a slight technical problem
That panel that says “garage” is really nice, isn’t it? And look, it has a rail above it, so it can slide open. But….wait…there’s a regular door in there. So if you slide the big door open, the little one just opens to a wall? Awesome.
Sterling City, Texas
photographed 8.2.2020
Water + dust
Sunday morning at the river and things were mostly pretty calm – a few people fishing, a few more sitting in chairs watching the water go by, a woman doing about a thousand push-ups in the shade of the bridge, a wandering photographer do her thing.
When I was a kid and we’d go visit my grandparents (who lived about another hour down the road), we’d sometimes stop and have a picnic beside the river. That was in the Old Days, before the park was really developed the way it is now, but it stuck with me as a Thing One Did. San Angelo has really done an exceptional job with this park, and as with the lilies, if I lived here, I’d visit often.
Also, this is a cool thing – every year the American Planning Association names the Great Places in America as part of their effort to “recognize the neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces that make communities stronger and bring people together through good planning.” One of their selections in 2017 was the Concho River Walk. Somehow, even though I am (literally) a dues-paying member of the APA, I was unaware of this recognition until right now. And I feel sort of bad that my photo features that machinery making clouds of dust on the other side of the water.
San Angelo, Texas
photographed 8.2.2020
The Garden
This is the most waterlilies I’ve ever seen.
This really is a nice place to visit – the lilies are lovely, there are lots of dragonflies to look at, and the water flowing through the gardens makes a nice sound that masks all the other sounds. If I lived in San Angelo, I’d go there a lot.
International Waterlily Garden
San Angelo, Texas
photographed 8.1.2020
Discs (floating)
I am not at all certain how a small city in Texas ended up with the International Waterlily Garden, but they did.
These giant lily pads reminded me of (1) those “silver dollar” pancakes we used to get; (2) sand dollars; and (3) a trip I made to Longworth Gardens in Pennsylvania when I was a senior in high school, because that’s the first place I ever saw lily pads that were this big. (Inside my head: a confusing place.)
International Waterlily Garden
San Angelo, Texas
photographed 8.1.2020
Theoretical House
In retrospect, maybe deciding that THIS year, 2020, the biggest shitshow of years – was when we ought to finally build that weekend place we’ve been talking about for 15 years, was a decision doomed to failure. Short-term failure (I hope), but failure nonetheless.
Our contractor was supposed to be done the first weekend of April. We fired him at the end of June. And here we are, the beginning of August, while we wait on the next contractor to get us prices to finish up. He says he’ll have the numbers “in a few days,” but he’s been saying that for longer than I care to contemplate.
So, anyway, this is what it looks like now. Things should get moving again. In a few days.
Yellowhouse Canyon, Texas
photographed 7.24.2020
