Thrifty



Here's the Kyle Library Thrift Shop (100 W Lockhart St). I've not been inside yet, but from what I hear it's a bargain hunter's dream... someone on "Judy's Book" which is kind of like Consumer Reports for businesses by people said:

This is a great place to go treasure hunting, they have a large selection of merchandise ranging from clothing to miscellaneous household items. You never know what you will find and since the merchandise changes frequently you should visit often. The prices are reasonable and sometimes you can find exceptional deals

I just thought it was a neat little place... and you can't see it in this photo but people drop off their items (much like Goodwill) around the side...and there was a big sign that said "NO MATTRESSES" which made me shudder a little to think someone would want to set a mattress out in the sun...(but then I go back to my flea market post from a few weeks ago and I'm not as surprised)

Happy Monday!

Rainbow Time



Never know what you'll catch in your own back yard...literally. I can almost see the bad weather turn nice in this shot... I took this right after a rainstorm (the last rain we've had..about two weeks ago). Maybe this rainbow was God's way of saying... enjoy the wet..it'll be a while until you see it again...

Happy Sunday.

Pawn one for me



Here's a shot of the city's Pawn shop. I've never actually been in there..but they are having a permanent Clearance Sale. Maybe I'll happen in there some day.

I've noticed that EVERY pawn shop I drive by has lawn mowers and bikes in front of the store.... I guess when you're in need of money the lawn and two-wheelers are the first to go.

Happy Saturday!

The End of the Tracks



In case you ever wondered where the railroad ends... It's in Kyle. I shot this next to the old (closed) Hays County Co Op...off the acccess road to IH-35.

I know George Strait has a song "Where The Sidewalk Ends" but not sure if there's a "Where the Railroad Ends" song.

Anyhow... Happy Friday!

Some Assembly Required Part 2



About a month ago, I posted a photo of the foundation of a home in a post called " Some Assembly Required " (click on link to go to the page). I decided it may be fun to check back in and see how the assembly is going. This photo was taken about a week ago...

Looks like we're building a 2-story!
Happy Thursday!

What Day Is It Again?



When I checked my calendar it's early November...but the City of Kyle put up their Christmas decorations already. I noticed that businesses are doing this earlier and earlier as the years go by. Soon... Halloween will be gobbled up by Christmas too... I'd rather celebrate one holiday at a time... Thanksgiving anyone?

This photo is of the tree in the middle of the square that houses Old City Hall. It's a beautiful tree... I'm sure all of the decorations will be beautiful when they are up (they always are) but I still think it's a little early.

Happy Wednesday!

Vote



Voting is when people make a decision by saying what they want. It can be for getting a leader, passing a law, and other things. When people are done voting, the votes are counted (often by machines) and the side that gets the most votes wins.

America... please vote today.
Thanks.

Happy Tuesday.
(Definition by wikipedia... click photo for site)

Butterfly



It's a warmer day today than the last week... looks like the coldfront of the moment is gone... I'm actually in shorts and a t-shirt today. I posted this photo of the butterfly to hopefully warm others up as well.

Happy Monday.

San Vicente Cemetery.



This is one of the smaller cemeteries in Kyle, the San Vicente Cemetery. To me everything from the angels at the enterance to the well-worn single set of tire tracks under the sign signify a dignified and respectful burial area. I don't know much else..other than I think it makes a nice photo.

Happy Sunday.

Category 3:
The Last Three... two little ones and a cornnose!


A family brought some old kids clothes for a couple of scarecrows... think one family make this one and the next... This was my first baby scarecrow I'd ever seen.



Here's the other little kidcrow... Reminds me of a song... "Hayhead the Scarecrow with a Spongebob Sqarepants shirt... and a corncob mouth and a corncob nose...and two eyes made out of corncobs....Hayhead the Scarecrow..."


I keep thinking this scarecrow hails from Boston and is a Sox fan... I don't know why.


I hope you enjoyed this series of scarecrows.
Happy Saturday!

Category 2:
Scarecrows That Look Like Scarecrows - Traditional...


