090/365

Tree Trunk and Hydrant

One of my photo prompts was Lone Tree.  While I was looking around for such an object, I saw this tree with the fire hydrant in the background.  

I just thought the composition was interesting and there are times when I get desperate for an image of some kind.  I like the little touch of orange color in the background.

089/365

Meter Guardrail

Throughout town there are meter units that have guardrails in front of them to keep them safe from car traffic.  I've never seen anything like this in other places I've lived.  

088/365

Clean alleyway

While walking around downtown today to find a photo op, I passed through this amazingly clean alleyway and decided to grab a photo of it.  

There's often graffiti on the walls, but seldom is there trash on the ground.

087/365

Dragonfly

I bought this dragonfly for my car quite a few years ago.  

I've never even considered changing it out for another piece of decor.

I just love this one.

086/365

Farm Fresh Eggs

The price of eggs is ridiculous.  It's a conspiracy that they've killed so many of  the chickens and the price of eggs has skyrocketed.

Someone from church brings eggs to our SS class and anyone who wants them can take them, free of charge, So... not only are they free, but they're beautiful. What a blessing.

085/365

Antique Rake

On  a ride down a country road, there was an area where there were many pieces of antique equipment on display.  The gate was open so we walked around to look at the equipment.  

084/365

Abandoned Country House 3

Another beautiful weather day.  A friend and I spent the afternoon driving around looking for photo ops.

We came upon this abandoned house.  Sadly we couldn't get any closer because of the locked gate and the barbed wire, but I think the image  looks great anyway.

083/365

Weathered Santa Decor

This moon with a sleeping Santa  is a piece of decor on a downtown business in Abilene, Texas.  I've never seen it before but I made the image in the early spring, so it looks like it's left out all year.

I didn't even see a sign indicating what the business is.

I think this is so cute.  

082/365

Graffiti With Pole

In the alleyway downtown that's painted, this pole isn't painted.  It's too bad they didn't paint the pole the same colors as the wall it sits in front of.  

081/365

Sign at Zoo

This afternoon my daughter/grandkids and I went to the Cisco Zoo for an outing.  The weather was beautiful (maybe a little warm).  The Zoo was in operation between 1920-1930 so now there's just walking trails and the remains of animal enclosures along with several abandoned cabins that were rented to people wanting to stay on the grounds of the zoo property.  

We spent time walking the trails on the property at the opposite end from where the animal enclosures are.  Obviously, there's a Balancing Rock nearby.  I got a laugh out of the sign.

The kiddos had a great time and they were very sad when we said it was time to leave.

080/365

Concho County Courthouse with Markers

The Concho County Courthouse is located in the small town of Paint Rock, Texas.

The Second Empire Style structure was completed in 1886 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

The markers are slightly out of focus so as to draw attention to the building itself.

079/365

Alleyway Artwork

I was walking around downtown Abilene this afternoon waiting for my meeting to begin.  There's an alleyway that's been recently painted with beautifully colored graphic designs.  

I made a few images, so I post this one today.

078/365

Dog Graffiti on Business Wall

I was early for my hair appointment today so I spent some time walking around town looking for photo ops when I saw this beautiful dog painted on the outside of an abandoned building.  

077/365

Downtown Grain Silos 3

In a downtown area of Abilene, along the railroad tracks there are several different grain silos.  I honestly don't know why I love to photograph them as much as I do, but here ya go.    

076/365

Shakelford County Courthouse 2

This beautiful building is the Shakelford County Courthouse located in Albany, Texas.  The photo was taken on a winter day, so the grass is brown and the trees are bare although there's a beautiful blue sky in the background. 

When the trees are in bloom it's much harder to see the structure.  There's a pretty gazebo in the yard at the corner of the courthouse building and off to the right side of the building near the sidewalk there are two stone tablets with the 10 Commandments on them.

075/365

Lesser Flamingo

Just inside the zoo entrance there's an enclosure with Lesser Flamingos.  They're called Lesser Flamingos because they're the smaller of the flamingo birds and they skim the water with their beaks to find food instead of inserting their faces into the water.  They also seem to be a lighter pink.

