Life in Texas

  Hail last night at midnight.  February is the month for interesting weather in Texas.  Santa Anna saw heavy February snow crossing the Rio Grade in '36 on his way to the Alamo. 

  Limbs down and twiggy but no damage.  I got up to let the cat in and ate a few hailstones.  Straight from the hand of God.

  Speaking of God and them, I spent the afternoon shooting photos in a brushy corner at the new Tyler Museum of Art site.  God was left in charge of the landscaping for about the last 40 years in there an you can see his mind at work.  I'm a master at photographing from inside the landscape and was having a heck of a time.  I noticed the usually free-running creek was lagoon-still and walked downstream until I found the beaver dam.  Two, actually.  They are clearing the twiggy brush back there.  No permits.  No impact statements.  Sent by God to straighten things up.

  They do look like they were busy.

  Rubber boots on for the 125 Copperheads per acre.  Museum site is about 10 acres...thats 1250 Copperheads.  We could bale 'em.  Didn't see any.

  Back to being a photo master...anticipating this shoot and exhibition is going to teach me a lot about view cameras and film in my native brush.  All 5X7 Deardorff.

  Speaking of permits and statements I got a car registration sticker, one of the six pieces of paper and permit you need to drive down the road here in the wild and free State of Texas, (good thing we beat Santa Anna so we wouldn't be living in a bureaucratic dictatorship, huh!), today and on the back it says: "Check your date, love your state."  This on a little tax sticker.  I'd love to just meet the functionaries who thought that one up, just once.

  Wouldn't it be something to be beaver free?