Blog Archives

Unity

Someone thought the crumbly brick wall around a cemetery needed a little bit of a sermon, I guess.

And I thought I needed to stomp through the roadside weeds to get a photo of it.

We were both right.

Mexia, Texas
photographed 8.14.2021

Jerusalem

According to the sign, Sunday School was supposed to be in session. The Patient Spouse and I (plus a dog that seemed to live in an adjacent cemetery) were the only ones in attendance and none of us were prepared to give a lesson.

So I made some photos, the dog returned to the shady spot he’d emerged from, and the PS and I drove onward.

Freestone County, Texas
photographed 8.15.2021

wall + window + screen

If you combine a series of country roads, each one smaller than the one before, and a sign that indicates a church down a narrow lane, I will check it out every time. It’s just a thing I do.

Freestone County, Texas
photographed 8.15.2021

steam + heat

My dad was a Train Guy. He was so much a Train Guy that he had a favorite locomotive, the one called Big Boy, a behemoth built by Union Pacific. It was in fact the largest steam locomotive ever build, weighing in at around 560 tons. He used to talk about this locomotive a lot.

So when we found out that Big Boy was out on tour this summer, we decided to go see it. For my dad. It was a six-hour drive from home to a place where we could intersect the route, so off we went. We first saw the train roll through a small town – it took less than a minute for it to pass us, all steam and noise and rumbling tracks. From there, we trailed it to Mexia, where it had a scheduled 45-minute stop. There were crowds on both sides of the tracks – seeing giant locomotive was a surprisingly popular afternoon activity.

So, yes, if you’re doing the math you’ll notice that we drove a total of 12 hours to see the train for 45 minutes and 42 seconds. It was worth it, though, because it gave us a chance to remember my dad and his love of trains.

Mexia, Texas
photographed 8.15.2021

Without a net

It’s weird how these things start: you see a lonely basketball goal and make a photograph. Then you see it again from a different angle and make another photo. Then you start to notice more and more and more and more and more of them and before you know it. there’s a gallery of sad basketball goals.

Toyahvale, Texas
photographed 3.24.2021