Duck Box 5 – In remembrance of Don Simmons

You see them scattered all about Elm Lake — nesting boxes for the water fowl. This is box number 5. Elm Lake is a central focus of the Brazos Bend State Park in Texas. The water is scattered with little islets of reed and water grasses — perfect for ducks and wading birds. And they are there. Everywhere. This small, shallow lake simply abounds with wading birds and water fowl. Along with turtles and alligators. It is just a wonderful slice of nature that, alas, will soon be surrounded by Houston’s burgeoning suburbs.

Mission Mary – In remembrance of Don Simmons

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

It is with great sadness that I have to announce that Don Simmons passed away in January 2025. I am posting these images he had sent me as a remembrance. Rest in peace Don.

Mission Mary is a small and simple one-room chapel that sits alone on the West Texas high desert. It was once part of Calera, Texas, a small town that no longer exists.

The chapel was built by Mexican-American settlers at the beginning of the last century. Calera was a poor community of about one hundred people eking out a meager living, farming and ranching the high desert. When the spring that was their water source dried up in mid-century, the little town disappeared. The abandoned chapel was restored in the early 2000s and is open daily.

After A Sun Shower

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

It was a cheery, sunny day in the spring. And then there was a quick shower; one little cloud, a minute or two and then done. We call them sun showers. Sometimes things don’t even get fully wet, like Philippi’s monument. The sides are mostly dry with some dark areas where the water slid down and created an interesting design. Serendipity can occur anywhere at any time, even after a rain shower in a cemetery.

Under The Boardwalk

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

It’s not a true boardwalk, it’s the Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas; food, games, and carnival rides. Up above, the music is playing, the ferris wheel is going around, and the roller coaster is zooming about. Folks of all ages are having a great time, walking about hand-in-hand, eating cotton candy, Cracker Jack, and who knows what else.

The shot was taken as night had fallen. It was a 20 second shutter at f/11 with an ISO of 100.

Three Doves

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

It’s a chilly January day in Texas. These three beauties are sitting on a branch in the middle of the lake hoping for a little afternoon sun. Until that gets there, these normally sleek looking doves will sit with their feathers are puffed looking chubby.

A Drink For The Departed

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

In 1823 Alexander Hodge was one of 297 settlers who bought land from Stephen F. Austin in what today is Texas. His plantation was sited along a bend in the Brazos River; today the area is still known as Hodge’s Bend. This old plantation cemetery had its last burial some 80 years ago. As a teenager Alexander fought in the Revolutionary War, and this gravestone was placed by the D.A.R. sometime in the late 20th century.

During one of my visits to this old place, I saw the two beer bottles neatly tucked in at the base of the stone. Without much effort, I could imagine a balmy spring evening with two fellows, already in their cups, deciding they really should lift “just one more” to honor Old Hodge.

Providing A Boost Up

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

It is an old family cemetery that dates back to the mid-1800s with its last burial in 1942. Years ago someone tried to mark the graves with white crosses, a gallant effort, but ultimately in vain. Today the forlorn old crosses sit haphazard among overgrown bushes, weeds and gloomy Spanish moss.

And while this old graveyard has a woeful and melancholy feel, it has its light-hearted touches. This ladder leaning against the tree, so handy to a number of graves, seems to be ready to help these souls start their climbs to their own personal Elysian Fields. Who doesn’t need a boost up; one last bit of help?