north pole

 

I found the North Pole today while driving south in Hockley County.  It was there alongside the railroad track in a muddy cotton field.  Quite a town with the Elf House, Santa's Workshop, a church and assorted houses.  I suppose in the dark -- from a train -- it would appear magical, especially when the Polar Express stops for Santa.  However, the place was deserted.  I suppose Santa and the elves take the first of the year off and bask in the Bahamas.

 

Hockley County, Texas

(between Wolfforth and Ropesville)



adios 2012

 



As the sun sets on 2012, one looks back and ponders the paths of the past year.  I can mark my travels by bodies of water visited over the last 12 months.  Atlantic Ocean at North Carolina, Pacific Ocean at Bodega Bay California, Gulf of Mexico at St. Petersburg Florida, Lake Pontchartrain and Mississippi River in Louisiana, Eagle Mountain Lake at Azle Texas, Ohio River at Cincinnati, Rio Chama outside Santa Fe, Monongahela River in West Virginia, Detroit River in Michigan, Missouri River in Springfield, Scottsdale Canal in Arizona and Niagara Falls.

Safe travels and happy trails in 2013!

portrait of a chicken

 

I was reminded of my friend Rebeca when this chicken posed for me.  She has undertaken poultry farming and has fresh eggs for sale.

 

Gold King Mine Ghost Town

Jerome, Arizona

10.12.2012.

brrr.....

 

Today's blue skies belied the fact that the morning's low temperature was 16 degrees.  Local lakes are fringed with ice and the birds skate across the surface.  What don't they stay on the dry land?  Hence the term "bird brain."

 

Mackenzie Park

Lubbock, Texas

party shoes

 

I couldn't wait to my first pair of high heels (along with the requisite panty girdle and hose).   Even had some lace and fishnet stockings.  Discoed many a night in high-heeled Candies.  You won't find me wearing a pair of these on New Year's Eve -- Dr. Scholl is my new friend.

 

Afterglow Open House

26th and Boston

Lubbock, Texas

12.1.2012

basics of life

 

The little store on Clovis highway sells the basics of life -- meat, bread and cold beer.  One needs to find a bright building on a dreary (and why didn't I find it during my "colored" building phase in January?!)

 

Carniceria y Panaderia

2837 Clovis Highway

Lubbock, Texas

beach volleyball

 

Contrast and compare:  Today's snow-covered yards, patches of ice still on the streets and a high of 35 with two weeks ago on white sand beaches and a balmy 77 degrees.

 

Treasure Island Beach

St. Petersburg, Florida

12.9.2012

a tale of two christmases

 

We awoke this morning to a white Christmas with several inches of snow.  We braved the icy loop to drive to my dad's house, which only had a dusting of snow.  As we drove the 12 miles to Idalou, the snow disappeared.  Instead of blowing snow, we encounter blowing dust!  Only in West Texas can one find white snowdrifts frosted with brown dirt!

pancho clos

 

Santa's sombrero and serape-clad cousin from the South Pole, Pancho Clos, was in Lubbock today.  He didn't come by sleigh but was accompanied by members of the SolitoS low-riders car club.  Ninos and ninas lined the block to sit on Pancho's lap and receive a gift.  The GI Forum founded the Pancho Clos concept in 1971 and continues to sponsor the event.

 

 

Maggie Trejo Community Center

3200 Amherst

Lubbock, Texas

on dasher, on dancer . . .

 

Santa's reindeer in the stable look like racehorses at the starting gate. Did you know that each reindeer has his own Facebook page?  For real -- check it out!

 

Santa Land

Mackenzie Park

Lubbock, Texas

12.19.12

seasonal work

 

Today was this part-time Santa's only work of the season.  Are times hard for old St Nick too?

