curb appeal

 

Most homes don't have the curb appeal of the Powell family crypt located in the Mountain View Cemetery.  The effect is definitely castle gothic. The lane with the crypts where Powell is interred is across the way from the monuments known as Millionaires Row.  He must be just on Rich Man's Row.

 



 

Mountain View Cemetery

Oakland, California

1.18.2015

is it spring yet?

 

This example of farm art is propped in the corner of the New Deal shop.  Perhaps I should rescue it and plant it in my yard.  Not sure who the artist is.

el rancho de porta potty

 

Once upon a time, there was a great restaurant in a unique location in Lubbock, Texas -- La Fonda del Sol.  The owners envisioned a housing development across the road with the same canyon landscape.  Entry ways to the development were built in the Spanish style; unfortunately, Escondido Canyon never developed.  La Fonda became the County Line, which also closed.  The place is now a special events venue.  And Escondido Canyon?  It's home to an obstacle challenge course.

 

Spirit Ranch

703 Regis

Lubbock, Texas

home sweet home

 

What are the odds that two small towns in Coke County, Texas were named after English authors?  Bronte and Tennyson are ten miles apart.  The fictional town of Smallville was filmed in Burnaby, British Columbia because Vancouver had a "Middle America landscape."  Should have picked Bronte as a location -- middle Texas landscape!

 

Bronte (pronounced as one syllable), Texas

1.23.2016

catch some good luck

 

It's a common practice to hang horseshoes on a barn to ward off evil and bring good luck.  The owner of this shed in Mason is of the school that believes hanging a horseshoe in an upward or U position holds in all the luck and the powers it brings.  Proponents of the downward position believe it allows the good luck and protective powers to shower upon you and the surrounding home.  The doubly superstitious might hang horseshoes both ways!  Unless the intention is "shabby chic," eight horseshoes haven't brought this shed the good luck of fresh paint or new tin for the roof.  And was it good luck for those two horses that lost their shoes?

 

Mason, Texas

1.23.2016

 



gospel church

 

The Spring Street Gospel Church was constructed in 1892, originally served a German Methodist Episcopal congregation. The vernacular one-story raised L-plan building features Gothic Revival detailing in its lancet windows and spire. Of the four oldest church buildings in Mason, this is the only one not of red sandstone construction.  The church is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.  There may be power in the gospel, but the power lines outside are a photographer's bane.

 

Spring Street Gospel Church

Spring Street

Mason, Texas

1.24.2016

cash for signs

 

With all the great historic buildings and turn of the century (19th that is) homes in Ballinger, why did this junque store catch my attention for the blog?  Who knows?  Ballinger began as a railroad town in 1898 and the Santa Fe Depot now houses the Chamber of Commerce.  The Runnels county court house (fairly plain after being renovated in 1941 "modern" style) boasts of the largest landscaped lawn in the State of Texas.  The Andrew Carnegie Library, built in 1909, has been restored and is only one of five still standing in Texas.

 

Carnegie Library

 

oneofakinduniqueantiques.com

(don't google it - nothing there!)

623 Railroad Avenue

Ballinger, Texas

1.23.2016



texas longhorns

 

I spotted this herd of Texas longhorns in Fredericksburg.  They don't require much pasture land nor feed; however, they might be subject to vandalism if relocated to Texas Tech country.

 

Fredericksburg, Texas

 



cemetery stroller

 

All the "to do" lists for Oakland rate Mountain View Cemetery as a place to visit -- so we did, not that cemeteries aren't always on my list.  While "notables' are buried there, there wasn't anybody I recognized.  Mountain View  was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architectwho also designed New York's Central Park and much of New York City's Central Park and much of Berkeley and Stanford. My favorite part was Millionaires' Row with crypts resembling miniature castles,  In addition to tourists, the cemetery was filled joggers, dog walkers and bicyclists.

 

Mountain View Cemetery

Oakland, California

1.18.2016

ferry building

 

The landmark Ferry Building in San Francisco has been restored to its 1898 glory.  The lower level teems with ferry passengers, who pause along the way at wonderful shops in the Marketplace.  The grand upper level is home to offices.

 

Ferry Building

San Francisco, California

1.19.2016



golden gate

 

No trip to San Francisco is complete without a photograph of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

 



a walk in the rain

 

I Dock between Piers 39 and 41

San Francisco, California

1.17.2015

the city by the bay

 

As the ferry headed back to Oakland, we bid San Francisco goodbye.  It sent us off with a great view of the Bay Bridge, despite the clouds and rain.

