Update on Some Previous Post

This has been an unusual winter storm. One, it fell below freezing for 72 hours. Two, when it did start to thaw, the nights were in the 20s so what melted re coated the roadways and sidewalks. It's been a roller-coaster of a storm from start to finish. At least, the sun was out today and it was above freezing again. Still, it is nothing like a winter storm in the Great Lakes. And, of course, their out breaks of tornadoes in the spring isn't anything like ours. When it comes to weather, I like it all! Hot, cold, stormy, icy, snowy, high winds. I'll stop there because I don't like the dust storms that hit the desert southwest. That's a bit much.

Today, I had a couple of errands to run so while I was out, I ate lunch and then took a walk before heading back to the comfort of a warm house. When I came in, I couldn't find the cat. When I can't find her, I always get a bit anxious. I always check her favorite hide outs. And, she is a creative cat, still, she surprises me with a new one now and then. Today, I saw the comforter at the foot of the bed move, All I could see was her rear end. She had gone head in into the folds of the comforter. When she heard me, she did a turn around and came out kinda surprised but then went into the mode of " What's up with you?" as she does a big stretch on bed followed with a bigger yawn. Cats keep you humble.

The bee hive that I found a couple of months ago along a trail must have been frozen out, or the parks and recreation guys moved it because of the danger of it so close to the trail. There was no sign of the hive today.

Garland had to cancel their Christmas on the Square. The Children's Hospital Christmas Parade in downtown Dallas, that is syndicated to many markets during the month of December, was also cancelled and will not be re-scheduled this season. Balloon handlers are booked else where as are many other parts of the parade units.

Ice on a Foot Bridge

December this year has just not been it's normal self. Things do change and we all must adapt to that, but I must admit that sometimes, it is more difficult to adapt than at other times. That's Life as old blue eyes would sing. Music seems to help with adapting, though.

Ice on wild berries

The Grocery Shelves Were A Funny Sight

When it drops below 25 degrees F for longer than 24-hours, my dad taught me to go out and start my car to get the oil warmed and flowing in the engine. Yesterday, I took old Betsy for a little ride after getting the ice chipped of the windows and the doors unstuck. Today, it was easy to get into the car, quicker starting and I got the wipers unstuck. It appears that headway has been made.

The strange thing, which isn't all that strange, is that today, the roads were actually more hazardous than they were yesterday. Everything than melted yesterday froze with the temps in the teens over night and the high not making it more than 23 or 24 degrees.

I don't complain. The coldest that I have survived was in the early 60s. It got to minus 17 below. And, I've lived in temps below freezing for more than a month so a 72-hour period isn't that bad for me, although, some have never experienced that for any length of time and its a bit of a shock come the second day.

A Patio Pot encrusted in ice

Inside the grocery store, the bread isle was bare bones. The meat counters were bare bones and then some. The dairy isle was just as sad. The staples, basically, were the hardest hit; bread, meat, dairy. I had to chuckle. It was funny. One would expect this before the storm, not two days afterwards. But, there again, I don't have a house full of kids anymore that can make a loaf of bread disappear in one meal. Life does bring laughter as you get older.

No small branch by any means

The three-tiered  drinking fountain was iced over at all levels.

A New Sign's First Ice Storm

The sign was being tested this afternoon. While out getting the gas tank filled before the ice storm, it was working but the ramps were marked closed. It's due to open almost any day now. While getting a shot of the sign, getting a shot of the electronic gear that will be focused on cars as they enter and exit was a give me.

It was 50 degrees colder today than yesterday and the wind was a major factor with the chill index. While making my return home from the gas station, Jim Cantore, of The Weather Channel was setting up for a live shot. I should have pulled in and got a shot of him but the wind would have been in my face and the decision to keep on going was made. Sorry bout that for you fans of Cantore. He's less than two miles from me at the present. I'm pretty sure he didn't mind that I didn't stop, though.

Right now as I write this, I have my toes and fingers crossed that there will be no power loss during this ice storm. If Dallas makes it through the night without any major power outages, hopefully, tomorrow morning, although cold, some shots of the ice, maybe!

Check out the new sign. It's going to be something new to get used to in the very near future that is different than the old HOV lanes that were free. These lanes will change price depending on the traffic flow, I'm told.

The prices are displayed as they change.

Look at all the cameras ! But look closely, they aren't all cameras. There are scanners and readers mixed in there. Next, look at the  pully system of cables  attached to the bank of cameras, scanners and readers. This is actually, pretty scary when it comes to privacy concerns.

This is the back side of the previous image. This one has got you as you drive with your back to it.  Spooky!! You can see a good example of the cable system, however.

The Moving Gingerbread Houses

 The moving gingerbread houses (c.1890s) didn't move far, but it can be confirmed that they moved from where they were originally. Another piece of the puzzle was also revealed. As in any state, but Texas especially, land is like Fort Knox and it's prized dearly. It wasn't hard to figure out that the reason for the move of two old houses and a railroad depot and rail car was for the land they occupied. Call it progress. Some still do.  I'm not so sure that progress wasn't more about trying to preserve face for  the miscues of  others over the years.

There is no doubt that the new office buildings going up on the land will complete the look for  civic services for the city. The real question is why the city built the original building on the same block as the old railroad station and the two historic houses built when Garland had not yet  seen its first fifty years. However, what ever the real reason, the moves have been made and the excavating equipment was puffing smoke with every blade of dirt pushed out of the way to put in a foundation for a three story building today.

