Even the Gulls Get a Christmas Gift and A Look at This Year's Crop of Mercer Crossing Hay.

The gulls are the last of the migrating birds to arrive back at the lake. Lake docks are a favorite hang out to catch a nap, dry your feathers or show your status in the pecking order.

This summer, the city rebuilt several docks on both sides of the lake. The gulls while somewhat messy at times, have a very defined pecking order on who gets the flat head post to claim. The birds that are on the dock surface were forced to remove themselves from their position when on of their own flew in with a higher pecking order. I watched one gull be rejected from six of the ten post. Interesting order in the Animal Kingdom. Never-the-less, their return is acknowledgement that the workers didn't disturb their likes for this favorite spot when not flying.



Gulls Noted Pecking Order On Post.Lower Pecking Order on Dock.

A couple of days ago the fall crop of Mercer Crossing Hay covered the fields along LBJ 635 Westbound between 35E and 635 and the George Bush Turnpike for another year's crop. This is one of the last open space of land on the way to DFW International Airport, a few miles farther West of here. This location has always been a favorite to photograph hay bales in the fall because of the uniqueness to the past of Mercer Crossing and the number of major offices that sprinkles around the hay fields. Hagar Slacks, the favorite of President Lyndon Johnston is Headquartered less than a mile from here.

One of over 100 bales of Mercer Crossing Hay near Luna and LBJ 635 Westbound to DFW International.

Sunset on Love Field then Rise on Delhi

A late Fall sunset at Love Field on a day that tied a record set in 1950 of 83 degrees F.

A very unique shop of Asian decor . The shop is filled with very unique items of inspiration for your home from Delhi Decor. Thanks to Anil for allowing a few shots of his neat merchandise and for our Indian Visitors.

A few things handcrafted from India. The items are made from leather,wood,marble,brass and clothes such as hand stitched wall hangings,sculpture and jewelry. It's a neat shop.

Wild Animal Verdict

The official word from the lead manager at Parks and Recreation  on the "Wild Animal" sign is that up North (Plano and Frisco) there are many bob cats that have been reported being seen moving South, but he didn't think that they are inclusive to this sign. It was meant to include raccoons,skunks,opossums and copperheads but  a bob cat could wonder in from time to time.

Weekend images will be posted up by Sunday evening. 


Here's an image that I haven't posted from the last Presidential trip into Love Field, August,2011

Charleston Air Force Base Transport that flew in the Presidential Limo, Ambulance and Secret Service vehicles. These guys don't get the glory and attention  that Air Force One attracts. These are a great bunch of guys. For many years I flew into Charleston from Atlanta and could always count on that flight being full with men and women returning to base.When the Charleston direct kicked back to a one-stop at either Augusta or Savannah, we were always ahead on arrival time. The equipment was always the biggest and the best, too.

 

Strange Park Sign

This is a somewhat scary sign with the "Beware of Wild Animals"added to the sign.

 

 

The White Rock Trail is a pretty amazing trail in the heart of an urban setting. From this very point you can travel to White Rock Lake which is a distance of some 9 miles. It is approximately 9 miles around the lake itself. That mileage total is now up to 18 miles and of course another 9 miles back to this point  and you have 27 miles walking, running biking. The amazing part,still, is that from White Rock, you can take an offshoot to Fair Park, through downtown and pick up the Trinity Trail on the other side of downtown. And, if that isn't enough, you can travel back to the lake via the Katy Trail beginning at the American Airline Center and cutting through the heart of Uptown, Highland Park,University Park and into Lakewood where you will pick up the White Rock Trail again  Dallas does not fully appreciate the trail system that they have, even though it is very popular by so many already. Atlanta has a new trail on old railroad right aways and they are going nuts. Dallas has had this for sometime and its never been unpopular. Dallas does have some advantage over Atlanta too. In the article about Atlanta's new tail, it shows a beautiful view of downtown Atlanta in the distance. The article talks about that view very much. In the next paragraph, the author talks about the hundreds and hundreds of trees being planted, which in 40 years will block the beautiful view of downtown!  Dallas is a bit more advanced than that, folks but we do have at least one strange and worry some wild animal sign.

