SHAMROCK,TEXAS IRISH VILLAGE MURALS

My niece and I started our search on Hwy 83 off of Interstate 20 to capture murals in unexpected places...
Shamrock, Texas is on the old Route 66, now shared with Interstate 40.
We got there late in the day and realized we would not have enough time to capture the riot of murals in this tiny town.
Elvis spent the night there once and there is a cafe called the U Drop Inn. There is a booth with a placard noting this is where sat....
We spent the night and after breakfast went on a mad photo tour of this tiny, sleepy town.
We expected the ubiquitous museum but not the overwhelming paintings on just about every building and retaining walls.
Me being the mad photographer demanding "stop, stop" at my patient driver.  What fun!

                                             To make sense of it all.... this wall is on the north side, the back is facing west and the rest is on the south side of the open space.  There probably was a building here....

This is the front part of the south wall. 

This is at the "back" of the U shaped display. It looks as if the buildings were all attached in a continuous flow.  This is the back of a building on the street another block away. The alley.

This is the south wall.

 This tiny picture is obviously a castle.
 Homage to Ireland is my guess...

This is on the north wall hidden by huge tree.

North wall

The attention to detail for such a
large undertaking is amazing.

Again, this is on the left (north) as you stand on the street.

i took this one to show
the artistic detail.

The beginning of mural on the north wall.

North wall

North wall

This is at the end of the south wall

If I get to take another trip on this highway, I think I'll try the panoramic thingy ...

Bluebird taking a bath

Nov 27, 2019 ... ~Nicholas Murray Butler. An optimist is someone who figures that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's the bluebird of happiness.

Click on picture for larger
 Smart phone users can turn phone horizontal to view photo

It looks as if it is raining on the bird. He had been splashing for a while and I managed to catch this.

Near by neighbors have bluebirds.  She feeds them mealy worms and has nesting boxes..
This fellow discovered the birdbath and is a frequent visitor.

Gas station art

There is a gas company named Maverik with several stations in the city.  I did check and they all have this theme in one version or another.

These pictures (murals?) overwhelm you when you walk through the door..
I forgot what I had wanted to do when I saw these.  They are all over the whole store, including restrooms (I didn't take any of the men's ):)
                                                                              Click on picture to enlarge                                                   
If you have a smart phone see if you can turn pictures horizontal.

This is the first one to hit you in the face. That is a snow boarder hanging from ceiling. Second, The whole wall is beverages! By wall, I mean 40 or 50 feet.

                                               

Over the drinks counter

Looking into hall, men's restroom to left

Looking through women's restroom door

Looking up from stall

SHAMROCK, TX Round Porches

We were surprised to spot these round porches.  They all look as if they are occupied.  Which is a "good" thing.  The porches are not really around in "modern times"

Which is sad. Homes seem to be squeezed together on lots really too small for the 2 or 3 thousand sq. ft. edifices. They seem to be fortress like , even the doors are not welcoming...

No porch to sit on in the evening or early morning and maybe have a neighbor stop by...

If you have a smart phone, you may be able to turn it horizontal and see more detail.

           The roof is round but hidden behind foliage.

Saved the best for last.  With a lot of love and hard work these lovely homes can be enjoyed again.

An interesting aside; it appears that the facing under the metal roof is round and almost looks like an add on porch.

The floor is obviously curved...or it could be that metal could not be cut round?

CIRCULAR PORCH SEARCH, REPORT

Not true circular porch but interesting stairs in relation to the front door

 Taken in Red Cloud, Neb.

these 2 pictures might qualify as an oxymoron..one has only the round roof and the other has only the round porch...

It would be interesting to ask owners if the was and add on.

As with this one why the round porch/deck

I love the yellow and white.

These three houses are in Cheyenne, Wyoming

This is an office building with rare circular porch

also in Cheyenne.

MY FAVORITE DAY

Amid all the madness of the previous months and then June 1st scary news, I want to dwell on a lovely Wednesday.

For years now, I have had my Wednesdays...
I started years back when it seemed everything revolved around house, garden, bills, aches and pains and reeely disliking the cafe we visited for breakfast....

So, hubby started telling me "this is your day". No fixing my breakfast, just go and enjoy the day.

There is a restaurant in Cleburne that makes the BEST breakfast taco.
The icing on the cake is there is a weekly flea market.  It has a book seller and good junk...

After years, I finally know her first name... Still don't address her as that, just good to know it...

The best part of the flea market, which is not too big, not too loud and no kids running out of control, or using the handicapped electric carts as a racing car.

There is more;  I am always searching for circular porches.  I got the bug driving the streets of Cleburne after leaving the flea market.
There are so many jewels in this city.

This past Wednesday, I did my "breakfast thing for the first time since the rules were to stay out of public places"
Not all of the old cowboys who occupy a long table and visit and eat huge breakfasts, were there.
I ate, and then headed for the flea market. I found "the book lady", visited and made my purchases.  Just in time.
It started to rain.  I made a dash (really a fast amble) to the car and headed home.

I took a different route and when I turned a corner, there it was. 
THE PORCH
I started to just drive by as a woman came out of the house with a mug and chatting with a young boy.
I sucked it up, parked and got out of the car to ask if she would  mind if I took a picture of her porch.
Needless to say, I was pretty damp with rain and all.
She invited me to come up and sit.
I asked about the age of this house... 1909.
This porch is in the best shape of any I have taken pictures of.
She was worried it was messy.  I was thinking lived in...

Murals in Glenrock, Wyoming

Art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in. ~Amy Lowell

An homage to the Pony Express Glenrock, Wyoming

Glenrock was one of the 2017 towns  in the path of the total eclipse that was visible across the US.
My niece drove from Cheyenne to this town in the wee hours to be there for the eclipse.
A year or so later, she and I were on a trek in search of post office murals.
Because of my other interest in murals, she mentioned the murals she saw in this small town.
We took a side trip and from there, I was determined to follow up on when, who and how   these massive murals were painted.
For its size, there is a lot of art to visit in Glenrock.

This is the artist "painting" with spray paint.

This is the  how   he painted this 2 story mural and others...

Be sure to click on blue link within the article for more.

This link to an in depth description of the city supporting the artist with food, water, room to stay in...

https://www.mainstreet.org/blogs/national-main-street-center/2017/08/08/artful-impact-wyomings-street-art-murals

These are photos of other art in Glenrock.

Pony Express rider