Mosaics in West Texas Rest Stops

The highway between Fort Worth and El Paso, Texas is quite a long one. When I made the trek recently I was prepared with a book on tape, healthy snacks, and lots of caffeine...but it was actually more interesting than I expected. The mosaics at the rest stops depicting the essence of west Texas almost made up for the coldness of the stops (buildings not heated and sometime open to the wind at the rafters!).

Cowboy boots and a charging bull

A cowboy with more placid cows. Note the prickly pear cactus in the lower right.

The picture on the left side provides a close up of one of the deer shown in the more complete mosaic on the right. Not all of the mosaic pieces are the full square size. There are some small pieces that make the antlers and the head....and the tail.

A grasshopper oil well...a frequent site in west Texas. There are also lots of wind turbines (probably increasing all the time) but there is not yet a mosaic for them.

Last but not least ...

A Longhorn with a Live Oak in the background. I took several pictures of this mosaic and the lighting caused the color to be different in each one. This one is my favorite because it seems to imply a golden sunset.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden Christmas Decorations

The Christmas decorations in the Garden Center at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden were well done and prompted me to think about decorations more broadly. The first group of pictures are non-tree decorations....there were carolers, a Santa in green rather than a red, pots of poinsettias, wrapped packages and an elf that looked a bit like a 'nut cracker' without teeth. There were green wreaths above it all with red magic hats/rabbits/white gloves/wands. What kind of things to you do for Christmas decorations (other than the tree)? I do flags from the stair railings, a pine code wreath, Christmas cards from the last 15 years or so under plastic on the table, attached to all the metal doorways in the house and anywhere else I can display them. Cards are too beautiful to recycle after just one year!

The trees at the Garden are decorated with nature/outdoor themes: there was one with acorns and tendrils, another with birds and dragon flies, a stylized tree with flowers, and a tree decorated with golden deer with antlers and stars. I don't have a theme for my tree; my strategy has been more toward family history with some ornaments over 40 years old and others hand made by children (or me) documenting our talents over the years. It would be interesting to contemplate trees that are themed to match the interests of the people in the family. Some would be readily available - insects for an entomologist, stars for an astronomer or physicist, matchbox sized cars for anyone that worked in the automotive industry.

Enjoy the beauty of the season in your area!

Fort Worth Botanic Garden Conservatory

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden has a small conservatory that is a good place to wander through on a cold winter day....full of moist warmth and lush plantings. I selected some of the macro photos from my visit for the montage below.

I also enjoyed the gift shop and holiday decorations of the Garden Center building. The holiday decorations will be the topic of my posting tomorrow.