Saddling Up

Saddling Up, 1939, taken by Russell Lee
Via Traces of Texas

Mom and Babies

 

From Traces of Texas, where we are told:

Baby possums have a gestation period of only 12-13 days. That's the shortest gestation period of any mammal in North America.

There's barely enough room for them to hang on!

The Expressive Voice of the Longhorn

"No wild animal, or domestic either, has as many vocal tones as the Longhorn. In comparison, the bulls and cows of highly bred varieties of cattle are voiceless. The cow of the Longhorns has one moo for her newborn calf, another for when it is older, one to tell it come to her side and another to tell it to stay hidden in the tall grass. Moved by amatory feelings, she has a low, audible breath of yearning. In anger, she can run a gamut. If her calf has died or otherwise been taken from her, she seems to be turning her insides out into long, sharp, agonizing bawls. I have heard steers make similar sounds. They seemed to be in the utmost agony of something so poignant to them that the utterance meant more than life and would be willingly paid for by death."

J. Frank Dobie, "The Longhorns," 1941

Photo and quote via Traces of Texas

Pete's Meat Market

Pete's Meat Market in El Paso, 1979
via Traces of Texas

My favorite thing is the plastic cow head.

Can you spot the third man?

Click on the photo (or the link below) to see the photo larger.

This 1915 photo of three men with a giant pecan tree somewhere near San Antonio appeared in @NatGeo magazine a few years ago. And, yes, that's right: THREE men. Can you spot the third one? This is one huge pecan! They can live 200-300 years and reach 150 feet tall in the right conditions.

Traces of Texas

Joan Crawford

San Antonio native Joan Crawford in 1932, when she was 28 years old.

Kaw-u-tz, a Caddo woman

Kaw-u-tz, a Caddo woman, 1906
Photographer: George Bancroft Cornish.
Via Traces of Texas who found this at SMU'S Degolyer Library

 My goodness, she is drop dead gorgeous! And the beading on her necklace must have taken forever.

Moonlight in South Texas

Julian Onderdonk, "Moonlight in South Texas," 1912.

Julian Onderdonk was an impressionist who became known as "the father of Texas painting." Find out more at Traces of Texas.

El Patio

Taken by Traces of Texas

 I love this photo. It is not only so Texan it is so evocative of a place where I'd love to try the Tex Mex!

Newlyweds

Newlyweds in Rogers, Texas circa 1900

More about this can be found at Traces of Texas, which never fails to brighten my day with the many Texas photos and quotes that are featured.
 

The Trail Drive-In

The Trail Drive-In in San Antonio, 1982.

Located at 910 SE Military Drive there in San Antonio. The site where the Trail Drive-In once stood is now a Wal-Mart Store. It was opened on April 28, 1946 with Randolph Scott in “Abiline Town” and operated by Underwood & Ezell. Santikos Theatres took over in 1973. It closed for good in 1984.

Traces of Texas, from whence came this photo.

State Tree, State Nut, State Pie — Pecan!

Texas State Horticulture Society, January 1916

From Traces of Texas, where we learn:

Traces of Texas reader Blair Krebs is the Executive Director for the Texas Pecan Growers Association and of course he loves studying the history of pecans in Texas. And why not? After all, it is the state tree, state nut, and state pie. This year the Pecan Growers Association is celebrating their 100-year anniversary and has been going through their archives to celebrate at their show from July 18-21 in San Marcos. They found the attached photo of the Texas State Horticulture Society meeting that took place in January 1916. The group merged with others to become the Texas Pecan Growers Association.

This is particularly appropriate since we were sure to take smaller highways when we went to Fredricksburg last weekend. One place we always enjoy driving through is San Saba, the "Pecan Capital of the WORLD!" 

The pecan orchards around town are impressive and the "Mother Pecan Tree" has been used to produce many great pecan varieties. I love knowing where some of the pecans may have come from that I use year-round.

Gene Autry playing baseball

From Traces of Texas where we learn:

Gene Autry playing baseball in Childress, Texas, 1937. Check out those boots! Gene was a Texan, of course, having been born in Tioga, Texas in 1907.

This photo courtesy the Childress County Heritage Museum via The Portal to Texas History.

I couldn't resist since it is the perfect accompaniment to the James Bond quote today.

Cutting One From the Herd

Cowboy cutting one from the herd on the LS ranch, 1907.
Via Traces of Texas which consistently has great Texas images.