I Cannot Remember When....

 the last time the weather turned so bad, so soon. But I can tell you that I 'forecast' an early fall. Mind you, I never mentioned the ice storms, the 5 days of cold rains, winds and chill factors in the twenties. It seems that we were caught in the middle of two power house systems  406 miles apart. Winter storm warnings with snow accumulations in the Panhandle and Hurricane warnings along the Gulf. All I can say now is, "good riddance". Hurricane Zeta was, unfortunately, a killer with three people loosing their lives. We still have the entire month of November of Hurricane season to navigate through. 

While I can usually play dodge ball with the weather, I can not express it enough that the old human body needs time to heal. Ten days ago, I just wasn't making the progress that I needed, then along came these two weather systems and I made like an old bear and headed to the den burying myself under comforters and sleeping 10-11 hours a day. Now that the weather is finally moving out and the average daily highs in the 70's are slowly beginning to return. So, the next few days following the ghost and goblin event, finally, I will be able to get out with my camera and begin my 5-mile walks again. Frankly, I can't wait!! 

In other news, if you are new to Texas, tomorrow is the last day for early voting. If you don't vote tomorrow you will have to wait for the long lines of Election Day, Tuesday, November 3rd. And frankly, I can't wait for that to be over with either. This has been the most dirty election that I have seen in years. I'm not talking about the major figures of Frick and Frack. I'm talking about the congressional battles that have been just absolutely awful. I plan to use the good weather and the walks to de-tox my brain and get rid of all the negatives that have been seeping into my brain from all the PAC money ads. Normally, things like that don't bother me. I'm not saying that they are bothering me now. What I am saying is that there has been a lot of junk stashed by osmosis and it's toxic and I have to get rid of it. A walk, a camera, fresh air, sunshine, and the autumn scenes will go a long way to put me back together, both mentally and physically. 

 Early Voting Ends Friday, October 30th in Texas.

Buds on My Trees And Elsewhere

It's been delightful since we have started to dry out and the sun comes out in the afternoons. Stratus cover in the morning last until the sun is high enough to burn it off.

The temps have been good. 65-80 and Sunday we could go beyond 80, yet a double cold front hit us today and the mornings will be jacket chilly with frost hitting again just north of us in Denton County. So, Spring is trying to take hold. The flowering trees have really popped in the last week. Today, I saw both red buds and tulips blossoms on tulip trees.

The half million tulips at the Arboretum's Dallas Blooms is underway until April 24th. I'd like to go but I really am balking at the price this year. The senior discount isn't anything to mention and parking (and that's self parking) is $15.00. Combined it would be nearly $50 bucks. Memberships have gone from $20 to $90 annually. The city owns the grounds but there is a private company that manages the memberships, parking and admission prices. It shows and people are not all in agreement with something that should be like the zoo and a city pride thing to celebrate with all citizens. Even the zoo prices have shot up through the sky but at least, I can ride the train and walk from the train right into the zoo. No parking and the savings with my senior card on DART is will worth having. And--their rates are getting ready to go up again, too. It's at the ticket counter where the Zoo (also run privately)  wants to grab big bucks to get inside. 

Here is a few shots of the flowering trees throughout Moss Park, a greenbelt that runs alongside   White Rock Creek for several miles.

Sprinkled through out the woodlands the flowering trees can be seen.

Here's one up close.

A V-bike "parked anywhere" 
 Dallas has more bikes from 6 companies than any other city in the US with a total of 18,000 Park and Leave Bikes. You scan the APP fill in your financial info and the bike unlocks. The tags say $1.00 but it's more like $10.00 on some of them as the buck is only for 15 minutes. And, some riders have forgotten to re lock the bikes when done and the meter keeps ticking. So, if  you rent one, make sure you lock it when you are done. Actually, the concept is great. Ride the rail get a bike pedal and leave. Ride a bike to the bus stop or rail station and repeat the process at the other end to your car or place of residence. 

What people don't understand is that even a web site like this or a bike company like the Ride and Park are commerce and when one is interfered with, that's a felony for interfering with Interstate Commerce.