Unwelcome
The front yard of this place is rather a formidable obstacle for anyone who wishes to get to the front door.
Or leave from it, as far as that goes.
McCamey, Texas
photographed 8.27.2009
Posted on December 4, 2013, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, abandoned buildings, black and white photography, mccamey, mccamey texas, melinda green harvey, monochrome, one day one image, photo a day, photography, texas. Bookmark the permalink. 39 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
Great photograph! It really tells a story, at least for me.
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Thanks – glad you like this one (and the story it’s got).
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I guess nobody has beaten a path to the front door in quite a while. Quite a long while.
One of the interesting things to me is that there appears to be plants growing, thriving even, that we don’t see in the wild around here. I heard one Texan say that all the local plants either had barbs or thorns or were poisonous. Not very hospitable (for humans anyway). The photo makes me think the plants are taking back what’s theirs.
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That plant in front – and the stalk going out of the frame on the left are some variety of agave. A variety of agave is used in the production of tequila, but this is not THAT kind of agave. This was taken a few years ago – I should probably make a return trip to McCamey to see if there’s anything left of that house.
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Something tells me that the postman refuses to deliver to this location – short pants and cactus not going too well together. Pretty amazing clouds holding the roof on.
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It’s probably a moot point, as the place doesn’t really look like it gets much mail.
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Yes – but which came first. If the mailman was not delivering the mail, then no cheques could get through. No checks, then probably you have to move. Probably no chickens either. Or eggs.
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It’s questions like this that make Caol Ila necessary. Let me drink a while, and ponder, and get back to you……
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Perhaps you can ponder, if there were chickens and they left (with their eggs) whether or not they crossed the road. And if they did, why did they leave? Was it so as they could cross the road. Maybe they met a bad end, like they were trampled by racing camels. That could well have been the final straw, sufficient to drive the chequeless occupant(s) into town.
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I suspect the chickens may have crossed the road to peck at the legs of the shorts-wearing postman as retribution for not delivering the mail. I have not yet had enough scotch that racing camels make sense, but give me some time…
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The camels always look funny when racing on pavement. They are so careful to not step on cracks, and break their camel mummy’s backs. They also avoid every last straw they come upon.
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It sounds like a camel race would probably move at a rather sedate pace, given all the potential problems.
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Sedate perhaps, ungainly for sure.
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Is there such a word as “gainly”?
That may be the scotch speaking……
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Yes, it means graceful. Scotch can be gainly.
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OK, then. Let’s have some gainly scotch. But we need to remember to stop drinking it before we become ungainly.
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Wait – racing camels are ungainly, even on sand. We are never ungainly, ever.
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Did I ever tell you about the time I fell down in the snow in a cemetery, and ended up flat on my back, between two headstones? That might have been a bit ungainly.
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It might have been fatal. You know why they call them headstones? Something to do with the way they attract heads I believe.
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As I laid there, in the snow and between headstones, I thought, “This is my future!”
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I bet you did. But you know, it does serve you right for racing camels in a cemetery. I bet your mother taught you to not walk on graves, and walking in this context includes racing.
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If my mother were still around, she’d be the very first to tell you that listening to her was not not something I did as much as I ought to have done…
Just to clarify, there were not any camels on this particular trip, although there was a dead badger, frozen, beside the road.
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At least it was frozen, and thus not rotting.
http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=19496
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You are the best Research Department ever!
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Do you think if I can’t find a badger that a dead racoon would work?
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Probably. There are a lot of dead armadillos in Texas! and they’d probably work also.
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I just realised what an opportunity that dead badger is. Do you think it is still there. I might want it, providing you don’t, that is.
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2004/20040405/badger.shtml
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No, I’m fine. You can have it – it was near Tuscorora, Nevada: http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/tuscarora.html
That link was hysterical. But I still don’t want the badger.
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I see that Tuscorora has lots of cemeteries. Those instructions say the badger body can’t be found on consecrated ground. I think I may have to look elsewhere.
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If you decide to use an armadillo, or a coyote, let me know. I may be able to help.
(Tuscorora was a very interesting place to visit. I’d like to go back.)
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A coyote, now there is an idea.
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Westbound highway 114, between Smyer and Levelland, right shoulder of the road, just where it curves past the Spade Ranch headquarters – a roadkill coyote! If it’s still there on Monday, do you want me to pick it up and send it to you? (It would almost be worth doing, just to be able to discuss it with Post Office Larry!)
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I suggest you discuss it with POL before you pick it up. He can tell you what size box, how much it will cost, the Canadian border restrictions on carrion crossings, and other things that might make you look for another badger instead, or not.
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Those are all excellent suggestions; I think I will amuse myself this weekend by using other people’s computers and Googling “Canadian border restrictions carrion crossings” so that will be in their history. It’ll pass the time until Mnday, when I can visits with POL…
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Sounds like a plan. POL will not be at a loss for words, that I am sure about.
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… hmmm… IS there a front door…?
Love those wild agavae, it looks like they already made the extremely tall ‘century flower’.
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Yes, this agave had sent up a bloom already. I have a friend in South Texas who swears that those flower stalks grow so fast that you can see it; he’s usually pretty credible, but I don’t think I believe him….
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Great perspective. In fact it’s a great shot all round.
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Thanks, Ashley. That giant agave kept me from getting any closer….
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