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carts
From the looks of things, the Abell-Prewitt Implement Company has gone out of business, leaving behind an array of merchandise. And two very dusty shopping carts.
I don’t know where residents of Ralls currently go to obtain their implements…
Also: what are residents of Ralls called? Ralls-ites? Rallsians? Rallers?
Ralls, Texas
photographed 1.13.2024
birds, fleeing
My aimless approach to the shed full o’ junk scared up a flock of sparrows (?), but it didn’t scare them much: they flew about three joists down and settled in like nothing ever happened.
Ralls, Texas
photographed 1.13.2024
holy hell
I never know what to expect when I peek through windows of abandoned places. And while I was glad to learn that the public water supply was approved, the sight of that witch and the skeleton-in-a-box did startle me just the tiniest bit.
Ralls, Texas
photographed 1.13.2024
bois d’arc series #3: half a hedge apple
Bois d’arc trees were named by French settlers, who observed native people using the wood for bows and war clubs.
A member of the mulberry family, bois d’arc tree is thought to have originated during the Oligocene epoch, approximately 30 million years ago. It is believed that the trees were distributed with the help of large herbivores, such as now-extinct sloths, mastodons, and mammoths.
I believe this half of the fruit was distributed to the concrete picnic table by a passing driver who pulled over to see what those things all over the ground were. He or she had a formidable knife if they were able to cut the thing in half: it’s as hard as a rock.
Hockley County, Texas
photographed 1.13.2024
(Thanks to this post for much useful information on this interesting tree.)
bois d’arc series #2: not mutant tennis balls
From the highway, the fallen fruit looked a bit like mutant tennis balls…
The fruit, the largest of any species native to North America, is hard and carries an unpleasant odor (although the day I made these images, the wind was pretty strong and I guess the stink blew away before I noticed it.) With the exception of squirrels, no native animal will eat them.
The trees and the fruit both ooze a sticky white sap. So probably these trees aren’t a good landscaping choice.
Hockley County, Texas
photographed 1.13.2024
One Day | One Image 