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

Heat, Wild Fires, Water Conservation, Power Grid worries,

This is not a typical North Texas Summer. It may be closer in between events but it's not an overall typical time. 

This morning, while it was relatively cool, I made a trip out to see how things were going outside my neighborhood. Plus, I've been in the house for going on ten days and I can only take so much before this old buzzard has to ride the thermals. And, riding the thermals has a whole new meaning of late. Three days of 109°F highs. Two were new records and one was a tie of an old record. Anyway you cut it, record or not, it was still 109° F three days in a row. When I went to bed last night it was still 100°F.

Usually, about this time, I'm saying, "come on September". I'm afraid that this year it might be October. The wild fires are coming much earlier with no rain for 48 days. Remembering, of course, that rain in these terms means the rain must fall in the bucket at DFW. That's the official reporting station. I got about a quarter of an inch about two weeks ago and my grass is already in dormant mode. 

Water conservation and power conservation has already been in discussions. Up until yesterday, we had not had much wind and wind helps to generate power along with solar. With no wind, the grid dropped reserves almost 1,000 Mega Watts. 

Still, I'll take Texas weather like wedding vows---in sickness and in health, blah, blah,blah! Although, it's been a bit more taxing this year. I have always found it interesting how we talk about the weather on earth. We have only been recording records for a bit over one hundred years and a decade or so on a planet that is some 4-Billion years old. I don't worry about the weather records for the past century--- it's the previous 4.9999 billion beforehand that worries me. You know what I mean, Vern? You know what I mean. Vern knows what I mean. 

                                            Checking the rails for safety in this heat

It isn't just the light rails that  experience expansions, the commuter and Amtrak have the same problems in this heat.