A Brake-Slammin' Sight

When I came around the corner and saw this sight I just had to slam on the brakes.  The pastures of East Texas have literally been transformed in the past two weeks.  What was once brown is now going green and even colors are abounding.  But before you ooh and aah too much, this lovely scene is not a field of wildflowers but a field of a noxious weed called henbit.  Here is a close-up of the culprit.

So before you say, oh, it's so beautiful, I would love to have a yard full of this plant, trust me ~ you don't.
Just leave it in the fields and hopefully something will eat it.  It is edible I'm told so maybe cows like it!

9/100 Dogs ~ Goldie ~ Pom-Poo

Goldie is one of our neighbors' dogs.  A Pomeranian/poodle mix, she is a little sweetie.  Her humans also have chickens and occasionally some bad critters get in the chicken coop and the chickens escape.  Goldie catches the ones she can and delivers them to the house unharmed!  Don't you think she's appropriately named?

NOTE re: yesterday's post on the Goodman Bridge:  I can't believe all you wimps out there!  Of course I drove over the bridge!  This bridge is much bigger than it looks in the pictures I suppose and it's steady as a rock.  Not a sway, not a rattle, nada, nada, nada.  Now, I wouldn't be so brave were I in a semi tractor or a truck loaded with a heavy trailer, but it still handles 325 vehicles per day and has not been condemned yet!  Even though it rated low on the last inspection it has not been declared unsafe for travel.

Road Trip ~ Goodman Bridge near Douglass, Texas

One day this past week I met my Uncle Joe Buck in Douglass, Texas (about 15 miles west of Naconowhere) in search of the Goodman Bridge, one of the few remaining truss bridges in Texas which is still open to vehicular traffic.  This 150-foot long pony truss bridge (meaning it has no overhead bracing) was built in 1921 and spans the Angelina River at the Nacogdoches/Cherokee county line.  The last bridge inspection by the state rated it only 19 out of 100 due to the deteriorating understructure.  The wooden floor and iron sides of the bridge are in good condition, however.  The City of Nacogdoches has indicated its willingness to take the bridge and save it for historic purposes in Pecan Park in the event it is removed.  Approximately 325 vehicles per day still use this bridge for travel. 
 

If you ever go to Douglass (population 75), they have the Corner Store & Cafe and I highly recommend the cafe for a great lunch.  Chicken fried steak with cream gravy and French fries for $6.95!  Um-um good!

Scottish Fold

Meet C.C. (stands for Clinic Cat) whom I met today.  He is the denizen of a local vet's office in Naconowhere.  I had never before heard of a feline breed called Scottish Fold.  Have you?  These cats have a dominant gene mutation which causes a fold in the cartilage of their ears which then causes the ears to fold forward rather than stand up.  The first known cat of this type was found in Scotland in 1961.  These felines have very loving dispositions and are known as good companions.  Some say they have an owl-like appearance.  What do you think?

Riding (on the) Lawn Mower

If I could just teach this crafty little fellow to operate the lawn mower, I'm sure my new life in the country would be so much easier!

Camellia ...

... a favorite flower of Southerners because it blooms in the winter.  This gem was found Monday on a bush approximately seven feet tall and seven feet in diameter in Nacogoches.

An American Beauty

What's that Lurking in the Background?

Ready for Spring

This bird's nest in a crape myrtle tree may be left over from last year, but I'm pretending it's just been built by a little bird who is just ready and waiting for spring to come.

Ads on Brick ~ Coca-Cola

Nacogdoches, Texas

I have discovered that I am fascinated by ads painted on brick walls in the little towns of East Texas, although this art form is certainly not limited to this region.  I haven't done any research on why or when this practice started, but now I'm on a quest to find MORE.  I've photographed a few already and I'll post them in due course, but now I'm anxious to go back to those little towns and look down all the side streets I may have missed the first time through.  Actually this building just happens to appear in the current issue of Texas Highways, and I have to say that photographer's picture is maybe a little better than mine.  I believe they probably had a wide-angle lens and set up the scene by placing the camera on a tripod and using a longer exposure because there is a somewhat fuzzy pedestrian walking by.  This particular piece of art is in better shape than most of the ones I've seen thus far (with the exception of another one I took in Rusk, Texas, on my road trip a couple of weeks ago, and I promise to post that one in a few days).  Also I had  been wanting to get a picture of the red brick streets in Naconowhere (as I fondly like to call it) and I think this picture is a good representation.

Before There Were Cell Phones

County Line Beer Joint

As of last count, 74 of Texas' 257 counties are "dry," meaning they prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages.  This is a far fewer number than in years past.  As a result, "wet" counties which were adjacent to those having "dry" laws often saw establishments called beer joints open right at their county lines, and since the boundaries of many counties in East Texas are delineated by rivers, these little shanties are often found sitting on the banks of a river just beyond the bridge which marks the county line.  A few weeks ago when I went on one of my road trips I whizzed past this colorful little building as I crossed the Angelina River bridge between Nacogdoches and Cherokee counties.  I knew I had to go back and look at it more closely.  When I first pulled into what you might very loosely call a parking lot, I decided it probably no longer existed as a business since there was no sign with a name, no outward appearance of anyone being around.  As I got out of my truck I noticed the lights burning under the roof overhang and discovered some rather loud country music blaring from a speaker somewhere.  I snapped my pics, jumped into the truck and sped back across the bridge!  Sounds exciting, doesn't it! 

Texans love to display their state flag and all in all, they're pretty patriotic Americans too!

He: It's Valentine's Day!

... How about a little horsin' around?

She:  You gotta be kiddin'.  You look like you've been out rollin' in the hay again, you dirty old horse!

Can Spring Be Far Away?

Pine Warbler