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Abandoned Gas Station?

This appears to be an abandoned gas station.  It's obviously been abandoned for a long time~~the inside is one square room filled with all sorts of random items:  a piano, a handicapped commode, crates, clothing, etc.

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Oil Drill

It's not easy to get close enough to an oil drill to get a good photo~~I don't have a long enough lens, but this one was pretty close to the fence and I was thrilled to get this close.

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Oil Silos

Driving north in Texas we came upon these oil silos next to an oil drilling field.  There were no

"No Trespassing" signs so we were able to get close for pictures.

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Three Boys on a Log sculpture

This sculpture is located on the campus of Abilene Christian University.  

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Lighted Poles on ACU campus

These lighted poles are seen on the campus of Abilene Christian University.  It seems there must be some kind of scavenger hunt with the lights since there is a sign to scan a bar code about the lights.

I didn't scan the code, I just wanted to grab a photo or two.

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Downtown Workyard

Another workplace on the edge of downtown Abilene.

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Downtown Silos

On the edge of downtown Abilene there are several silos along the railroad tracks.  I'm not sure what they're for, but they're huge and they're active.

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Country Silo

The weather was incredible again today~~77 degrees.  Got home from church, had lunch, and wanted to get out of the house and take advantage of the great weather. I decided to go to the local zoo. They always have the nicest holiday decorations, but alas, they weren't going to open until 4pm for a special Christmas event. So I drove down some country road I've never been on before.  

I don't know why I like these structures so much, but I do and I can't resist making images of them.

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Steps and Shadows

This flight of steps leads to an upper level brewery in downtown Abilene.

I was intrigued by the shadows on the steps.

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Downtown Mural

Another beautiful day weather-wise.  I've seen and photographed this mural several times, but it's so beautiful I couldn't resist getting another image of it.

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A Barn

I saw this colorful red and green barn as I was driving around today.

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Country Home

The weather was pretty nice today and I was tired of just sitting in the house, so I finally forced myself to go out for a ride, hoping against hope that I'd see something to photograph.

I thought this was such a pretty scene.  I always wonder what people do to earn enough money to live in homes like these????

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Gas Price

I got gas from Sam's Club yesterday.  This is what I paid.  

This is what the price should have been for the past 4 years.  It's about time!

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Ornaments on a Tree

There's a museum in downtown Abilene that sells family memberships.  I went in there today to get a membership for my daughter's family and while I was waiting I noticed this extremely decorated tree and I had to take a photo of it, even though all I had with me was my cell phone.

The nutcrackers and the dolls are beautiful. 

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Santa Statue

On one of the corners in downtown Abilene there's a small park and right now there's a statue of Santa with his sleigh.  

I'm not sure if Santa will be in the sleigh for photos during the holiday season, or if the sleigh is for people to take their own photos. Whatever, it's a great holiday decoration in downtown.

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Decorated Coffee Cups

While waiting an inordinately long time to place my coffee order at the coffee shop today, I decided to make another image of these decorated cups on the other side of the counter.  I asked the barista who decorated them and she said that various customers did them over a number of years.  

What a great way to decorate one of the walls in the shop.

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Christmas Tree Topper

While I was waiting for my coffee in my favorite coffee shop, I noticed this tree topper.  I only had my cell phone with me, but I think the image came out pretty nice  

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SORRY

I used to play games with my kiddos when they were young.  Cards, board games and puzzles.  SORRY was and is one of my favorites.  The other day I was playing SORRY with my 6.5 year old grandson.  

He's the firstborn of the family and like most firstborn children he's very particular, wants/needs to do everything perfect as far as he's concerned and he has trouble losing.  

So this is a good game to teach losing/winning/losing.  The game can turn on a dime (actually, at the pick of a card) and I'm trying to encourage him that it's ok to lose.  It's a difficult lesson.  

I was just like him when I was young and I remember how long it took for me to get the point of almost winning/almost losing, winning and losing but enjoying the journey through the game.

It's tough being the first born.

Birth order is weird.

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Anson City Hall

This beautiful structure is the Anson City Hall and it sits right in the middle of the Main Street.  Anson was once called Jones City but in 1882 the name was changed to Anson in honor of Anson Jones who was the last president of the Republic of Texas.

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Palace Theater in Anson

It was another beautiful fall day, a little cool but not too bad, with a gorgeous blue sky.

