Blog Archives
the future of water
Water is already scare out here; there are portions of Lubbock and Wolfforth that are already running out of water. An estate-lot subdivision in Lubbock County was recently annexed into the city because the wells out there were dry; the property owners are paying over $33,000 each to buy into the city water system. Housing developments continue, though, with most of them featuring giant lots with water-sucking green grass lawns.
Data centers are here; counties are excited about the revenues these centers will produce. However. HOWEVER. There’s not any credible record of eventual water or electricity use by these places. Not much mention of the loss of dark skies in rural counties that’ll have these giant developments. We’re not (officially) especially concerned about electricity even though Texas’s power grid is famously unstable ALREADY. Will local residents still have jobs after the big construction push is over and how many people does it take to staff a data center? Probably not many. Will the data centers be active and important parts of these communities? I think we know how this’ll play out.
And water? Just don’t get used to it, I guess…
Monotype print using original photo of water tank – Hockley County, Texas
photographed 6.14.2026; monoprint 7.3.2026
city holidays
This wall looks like it’s made of damp cardboard. Or a bunch of OSB panels.
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.4.2026
magenta crown
Tom Robbins wrote some of my favorite books. I once co-wrote a poem titled “A Tom-Robbins Novel Kind of Obsession” that got its start from the book whose main character was a silver dessert spoon*. I know some people’s urine smells a particular way after they eat asparagus**. And I know a LOT about the graphic design of Camel cigarette packaging***.
One of the main things I think about, though, is how the character Switters**** holds the frequently-voiced opinion that the “tropics are just too goddam vivid.” Switters’s declaration was right there in my head when I made this photo.
And that poem? I appreciate your interest in it, but it is not safe for human consumption.
West Texas Master Gardeners – garden tour
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 6.20.2026
*Skinny Legs and All
**Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
***Still Life with Woodpecker
****Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates
sea monster
Y’all! I don’t think those people were paying sufficient attention to the giant clam in the swimming pool! They were just milling around like it was a reflection of the pool-side umbrella or something.
West Texas Master Gardeners – garden tour
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 6.20.2026
