Fun in the snow!

Neighbors enjoyed building snowmen and ice skating on the cul de sac!

First White Christmas in the Metroplex since 1926!

Channel 8 Weather Map Shows the Storm

Rain during the day became sleet and then late afternoon became snow that stayed on the ground. Amazingly, it was 70 degrees the day before! DFW Airport measured 3 inches and we are usually about the same.

While in an afternoon movie the snow began to stick and it had accumulated this much by 5pm. A dangerous drive home.

Grapevine area highway project begins 2010

The DFW Connector Project is set to begin February 15 and last 4 years. This 8.4 mile highway expansion will involve 114 and 121. During weekdays the number of open lanes should remain the same, although these will include detour lanes. The end result will be new toll lanes added to the existing lanes that will remain free.

H1N1 Vaccine Tarrant County Update

The special vaccine clinics will now be open Tuesday - Saturday 10am -7pm, but the regular Tarrant County health department locations will be open Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm.

The vaccination may also be available at pharmacies, but pharmacies may still be under earlier age and category restrictions. Also the pharmacies still charge, whereas the special clinics provide the vaccination (both shot or nasal administration methods) free.

H1N1 Vaccine Now Available to All Tarrant County Residents

As of today, Thursday, Dec. 3, the H1N1 vaccine will available at 5 Tarrant County locations from 10am to 7pm, Thursday through Saturday. One location is in Bedford, Parkwood Village, 217 Harwood Road, No. 106. That is just east of the intersection of Norwood Road and Harwood, and west of Brown Trail. It is in the shopping center where the old fitness center building is, just to the right of it as you stand in its parking lot.

The form asks for your Social Security number, but if you don't write it down they don't ask about it.

A mass clinic will also be held Dec. 9 at the TCC NW campus.

The vaccine is free to all Tarrant County residents.

Thanks to the Fort Worth Star Telegram for this information.

Tarrant County storefronts Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Vaccine is free to all Tarrant County residents.

Cooper Oaks Crossroad, 5415 S. Cooper St., No. 125, Arlington

Cherry Hill Plaza, 1636 S. Cherry Lane, White Settlement

Parkwood Village, 217 Harwood Road, No. 106, Bedford

The Mercado, 1500 N. Main St., Suite 138, Fort Worth

Eastchase Marketplace, 1550 Eastchase Parkway, No. 100, Fort Worth

Source: Tarrant County Public Health

For more information on the flu, see this government website.

Rainy September weekend

Friday evening the rain started (Sept. 11). Lightning was common that evening but now it is Sunday and we haven't had lightning since that night. Just constant rainfall! Further south, along I-35 around Salado, the freeway was shut down due to high water. Tarrant County has had a flood warning. The odd thing about this storm is that it is moving from the southeast across to the west. Normally our storms come from the west or southwest.

Rain gauge measurements:
9-13-09 (first time I checked, so covers several days)
4.6 inches at 9:15am 9-13-09 (first time I checked, so covers several days)
0.85 inches at 4:30pm
0.15 inches at 7pm
For a 4 day total of 5.6 inches.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7pm after what seemed like a gray, drizzly day:
barely a trace at 7pm (DFW reports .01")

Rasberry crazy ant

The Rasberry crazy ant, a tiny new pest, is working its way here from the Houston area, possibly transferred geographically on landscaping plants or hay bales.

The swarming, uniformly-sized 1/8 inch long, reddish-brown ants crawl "rapidly and erratically." They nest outdoors under such things as rocks and landscape timbers.

"In infested areas around the Houston area, large numbers of Rasberry crazy ants have caused great annoyance to residents and businesses. In some situations, it has become uncomfortable for residents to enjoy time in their yards. Companion animals may, in some cases, avoid the outdoors as well, and wildlife such as nesting songbirds, can be affected. The economic impact is currently unknown." The Texas A&M Center for Urban and Structural Entomology is working on identifying it.

TAMU also has a separate website for information on fire ants.