I took a ride to Anson~~I've been there before, but I needed to get out of the house and there's a stunning City Hall right in the middle of Main Street that seemed to be calling my name today.

This theater is kitty-corner from the City Hall.  I don't know if it's used for anything any more, I always seem to go to Anson on a Sunday afternoon. Almost everything is closed so there's no telling if it gets used for anything. The theater must have been glorious in its day.

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Abilene Ballet Building

The downtown ballet building has great street art on the outside.  The rest of the structure is just an ordinary rectangular building, but this art is appealing.

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Water District Building

It was late in the afternoon when I got this image, so the tree is partially sun-lit and partially in shadow. 

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House Number

The weather was really beautiful again today so by mid-afternoon I forced myself out to town again and challenged myself to find something to photograph.

It was a challenge for sure!!

I found a structure with this house number on the door and a peep-hole under it.  

Not too exciting but I was desperate.

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Weatherford, Texas City Hall

Many small towns in Texas have a central building smack in the middle of Main Street that is their City Hall.

This is the one in Weatherford.  It's an incredibly beautiful structure.

We were there late in the afternoon. There was a lot of traffic so it wasn't possible to stand in the middle of the street and get the image I wanted.

I like this image and contrary to many other tower clocks I've seen, this one had the correct time.

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Dining Hall Decorations

There's a dining hall in the Children's Home.  Usually the food is taken to the children in their living areas, but they go to the dining hall for one meal a day.  The area was still being decorated as we had our "early" tour, but it was already so inviting. 

This scene was on one of the fireplace mantles, 

By the time we were done seeing and hearing about the home and the effect it had/has on the children who spend years there, I was almost in tears.  

Thank God for those people and the hearts they have for those kids.

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Christmas Tree

As we toured the Pythian Home for Children, we encountered many decorated trees within the home that were already set up for the holiday season.  This was one that had the most light around it so I was happy to make an image of it.  

There were decorated trees everywhere in the structure, and each one had a different theme.

They are beautiful.

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Porch on Building

Yesterday I had the chance to take a field trip to Weatherford, Texas with a friend.

It was so exciting to get out of the house.  About 10 days ago I somehow pulled a muscle in my foot and it's very, very painful and very difficult to walk.  But yesterday I just persevered through the pain as we went to another town to get some new images.

This building is part of the campus of the Pythian Home for Children in Weatherford.  As we entered the property we met one of the workers who wound up giving us a personal tour of the building.  He's and another employee are in the process of decorating the home for Christmas.

There are currently 15 children in residence right now.  

This Children's Home was part of the movie

"12 Mighty Orphans".

I've never heard of it, but I did some research and it is a movie based on a book. Now I want to read the book AND see the movie.

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Looking Up

Another very large nutcracker at the zoo against a beautiful blue sky.

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Nutcracker with Tree

The zoo is already partially decorated for the Christmas season.  Kind of early as far as I'm concerned, but I guess it takes a while to get completely decked out for the season.

There are many nutcrackers scattered throughout the zoo and it's pretty difficult to pass by any of them without grabbing an image or two of them.

I think this one is really cute as he's holding a staff with a small Christmas tree on it.

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Pink Flamingos

The weather was incredibly beautiful again today and I wanted to spend some time outdoors without having to travel 2 hours to make some images.  I decided to go to the local zoo even though I've been there sooooo many times.  

Right at the beginning of the walking trail there's this enclosure with  these gorgeous pink flamingos.  I usually find it really difficult to get a good image of them, but I kind of like this one.

It was a beautiful day to be outside.

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Apartment Building

This building in downtown Abilene was once a motel, but it's now an apartment building. There's a beautiful lobby and the lower level has public shops.  

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DoubleTree Icon

This is one of the newest buildings in downtown Abilene.  It has the typical rooms that a motel has.  It's within walking distance of many restaurants and coffee shops.

I've never been inside but I looked at the photos on the website and it seems pretty beautiful.  

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Whirly Sculpture

It was so beautiful outside today that I forced myself out for a walk in town again.

It's getting pretty tedious since there doesn't seem to be anything different in town, but I walked past this whirly sculpture and decided to try another shot of it from a different angle.

When the wind blows just right, the discs at the top spin around, but there wasn't much wind today.

