Mr. Shirley and Big Al.
Here’s a nice shot. One of the Dancing Sisters took this one. Not sure who had the camera at this point.
Here’s a nice shot. One of the Dancing Sisters took this one. Not sure who had the camera at this point.
I was cleaning out my overburdened in-box and came across an old email from Kim. A photo of a rat snake they found while doing yard work at her mother-in-law’s place in Palacios, Texas. It’s a quite impressive snake.
Palacious is on the Tres Palacios Bay, a small inlet off of the Matagorda Bay, and is about half way between Houston and Corpus Christi.
Friends are good. Friends who mail you stuff are very good. Friends who mail you their art are excellent!
A week ago or so I received two artworks in the mail from two different friends.
Julie presents me with an Altoids tin with my likeness as a beer drinking skeleton on it.
Lisa sends me a sketch of porter and a working of a picture I took on my birthday weekend: Drinky Crow at the farm. Done on velum (I think), and I don’t know what media.
Friends from different times of my life, and across the country from each other, but timed within a few days.
Pretty nifty, and both absolutely brightened my days. Thanks, chicas bonitas.
There is a great pool on flickr called “DRM is like…”
Digital Rights Management. It’s only on legally purchased music and keeps you from doing things that are legal to do with purchased music. It’s what makes “squirted” music on Zunes only play three times. It’s what makes NBC’s new “free video service” (with commercials) only allow you to view a TV show for a week. (How long will that VHS tape of Heroes last?)
How long till it dies out? I’m really interested to see the end game. Open media is the only answer.
I was in Canyon Lake a few weeks ago for the show in Gruene.
Took this picture from the balcony outside the breakfast area - it’s the same view as the living room. The lake was quite high, and the damn was running full open. You can see the peninsula across the way is partially submerged. It was totally under a few years ago during their major flood. All the trees survived over a month under water.
Below the picture, out of view, is the bocce court and the horse shoe pit.

Bill, Pond, 40 - by Cotton Ginny
We had a great weekend at Crabbs Prairie thanks to the Earthman’s hospitality. Many friends transited through Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. We cooked, we drank, we played.
Virginia has some photos, and so do I.
And fyi, the convenient store is open there from 5am - 7pm, seven days a week.
My friends seem to know me. Amongst the gifts were good tequila, belgian beer, an Albert Einstein action figure, Jägermeister, Tito’s vodka, and a variety of minutia.
Jamming on guitars on the porch all night and drinking Lone Star was all that was desired of them, and I got that too.
And for everyone who couldn’t make it, we missed you.