three crosses

 

Although it no longer has a sign and does not appear to be in use, I surmised that at one time this building was a church.  It must have been the three crosses.

 

East Dayton and New Mexico Streets

Slaton, Texas

11.28.2013

red steeple

 

The east side of Slaton must be a God-fearing neighborhood.  I counted six churches within about a seven-block radius. The Triumph Missionary Baptist Church was established in 1929 and rebuilt in 1951. Other churches included the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, the Ivory Street Church of Christ and the First Church of God in Christ.  I assumed that the building with three crosses and the one with the short steeple were also churches but there were no signs; however I really didn't need a yellow sign to identify them.

 

Triumph Missionary Baptist Church

905 S. Johnson

Slaton, Texas

 

 

 

corrugated

 

Corrugated -- with ridges and troughs.  I am thankful for graphic buildings, strong sunlight and shadows.

 

Winfield Solutions

43rd and Locust Avenue

Lubbock, Texas

cubism

 

Cubism: artistic style using geometric shapes; developed in the early 20th century and emphasizes the representation of natural forms as geometric shapes seen from several angles.  The subterranean patio of the Rawls College of Business resembles abstract art.  It is deserted not only because students have left for Thanksgiving break but also due to 40-degree weather.  I went to photograph the new bear/bull sculptures but found the patio more interesting.

 

Rawls College of Business

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

minnesota paints

 

Like a lot of enterprises in Hale Center, West Builders Supply is out of business.  One would wonder that if West had stocked Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore paint, the lumber yard would still have customers.  Why is a Minnesota Paint sold in Texas?  Good sales rep, I'd guess.  There's not much information on Minnesota Paints except for an expired trademark, a merger with Valspar in 1970 and a sign or two on eBay.  I'd venture to say the large metal sign on the lumber yard might be worth more than the building.

 

Hale Center, Texas

11.15.2013

bolt bin

 

For farmers, equipment repair is as predictable as the weather is variable.  During the recent cold spell, the crew has been working on equipment in the shop.  It's helpful to have parts on hand.  The bolt bin, acquired by Pop probably during the '60s, hold a supply of bolts.  There are a few shiny ones mixed in with the used, the dusty and the greasy.  If one's lucky, the right-sized bolt -- with corresponding nut -- will be in the properly marked bin.  Youthful shop helpers are often assigned bolt gathering and sorting duty -- which might affect bin placement.  For perspective, each bolt bin measures about 12" in width and the entire piece stands head high and about eight feet long.  I don't know if any youthful helper has ever counted the bolts because no inventory is available.

 

New Deal Shop

New Deal, Texas



the last fall sunset

 

We took advantage of the last nice fall evening on Wednesday to take Christmas card pictures with the yard display on the Lusk farm.  Mr. Lusk decorated his John Deere tractor and 100 year-old wagon for fall but the lights made a great backdrop for Clara, Hannah and Collier.  The John Deere Model B was produced from 1935 to 1952 as a smaller tractor for row-crop farmers.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

11.20.2013

winter's chill

 

Yesterday the violas basked in 70 degree sunshine -- then the arctic front blew in.  Temperatures dropped 50 degrees from 2:00 to 11:00 p.m.  Today the violas shiver in an onslaught of sleet, 26 degrees and 26 mph winds.  Goodbye Fall--hello Winter.

 

My front yard

Lubbock, Texas

executive position

 

By virtue of her tenure and natural superiority, The Cat (also known as "the ole cat") holds an executive position at the barn.  She shuns leftover people food, preferring fresh kill but will deign to eat dog or rabbit food if necessary.  She observes machine repair, usually from atop the Kubota cab.  She's solitary but always comes to greet Pop.

 

Hale County, Texas

11.15.2013

alien landscape

 

No, it's not a scene from Mars -- just a night shot of the corn maze north of town with the city lights of Lubbock on the horizon.  Hurry -- you only have a short time left to get lost in the corn patch, take a hay ride and see the pumpkins.

