Happy horses.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Bluebonnets and Old Buildings
The old and the new, a pleasant surprise -- and prolific -- on Seventh Street.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Yellow-headed Blackbirds
So these guys show up all of a sudden, and then leave, all of a sudden, and I love them.
Archer County.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Blue and White Bluebonnets
Where once water was several feet deep, there grow bluebonnets.
TAMU website about bluebonnets includes mention of pink bluebonnets.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Electra Post Office Mural
The sculptor, Allie Victoria Tennant (1892-1971), won in 1939 the commission from the Section of Fine Arts of the Department of Treasury to provide a mural for the post office in Electra, Texas. Tennant chose a triptych in bas-relief that would reflect the most relevant activities of the town, oil, ranching, and farming. Driving from Dallas to Wichita County in a Lincoln Zephyr, she spoke to everyone eager to discuss the area's history and culture with her.
An iPhone photo of a copy of the front page in 1940.
The copy was shown to us by a lady who works at the newspaper in town.
The facade of the building designed by Louis J. Simon (1867-1928).
Our host's bus, MSU's Museum of Art, is reflected in the glass doors.
Part of the facade shows a train, a plane, and a ship. The motif was designed back then by the Rodriguez brothers. The postmaster chose the theme of transportation, for Electra was built around a stop in the railroad line specifically to load cattle from the Waggoner ranch.
The bas-relief in 2015, a couple of decades after its restoration.
Friendly postmaster.
Our lecturer, Dr. Light Cummins, explains the mural. Above him, the bas-relief shows Tennant's brothers as models, left to right, Ernest, Roger, and Tom.
Scale, original.
Delivery window.
Mail boxes.
Dr. Cummins explained that most things in the Electra Post Office are original from the 1930s. When towns remain small, such as Electra, Quanah, they do not have the need to build a new, bigger post office. Hence, a historic building is extant, used every day, and appreciated.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
E34
Visibility: Clear from here to Timbuktu.
Winds: Howling.
Runway: Concrete in good condition.
Fuel: Unavailable.
FBO: Combination did not work on the lock. Oh, well.
Looking inside the window, we saw that the airport is or was once active with instructors and students who left photos on the wall and the back of t-shirts cut after a first solo. The airport was quiet and had a sort of mood that led to contemplations about who is or was there, who soloed there from that beautiful setting just up from the edge of the escarpment in North Texas.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Friday, March 27, 2015
Wild Grape Hyacinth on Old Iowa Park Road
Update: I was not trespassing to take these pictures, standing perilously by the side of the road. Still, when a young man driving a tractor, pulling a trailer on which sat a woman, I felt queasy about a confrontation. Thankfully, the woman came over for a friendly chat.
Her name was Kathy Davis and that was her son driving the tractor. They were working on fixing up the house that stood next to the field of flowers. Davis spoke about the history of the property, saying that her family had owned it since 1910. The property includes Wichita Valley airport, which she said provided a nice revenue for her family. In the background of the top picture, one can see an old hangar, part of the original complex of buildings of the airport. Her mother had a house right there where the hyacinths grew prolifically, and that she was proud of her garden; unfortunately, they had to raze the house.
Mentioning to her that I had stopped by there after Lita had mentioned the lovely field, she recognized her name and said that their sons attended school together. I promised her to print copies of my images and put them in her mailbox, which I did a week later.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Squirrel in a Box
Living with squirrels means that occasionally I have to put down my book and watch their behavior in the trees. One squirrel decided to move into a bird box I placed between two tree trunks. Hopping in only when in rained, these days, the squirrel spends every evening in the box, and even moved in some soft material. It wouldn't surprise me if the material came from my neighbors' pool chair pillows.
Image-captures of squirrels can become endless. Here is one of a squirrel eating buds.
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