Photo of the Week

We've been having a good deal of sun lately, with a bit of warm-ish weather. It's so nice to see sun on asphalt after such a long rainy period.



I'm taking one photo a day, throughout all of 2015 (as long as I don't quit). Wanna see all the photos I've taken so far?

Here's a link to my 365 Album on Flickr.

Tomorrow...

... and tomorrow, and tomorrow I'll strut upon this stage and hope when my candle dims, my idiot tale will signify something.

The Texas Hoss

Burns' Night, Part II

You really must see a photo of the haggis, tatties and neeps we had the other night in celebration of Robert Burns' birthday.




Not much to brag about, but considering that's a vegetarian haggis and this ain't no Foodie blog, I think I did quite well.

Cheers!

Burns' Night

Just a quick little report on Burns' Night at The Farr Place:

There was haggis. Well, it was vegetarian, which technically means it wasn't haggis at all. But at least we had it in name.

There was neeps: (autocorrect tried to say I had jeeps, but I didn't. I had neeps) Neeps are turnips, boiled and mashed like mashed potatoes.

There was tatties. Mashed potatoes.

We were out of whiskey, but we had tea.

We didn't recite any of Burns' poetry (a major omission), but I did tell our daughter that he was a famous Scottish poet who wrote "Auld Lang Syne" and that we were starting a new tradition by celebrating his birthday every Jan. 25.

She told me she had never heard of him or it (the song).

I sang it.

She begged me to stop.

And that was the end of our Burns' Night celebration.

I think the whole affair went off smashing!

My old grandpa once told me...

No Trails for old Cowboys

This land used to be full of wide open spaces,
and places to conquer for young me like me who rode
high in the saddle, our spurs they'd go jinglin'
away cross the prairies; our way to be free.

No trails for old cowboys, they done paved them over.
No trails for old cowboys, it's all citified.
These longhorns, I keep them as pets in the backyard.
No trails for old cowboys to ride.

Photo of the Week

I have no idea what beef pecans are, but 99 cents seems like a fair price.



I'm taking one photo a day, throughout all of 2015 (as long as I don't quit). Wanna see all the photos I've taken so far?

Here's a link to my 365 Album on Flickr.

Music is...

... science and math playing hide 'n seek with your soul.

Thankless jobs

Sometimes I draw stuff. If you'd like to see some more of my "artwork," you can find it at Sometimes I Draw Stuff on Flickr.

Giving up social media, Part II

Of course, every time I think about giving up Twitter and Facebook I wonder how people will ever know how I feel, or what I'm eating for supper, or that I have a touch of athlete's foot but I'm treating it and not letting it get me down?

People I don't really know need to know this kinda stuff. Ya know?

Giving up social media

The other day I did a search for "how did the pioneers live without social media?" and Google really didn't give me a lot of help.

And then I researched "pioneer life" and learned those poor souls who traveled west young man really did quite well without social media.

During a five to six-month journey, they did a lot of walking, played games, ate whatever they had or could kill, talked, walked, played games, ate whatever they had or could kill, traded with the Indians who didn't kill them, took care of the sick, buried the dead, walked, talked, played games, ate whatever they had or could kill ...

... and never took ONE selfie!

SEE?

LOTS of things to do out on the prairie: seeing the country, meeting new friends, going new places.

ALL WITHOUT TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, TUMBLR, etc., etc.

I could give up using social media with a snap...

... but Lyle Lovett follows me on Twitter and I don't want to let him down.

The Texas Hoss

Haiku inspired by Neil deGrasse Tyson

A hypothesis:
Biting vampires and zombies
will turn them human.

Photo of the Week

The Doctor's Blue Box-ers



I'm taking one photo a day, throughout all of 2015 (as long as I don't quit). Wanna see all the photos I've taken so far?

Here's a link to my 365 Album on Flickr.

Every afternoon...

... I see the old Collie patiently waiting at the end of his driveway, waiting and hopeful, but the school bus doesn't stop there anymore.

My old grandpa once told me...

Where's the Zen? Part II

I guess you could find Zen in making Cup 'O Soup, but it'd have to be a darn good tasting cup of soup.

Where's the Zen?

