Blog Archives

pucker

Y’all. This place.

It’s a combination mercantile, bar, cafe, and church (and that’s just the things I know about).  The bartender, Jennifer, told me that I’d missed the church service earlier that day. I was pretty sure it was a joke, and I was willing to go along with it. She said they had 2-for-1 bloody marys during church. Still seemed like a joke. She told me that day four people had been baptized in the river (which was just across the road). And that’s when it sort of started to seem like maybe it wasn’t a joke.

But honestly, I’m still not sure.

Oh, and I can’t believe I nearly forgot to mention that the place hosts the Texas Testicle Festival. Jennifer can probably give you more details.

Castell, Texas
photographed 10.19.2025

spike

If this lizard thought he/she would scare me by looking particularly snake-like at first glance, then its plan was an overwhelming success.

According to my short attention span, my general lack of lizard-knowledge, and conflicting information on the internet (surprise!), I can’t say for sure if this is a western fence lizard or a Texas spiny lizard. But I am pretty sure – now, anyway – that it is not a snake.

Hedwigs Hill, Texas
photographed 10.19.2025

dark alley

Maybe it’s just the way my brain works, but that pvc pipe working its way up the passageway and into the darkness feels rather umbilical.

Additionally, I don’t want to admit to how many different ways I tried to spell “umbilical” before I got it right. I think there might be something wrong with my keyboard.

Mason, Texas
photographed 10.18.2025

butterfly/garden

I walked out after lunch to an absolute flurry of butterflies; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen more than two or three at once and I think there are fifteen or so in this image.

Also, butterflies (at least in my experience) are really not easy to photograph…

near Fredericksburg, Texas
photographed 10.18.2025

conjoined twins

These concrete cherubs were doing hard work holding up one end of a bench. Maybe their task was made easier by the thin spider web that connected them.

Art, Texas
photographed 10.19.2025