 

Santa Series #4
Plains Capital Bank

50th and University

Lubbock, Texas

christmas special effects

 

Vintage Township

Lubbock, Texas

christmas prairie dog

 

Only in West Texas would you find a Christmas display featuring prairie dogs (although to the uninitiated, they may appear to be woodchucks chucking wood).  Half a dozen prairie dog figures occupy the space - imitating busy elves, I'm assuming.  Santa Land is the City's annual, free Christmas gift to the community with the opportunity to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.  The prairie dog display is situated between the Nativity scene with baby Jesus and the jungle scene with Simba the Lion King.

 

Santa Land

Mackenzie Park

Lubbock, Texas



career santa

 

If one carries a big camera and walks with authority, one can enter the Claus's cabin by the exit and bypass the long line.  The things one does for a shot!

 

Santa Series #3

Santa Land

Mackenzie Park

Lubbock, Texas

reflection of christmas

 

Cactus Alley Courtyard

Lubbock, Texas

 

technicolor christmas

 

No, not a white Christmas nor even a blue one.  Traditional red and green are bypassed for chartreuse and fuchsia.  Want a purple or hot pink tree?  There's one available.  My grandmother thought she was high tech ( or maybe the '50s term was "modern") with her silver tinsel tree and spot light with a rotating color wheel.

 

Tech Terrace Home Tour

Lubbock, Texas

12.1.2012

naughty or nice?

 

I had thought for December I'd shoot a series of Santa shots.  Little did I realize that he's a rare bird, with limited sightings - usually on weekends -- and that some even wanted to charge for a photo!

 

Santa Series #2

Holland Gardens

Lubbock, Texas

vintage christmas card

 

This one-year old graced Billy and Jean's Christmas greetings.  The first baby and first grandchild on both sides gets lots of attention.

christmas chemistry

 

Traditionally the central buildings on the Texas Tech campus are illuminated for Christmas.  The classic facade of the Chemistry Building is part of the Quadrangle.  An annual trek through Texas Tech is recommended as part of your holiday festivities.

christmas star

 



Poinsettias were considered by the ancient Aztecs to be symbols of purity. The December birth flower symbolizes good cheer and success and is said to bring wishes of mirth and celebration.

black skimmers on white sand

 

Redington Beach, Florida

12.10.2012



palm trees #2

 

North Shore Drive

St. Petersburg, Florida

december sunset

 

You expected a Christmas photo?  I took a break and watched the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico at -- where else -- Sunset Beach.

 

Sunset Beach

St. Petersburg, Florida

florida christmas

 

I was invited to a Christmas open house this evening -- a balmy Florida evening of 70+ degrees.  We enjoyed a wonderful buffet, decorated Christmas tree and a virtual fire blazing on the TV!

 

Orlando, Florida

christmas bow

 

At a recent photography workshop, we spend a session on "zoomies."  I'm not sure I have the technique down but I like the effect.

sideshow

 

Memorialize your trip on the Polar Express with what else -- a photograph!

 

Polar Express Depot

Wolfforth, Texas

christmas 1953

 

Sandy and Suzy pose in front of the scraggly tree in their Christmas robes with Santa's gifts which included a teddy bear, doll trunk, toy dishes, and assorted toys.

 

New Deal, Texas

December 25, 1953

peacock christmas

 

Studio West is a funky place to visit with intriguing interiors, furniture and art.  I like that Melissa kept the inlaid "Cobbs" in the concrete at the front door -- a testament to the studio's department store past.

 

Studio West Interior Design

2801 26th Street

Lubbock, Texas

www.studiowestid.com

12.2.2012

ho ho ho

 

Jake was a retired German short-hair hunting dog who spent his senior years with me.  He didn't get into the Christmas spirit very much but was accommodating.

 

Christmas 2006

In keeping with its Spanish style, the Miller-Loter Home, 2323 18th Street, is decorated with luminarios and lighted ristas.  The house was built in 1927 for William J. Miller, the first dean of engineering at Texas Tech,.  The house was designed with the elements of mission and pueblo styling to be compatible with the buildings on the Tech campus.  The warmth of the exterior is matched with the hospitality and cordiality within.

santa and the missus

 

Santa Series #1

KK's Craft Mall

Lubbock, Texas

let the yule festivities begin

 

 

Tomorrow, December 1, appears to mark the beginning of the Christmas season.  Texas Tech will host the 54th annual Carol of Lights -- when, with the flip of a switch, 25,000 lights will outline the central buildings on campus.