I've been trying to be a bit more zen-ful these days. You know, staying in the moment, not letting things distract me from having a peaceful mind. And I've noticed that you can realize "ZEN moments" in about everything you do.

Darts -- the dart leaves your hand, traveling nine feet through the air to the board, and half way there you can imagine it comes to a complete stop, pauses for a moment (the ZEN moment), and then turns around and screams, "You idiot! I'm not even going to hit the target."

Well, at least that's what I hear.

Motorcycle riding -- traveling down the back roads, you lean forward just enough to not see the tire or handlebar in front of you, and in that exact moment of imagining you're a bird, flying down the road (the ZEN moment), you get pegged in the face by a june bug minding its own business, and now it's dead, splattered across your face.

End of zen moment.

Playing guitar -- you've worked hard on that piece by Carulli, your fingers are flying across the strings with minds of their own, your mind completely blank (the ZEN moment), and then your mind goes even MORE blank, your fingers take a flight to Jamaica, and you start to wonder why your mother even gave birth to you.

It probably was an accident.

School bus driving -- when the last student gets off the bus.

Now THAT'S zen!

The universal problem

Haiku for You

That damn alarm clock
works just fine on my Friday
off from the day job.

Photo of the Week

There's a new cat in town.



I'm taking one photo a day, throughout all of 2015 (as long as I don't quit). Wanna see all the photos I've taken so far?

Here's a link to my 365 Album on Flickr.

You can't find...

... your purpose in life by just pondering on it. You have to get up and do the hard work, dig the ditches, walk the fence lines.

The Texas Hoss

But then the cat came back!!

The very next day!

We thought she was a goner.

But she came back!

She just couldn't stay away and die out on some lonely hilltop surrounded by brambles and thickets and thorns and turkey vultures perched in dead elm trees, just waiting for her to kick the bucket. Nope, she came back home looking fitter than ever. Hungry, oh yes, but much fitter.

She just couldn't stay away.

(Not that I was worried, mind ya!)

Kimmie, MIA

I'm not a big cat person. (Meaning: cats are ok but I don't go all gaga over them. Not Meaning: I don't have a big tail and use a big litter box.)

Kimmie is one of our cats. And when I say "ours" I mean the rest of the family's. I tolerate her. She hunts down rats, I read books; I don't bother her, she doesn't bother me.

But the house just isn't the same since Kimmie went MIA.

She came in one night, not looking great, seemed a bit depressed and lonely; bad night out with the hubby? too much beer and chips? -- then she crept out the next morning and we haven't seen her since.

It was only a couple of days ago, but still.

The house seems lonely.

(Not to ME you understand. The family.)

I've already buried one cat recently. Casper. Now the friendly ghost in the backyard. He was an old cat. Skinny. Off white. Had some kind of brain snafu. Went blind. Wandered around the house bumping into walls and such. Sad little thing. Died peacefully in his sleep. (Or hers, I can't remember.) Buried him/her the next day and even put a little fence around his/her grave.

(Thought the family might like that.)

But at least he/she was at home, surrounded by the people who loved him/her.

Kimmie just wandered off to die in somebody else's yard (we suppose), or out in the woods. I mean, we fed her. Took care of her. The least she could've done was have the decency to let us TRY and help her. Not just go off on her own and leave us wondering where she was, if she had a decent place to sleep, food to eat.

(And Lord help us if she went and died under somebody's house. That'll sure cause a stink.)

I guess her disappearance will remain a mystery for all time.

I'm so glad I'm not a cat person.

My old grandpa once told me:

Haiku for You

A sliver of moon
pie in the cool Texas sky,
much better than cheese.

Attempting the 365, again

Thursday night, close to midnight, I rashly decided to once again try taking a photograph every day for a year. I've tried it before, usually quitting on day 9, but I thought, what the heck, let's throw caution to the wind, it's 2015 and anything is possible.

This was what I came up with that night.




I'll post all my photos on Flickr, pick a Photo Of The Week to post here, and we'll see how long I can keep this up.

(I give myself a month.)

I remember...

... looking through the frosted train window at the people, all bunched up in overcoats and scarves, waiting on the platform. I was five, and it was snowing.

Happy New Year!