 

Bay Bridge

San Francisco, California

on the waterfront

 

American author Jack London wrote notes for future novels while at Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon on the Oakland waterfront.  Perhaps today I sat in the same spot at Heinolds!  Jack London's Klondike log cabin is a feature of the Jack London Square, surrounds by bars, restaurants and shops.

 

Waterfront Hotel

Oakland, California

san xavier

 

Another favorite image converted to black and white. Tomorrow, on to new adventures!

 

San Xavier del Bac Mission

Tucson, AZ

2.27.2014



visitors at midway

 

I am still on the Ansel Adams kick.  I wondered what this image would look like in black and white.  I think I prefer it over the color.

 

 

Midway Geyser Basin

Yellowstone National Park

9.18.2015

 

 



old faithful

 

The Texas Tech Museum has hosted a wonderful exhibit of Ansel Adams images.  Last night I attended a great lecture by Alan Ross, who served as Ansel's assistant for many years.  Alan shared intimate photographs of Ansel, little known portraits taken by Ansel, and stories of how iconic photographs were made.  As I saw Ansel's Old Faithful, I wondered what the pictures of Old Faithful I had taken last September would look like in black and white.  I had no dark room, just Photoshop, but I was pleasantly surprised at the result.

 

Yellowstone National Park

9.15.2015

a klutch of kayaks

 

I had to share the pool this afternoon with a kayaking class today. Paddling back and forth seemed like fun but that capsizing and hanging upside is for the birds!

 

Texas Tech Aquatic Center

Lubbock, Texas

 



made in the usa

 

Interesting (to me, at least) pile of scrap iron at a metal fabrication shop.

 

Jalco Metal Works

1319 Jarvis

Lubbock, Texas

for sale

 

If you are looking to quench your thirst on Saturday night, don't go to Thirsty's.  The place is shut down and for sale.  Not surprising that the bar didn't make it in staid, Baptist-dominated Plainview. and downtown no less.

 

Plainview, Texas

1.8.2016

clouds over cotton stalks

 

Today at noon it was 50 degrees and blue skies so I went cloud chasing -- not expecting that some would catch me!.  This is looking west from FM 400 in Lubbock County.  I could see storm clouds gathering in the north.

 



 

By the time I reached Plainview 30 something miles later it was 36 degrees and overcast with a bit of moisture on the windshield.  After a brief stop at the farm in Hale Center I headed home the back way.



 

This is the cloud that caught me on FM 2528 in Hale County.  Thunder, lightning, icy rain forming slush on the windshield and even a little hail!

 

 

As I headed home I looked back where I'd been.  Weather forecast predicts up to 2 inches of snow possible!  I drove south to Lubbock where it was partly cloudy and still 50 degrees.  Amazing what can happen in a little over two hours and less than 50 miles!





winter fishing

 

Lubbock doesn't have ice fishing like Minnesota but these guys braved a winter afternoon to cast a line at Mackenzie Park.  Their favorite spot is the bridge spanning the waters of the Yellow House Canyon where the Blackwater Draw and Yellow House Draw, tributaries of the Brazos River, merge.  This bridge was built in the late 1930s as part of a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) project.  I bet it is featured in tons of old photographs as Mackenzie Park was a popular gathering spot for local youth, glider pilots and airmen.  This is my mother, about age 18 in her career days working at the Avalanche-Journal and Lubbock National Bank, posed at the same bridge.

 

Jean Smith Fortenberry

 

Mackenzie Park

Lubbock, Texas





alien landscape

 

What appears to be a UFO is actually an eight-row cotton stripper working at night.  During harvest, crews work well after dark, trying to get the crops in while the weather is optimal.

 

Hale County, Texas

11.23.2015

custom painting

 

By the "no trespassing" sign I assumed this place was out of business.  Perhaps Mr. Perez would have done better with custom sign painting rather than auto painting.  And what is a "coyote stop"?

 

Perez Body Shop

Post, Texas

8.1.2015

the greenhouse effect

 

The yuccas shiver in the snow while the greenhouse plants bask in the warmth.

 

Texas Tech Horticulture Greenhouse and Gardens

Lubbock, Texas

winter landscape

 

Canyon Lakes #1

Lubbock, Texas

Highlight of 2015:  Yellowstone and Grand Tetons

 

Life is like a camera

Focus on what's important

Capture the good times

Develop from the negatives

And - if things don't turn out right--

Take another shot!

 

Happy New Year