 

Administration Building

Texas Tech University

12.25.2008

arcade

 

English Building

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

balustrade

In 1923, the Spanish Renaissance style of architecture became the blueprint for almost every building on campus on the Texas Tech campus.  The English Building, built in 2002, was the first academic building erected since 1976.  It retains the the essence of the architectural style.

English Building
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas

whale watch

 

Although October isn't typical whale watch season, I was fortunate to see a whale "blow" during my visit to Bodega Head.   Bodega Bay is a prime vantage point to observe the Pacific Gray whales in their annual migration January through April.

 

Bodega Bay, California

10.26.2012

string trio on cowhide rug

 

Cowboys playing banjo, guitar and fiddle entertained the crowd with "sing-along" favorites at the open house.

 

Kenneth Wyatt Studio

Tulia, Texas
11.25.2012

downtown traffic

 

The only traffic on Skipworth Avenue this afternoon was Jackie on her bicycle and me.  With the "new" US 87 of 1967  to the east and I-27 to the west, old highway 87 doesn't see many cars

 

Kress City Hall

Kress, Texas

conoco

 

An old gas pump from the Continental Oil Company sits on the porch  of a no-name store in Wolfforth.

the winery

 

Even a utilitarian outbuilding gains panache when the ivy-covered walls share autumn's colors.

 

Jordan Winery

Healdsburg, California

10.28.2012

vineyard road

 

If  you guessed this vineyard was in California, you'd be wrong.  Texas grapes also make fine wine and sometimes our landscapes are scenic.  This tree-line drive leads to a winery outside Tow on Lake Buchanan.

 

Fall Creek Winery

Tow, Texas

11.22.2011

happy turkey day

 

V8 Ranch

Lubbock County, Texas

11.18.2011

foreign travels

 

Canyon Road

Santa Fe, New Mexico

3.10.2012

name that flower

 

If you said "artichoke" you win the horticultural prize.  The artichoke is actually a thistle with an edible bud.

 

"Life is like eating artichokes, you have got to go through so much to get so little." --

 Thomas Aloysius Dorgan

 

Heritage Farm

Albuquerque, New Mexico

8.14.2009

variation of autumn

 

It was interesting to take the liquid amber trees with their great fall color and convert the image to infrared -- rendering a winter feel to an autumn scene. (see November 1 post)

 

Sonoma County, California

10.28.2012

princess

 

A bevy of beauties attended a birthday party hosted by Belle in her ball gown (the Beast must have been busy watching football).  Attire included tiaras and feather boas.  The floral tea service poured pink lemonade -- the better to wash down chocolate-dipped strawberries, finger sandwiches and tea cakes.  Each princess flashed her party favor -- a 100 carat diamond ring!  And at that age, I was tickled pink with my ballerina cake!

 

Raspberry Tea Garden

KK's Craft Mall

Lubbock, Texas

mail order medicine

 

Unfortunately you can no longer obtain Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery to cure your ills, but his advertising still captures the attention of motorists along US 101 in Sonoma County.  Geyserville even touts the barn as a stop on the wine tours.

 

Sonoma County, California

10.28.2012

 



pansy and kale

 

Nice weather for planting pansies and kale -- among my favorite flowers.

pergola

 

The afternoon sun casts strong shadows on the crossbeams of the pergola-- a graphic exercise in lines.

surfin' usa

 

Bodega Bay, California

10.16.2012

purple door

 



The Charles Adams Studio Project has built four live/work studios on the LHUCA campus.  They were open for the Studio Tour. I wonder if Elsie the Cow would be pleased with what has happened to her old stomping grounds.  (The Underwood Arts Center includes the former Borden Dairy).

Underwood Center for the Arts
511 Avenue K
Lubbock, Texas
11.11.2012