Oxbow Loop, 2022

 

 

 

View along the Oxbow Loop trail

 

It seems like we have been choosing to go on this nice, short hike each year since we discovered it.  Because it is a 2-mile loop it is a great one to get our ski legs back into hiking mode.  Even though there is still plenty of snow higher up, the elevation at Oxbow is low enough that the snow had melted and a few things were in bloom. 

 

Bosco with camera mounted on his vest.  Note also the fancy camera gear and mounting apparatus.  This was only part of the gear that they had.
 

 

Often, we stop and chat with fellow hikers and this day was no exception.  We saw a young man with fancy camera gear. That is always a way to engage in conversation for us.  He had mounted a camera fairly high up on a tree trunk and was taking pictures of the various types of moss, of which there are many, along the Oxbow Loop.  He had an enormous lens and we were talking to him about the gear when I noticed his dog.  “His name is Bosco,” the young man said as he introduced us to his dog.  “Is he wearing a camera?” I asked.  “Yes, he’s my backup guy. He’s 10 years old and I have to keep him busy.”  He then asked us how far it was to the bridge as he wanted to check out the moss in that area.  We told him it was about half-way around the loop.  His gear was heavy and he was wondering if it would be worth it to carry it that far.  As we were heading back to our car, we saw him and Bosco starting out, with the gear, to the bridge.   A dedicated photographer and moss-man or perhaps it's “mosser.” 

 

Here are some of the things we saw that day.

 

 

About half-way around the loop there is this view

 

Indian Plum

The wooden bridge

 

 

Coltsfoot

Bleeding heart

 

 

 Trillium

Witch's Hair Lichen

 

Salmon berry 

Yellow Violets

Count for the day:  7 hikers, 2 dogs

 

 

 

Kubota Garden, 2022

 

 

 

 

 One of the ponds in the garden

 

 

 Another pond, this one with a traditional Japanese bridge

 

Even though this has been a cooler than normal Spring in the Pacific Northwest and there is still snow in the mountains, we put away the ski gear.  It was time to get out enjoy the early blossoms and new growth.  A first choice was a public garden park not too far from home.  We have visited Kubota Garden before at various times of the year.  Since it is still fairly cold, fewer things were blooming but it was still lovely and not very crowded.  While the basic design of the garden remains the same, each time we visit we notice small changes such as plants being removed or added.  This time we also noticed that an updated restroom was being constructed as well as some new ADA wheelchair accessible paths.  

 

 

Waterfalls, stepping stones and bridges across pools can be found here and there in the garden.

 

 

There were ducks swimming in one of the ponds.  When we have visited before it was later in the season and Koi and turtles could been found in the ponds too.  

 

 

 

There are several Japanese stone features and a few rocks with Japanese characters etched in them.  Just inside the main entrance to the Garden is a large bronze bell.  Bob is testing out the sound quality.  It produces a pleasant deep bong sound. 

 

The garden is a blend of Japanese and American gardening.  

 

 

 

Quince

 

 

Currant

 

 Rhododendron

 

Magnolia

 

 

Unidentified exotic, growing on the edge of the water

Japanese Maple with new leaves

 

Mr. Kubota started this garden in the 1920s as a way to advertise his landscaping business and to show what plants he had available.  Today it is a public park with free parking and no entrance fee.  The garden is supported by the Kubota Foundation.  Donations are welcome.

 

For more information about Mr. Kubota and the garden, see:

https://kubotagarden.org/index.html

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 553

 

 

 

 

 

 Sam Houston Home, "Woodland," Huntsville, Texas

 

Two unused postcards, shared by friends, J & K, are featured this week.  Above is an exterior view of the Sam Houston Home in Huntsville, Texas.  On the reverse of the card at the lower left is:  98856-D.  At the upper left is a short information blurb:  “Sam Houston Home at Sam Houston Memorial Museum, Huntsville, Texas.  Houston built this house in 1847.  Still in its original location the home has a “dog run” or center breezeway, to capture the prevailing wind.”  The photograph is attributed to Gough Photo Service of Houston, Texas. 