Winner of the "Most Traditional" scarecrow in the competition... these guys really worked on this one. Looked awesome!



Scarecrow-clown. My wife would hate this one.. she has a fear of clowns... and...well.. a scarecrow as a clown... scarry. Fitting.


This soldier is actually wearing the uniform of the husband of the husband/wife combo that put this together. He's also the guy that had the drill...which saved the day. Military folks are Sooooooo prepared.

Scarecrows ROCK...

In order to celebrate fall... I'm going to post a scarecrow a day for the next few days.... These scarecrows were made last weekend as part of the Wildflower Seed and Stomp by residents of my neighborhood. They are all pretty awesome.

I'll post three of them everyday (there are nine in all)...so as to not draw this out... but I thought they all should be seen. Such great work!
Unfortunately some vandals in the area destroyed a few of them...so they are no longer on display in the field. They looked great when they were all together though.

So... here's what they looked like the day they were born.

Category 1:
The Funny Ones...


This beachball headed pretty was created by a family of four... I think the two boys had a great time.. and the mother and father were having a "ball" making the head work.



I called this one Dolly Parton as a Mexican Wrestler.... This was the first victim of violence... the mask and hair were "lifted" about 24 hours after this shot was taken.


My family made this one... the funny thing is.. I really need a new broom, but I'd rather put a face on one and turn it into a scarecrow than sweep. Yes.. those are my clothes... dig the gold Hawaiian shirt? On Halloween we had it up in our front yard and a trick-or-treater said "your brother looks cold" as he walked off... funny kid....real funny!

Theme Time..

The 1st of every month is Theme Day for Daily Photo Bloggers.
This month's theme: "Something that's about to disappear soon"

Well... I've been really excited about The Beach Boys playing Kyle, Texas... but that is going to disappear... opinions differ why the concert was moved from Kyle to Austin's Travis County Expo Center... and the truth will someday make itself clear hopefully (I'll give you a hint of my opinion... I'm very embarassed to be a resident of Hays County right now). Anyhow... my photo of the day is of the banner Thunderpalooza had to put up on their site yesterday,



If you're in Austin this weekend... please support this great cause.
Shame it couldn't be in town.

UPDATE: IT WAS POSTPONED.... NO CONCERT.

Happy Halloween!



Happy Halloween everyone! We had a Halloween Carnival in our neighborhood on Sunday... I got a bunch of kids together for a group photo...as you seen here. We had Spiderman, Darth Vader, Dora The Explorer, Friendly ghosts, ballerinas and princesses...My little one is the purple-dressed princess on the right.

Good luck with the candy tonight. Hope you get plenty of Whoppers!
Whoppers are my favorite... what are yours?
What are you or your kids dressing as?

A long Drive.



If you go to this house, which is on the frontage road of IH-35 in Kyle, I don't think you'll ever have to worry about parking.... plenty of space on the driveway.

Pumpkin Patch.



From October 15-31 there is a pumpkin patch happening in our neighborhood. I took my little girl out there the other day and we bought a skinny-tall and short-fat pumpkin (Laurel and Hardy I call them). My daughter loved the look of the indian corn... here's a photo of her.

Of course we got the traditional pumpkin patch photo too, but I think this one is awesome.
Well... I'm the photographer and she's my daughter... so really... there was no other way for me to look at it.

The pumpkin patch is sponsored by the United Methodist Church youth... so the link on the photo is to the church...if youcare to click...
Happy Sunday!

Let there be cake!.



The time was noon. The mission was cake.
Free cake. The best kind.
Happy Birthday Kyle.

Thanks for an interesting weeks worth of photos... and the ability to hopefully fill this blog with 365 different things a year.

No Bull...but close.



Even though I was really eyeing this mechanical bull... we didn't lock horns. This young cowboy rode the bull for the entire trip. I have a feeling the operator wouldn't have been so easy on me. The kid knew his stuff too... I was duly impressed. Wish I'd have gotten his name... maybe an autograph... he may be the Rodeo champ in 2015!

Happy Friday.
I've got one more Birthday photo for the birthday week... hope y'all have been enjoying.

