A while back when I was  on FM 40, there was this "free" house.  I guess there were no takers because the message has changed.

 

Some research lead me to Reclaim the Plains and upcoming art show at the Tornado Gallery featuring only materials from this 1942 Lubbock County home.

 

FM 40

Lubbock County, Texas

 



workin' on the railroad

 

Almost a mile of yellow equipment sits on the tracks off I-27 north of the airport.  Ties lie along the tracks all the way to Plainview so work should commence soon.  This is the area known as the "Rail Port"-- you may remember that project.  Unfortunately the southbound tracks end at FM 1294.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

 



don't follow the arrow

 

Prior to the 1960s one had to know a bootlegger to buy beer in Lubbock County.  Then a few precincts went "wet" -- notably "the Strip"-- but package stores sprang up along other roads.  I don't know what the Imperial Package store was named originally but it's location wasn't ideal -- especially when Lubbock voted to sell liquor everywhere in 2009.  One could readily pick up a six pack at Walmart or CVS without driving all the way out East 19th Street until it became County Road 6700.  The sign remains but there's nothing imperial about the empty, weedy building.

 

6002 E, CR 6700

Lubbock County, Texas

barn and cotton stalks

 

The derelict barn (and pickup chassis) has been put to pasture.  Adjacent is the newer barn and equipment, signs of prosperous times.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

module builder

 

Cotton stripping requires a combination of both high tech and low tech equipment.  Or, in this case, a medium tech module builder and a low tech rake.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

tumbleweed road

 

2016 has reached the end of its road.  Many times it might have been tough to travel -- with ruts, sand pits and obstacles.  The 2017 road has to be smoother!  I helped pave that road by eating my black-eyed peas today!  (I recently read that the state tree of West Texas is the telephone pole -- as evidenced by this photo)

 

Lubbock County, Texas

raisins

 

The Texas High Plains is home to over 3000 acres of wine grapes and over 50 vineyards in commercial production and produces more than 80% of the state’s wine grapes every year. Although this was supposedly a good year for grapes, there can be crop failure.  I don't know why these grapes weren't harvested.  A wine tasting tour to the new wine shop Triology in Levelland is in order.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

thankful for family and for blessings

 

Lubbock County, Texas

11.24.2016

irrigation -- in lieu of rain

 

The corn isn't quite as high as an elephant's eye but it won't get taller without rain.  In lieu of those potential storm clouds, the irrigation motor is roaring away.

 

Fortenberry Farms

Lubbock County, Texas

three trees and storm clouds

 

Lubbock County, Texas

4.16.2016

Tahoka Daisy

 

Marketing is everything and horticulture centers  sell Tahoka Daisy seeds.  The story goes, according to the City of Tahoka website, that about 1898 the Tahoka Lake Ranch's foreman's wife noticed these flowers.  About 25 years later Mrs. W. A. Myrick of Lubbock became enamored with the flower and convinced Burpee's to include it in their seed catalog.  The Tahoka Rotarians carried seed packets to Rotary International conventions and distributed them to delegates from every state. You can probably find a Tahoka Daisy in a nearby vacant lot.  One woman's wildflower in another's weed.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

getting ready for spring planting

 

This blue sky is not from today!  Today is a "red flag warning" day with brown skies, southwesterly winds 20 to 35 mph, 8-12 percent humidity and 82 degrees. Yet optimistic farmers are preparing for planting season even with the low market price of cotton for this year's crop.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

4.3.2016

I'm a sucker for a good sign.  Driving east on FM 2641 today, I spotted small new signs for the Friendship Holy Baptist Church.  So I turned and, sure enough, there at 3213 N CR 2750 there was a small brick church I had never noticed before.  A little further down the road was this sign, so naturally I had to follow the arrow to heaven.  Here's what I found at the end of gravel CR 2775:



watering hole

 

A lone cow at a watering hole spotted while driving the back canyon roads from Slaton (turn north at Bunk Feed on Industrial Avenue).

 

CR 7300

Yellow House Canyon

Lubbock County, Texas

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!





avocets

 

The storm clouds gathered and the skies darkened. The avocets darted over the mudflats to finish the evening meal before the rains came.

 

Lubbock County, Texas

Lucy's chickens

 

Lucy's chickens are free-range which just means they are raised the old-fashioned way -- allowed the run of the farm to forage on their own.  That doesn't mean that they don't occasionally pilfer grain from the miniature horses!  The new city ordinance allows me to raise up to four chickens in my yard but this isn't an enterprise I'm interested in (traumatic memories of feeding Baba's chickens as a child!).

 

Juicy Lucy's Veggies

5524 E. Erskine

Lubbock County, Texas

texas art

 

If you live in Texas, chances are the you, or someone you know, has a skull hanging on a wall -- living room, den, barn or fence!  The barbed wire is just trimming.

shopping mecca?

 

Don't be looking for bargains at the Redneck Department Store on FM1729  -- it's out of business.  When I was by there a month or so ago there was lots of interesting junk out front.  Today only the medical potty chair remained.

 

Redneck Department Store

FM 1729

Lubbock County, Texas

country rustic

 

The rains have brought a profusion of wildflowers (or weeds by other names) which make even run-down places look scenic.

 

East Erskine

Lubbock County, Texas

6.13.2015