I’m back in town after about ten days of vacation. A day or so before we headed out, I took delivery of a new bike rack which I hoped would solve the dilemma of how to transport our recumbent tandem. It’s a hitch rack that accommodates up to four bicycles, so I figured that it… Continue reading Bike Racked
Photographic Perspective
The greatest aspect of digital photography is the way it reintroduced the concept of play in picture-taking. When you don’t have to worry about the cost of film or development, it frees you up to just have fun, and to experiment with different techniques. I don’t do it nearly often enough, but one of the… Continue reading Photographic Perspective
Del Castillo
During our recent visit to Fredericksburg, Texas, we caught a performance by Del Castillo, a band that was hitherto unfamiliar to us. The group was appearing at the Crossroads Steakhouse & Saloon, which is a relatively new (opened in early 2010) restaurant on Fredericksburg’s main drag (across the street from Hondo’s, if you’re familiar with… Continue reading Del Castillo
Hot Trike
Why didn’t we have these when I was a mere yute?
Yard Art Follow-Up
Yesterday’s post about the cheesy lawn animals apparently struck a chord with some of you fellow rednecks art connie-sewers. I’m happy to see there are other serious patrons of yard art out there. In particular, I enjoyed hearing from Dale Thompson, an intrepid Gazette reader who enclosed some photos of an occupant of his back… Continue reading Yard Art Follow-Up
Expanding Lawn Menagerie
Did you ever pass by one of those stores where the inventory is crammed into a vacant lot and wondered what kind of unwashed, uncultured redneck rabble buys something like that for public display? Well, now you know. Now, in our defense, since our lawn is almost dead, thanks to the drought and watering restrictions,… Continue reading Expanding Lawn Menagerie
“Honey, I shrunk the bike”
I finally got around to trying my hand at disassembling our new tandem and figuring out how to load it into the truck. I’m not entirely pleased with either activity, but I figure they’ll improve with practice. The biggest problem I had was removing the timing chain. For you non-tandemists, that’s the chain that connects… Continue reading “Honey, I shrunk the bike”
West Texas from Above: The End
Scarily observant Gazette readers Katie Hilburn, Gregg Ulvestad, Jon Wheeler, and Mark Springer correctly identified the final aerial photo in the series as the area around Hogan Park in Midland. The small body of water directly beneath the “fish” (which is a pond at Hogan Park Golf Course) is part of the wonderful nature preserve… Continue reading West Texas from Above: The End
West Texas from Above: Part 8
Incredibly eagle-eyed Gazetteers Gregg Ulvestad, Lisa Blake, and Les Blalock recognized foto numero siete in our series as..well…as a number of things, all of which were correct although not precisely the answer I was seeking. That’s my fault for not being more specific. The photo is of the Penwell area, a few miles east of… Continue reading West Texas from Above: Part 8
West Texas from Above: Part 7
Gazette-crazy map mavens Paula McKinney and Les Blalock recognized the sixth photo in our series as Balmorhea State Park, which has the distinction of not actually being located in Balmorhea, but “Toyahvale State Park” apparently doesn’t have the same cachet. Every scuba diver in West Texas has cruised the crystal waters of Balmorhea. Debbie and… Continue reading West Texas from Above: Part 7