How Do You Get Beef From A Pig?



One of the fun things to do at Kyle's Birthday Party/Fair on the Square was to go to each pit of the BBQ contest and sample the goods. It was also fun to see the great designs some put into their cooking items. This pig is a HUGE BBQ pit that barely fit onto the flatbed trailer it's sitting on. The whole booth was set up like a Hawaiian Tiki extravaganza. I had to climb the trailer hitch and bend over the bar (yes, it had a full bar) to snap a shot of this beauty.

Mmmmm..... BBQ.
Happy Thursday!

What a Happy Sack!



Anyone can bring a clown or big bear mascot out.... We've got H.E. Buddy. In Texas, the big grocery-store chain is called H.E.B. This is the grocery bag mascot that graces the fairs and carnivals in the area.

The kids love it.... and I can't help but laugh whenever I see it. As someone who has helped Tony The Tiger navigate through grocery stores... I can empathize with the guy to the right as well... He's Buddy's eyes... and notice the kid to the left... he's about to grab and hand-full-o-sack.

More Kyle Birthday goodness tomorrow.
Happy Wednesday!

Serious about BBQ



Some people are serious about barbecue. This was one of the contestants in the BBQ Cook-Off. I don't know who won, but I can say the chicken taco he's holding right there was delicious.

That tattoo he has on his arm was almost as fresh as the taco... he must have gotten it a few days before the BBQ competition. I'd give him the award for dedication to the cause.

The Happy Birthday Singers.



Here are the crowned jewels of Kyle... Miss Kyle and Miss Teen Kyle pose with Mayor Miguel Gonzalez just after leading the city in the singing of Happy Birthday to Kyle. Good times.

Happy 126th Birthday Kyle!



Yesterday was the annual Fair on the Square to celebrate the birthday of the City of Kyle. We went out there between 10:00a.m. - 2:00p.m. and had a great time. There were vendor booths and food booths, a BBQ cooking contest (it smelled AWESOME in Kyle yesterday) and live music.

I'm dedicating this entire week to celebrating the celebration of Kyle's 126th Birthday.

This photo was one of two cakes made to celebrate the birthday. The mayor of Kyle, Miss Kyle, and Miss Teen Kyle led the town in singing Happy Birthday to Kyle. Then we all ate cake... the cake in the photo is not an "eating cake" there was a HUGE sheet cake that was shared.

The Kyle Flea Market.



Since I posted a few shots of stuff around the flea market.... I should post a shot of the market itself. I like the fact that they painted F L E A M A R K E T on the roof... I used to think it was for planes (talk about selling to a niche market) but it can be seen from the highway as well... Yes if you're driving down I-35 southbound and get to the Kyle Exit (213) look to your right and you too can see this fantastic Kyle landmark.

You may be able to see the mattresses from yesterday just to the right of the "driveway" below the Texas Flag on the left.

Oooh... it's open today.
Happy Saturday.

Oops... had a busy day yesterday... so I'm posting two today.
They are both of the Flea Market. I had a good time snapping some photos of the grounds outside. Hope you enjoy.




This sign is on the ground.. nowhere near the entrance.. nowhere near the rear gate.... which, in fact, WAS closed.




Think a princess would feel the pea under these mattresses? I'm hoping these are in a recycling pile and not for sale.

Happy Friday!

I think I can see land from here... but where's the water?



Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room. I've been doing this blog for about 3 months now and I haven't had a photo of this lovely boat. This is one of the first things I saw when I moved to town. It's sitting like a beacon in front of one of the more interesting businesses in the city... San Marcos, Texas may have the Outlet Malls... but just a few miles up the road is the Kyle Flea Market!

Kyle Flea Market
Old Hwy 81 North (I-35 Access Road-West)
Kyle, TX
Operates: Every Saturday and Sunday
Hours open to the public: 9:00am to 6:00pm


I'm not quite sure what this boat has to do with it... or anything really. But it sure is an interesting thing to look at.

Happy Wednesday!

If you think this is impressive, you should see the giant paper and scissors!



