Blog Archives
Howling
“but the wind yes the wind keeps howling”
-from “Shake” by The Head and the Heart
Out here on the plains, the wind blows nearly every day, and usually from the south or southwest. Anyone who’s been around here long enough could look at this picture and just know that the photo was taken looking to the west. How? Because the tree, the remains of the house, and the other tree all lean to the right, having spent their lives being pushed that way by the every-present southerly wind.
So now you know.
Hockley County, Texas
photographed 10.16.2010
Three views of the same storm
Hockley County, Texas
photographed 7.4.2009, 2:28 p.m.
Ropesville, Texas
photographed 7.4.2009, 2:36 p.m.
Hockley County, Texas
photographed 7.4.2009, 2:54 p.m.
I love thunderstorms, and here’s why.
The land’s so flat you can see them building up out to the west.
The drama in the ever-shifting clouds.
The lightning – the kind that lights up the clouds from within, and the kind that makes those long jagged slashes to the ground.
The way the air smells when the storm’s near.
The sound of thunder.
The damp-earth smell of the first few raindrops.
The urgency of the rain, when it’s falling so hard that it’s noisy.
Oh, and you can take pictures of them.
Bonus: in memoriam (of a house)
This photo is from last year’s blog. It’s time to look at it again.
For nearly three years, I have driven past this abandoned farmhouse and observed its decline. At first, the window glass was intact. Then one day, the glass was broken and the tail ends of white curtains fluttered against the rough stucco walls. After a while, the curtain ends were tattered (and less white), and then they were just…gone.
Lately, I’ve noticed the front door standing open.
On Tuesday, the trees had been pulled down and were left in a big pile in front of the house.
And, this morning there was a bulldozer knocking down walls.
By tomorrow, the house will be no more.
I have a rather unreasonable sense of loss, and worry that the other buildings at the same intersection will soon suffer the same fate.
FM 1585 and FM 168
Hockley County, Texas
July 16
Whatever the story here, the windows have been boarded up for so long that the wood is falling apart.
Levelland, Texas
photographed 2.16.2012
One Day | One Image 