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The Mill Restaurant

One of the buildings on the edge of downtown is an old mill structure that's been transformed into a popular destination restaurant.  It's a real interesting structure and it's always tempting to try to get a different image of it.  

I've never eaten there but I know people who have and they say the food is really good.

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Old Overhead Door

During my walk downtown today I saw this door, which is part of an abandoned building.  It looks like it used to have a loading dock.  I don't know what this building once was or what it's being used for now.

I just like the way it looks.

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Renovated Structure

It was a beautiful afternoon.  I took another walk around downtown Abilene.  This structure has been under renovation for a long, long time.  I think it might have been a school once upon a time, but I honestly don't know for sure.  

It's a beautiful building but I don't know what it's being renovated into.

My heart is grateful for:

the good results of the election and the beautiful day it was today

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Retro Tombstone

I pulled into a cemetery looking for something interesting to photograph and I came across this retro tombstone propped against a gnarly tree trunk.

The letters are very hard to read but it looks like the last date is 1896.

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Ice Cream Shop

I met my daughter, sil and grandkids met at this cute ice cream shop in their little town this afternoon.  I got there before they did and was sitting with my camera looking for photo ops when I noticed this cute little scene right outside the shop.  

I love the pink and aqua colors together.

My heart is grateful:

for the cooler fall weather

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Operation Christmas Child

Every year Samaritan's Purse conducts their Operation Christmas Child ministry.

My church is readying for the ministry by displaying a sample box with potential gift items.

This church provides all items to be packed at a packing party, or you can get your own boxes and pack them yourself.

Their goal is 800 boxes, up from last year.

What an amazing ministry!!

Praise God for Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, who developed this project through Samaritan's Purse. 

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Shoeboxes

It's that time of year.  Operation Christmas Child.  My church stacked these empty shoeboxes in one of the lobbies for people to take home and fill.  

The boxes go to a central distribution center, they're checked for appropriate contents, then sealed and sent to various locations around the world. 

The children receive the boxes with options to attend classes to learn about Jesus.

What an awesome ministry conducted every year by Samaritan's Purse which is led by

Franklin Graham.

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End of Track

One set of train tracks in Abilene, TX comes to an end.  Another set goes straight through the downtown area.  

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Union Pacific Train

A train track runs through Abilene, Texas.  This train was parked on the tracks.

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An abandoned Cabin at the Cisco, TX zoo

The zoo in Cisco, TX that was active in the 1920s-1930s had several cabins on the property that could be rented for people to spend time in the country near the zoo exhibits.  The cabins were small, usually one or two small bedrooms, living room, bathroom and a kitchen.  The structures are still standing, but they are empty and windowless and trashed.

One can only imagine what it was like in its hey-day.

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Another animal enclosure

This is one of the animal enclosures in the abandoned zoo in Cisco, TX.  

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Abandoned Animal enclosure

In Cisco, TX there's an abandoned zoo.  It was active in the 1920s-1930s.  As primitive as it seems now, it was state of the art at the time.  It closed because of several suspicious animal deaths within the zoo.

Now there's about a mile of walking trail through what once was the zoo grounds and you can see the remnants of the enclosures and some of the fencing.

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Empty Building

This looks like a pretty interesting building, and even though it seems to be abandoned, there's a chalk drawing on one side and one of the overhead doors on the end is open, so there must be some kind of business--auto repair, machine shop or something of that sort.  

It seems weird that the main part of the building has been vacant and boarded up for years, but there's a business of some sort in one part.  

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Train Wheel

There's a small park in downtown Cisco, TX, and there's an old train car that the kids can climb on and get into.  I've taken photos of this train car before, but today I was trying to get something different from my previous images.  This isn't too exciting, but it kind of tells a story.  

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Fire Escape

An apartment building on the main street of  downtown Cisco, TX. On the back side of the building is this huge, easily navigated fire escape.  

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Tilted Silo

Cisco, Tx.  

I always wonder what this silo is doing in the middle of the sidewalk.  There are also the car barriers but I've never seen a car parked there.  

Just a curiosity.

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Railway Cars Converging.

I saw these rail cars downtown where there are many rail cars that look like they've been abandoned.  There are no locomotives or cabooses, so it's tricky to get a creative image of these ordinary looking cars, but I thought this was interesting.  It looks like they'll run into each other if they both go in the same direction.  Not an award winning image, just something to think about.