Re-Visiting Wichita Falls World's Littlest Skyscraper

Saw this this morning on Facebook. The World's Littlest Skyscraper.

It's downtown Wichita Falls most famous tourist attraction. There is even a Wikipedia article about it, which you can read by clicking that link in the previous paragraph.

The informational text which accompanied the photo on Facebook...

The Newby–McMahon Building built in 1919 is commonly referred to as the world's littlest skyscraper standing at 40ft / 12m located in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The building has survived tornadoes, a fire, and decades of neglect. The building has never met the criteria for the definition of a skyscraper nor even that of a high-rise. Regardless, but it is certified a national registered historic landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.

I drive by the World's Littlest Skyscraper whenever I visit the downtown Wichita Fall Public Library. And have seen it up close a couple times, reading the historic landmark plaque.

I do not know if any of the downtown Wichita Falls building are tall enough to be considered skyscrapers. Maybe just tall enough to be considered high rises. 

One of the downtown Wichita Falls tall buildings is known as Big Blue, due to the blue cladding that covers its outer walls. I thought Big Blue was real tacky looking the first time I saw it, and every time since then. Removing the blue cladding would be a big improvement...

Microsoft OneDrive Remembering Mount Baker & The Skagit Flats

A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, that I do remember, and which could have happened on this day in early December.

But, I think it was more likely in October, with the year being 2005.

That big pile of white hovering in the background is one of Washington's five volcanoes.

Mount Baker.

The foreground is what is known as the Skagit Flats. We are heading north on Interstate 5, a few miles south of Mount Vernon. The birds you see are swans. Flocks of swans migrate yearly through the Skagit Flats.

In my house in Mount Vernon, the one I lived in before moving to Texas, I could look out my living room and kitchen windows and see Mount Baker.

Looking out my current abode's various windows, I see nothing scenic in the distance, or close, no matter what direction I look...

Freezing Sikes Lake Nature Communing On Last Day Of November

With the temperature chilled to two degrees above freezing, in other words, 34 degrees as measured via the Fahrenheit method, with a strong wind making those 34 degrees feel like the temperature was in the teens, according to the radio weather report I heard whilst taking a brisk walk around Sikes Lake, I had myself some chilly nature communing on this final Sunday and final day of the 2025 version of November.

The photo documentation does not look as cold and windy as was the reality. 

Last night's low was below freezing for the first time since last winter. Freezing had been predicted a week or so ago, but my location did not freeze.

But, last night freezing arrived, as evidence by my neighbor's vegetable garden getting obliterated. 

Up til now the way the neighbor's tomato plants seemed to be thriving, we thought they might make it til the actual arrival of winter.

Last Christmas a Washingtonian gifted me thickly lined Land's End sweatpants, which I never wore, til today, figuring all that lined insulation would cause me to overheat. Such was not the case today. Not even remotely close to overheating.

Today I made the foolish mistake of not having my hands covered with gloves. Upon returning to my abode I located my decade's old ski gloves. 

My cross-country skis made the move to Texas, but not the move from Fort Worth to Wichita Falls.

There has been a time or two where the cross-country skis would have been fun here in Wichita Falls, with the Circle Trail snow-covered.

The Circle Trail runs right by my abode. The Circle Trail through the hilly Wichita Bluffs Nature Area would be fun on cross-country skis too.

I shall see if Amazon sells cross-country skis. I doubt any store here does...

Chilly Day After Thanksgiving At Lucy Park

It was back to Lucy Park I ventured on this day after Thanksgiving, for some nature communing along with burning some of the excessive calories gained from yesterday's Thanksgiving buffet.

As you can see via the photo documentation, the deciduous trees have lost all their leaves. The evergreen trees remain green, because that is how they are programmed.

Whilst walking a strong wind was blowing. The temperature was chilled into the low 50s, with that strong wind making it feel real cold. 

A few days ago I was at Lucy Park in shorts and tank top. And I overheated. Today I was in sweatpants, hooded sweatshirt, wool hat. And I did not overheat. Instead I got cold.

Winter is less than a month away. Not looking forward to freezing temperatures and snow. 

Christmas Before Halloween & Thanksgiving

Christmas, 2025's version, at my location on the planet, seems to have arrived way earlier than I remember being the case in previous years.

Christmas decorations began showing up before Halloween.

MSU's (Midwestern State University's) Fantasy of Lights installation was mostly completely installed, before Halloween.

My next-door neighbor had the twinkling lights, inflated Santa, reindeer and giant candy canes, in place, and lit up, before Halloween.

The most over the top early Christmas display is the one you see photo documented above, with the photo taken this morning on my way to WinCo. My camera could only capture part of this display in one photo. 

Every year, since I have been in Wichita Falls, this has been the biggest Christmas display I see, with each year more than the year before.

This is located on Hamilton Boulevard, across from Hamilton Park, in the area north of my abode which I refer to as the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls.

