At least for me, it’s hard to look at an image like this and not contemplate the lives of those that lived here. Not too many decades ago someone woke up in this bedroom with the sun beaming through the window bouncing off the lacy wallpaper. Where are they now.
This in one of those images that really looks better when you look at in a bit larger. If you click on the image & go to my flicker site you may click on the image there & choose “All Sizes” to view a larger image.

South of Ft. Worth Texas,16 miles west of Waxahachie & just down the road from Maypearl lives the Auburn cemetery. That’s pretty much all that remains of the small community that once called this area home. In 1968 the census reported a population of 12. I’m thinking those 12 have probably moved on… All thats left behind is this beautiful little cemetery where the flowers from past generations continue to bloom.

I was out photographing some of beautiful Texas wildflowers the other day and ran across these tiny white flowers with a nice blue Bluebonnet background. I was trying to find their name but did not have any luck. Any ideas?

I (finally) got out to try and capture some of the spectacular wildflower displays of 2010 when Beverly & I discovered this ranch near Chalk Bluff Texas. Bluebonnets & Indian Paintbrushes covered the gently rolling hills as far as you could see. After taking a few images we took the blanket out of our trunk & had a picnic under the huge oak tree near the center of the photograph. The weather was perfect & the scent of wildflowers filled the air. It really does not get much better than this.

This was going to be a wildflower shot. I was driving home to Austin from Ft. Worth & thought I’d take the opportunity to photograph some of the amazing wildflower displays that this very wet spring has created. While driving down Interstate 35 I saw the exit for Maypearl Texas. (Maypearl is a little town about half way between Grandview on Interstate 35W and Waxahachie on Interstate 35E.) The town holds a special meaning for me because it’s the home of my maternal ancestral roots. As a child I would spend time every summer with my grandmother in the home my grandfather built. It’s a beautiful drive between Grandview & Maypearl & I felt hopeful i would see some great Bluebonnet displays. No such luck. The drive was beautiful (it’s always great to get off the main roads) but no super floral displays. I decided to shift gears & photograph some of the old buildings. Some were boarded up and quite sad, but the old Maypearl Garage has been reborn as a feed & pretty much anything else you might ever need store. I’m glad they did not cover up the old ‘ghost sign’. If you look closely, you can see where a previous owner covered up the old Maypearl Garage sign with a banner. Tacky. Now all it needs is a hound dog & a couple of old guys playing checkers on the porch.

This afternoon I was fortunate to have a “HOT” pass to the NASCAR race at the Texas Motor Speedway. It was way cool! With that credential you can pretty much go anywhere. I watched in the garage as the cars were measured & tested. It turns out the garage was a great place to be because it rained all day long. And for some reason, the drivers don’t race in the rain. Pretty understandable actually; I don’t suppose I would really want to drive 200mph on wet roads on tires as slick as dancing shoes. So as it turned out the only car on the track today was the pace car. Waiting patiently for the rain to pass.

This is another image from the little stop I made in Hico last November. This is actually the other side of the building that I did a post about here. To me, the interesting thing about this photo is there really is nothing in it that would give you a clue that the photo was taken in the past 50 years.

It is beginning to look like springtime in Texas. The bluebonnets are popping up everywhere & the highways are surrounded by color. After a severe drought, the past few months have brought central Texas a greater than normal rainfall so the people that know these thing are saying it should be a beautiful year for wildflowers.