So, there's this rock leaning up against a tree... it's got two holes. I don't really know anything about it...at all. It's in the Plum Creek Neighborhood. You know.. I'm going to e-mail one of the developers to find out what it is...
Yeah...

In the meantime... can you think of song titles that have "Rock" in them?

- "Rock My Baby" by Shenandoah
- "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo" - Rick Derringer
- "We Want A Rock" They Might be giants

How about you...

General Store



Here's another one of the holes of the Plum Creek RV Campground's mini putt course. Someone did a lot of work on this place. I'm guessing this is the General Store... of generic store... Looks a little classic European to me.

Of course.. I've never been to Europe... but I've seen pictures... I think.

Happy Monday!

Claiborne Kyle Log House (History Lesson)



Claiborne Kyle Log House -

Claiborne and Lucy Bugg Kyle married in 1829 in Tennessee and moved to Texas in 1844. In 1850, they built this massive log house on a bluff overlooking the Blanco River where they, their eight children and one adopted son lived. Built of huge cedar logs, the four-pen, linear dog -trot house has four rooms, each about 16 feet square lined up, two on either side of the dog trot. The home has been restored and furnished by the Kyle Log House Commission. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places. On County Rd. 136 southwest of Kyle.

(Information taken from http://www.traveltex.com)

Happy Sunday!

Signs Signs everywhere Signs!



I don't know about your area.. but it's nearing election time so the streets are speckled with red and blue.
If you're in Hays County and are registered to vote... click the photo for the Hays County Elections page and see where to go to vote.

Happy Saturday!

Hay! That's A Corny Pumpkin!



This is a round-bale of corn-hay. It's painted to look like a pumpkin. It's sitting next to a round-bale cat and spider. Pretty neat trio. We'll have to take the little girl (my 2 1/2 year old daughter) out to get her Halloween photo here.

She's going to be "Superstar Princess Supernova" this year. Let's see how we pull THAT order off.
Happy Friday!

Need some Mail Protection? No, I'm not Lion!



I always like to see interesting mailboxes. Here's a lion topper to a stone mailbox.
Happy Thursday!

Why The Long Face?



As promised, here's one of the horses that came to greet me when I was taking photos at the entrance of the Field of Dreams Farm. Saturday I posted the "Live your dream..." sign I saw as I turned to leave.

It was pretty neat to have an animal this big come over to me and kind of demand a stroke on the nose... I was happy to oblige.

Happy Wednesday!

Electricity...electricity...



This light pole in front of the blue sky was a neat shot I thought... so I shot it.
I'm not sure why I think this looks so cool... it's like functional art.

It's neat to me that something that looks so old and outdated is what brings us such modern conveniences.... electricity...telephone... internet.

Happy Tuesday!

10 to go....



This is one of the more creative ways to display your address.. Nice and rustic... it was next to a dirt path that lead to a front door surrounded by trees. Very nice and serene.

My title, however, is in reference to something else... I wonder how many Daily Photo folks will get that reference? If you don't, you can click on the photo to go to a Wikipedia page that explains it...

Um...I learned it from watching YOU ok?
Happy Monday.

Some Assembly Required.



I came across this home that is in the process of being built in the Plum Creek Neighborhood. I thought it was kind of funny that it looks like the floorplans were tucked away in the middle of the foundation and the frame was in piled nearby... kind of like a life-size model.... well.. exactly like it I suppose.

Aren't you glad they don't usually sell homes with "Some Assembly Required?"
Happy Sunday!

Dreamy.



I was on my way back from my anniversary lunch (yesterday marked 5 years of wedded bliss for me and my wife) and I came across the "Field of Dreams Farm." It's a horse breeding/training/sale/boarding farm. Well.. as I pulled up two horses came up to me to say hello... so I got some cool shots of them. Then I turned to leave and on the side of the post that faced people leaving the grounds I saw what is depicted on this photo.

It just about says it all.

I'll post one of the horse shots next week... I thought this would make for a nice Saturday photo.
Happy Saturday!
- Sean

It's a Cover Up I Tell You!