I am ready for tomorrow's Part 2 of the annual Holiday Season. No turkey will be seen in my abode tomorrow....

Sunday Lucy Park Duck Pond Nature Communing

On this next to last Sunday of the 2025 version of November, with winter less than a month away, it was back to Lucy Park I ventured on this sunny day, to commune with nature.

I usually park at the Lucy Park log cabin parking lot when doing Lucy Park nature communing. Today I opted to break that repetitive pattern and instead parked at the Lucy Park duck pond parking lot.

Which would make that, in the photo above, a look at one section of the scenic Lucy Park duck pond, currently populated by more geese than ducks.

With more than two-thirds of fall already gone, the leaves in the trees have mostly fallen, rendering the landscape much less green than just a short time ago. Now yellows and browns are the predominate color screen, though we do see some green in the above photo documentation.

The temperature was barely in the 50s when I was in nature communing mode. But, I did not feel at all chilly, even though I did not have on cold weather outerwear, just my regular nature communing attire of shorts and a tank top. 

Rain and thunderstorms are on the weather menu for later today, and tomorrow. 

Thursday Evening Walmart Rainbow Brightens My Drippy Texas Sky

Exiting Walmart this Thursday evening, one week before 2025's Thanksgiving Thursday, I saw something I've not seen in a long long long time.

A rainbow.

Well, part of a rainbow. Most of the bow was blocked by clouds.

I was not the only one who took to photo documenting this rare event which does not often happen in this overly dry location on the planet.

But, starting yesterday evening, rain has been falling off and on. But never at the flash flood downpour mode which had been predicted. There have been a few lightning strikes and thunder booms, but not of the strong thunderstorm sort which had also been predicted.

Even though we are nearing the end of November, I have had my interior climate control set back to air-conditioning mode for several days now, after our short bout of cold temperatures abated. Currently the outer world is being chilled to a relatively cool 68 degrees. 

I suspect by morning I will be switching my interior climate control from air-conditioning, back to heat mode.

Balmy November Walk Around Sikes Lake Before Rain Pours Down

I have been a bit lax the past several days with my usually regularly scheduled bouts of nature communing.

With a lot of rain on the weather menu for the next couple days I decided to get outside and enjoy being under the clear blue sky before the deluging arrives.

And so, it was to Sikes Lake I ventured, which would make the above photo documentation the view from the rocky east shore of the lake, looking southwest.

I had a lot on my mind in need of contemplating whilst communing with nature. Pondering serious subjects, like dementia and Alzheimer's.

No, it is not my mind I am currently afraid of faltering. But, of late I have had some disturbing personal interactions which had me wondering if it was some level of dementia or Alzheimer's I was experiencing.

We had a couple days about a week ago where the temperature got near freezing. Cold enough to switch the interior climate control to heat mode. And then a heat wave arrived, necessitating reactivating the interior climate control's cool mode.

Winter arrives in a little over a month. I hope it is mild winter, with no repeat of that sub-zero deep freeze of a few winters ago...

Remembering Aunt Alice In Tootsie Tonasket Mode

That which you see here showed up this Monday morning in my email. A Microsoft OneDrive Memory of this Day.

As is usually the case, I've no clue why this is a memory of this day.

What we see here, in cowgirl mode, is the Washington entity known as Tootsie Tonasket. Also known as my Aunt Alice. And Alice O'Della. And Alice Hudson.

Clearly, Tootsie Tonasket is known by a lot of different names.

Every year a town near Tonasket, called Omak, has a rodeo type event known as the Omak Stampede.

I suspect Aunt Alice is in Omak Stampede mode in the photo, under an over-sized cowboy hat.

I cannot tell for sure if Aunt Alice is packing heat, via a six shooter, in a holster fastened around her waist.

What I do know for sure, you do not want to tangle with Aunt Alice. Aunt Alice is one tough cookie, with or without a loaded weapon.

Aunt Alice can win a fight just by lashing out with her sharp wit. 

I found myself in a Battle of Wits once with Aunt Alice. I lost the battle, followed by a long recovery period...

Microsoft's OneDrive Horse Memories From Today

That which you see above showed up in my email this morning. A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this day.

I do remember the memory, but I've no idea what day this memory is remembered.

My first Texas home location was in the hamlet of Haslet, located at the north end of Fort Worth, the puny skyline of which one could see in the distance.

The Haslet home location was sort of a ranch, sprawling over 10 acres. With a couple cows, and the three horses you see visiting in the backyard.

The horses were smart critters. They figured out how to open the gate to the backyard. One time they did this when the weather was in extreme heat wave mode. The horses could see the pool in the backyard, opened the gate, and all three got in the pool, which you can see behind the horses in the photo.

It was a bit difficult to get the horses out of the pool. It was a bad experience for the three boys, which they knew not to repeat.