Searching for some unique wood or reclaimed timber to build a farm table with, I came across a source of Longleaf Pine. You may have never heard of Longleaf Pine but it is an endangered species of pine. Reason? In the mid-1800″s there were 80,000,000 acres of this pine in the Southeast US and by 1910, it was pretty much gone. The primary reason being that the nature of the Longleaf Pine made it clear, straight and with few defects, it was ideal for shipbuilding. It was also the primary source for long straight timbers used to build the textile mills in the Southeast. I found someone who dissasymbles these old mills and brings them to Texas (2X2 beams pictured above in the warehouse) then runs them though a mill to create boards for floors, cabinets, home building, etc. I was lucky enough to find this material which will give a nice provenance to the table and am now experimenting with which color stain best compliments this beautiful old timber.

It’s that time again in North Texas. Grackles, or better known here as “rats with wings”!. These birds collect into flocks of thousands of birds and last night, I was in Burleson at sundown and came across the intersection where they seem to gather every year at this time. There must have been millions of them flying around, perched on wires, in trees and on the ground of the shopping center looking for food. They are a real nuisance because, as one can imagine, they tend to leave a lot of droppings, especially on cars. Wether you knew this or not, bird droppings contain acid which could do serious damage to your car, so try to park in an area that these rats do no congregate!

Spending the day with my friends Jean, Thomas and Connie Mullins at the White Buffalo Gallery in Glen Rose, I was standing next to a table with a candle display the was made up of candles on mercury glass holders. As the late afternoon light came in, I was caught by the simple beauty the light reflected, and thus, with the camera in hand, I tried to capture the light!

So we set the alarm for the crack of dawn only to find that the peak was almost an hour away. On top of Chalk Mountain the cold wind was howling and luckily I had a wind break to set up the tripod in but the lower the moon got, I had to move more into the open to get away from the trees that were ruining the shot. Now that I have the feeling back in my fingers, I was able to post this shot low on the horizon. The lights of Tolar and Bluff Dale can be seen off on the horizon. Just after this photo, the moon blended into the morning mist as the sun came up.

Whenever I photograph animals, especially dogs and cats, I try to make sure that the resulting image is what the animal looks life in real life! I do not know his name but the other day I was at Old Texas Wood, a reclaimed lumber yard in Dallas, looking for some material for a new table and came across the store’s watchdog – well, at least he was watching me. This establishment has a number dogs of all shapes and sizes roaming around and I assume the do perform some surveillance services at night. I passed by him a couple of times and could not resist the photo, especially since his color blended into the sample flooring that he was laying on.