 

At'l Do Farms Corn MAiZE

6323 FM 1294

Shallowater, Texas 79415



guns up

 

Since the beginning of Texas Technological College in 1923 and its first use by the football coach, the Double T has been the symbol of TTU.  Another, newer tradition is "Guns Up".  Started as counter to the hand sign used by a state university to the south, Guns Up emulates Raider Red with his upraised pistols.  It is widely used by students and alumni alike as a greeting and victory sign.  In fact, at the outdoor wedding I attended last weekend in Dallas, the bride and groom used the Red Raider Fight Song for the recessional and members of the crowd cheered them on with "guns up!"

 

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

black/white: 201

 

The parking garage lent itself to black-and-white photography.  After shooting from the alley and the outside, I wondered what the interior could offer.  Since the garage was deserted on a Sunday afternoon, I climbed the ramp to the second level with some trepidation thinking about hoodlums and the homeless.  I liked the sun and shadows contrast of the bars in the west corner.  As I turned to leave, there parked in the east corner was one of Lubbock's finest in his black-and-white vehicle.  As I cheerfully waved, I thought "gotcha!"  I don't know if he were hiding out, taking a break or doing paperwork-- maybe it was surveillance for trespassing photographers!

 

Wells Fargo Parking Garage

1500 Broadway

Lubbock, Texas

sunday skateboarding

 

 

Skateboarding is a popular pastime.  Supposedly it came about in the 1950s because the California surfers wanted something to surf when the waves were flat.  Lubbock is an ideal location -  it's flat and the waves are miles away.  I found this group of guys practicing their moves in the alley off Avenue J and Broadway.  I'm thinking crashing on the waves is probably less painful than bouncing off bricks.

 

Avenue J and Broadway

Lubbock, Texas

 

 

There are more buildings closed and boarded up than are open for business in Hale Center -- a sad sign of the times for small West Texas towns.  What first caught my eye on this former church were the gothic windows --slender, pointed arches on a stucco building.  Then I noticed the small window on the upper level -- too narrow for a second story and no steeple to access.  If eyes are the windows to the soul, then these church windows, boarded and blank, reflect no soul within.

 

900 Main Street

Hale Center, Texas

11.15.2013

1984 el camino

 

Hale Center has beautified downtown with murals depicting its history--from farming and ranching to the train station and the newspaper office.  A business man also got into the spirit, asking sign painter Steven Garcia to immortalize his 1984 El Camino pickup on the front of his business.  Visit downtown Hale Center (it won't take long to do the main drag) and check out the art.

 

Main Street

Hale Center, Texas

firestones

 

While on a photographic field trip, I told my city friend Margaret to look at those Firestones.  She thought I was referring to a technical term to describe silage bunker coverage.  Then she exclaimed, "Oh, they're tires!"  After chopping corn or grain stalks into silage, it is piled into bunkers.  To prevent oxygen from seeping into the pack and spoiling the feed, the silage is covered with plastic.  To hold the plastic in place, tires are universally used -- although there are other commercial applications.  This dairyman apparently uses the "any old tire" method; however, I found an online discussion about the benefits of whole tires versus sidewalls versus splits.  Now Margaret knows that is not a hill on the flat Texas landscape, it's a cow pantry.

 

Lamb County, Texas

2006

baa

 

Several years ago I was involved as a photographer in a project about disparities.  We traveled many counties and saw diverse sights.  Cattle is the first thought when Texas livestock is mentioned however there much sheep production as well.  We visited a sheep feedlot operation.  Usually the end product is wool rather than mutton.  Steaks are still preferred over lamb chops.  Paint branding is a way of temporarily marking and identifying the sheep.

 

Castro County, Texas

10.0.2006

birds on wires

 

The Boothe Grain Elevators in Anton are widely photographed as google will attest.  Years ago on a road trip, my friend Margaret and I stopped there as well.  Of course, the majority of the birds flew away but these four remained as counterpoint to the highline wires, power poles and railroad tracks.

