around to the various bus stops to see where they could go. While doing so, I noticed another set of bus stops on the other side of the tacks about a block down from where I de-trained. Low and Behold! from there, I saw my old parking lot carnival all set up waiting for sundown to come to life. Mystery solved.

Grandpa is about to pull Arthur Gordon off the shelf again for sound advice, but before I do, listen up as to why

 I enjoy reading Arthur Gordon and keep him on my shelf where I can revisit his amazing wisdom from time to time.

 Drama is conflict: we need to get rid of the drama and go back to the days cut from the fabric of reason and not from our present state of misguided influences of social media's bad actors, who will do anything for more hits because they get paid by ad agencies, rather than creating by cutting out all the drama. The spin off of that is the conflict of government, not understanding how the rule of law gets created in the first place. Which, by the way was working  in the Supreme Court's decision to reverse Roe vs. Wade. It now opens the gate to give the states the decision of what they want for the majority of their residents. The exact way the Constitution was set up to work in the first place. 

Having said that, another point to ponder is in this summer of 22. 2-many days of 100°F and 2 -little rain. Looking back, Mother Nature left us a clue it was coming in our last record setting summer of 2011. 1- more string of 100°F days and 1-more summer of less than 1- inch of rain. Since no one seemed to be paying attention, that was 11 years ago. And, furthermore, Her signals have gone unnoticed for the most part. Now, there seems to be some glimmer of hope on the horizon with congress that people are beginning to take to heart what the scientist have been saying all along---climate change is, indeed, happening. 

Latest Update is that no change in our heat wave until the end of August. Today will be the 41st day of 100°F since June 11th.

 

 

 

While Still Recouping, Here are some views for you.

 

Dragonfly with golden winds

Do You See the lizard ?

This family member remembers me and will leave the family group and come pay respects. 

They are such smart birds and do remember you as being nice to them or being nasty in someway toward them.

Black and Blue Swallowtail Butterfly. One of my favorites outside of the Monarch

Yes, Virginia, this is a wild peafowl that has lived on this street for over forty-five years total for the flock.

They walk the streets, sidewalks and lawns; sit on porch banisters, rooftops, sheds and basically the neighbors say they get used to the squawking. There are also three known white ones that are amazing. I have pictures of the blues and the whites in one yard displaying their tail feathers that are nearly as tall as I am when displayed. These are big birds. When the colony gets to large the city will come out and remove a number of them.They do fly up into the trees at night to roost but during the day, they own the streets.

Taking Time Out for Heat Health, Some Much Needed Camera Maintenance

It was my plan to write a post for this weekend. However, I had a quick trip via ambulance to the Hospital ER and I'm in recovery mode at the moment. 

Meanwhile, here are a few of the things we still see in Texas after a long hot summer. 

Enjoy!

Oak leaves trapped behind bleachers by a chain link fence

Twin Radio Towers with wisp of clounds

Arborglyphs

Arborglyphs

Arborglyphs