Blog Archives
for it is no ordinary creature
We stopped off in Levelland the other Sunday to watch a barrel racing event. I don’t know what technical things to watch for (other than knocking down the barrels is not what the riders are supposed to do) but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating the athleticism of the horses and the riders.
But what I do know – because I attended the grand opening of this particular venue – is that a dirt consultant will devise bespoke dirt recipes for your livestock-based event. If I’d know that sooner, perhaps by career would have followed at different trajectory. Who know? (I mean, I sort of know that I would never have become a dirt consultant under any circumstances, but still, it might technically have been an option.)
Levelland, Texas
photographed 5.31.2026
rural electrification
A typical scene on the high plains – a farm buildings, some farm equipment, a horizon, and some wind turbines.
(FYI: Those clouds later built up into one hell of a thunderstorm.)
Roosevelt County, New Mexico
photographed 5.31.2026
field of vision
Through careful framing and a wide lens, I was able to fit the entire town into a single frame!
Inez, New Mexico
photographed 5.31.2026
let there be light (fixtures)
It was a cold day. And it was raining. And it was also (bonus!) windy.
So naturally, we took a drive to Sundown, Texas, to find possible photographs. That part of the trip was a letdown because there wasn’t much there…although I was fond of these gigantic light fixtures, hovering with no real purpose above what was left of a fueling plaza.
Today it is supposed to be 108° here, which makes three days ago seem like a dream.
Sundown, Texas
photographed 6.14.2026
fresh water (in the rain)
If you want to get really worried about the future of water in places that are above the Ogalalla Aquifer, you could read Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains, by Lucas Bessire.
Or you could look at the shifts in annual rainfall and think about how long it takes to recharge our aquifer. And think about how farmers are already moving away from growing certain high-water-consuming crops. (Who REALLY needs corn, anyway?)
Or you could think about how rural counties are falling all over themselves to get data centers to come here. And then think about how the data centers claim their eventual water usage will be “about the same as two houses.”
And maybe, sometime in the future you can think fondly about the days where there WAS fresh water out.
Hockley County, Texas
photographed 6.14.2026
One Day | One Image 