bad-ending vacations

I found these old travel trailers moored behind an abandoned motel. All I could think about was vacations that had a bad ending…

Mason, Texas
photographed 4.12.2026

the significance of the bell

I am not going to tell you why the now-closed Fort Mason Inn has an old-fashioned bell on their sign. But only because I don’t know…

Mason, Texas
photographed 4.12.2026

linked to soil and water

There’s something mysterious about waterlilies, about how they grow by pulling the nutrients they need from…water.

I enjoy visiting the waterlilies whenever I go to San Angelo. The flowers are beautiful, the place is secluded, the sound of water running through the tanks is soothing. It’s the kind of place where I can take a deep breath.

I have some family connections to this exact part of town, too. The church where my aunt Helen’s funeral was held is just across the street. And around the corner is a little rock house where my great aunt Gladys lived.

International Waterlily Collection
San Angelo, Texas

photographed 4.10.2026

fleeting brevity of pleasure

Wildflowers/weeds are brave: they just grow wherever they want to and don’t even care.

I spotted these flowers, which were at once tenacious and fragile, growing in front of an abandoned, scary motel. The flowers were doing what they could to, in the time they had, to soften the scene.

Mason, Texas
photographed 4.12.2026

terrestrial reception

I like Mason. It’s a comfortable town, an easy drive from Lubbock. The town square is interesting, especially at night when light retreats into the corners and a plywood-covered window becomes profound.

Mason, Texas
photographed 4.11.2026