 

 

Several times I have wanted to take this 3/4 mile off shoot tail to Hillcrest Park. There is a Greek Orthodox Cathedral that is absolutely in the worst location to shoot. From the angle of Hillcrest park, I am thinking that it would be possible to get a spectacular view of the Cathedral. But, in a city park, I have never seen a beware of wild animals warning on a sign. Wild animals covers a lot of territory. I need to call the Parks and Recreation for a meaning of "wild animals" since I have seen wild animals in the city and in local  nature areas. Those wild animals (raccoons,coyote) are not that scary. To me, wild animals would be bear,moose type and oh,my, bob cats and cougars would be in that wild animal book,too. Bob cats are stealthy and hard to spot. It is a bit strange, don't you agree? I think I will call Parks and Recreation. I'll get back witch ya.

 

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, it must be official. The Google machine has released my blog  from bondage after consuming some funds from my banking account. So, it seems that we are back in the saddle again and can continue to blog even better than before.That is, it should be better by 25 times according to the plan that was purchased.
So sorry for the downtime. It cost me some time as well to get this stuff back on line. Not to mention the storage fees that are now being assessed. Just like mom always taught: nothng in life is free any more.

An urban tree farm operated by TXU in partnership with a local community college. The color is an added bonus to the deal.

 

M line Expanded for Klyde Warren Deck Park

Gourmet Food Trucks Line Up for the Lunch Crowd

A Great Dane  headed for the Dog Park at Klyde Warren Deck Park

The new Klyde Warren Deck Park has more features to come. The McKinney Avenue Trolley is extending it's tracks to serve several more blocks  from it's current terminus. I like to take the trolley from City Place down to the park. It's a 40-minute trip but it's enjoyable and relaxing. Taking the Red line or Blue Line to City Place then boarding the trolley gets you a step from the trolley to the deck park. The 2013 and 2014 expansion of the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority's tracks will connect to Dart's downtown Pearl St. station. That makes for another giant feather in this parks hat!http://www.mata.org/map.shtml

The other development is the current construction near the new Pavilion that is being constructed is a Bistro-type restaurant on the west bound service road of the park.With the popularity already displayed with the new park. just imagine a Friday evening after work with a rock band on the stage and people having dinner at the Bistro and others getting gourmet sandwiches from the food trucks, sitting at the tables on the open lawn areas or along Jane's Lane.

 

Winding Down to Thanksgiving, Is That Possible?

A checker board on the backside of the games librarian. All you need is a valid driver's license to check out a board.

The burnt orange colors are refreshing to see.

The other question that weighed in today is this: Do the dogs like the astro turf in the new Klyde Warren Deck Park? The answers may surprise you. Yes, it is possible to wind down to Thanksgiving and yes, the dogs love the astro turf and  for those of you that are going to be trying to figure out how the rest of this post fits in to the title post, well, it's one of those things that you have to wind down  for to see the connection.

Last year I decided that it was time to break that cycle of running to Walmart for everything because they were the cheapest. Were they, really?  Doing some research and really watching  where I was  spending the most and what I was getting for the money spent, I had an amazing shock. Walmart isn't that cheap overall.
I found that I was being drawn in for items like trash bags and paper products. The rest of the items were way more than I was paying at Kroger's or other places.

Well, it's been a year now and I have not set foot inside a Walmart. I've eaten more healthy, I have lost the weight that I was slowly adding  that required me to buy new cloths because I was getting bigger month by month. Now, I fit back in the cloths that I haven't worn for ages, my blood pressure has dropped  to a very healthy level where it remains. I don't feel as stressed at the check out lines as I did at a Walmart and generally I am a much happier person today that a year ago. Most of all, my lab work has don't a complete flip for the better.

Before I began the experiment, someone had made mention to me that they too, had broken the Walmart Cycle. At the time, I didn't really fully understand what that person had meant. Well, today, I may not fully understand  all the workings of what has happened, but even the commercials on Television don't captivate me now as they once did. I actually laugh about the "bring your receipt and compare" see how much you saved. Actually, when I had done that to check Walmart  in the beginning to see where my spending was going.....Walmart was getting the larger percentage of my money Today, I find the savings to be greater grocery wise at Kroger's and  a few other places that I shop.

So, as we wind down for Thanksgiving, The insanity of Black Friday and Blue Wednesday and Green Tuesday don't get me stressed out any more.. I'm actually happier since I broke the Walmart Cycle. Let's put that under Red Thursday since Black Friday seems to be taken. Have a good holiday and I'll keep the  trips to Walmart at zero for another year!