The houses looked sad as they faced where they once lived.     

c.1890s

Gingerbread Architecture

Garland's Moving The Furniture Around

At the new location when placed on foundation

It's still a very historic building regardless where it now sits.

A recent trip to Garland to an antique dealer found the unexpected. The old railroad station and train Pullman car that had been a historic landmark and the two turn-of-the-century gingerbread houses were gone from their original location.  The land had been cleared and leveled. Obviously, the buildings had been moved and I set out to find the new locations. It didn't take long to find the rail station and Pullman car. They had been moved a few blocks north and west next to the Dart station where the old DGNO (the local short line) had its engineers and crews office on Walnut Street.

The Dart station was the northern end of blue line but now is extended into downtown Rowlett. So the exposure of the old rail station will be a good asset in their new location. Finding the old houses was a bit of a letdown because I never did find where the houses had been moved. That will have to wait until a later time. Perhaps, a good warm winter day or early spring shoot.

It appears that Garland is doing the same as downtown Plano did after the red line came to Collin Country. That downtown Plano project was such a success that a second wave of growth is underway. Downtown Garland is moving these  properties at the right time and it will only add to the overall growth of the Metroplex. I'm always glad to see well planned furniture moves cities make to improve the overall scheme of things. At the same time, I am a historian-at-heart and do not like to see historic buildings demolished or relocated for the most part. On rare situations, it becomes history within itself if done right. Garland seems to be on the right track (pardon the pun).

When you stop to think about it, Dart from downtown Dallas now goes to downtown Garland and Rowlett, downtown Plano, downtown Carrollton on the green line, and with the addition of the "A" train, downtown Denton in Denton County. With the orange lines, and connections to the TRE, downtown Irving  and downtown Ft. Worth, or staying on the orange line and DFW terminal A is just a year away. While Las Colinas is available now.

The amount of distance that can be covered with Dart from downtown Dallas is astonishing when you think about it. Sometimes, moving the furniture around makes for an expanded living area. And like a furniture move in the house, sometimes, you trip on the relocated furniture, but eventually get used to the rearrangement. Anyone visiting Dallas and can't find anything to do, isn't looking very hard.



 

The Story Tellers of White Rock Lake

If trees could talk, there are a few trees at White Rock that have probably seen it all from  their growth  stand. It occurred to me not long ago that another severe ice storm like we just dodged, or straight-line winds could bring these old story tellers down to the ground and reduce their massive, scared trunks to firewood.

There is a story about the old Pecan tree that stands on the Cole farm in Highland Park that is decorated every year. KERA has run the story as fillers many times over the course of its creation. But  people that live around the lake; regular visitors to the lake or even a one-time visitor visiting family here in Dallas looking for some place neat to sight see, also notice some of these old haunting trees with their rabbit-holed trunks. Their twisted, sometimes sawed off, even bent, and mangled branches have their own character that are just as old as the Cole pecan tree, if not older in some cases.

The project sprang up when I was looking for something of significance to shoot at White Rock Lake. First, one thinks of buildings. Some good, some bad, but they have been shot over and over and over .Eventually, the list came to be titled, "old trees"  The odd thing is that during the summer, when leafed out, it's easy to miss some of the character of the tree itself. But, in late fall and early winter when the leaves start to fall and branches are bare, one can see the real beauty of the tree from an age stand-point. The character just blossoms.
Here are just a few of what I found today.

The trunk is split from the base up the trunk for nearly 15-feet.I would guess that a lightening strike hit the tree more than just once.



The trunk is straight but it has been mutilated by weather, disease or lightening.

Another tree that has overcome lightening strikes, wind damage, and who knows what else.

These old trees have a ghostly character that only age can bestow on this old story-teller. The wood would be interesting to inspect. Old wood like this is filled with so much character, no wonder people search the planet for old trees like these for a variety of reasons. Many, just walk by the old tree and never notice its character at all.
 

Unusual Road History

It began as a note to myself while the construction on the White Rock Lake Dam and Spillway was underway about two years ago. That note said that I should remember to do a post on the dam and spillway after the construction was complete.  My attention had been drawn to an unusual  piece of granite that was inscribed some time in the past. It was just sitting there along  a sidewalk partially leaned up against a wrought iron railing. It looked a bit odd compared to the typical historical marker that the State of Texas uses to mark historical points of interest. One of those was about 15 feet farther up the sidewalk that gave the history of White Rock Lake Dam and Spillway but the white granite marker was even more interesting to me. It also had a half-mooned bowl that could be a water fountain or  who knows what else. It was just plain cool. The inscription was indeed historical and it was clear that the marker was going up at the dam and beloved spillway that has drawn people to view the dam after a major rain storm for years. It is an impressive site.


"Central National Road of the Republic of Texas was created by the Texas Congress on Feb.5,1844 to establish a five-man commission to select a right of way, see that it was cleared, and supervise the building of necessary bridges." 1

1."CENTRAL NATIONAL ROAD," handbook of Texas Online (http://www.Tsha.online.org/handbook/online/article01),accessed November 24,2013.Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution

The history of White Rock Lake

The new renovation to the dam and spillway