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Eustoma exaltatum, in the gentian family. Found in the prairies around here, and now in our garden...
The history of Mission San Juan began in the woods of East Texas. In 1716, Mission San José de los Nazonis was established to serve the Nazonis Indians.On March 5, 1731, the mission was reestablished on the east bank of the San Antonio River and renamed San Juan Capistrano.
When you think of Texas you think cowboys and cattle. But, the Lone Star state has some Texas size alligators as well at Brazos Bend State Park🐊🐊🐊
Keep a safe distance and keep the doggies on a leash to have a good time viewing these massive wild reptiles.
When visiting south Texas take care as alligators do thrive in country areas. We have a couple living in the lake by our house. Our neighbors had a massive one in their pond that had to be removed for obvious reasons.
Acala, Texas is a ghost town located in the lower El Paso Valley of the Rio Grande in Hudspeth County.
Though the area is comprised of scrub-brush desert (Chihuahuan Desert), various crops have been grown in the region for hundreds of years, utilizing the waters of the Rio Grande. During the late 19th century settlers began to construct large canals to carry the river water to more distant fields. But no planting of crops in the area where Acala would be established occurred until after the introduction of cotton to the region in 1917, near Tornillo.
W.T. Young came to the area from El Paso, to try his hand at cotton farming. He bought a large acreage of cheap desert land near the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks about southeast of Tornillo. Using mules to clear the brush and break the soil for the first time, he planted a Mexican variety of cottonseed called Acala. He was so successful that he built his own cotton gin at the site that became known as Acala.
Soon, a road was built through the area which connected El Paso with Fort Hancock. First called the Bankhead Highway, it later became U.S. Highway 80. This road, along with the railroad siding, provided ideal opportunities to ship the cotton.
By the early 1920s, a town began to grow around Young’s cotton gin. A post office was established with Mrs. Julia A. Vaughn as postmistress before 1925. In 1927 Acala had a population of 50 and two years later that figure had doubled. In time, the town boasted a general store, tourist courts, a restaurant, gas station, and garage. Throughout the area, numerous canals and wells were dug for irrigation.
Over the next decades, Acala’s population fluctuated depending upon economic conditions and was called home to about 100 people in the 1950s. However, with increased mechanization of cotton-raising, the need for field workers decreased and people began to move. By the late 1960s, the population had dropped to 50 and in the early 1970s, to 25, the last figure available.
Over the years, the railroad removed its spur to the town and Interstate 10 replaced the old, two-lane Highway 80 through Acala, bypassing the town.
info: legendsofamerica.com
Gayfeather or Blazing Star (Liatris spicata, Asteraceae) is a native perennial plant among the prairie grasses.
Close to Denton, Texas
Two men are hiking through the woods when one of them cries out, “Snake! Run!” His companion laughs at him. “Oh, relax. It’s only a baby,” he says. “Don’t you hear the rattle?” —Steve Smith
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.
Abandoned cafe with the Guadalupe Mountains in the distance.
Just outside the community there is a dry salt pan called Salt Flat Playa or Salt Basin. It straddles the New Mexico-Texas border and is about 150 miles long, and 5 to 15 miles wide making it one of the largest gypsum playas in the United States.
Hello everybody! It is hard to believe but we had snow this morning and it is C-O-L-D!! I am sorry I am behind but I promise when company is gone I will be back to normal and get caught up with you. Stay warm....brrrrr!
... hope you do as this place is out of it now. Taken along the old Route 66 in Texas.
Happy Fence Friday
Despite its name, Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus, Malvaceae) is not a Texas native, though it is native to North America. A vigorous perennial hardy in Zones 6-11, it produces large, star-shaped, white or bright red flowers that bloom from late spring into fall. It grows 4-6 feet tall x 3-4 feet wide on average, but can get larger. (shadesofgreeninc.com/texas-star-hibiscus/