They're just as beautiful as the larger variety of flamingos though.

074/365

Jungle Bounce House

This afternoon the weather got really beautiful so I decided to make another trip to the zoo.  I didn't realize that there was some event going on there. There were a lot of families there with their kiddos and presentations happening throughout the zoo grounds. It was so good to see all the kids having such a good time.

This bounce house was right inside the entrance.  I've never seen one like it before, so of course I had to make a few images of it.  

73/365

Counted With the Stars

I belong to a bookgroup that meets once a month.  The book that we're reading this month is this one.  It's a story of the 10 Plagues told from the point of view of an Egyptian woman who becomes a believer.  I couldn't put it down.

The writing is wonderful and I'm going to get other books by this author.

If you're looking for a good book, check this one out.

72/365

Grant Teaff Statue

For the first time ever, I was on the inside of the campus of McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.  I saw this beautiful sculpture of Grant Teaff, former head football coach from 1960-1965.  I only had my cell phone with me but I think the image came out okay anyway. 

71/365

Branch Photo

I went to visit someone in a small senior living complex and this beautiful branch photo was hanging in one of the hallways.  I couldn't get a photo of it without the light reflecting in the upper left, but the framed image of bare branches is just lovely.  

70/365

Baby Quilt in the Making

My granddaughter is having a baby girl~~my first great-grandbaby.  

(I don't know how all that time has passed)

I decided to stay home this morning in order to work on the quilt.  I have plenty of time, but I really want to get it finished and check it off my list.  

The pattern doesn't include a border around the outside, but I think I'll add one so the quilt will be a little bigger.  Now I have to go to the fabric store and find something that will coordinate with what I've already made.  

Nothing is ever as simple as you think it will be.

I hope my granddaughter likes it.

69/365

Abandoned Firehouse Side Door

The side door of an abandoned firehouse in a small town in Texas.

68/365

Abandoned Businesses

This is a block of abandoned businesses in a small west Texas town.  I wonder if someone is paying taxes on these properties? 

67/365

Rural Mailboxes

Hmmm, wonder how many of these mailboxes are in use.  They look kind of abandoned.  There is a number on one of them that I removed, but the others look not so good.

For some reason, I love these mailbox groups when I see them.

66/365

Kids on a Trampoline

I have permission to post this image.  I saw these 4 littles playing on the trampoline and I asked them to stand in a line and jump when I gave the signal.  The littlest one kept landing on her bottom as the others were jumping.  She didn't seem too upset, and the others were having great fun showing off for me and my camera.

065/365

Hiking Boot in Snow

While in Fairbanks, AK, I went to Pioneer Village one day.  I was adjusting my camera to see if it was focusing ok and I took this shot of my hiking boot.  For some crazy reason, I really like this shot. It might not say what venue I'm at, but it sure says I'm in winter weather.

064/365

BW Abandoned Business

In a small town in Texas there's a single block where the business are abandoned and in bad disrepair.

This building had an upstairs but there's no evidence of the 2nd floor left except the indication on the wall.

63/365

Car Dealership?

I've seen this type of building in many towns, but they've all been abandoned or used for some other business.  Wonder what they were originally.  Kind of looks like a car dealership or car repair place.  In any event, they're interesting.

This building is located in Paint Rock, Texas, Concho County.

062/365

New York State Capitol Building

This incredibly beautiful building is the New York State Capitol Building in Albany, New York.  The city of Albany is the state capital.

Construction took 32 years and was completed in 1899.  It was constructed by hand and cost $25 million.  It is part of the Empire State Plaza and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

061/365

Downtown Church

A high key winter image of a church in Abilene, Texas.  

060/365

Concho County Courthouse

This beautiful courthouse is the Concho County Courthouse located in Paint Rock, Texas.  I'm glad I had the chance to photograph it today, since once the trees leaf out, this view of the building wouldn't be possible.  

The building was built in 1886 and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.  It was built of limestone in the Second Empire Style.