Wild Geese land for a break on their trip

Early in September as my neighbor and I were walking at the Boys Ranch around 8am we spotted a large number of geese on the ground. At first I thought it was a mom with her grown up babies but then realized it was a wild flock that had landed on their migration trip!

North Tarrant Express Rolls In!

A public hearing was held August 25, 2009. Construction is due to begin in 2010 and will last 5 years.

The area of construction along 183 extends from 820 to 161. It is "Section 2" of the entire NTE project, which also involves parts of 820 and I-35.

Public Hearing Display 3 * is of interest to our area since it shows the church parking lot. Display 2 shows the interchange at Brown Trail, which is currently set to give us access to the eastbound lanes.


*Note these web addresses will move to an archival location at some point.

west view of Shady Brook

The ovals indicate areas that are affected, possibly just that they are within a certain distance. This shows the creek.

Bedford housing information

Check out this neat link from Hotpads.com that gives lots of information on Bedford housing. It includes average rents and housing prices besides giving links to available properties and local population statistics.

New water line progresses

By the 10th they have filled in the strip with cement and driveways get a metal bridge for a day!

They create big piles of debris, but clear it each day. All this happened on the 9th.

New water lines installed

New 8" water lines are being installed in the Shady Brook neighborhood. The workers are well organized and industrious. They started in front of our house on July 8.

Lots of rain!

The recent storms caused a day of off and on power outages along one side of Shady Brook Drive. From about 3:15am Thursday, June 11, through around 8:30pm that night it went off and on a number of times. My rain gauge reported 5.25 inches but that was so near the top it is very likely some blew out! Another neighbor reported 6.5 inches in her rain gauge that is a little deeper than mine.

Runoff election

There will be a runoff election on Saturday, June 13, 7am - 7pm for Council Member Place 2. Voting will be at the Pat May Center.

Early voting will be at the Bedford Public Library or "any designated Tarrant County early voting location" on June 1 - 9.

June 1 - 5 (M - F): 8am - 5pm
June 6 (Sat.): 7am - 7pm
June 7 (Sun): 11am - 4pm
June 8 - 9 (M - Tues): 7am - 7pm

Earthquakes in the area!

Residents of North Texas experienced earthquakes on Saturday, May 16, 2009, but some may have just thought it was a thunderstorm according to Mitch Mitchell, reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He noted that no damage or injuries were reported.

A 3.3-magnitude earthquake at 11:24 a.m. (event ID us2009gsba) and a second one measured at 2.0 at 1:02 p.m. (event ID us2009gsbh) were both centered about four miles south of Euless, at 32.796 degrees north and 97.091 degrees west according to the USGS Earthquake Center.

The Dallas Morning News reported that National Weather Service meteorologist Jesse Moore said "There's a minor fault that runs across this area. On occasion, we will get an earthquake. This is not exactly earthquake country."

According to a story by Roanoke, VA, station WSLS10 reporter Ashley Roberts Virginia Tech Seismologist Martin Chapman (or Champan?) said it is a coincidence that there have recently been earthquakes in California, Texas and Virginia. “Everyday there’s probably two dozen earthquakes worldwide and basically they don’t know about each other." He says earthquakes don’t cause structural damage until they get around 4.5 to 5.0 on the Richter magnitude scale.

This USGS site gives more information on Texas earthquakes.

Earth Hour 2009

Tonight at 8:30pm in each time zone people and businesses will turn off lights for one hour. The Earth Hour project started in Sydney,Australia, in 2007. In 2008 about 35 countries participated. This year Dallas and Arlington have joined. The purpose is to raise awareness about climate change. For more on what you can do, see this page for resources and links. There are many opportunities to make a change in your own energy usage.

Obama at the "Neighborhood Ball"

The Inauguration of our new President, Barack Obama, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, concluded with evening festivities that included the first "Neighborhood Ball." He had emphasized his neighborhood connections throughout the campaign and so invited anyone to attend who wished. It was televised on ABC and featured a number of celebrities. The Neighborhood Ball was the first one he and Michelle attended, and they danced to a song he apparently chose -- "At Last," sung by Beyonce.