West Texas Winter Wonderland

The forecast called for a light dusting of snow. We received a little more than a dusting. I enjoy the snow but the blowing wind made for a little more windchill than I cared for.

Change of Season

The difference between the green of the ground cover and the changing of the Scrub Oak leaves makes this pic seem disjointed. Much like the weather lately. Last week the highs were in the high 40's and low 50's today it got in the low 90's.

In The Distance

Not to much to describe in this pic. Just a horse and some hay sitting out in a pasture under a bright blue sky. But I thought that it made an interesting shot.

Old And Abandoned

It was probably a workhorse in it's day but this old combine has stood a lonely vigil along the Crosbyton Cutoff for as long as I can remember. I couldn't decide whether I liked the shot better in b& w or color so I just stuck one of each in the post.

Hey It's Hay

One of the greatest innovations to farming in my eyes was the advent of round bales. Built to be picked up by hay forks installed to a tractor or pick up, they drastically cut out a lot of manual labor.

I hated loading square bales with a passion in my youth. Eventhough it was a way to make a quick buck, it was definantly not easy money. You sweated your balls off bucking up hay in the summer just to freeze your ass off in the winter putting it out for the cattle. Now it can be done from the comfort of an air conditioned or heated cab. Now that is progress worth having.

King Cotton

Once more it is harvest time in West Texas. Although Cotton isn't quite the king crop that it once was it is still an intregal part of the farm economy. My father and his father before him were cotton farmers. But the farm economy is pushing towards more and more land being farmed by fewer and fewer people. Seeing these large fields and imagining the homes that once stood upon them; The homes of countless farming families that have been squeezed off the land; one wonders if progress is all that it's cracked up to be.

The Palace Theatre Shining Bright

I had posted the above pic a few months ago over at Blugstuff and had promised to show a pic of the sign lit up at night. As promised, here is a pic of the Palace Theatre sign all lit up in it's former glory.

I just love the old theatre signs. The movies just don't seem the same in todays big mega-plex's.