I am so very impressed with the endurance and sturdiness of our yellow Trumpetbush aka Yellow elder aka Tecoma stans. It is now a week before Thanksgiving and this bush shows no signs of ending it’s blooming cycle.
Author: Kenneth Henseler
Musings of My Today is the digital home for my varied interests. I find joy in exploring the intersections of creativity and technology, analyzing the philosophical depth of music, and sharing my personal projects and learnings. This blog is a reflection of a mind in constant motion, a space to document discoveries and invite thoughtful discussion.
Mid-November Hickory Creek Hike
Such a great day for a hike! Today, Saturday, November 14, 2020, temp was 84° F with wind gusts up to 20 MPH. We saw big beautiful clouds and the latter part of the annual color change of the foliage.
The Hickory Creek Trail has several convenient trail heads. We chose the parking lot just south of the bridge on FM 2499 that crosses Hickory Creek and the northwest fork of Lake Lewisville. This trail is frequently used by equestrian folk, so just stay alert and keep your dogs close and/or on a leash. Also, keep your head up and pay attention to the tree roots and multiple rock outcroppings, as these pose tripping hazards.
From the trail head, heading west, you walk through a tunnel under FM 2499. The trail winds slowly through the forest edge, following the winding Hickory Creek. There are a couple places where the trail is close to the water’s edge, including an interesting, scenic panoramic perch where you can watch a few small water craft drifting along, fishing.
Highly recommended trail, close to Denton, Corinth, Highland Village, and Flower Mound. Have you walked this trail before? What were your favorite memories? If not, tell me about a memorable trail you’ve recently hiked. 😎
Nov. 3 2020 Election Most Secure Ever
apnews.com/article/66f9361084ccbc461e3bbf42861057a5
Why is there even a debate? Relinquish your power, Trump; YOU’RE FIRED! Even the non-partisan military has vowed to “escort” you out the door, if you have trouble finding it.
Sorta kinda calaveras literarias for 2020
Oct 31-Nov 2 is known as Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead. This is a holiday celebrated by many of the Latin American countries, especially Mexico, which honors and remembers our friends and family members who died. I will not be able to conveniently visit the gravestones of those I remember because I now live in Texas and those resting places are over 900 miles away. So, in the spirit of the holiday, I am writing a collection of “calaveras literarias” about the deceased (rather than traditionally about someone living) as a humorous eulogy to help me remember the silly and funny aspects of those loved ones. Rest In Peace, Family
1991 – Kenneth J. “Kenny” Swaim
“Papaw”, my mom’s mom’s dad
Papaw let me drive his lawnmower; we hooked up the trailer with our tools, ready to clear the debris; I kept pushing the throttle forward, but he said, “Go slower!”; not paying enough attention, I drove the tractor up a tree.
1992 – Phyllis Jean Swaim Henseler
“Grams”, my mom’s mom
1997 – John “Johan” Schilling
Gramps’ best friend
1997 – William J. Swaim
“Uncle Bill”, my mom’s mom’s brother
1998 – Derek Alan Hartman
Classmate
2001 – Jessica Ellen Martin
Classmate
2003 – Fred Bloebaum Jr.
my brother’s dad’s dad
2004 – Freddie Bloebaum
my brother’s dad
2010 – Shelby Nicole McCarter
my youngest sibling
2011 – Reba Preece Swaim
“Mamaw”, my mom’s mom’s mom
2015 – Dawn Michelle Henseler Starr
“Auntie”, my mom’s sister
2017 – Elaine Henseler
“Nan”, Gramps’ second wife
2019 – Gilbert Ed McCarter
Shelby’s dad, my mom’s 3rd husband
2020 – Tommy Allen Oaks
“N9QAQ”, my mom’s 2nd husband
qubits – an electronic music playlist, inspired by quantum information
My Night Sky Observations for 5/1/2020 01:00AM CDT
Haven’t yet been able to fall asleep. I’ve laid in bed for two hours, pondering the most pressing issues in my life right now. Mind doesn’t shut off, hard to fall asleep. Basically, just replaying the issues in my mind to create a mental list of these things that need to be converted to an actual Task List in order to effectively solve the problems. Do I really have that many problems that their solution is so pressing and deserving of my attention that it deprives me of precious sleep? Or do I just enjoy solving problems? 😅
Didn’t turn on any lights as I arose from bed, walking to the living room/kitchen. Our gadgets emit enough light with their LEDs to see at night. Even with this much “light pollution”, I noticed it seemed strangely bright outside. And quite a bit louder than I thought it would be. Besides the cricket-like bug still chirping, there are also several birds tweeting back and forth. It’s 1:00 AM for chirping out loud!
Oh, right, sky observations… 🤓
The moon is half-illuminated in a yellowish tint, sitting on the western horizon at about 30 degrees:

My Sky Guide app also revealed the constellation Cancer the Crab, sitting directly under the moon, although I’m unable to see any of those stars with naked eye:
Standing on my back patio, facing North, I tilt my head back about 80 degrees and turned just to the west, the Big Dipper is plainly visible, with its handle pointing south and the scoop is being emptied on to this large tree on my neighbor’s rear properly line:
The very mature maple tree in Timothy’s yard (neighbor to the East) mostly blocks my view of the eastern and north eastern sky, except for a small gap between the tree and his patio roof, where one brighter star and one dimmer star are still visible to my naked eyes. According to Sky Guide, these are Altair and Tarazed of the constellation Aquila, The Eagle, The Thunderbird:
For having this much artificial light pollution, it’s interesting just how much less of the Sky we’re able to see. Our 24/7 cities and their inefficient street lights are sending light in all directions rather than concentrating it or restricting the beam of light. Here’s an example of the levels of ALP in the DFW metroplex:
Here’s some live screenshot video captured through the Sky Guide app:
Rediscovering the music
I love discussing music with Derek. During a chat yesterday, he shared with me an album from his teen years. I, too, wanted to share a memorable album with him from the same era, but I could not recall a specific memory. In hindsight, I wish I’d logged my music experience during my formative years.
Oh! But wait, I still have a couple of “car visor CD holders” stored in the closet! Other than transporting them from one closet to the next over the past two decades, I haven’t listened to a Compact Disc since 2012, when I started using Spotify. Let’s bust out the discs and try to match a memory with each.
Here are 40 music CDs Alicia and I could not stop playing during the 2000s and 2010s with a few quips for my own memories. 😎
Freddy VS. JASON Sndtrk: purchased after seeing the film in 2003 
Staind – Dysfunction: During a HS talent show or Battle of the Bands, Ryan Furr asked me to join him on vocals during the Subzīd cover of Mudshovel. 
The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness (Deluxe Edition): Jesse Kirkpatrick lent me this in 1999 and I never returned it. 
Staind – Break The Cycle: Having already owned their debut, of course I snagged their sophomore album shortly after HS grad in 2001. 
Audioslave – Audioslave: 2002-11-07, probably bought this from BestBuy in Evansville, IN while attending Oakland City Univ 
Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists: fond memories of rocking out with Alicia while we both attended OCU 
Mudvayne – The End Of All Things To Come: 2002-11-12 Another OCU heavy-play 
Please do not ask why. I literally have no idea as to why we have not just one, but THREE copies of the Limp Bizkit – Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water. Maybe Alicia and I each owned one and an accidental purchase of clean lyrics version? 
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