 

Anton, Texas

10.9.2013

salute to veterans

 

Today we honor veterans.  During the war, two service men from New Deal met up in Los Angeles.  Billy Fortenberry, the Marine navigator, and Raymond Pearce, the Navy Seabee, visited Raymond's brother W.J.  These two veterans, in their eighties, both served in the Pacific Theater and represent the "greatest generation."

texas road art

 

The Adams family homestead can be seen on the far horizon.  While clearing out the creek, they hauled out this wreck of an old Chevrolet pickup.  Some one had the idea to paint it up and make a park.  The decorated pickup and other objets d'art as well newly planted trees and shrubs are transforming the side of  US 82 into a roadside attraction.  Dickens can be known as something other than the feral hog capital of Texas.

 

Just west of Dickens, Texas

US Highway 82

'nuff said

rosa

 

Rosa is a talented lady.  While shooting in Lockney, I heard accordion music.  I followed the sound to Rosa's backyard where she was practicing the accordion for an event at the Catholic church in Plainview.  She prefers the guitar and had to play for me, al fresco.  Rosa lives in a unique rock house on the corner by the water tower.  Look for her shop:  Rosa's Hair Chateau, Gift Shop and Massage Therapy.

 

203. E. College Avenue

Lockney, Texas

10.26.2013

melrose baptist church

 

Many folks stop to photograph the abandoned Presbyterian Church in Taiban, but how many stop in Melrose, just 20 miles up the US 84, to shoot the First Baptist Church?  Not many, I dare say.  The original church structure was built in 1906 -- two years earlier than Taiban's.  This congregation  of over 100 years must have built a firmer foundation as well as a brick church in later years. 

 

 

taiban

 

 Melrose Baptist Church

Melrose, New Mexico

9.26.2010

how was your day?

 

Toby, a three-month basset hound, catches ups with Henry on their evening romp in the park.

 

Tech Terrace Park

Lubbock, Texas

sorghum hill

 

The color of the mature head of grain sorghum, or milo, depends on the variety of seed planted.  Ben Franklin is credited with introducing the crop in the 1700s.  Sorghum uses include food grain for humans, livestock feed and fuel ethanol production.  This yield on the South Plains is good this year.    There were at least six towns in Texas named Providence.  The one in Floyd County is now referred to as a "populated place."  The school is gone -- just a marker with the date 1923 remains.  The Providence Elevator is still in business but don't expect a meal at the Crume Gin & Café down the road -- it's closed.

 

Providence, Texas

Floyd County

Farm Roads 2301 and 788

10.26.2014

addition to Lubbock skyline

 

As you drive south on I-27, about the 19th Street overpass, look to the west to catch a glimpse of a new addition to Lubbock's skyline.  That's about the only way you'll view it without driving down an alley!   John Shurbet is building a greenhouse as part of his Broadway Studio. He has taken several old buildings on Broadway and given them new life.  The space around the railroad ROW and I-27 has practical use as part of his landscaping business.  John asked if I needed a greenhouse, but I'm afraid one like this would outshine the house!

 

Shurbet Landscaping

511 Broadway

Lubbock, Texas

self-titled

 

I couldn't resist.  The sculpture "Black Pink" was recently relocated from along the Marsha Sharp Freeway by Quaker to the Arts District intersection at Marsha Sharp and Avenue L. I moved it again. This piece of art is one of seven in the "Art on the Llano" project by a LHUCA.  The works are installed on concrete pads donated by Texas Department of Transportation along major thoroughfares.  I know the M fell off the building but the current sign reflects my abstract art interpretation of "Black Pink"

 

Tire Mart

1519 Buddy Holly Avenue

Lubbock, Texas

in tall cotton

 

 

Despite a cool spring, late freeze and the drought, this patch of cotton promises a good yield. His dad's crop is almost as tall as great-nephew William.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

10.28.2013

city services

 

Do you think, that in a budget-conscious decision, the Lockney city fathers opted to build the four-square police station at the base of the water tower?  Certainly hope the roof was waterproof.  The Police Department has since relocated closer to City Hall.

 

Lockney, Texas

10.26.2013