Here's a few of Kyle's Finest (firemen) heading to the newest restaurant in town... Buffet Palace. The funny thing is... the owners didn't even take down the former business' sign (Karen's Kountry Kitchen) to put up the new fancy BUFFET sign.

Happy Friday.

Side note: 5 years ago today I said "I Do" to the love of my life. Happy Anniversary Jodie. I love you more each day. Lets do lunch...

T is for Thursday. T is for Texas. T is for Tenth Hole!



While driving home one day I glanced over to the Plum Creek RV Campground (click on photo to go to their site) and saw they had a Mini-golf course there. The name of the place is Puttin' so I thought I'd stop in and take a few shots. Above is the tenth hole..shaped like a "T" I wonder if that was inTENsional?

Happy Thursday. Hey.. another "T" word!
Till tomorrow!

Rest In Peace Helen Louise Soja.



While driving home last night I received a call that my Grandma Soja passed away. She had been ill for a bit of time... so her passing was, while unexpected, probably the best thing for her.

But I post this photo of her last trip to Texas (she is from Ohio). In August of 2002 she came down and we took her all over the place. We took her on the Austin Duck Tour... Gruene Hall.... Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center...and around Kyle. She fell in love with this flower.. the crepe myrtle.

Crape-myrtle (Lagerstroemia; also Crepe myrtle) is a genus of about 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees or large shrubs native to eastern Asia and Australia.

This photo was taken in August 2002 at Kyle's Square. She thought me silly for wanting her to get out and take a photo of her with the flower... but she had made the comment about 20 times how beautiful the flower was.

Memories of my Grandma are many... here are a few that float to the top of my mind:

- Growing up and visiting her at the cottage in Michigan where we would go swimming in Coldwater Lake and drink from shiny purple and green aluminum cups...and visitng Coldwater Lake in 2003 with her (with my wife) and reconnecting with old memories and friends.

- Visiting her at her home in Ohio where we'd talk about the world while she meticiously cleaned up after making her "Egg Beaters" eggs and eating at the Orchard Tree for dinner... her favorite restaurant,

- Taking her to have her cheese enchiladas in Laredo where my parents live,

- Going on the Duck Tour, playing solitare, and getting to know her as a person other than a Grandma that summer of 2002.

- Introducing her to my daughter who will hopefully remember the greatness that is her Great Grandma Soja.

I know this is a photo blog... but it's said that a picture is worth a thousand words.... and I'm a writer so I can write that thousand words to lend to the photo.

I'll miss you Grandma Soja.

Something Fishy.



I'm thinking about decorating a childs bedroom in our house with cool fish photos and art that I find. I thought this Mariscos painted on the glass of a local mexican seafood restaurant would be a nice addition.

This is taken at Ixtapa #2 (104 N Old Highway 81). I've eaten there before.. but I couldn't tell you how it was. I can't remember. I guess that can't be bad... I tend to remember the restaurants I won't return to.

Happy Tuesday!

Hands of God.



I went to the Kyle Cemetary to see the amazing gravestones. I came across this cement piece of two hands holding a bird. In the hands was birdseed. I thought it said a lot about the area I was standing. What are we if not lending a hand? What are we teaching the next generation if we do not take the time to enjoy our surroundings? What is the point if you can't take pleasure in nature? Isn't all life precious, no matter how small?

Funny how a place that was built to house death brings upon so many life-affirming thoughts.
I hope your Monday is fantastic.

Celebrity Guest Photographer.



This beautiful photo of the Railroad BBQ in Kyle was taken by Peter French, former president of the Chamber of Commerce and one of the developers in the city. His Benchmark Land Development actually developed the land I'm sitting on right now... my neighborhood, Plum Creek.

But back to the Railroad BBQ. It's probably one of the most prominent places in Kyle. If you head into town and head for the square, you'll see it right away. Most folks who live in town know this building well because it gives you something to look at while waiting for the train to pass. We get a lot of trains through Kyle.

Oh.. the "all you can eat" catfish is pretty good too.
Thanks Peter for sending this photo to Kyle, Texas Daily Photo.