 

Called Woodland, this home was built in stages beginning about 1847 and was the residence of Sam Houston from 1847 to 1859.  In the beginning it was a single-room log cabin to which was added a breezeway and a second log structure.  The house is finished in wooden clapboards and has a shed-roofed porch, and a gabled roof.  Late additions and alterations included an upper level.  There is a winding staircase that provides access to the loft bedrooms.  The second card, seen below, has a photograph attributed to Gough Photo Service, of Houston, Texas, and shows the upstairs boys’ room. 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys’ Room, Sam Houston Home

 

A reconstructed outbuilding with the kitchen as well as a restored cabin that Houston used as his law office were added and altogether they now form the centerpiece grouping of the Sam Houston Museum located on the southeast corner of the Sam Houston State University Campus in Huntsville, Texas.  The museum property is a total of 15 acres. 

 

The style of the house is called “dog run” on the card’s blurb but is also known as a dogtrot, breezeway, or possum-trot house.  This type of house was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 1800s and 1900s.  Essentially two cabins with large 18 to 20 feet (5.5 and 6.1 m) rooms are joined by an open-ended breezeway.  Normally one large room was used as a kitchen and the other for private living space.  Additional rooms, usually semidetached, forming an “L” or shed for sleeping, were most commonly added at the rear.  The breezeway through the center of the house was designed to allow airflow that would cool the house during the hot humid summer days.  Although Sam Houston added a partial upper story to Woodland, most dog run houses were single storied.  Some dog run houses had a larger porch than Woodland and/or enclosed shed roofed rooms at the front or rear of the house. 

 

Woodland was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 

 

As always, thank to J & K for sharing the cards.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland_(Huntsville,_Texas)

https://enwikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtrot_house

 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 552

 

 

 

 

 

Crystal Mill also known as Deadhorse Mill at Crystal City, Colorado

[Photo:  Marc Schuman]

 

This unused R.C. Bishop distributed card from Colorado has a color photo of Crystal Mill also known as Deadhorse Mill by Marc Schuman.  The card was printed in Australia using Colorscans.  The number 1021 appears at the upper left corner on the reverse.  A blurb on the back of the card tells us that this area produced lead, silver and gold in the 1880s.  The site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1985.  This is another card from the batch shared by friends J & K.

 

The wooden powerhouse seen in the picture was built in 1893 by the promoters of the Sheep Mountain Tunnel and Mining Company, George C. Eaton and B.S. Phillips.  It is a compressor station using a water turbine, and is built with a horizontal wheel.  Originally it was used to generate compressed air for the miners in nearby silver mines.  Sheep Mountain Tunnel mine closed in 1917 at which time the power house fell in disuse. 

 

Today it is called Crystal Mill or Old Crystal Mill probably because it is located on an outcrop above the Crystal River in Crystal, Colorado.  However, in the past it was variously called Sheep Mountain Power House, Lost Horse Millsite, or Lost Horse Mill.  Even though the information on the card labels it as Dead Horse Mill that does not appear to be one of the more common names.  It is called a mill because there was a stamp mill for crushing ore in an adjacent building.  That building is no longer standing but the photo shows wooden debris that could have been part of that structure.

 

Stamp mills crush material like ore instead of grinding and they aid in the extraction of metallic ores.  Heavy steel or iron shod wood stamps are fitted into a frame where the stamps slide up and down.  Cams lift the stamps on a horizontal rotating shaft.  As the cam moves the stamp falls crushing the ore below.  Crystal Mill was a 3-stamp mill.  Stamp mills have been in used since ancient times. Remains of stamp mills used by Romans have been found in Western Europe.  The process requires large amounts of water and the mills are built on natural or artificial bodies of water.  Not shown in the picture is Crystal River as it flows down a small waterfall, only partly visible, at the lower left. 

 

Thanks as always to J & K for sharing the card.

 

For more information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Mill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_mill

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 551

 

 

 

 

 

The three postcards shared this week have vintage reproductions from the early 1900s.  Since Easter is this coming Sunday, it seemed an appropriate time to share the cards.  The cards were all purchased from a local shop, Laughing Elephant, that specializes in reproducing Victorian cards, books and artwork as posters.  None of the artists are identified on these cards.

 

 

Since the 16^th century the of wearing new clothes at Eastern has been an English tradition.  An Easter bonnet or Christian head covering was part of the new clothes and was supposed to represent the renewal of the year and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption.  Old hats that had been refurbished were also acceptable as Easter bonnets. 

 

 

 

A notion that ill luck would befall someone who did not wear something new at Easter was believed in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  Some common designs for the bonnets included themes of Spring, bunnies, flowers, and eggs.  More modern bonnets for girls are usually white with a wide brim and pastel colored ribbon ties and bows.  Often such a bonnet would match a special dress.  In the U.K. both boys and girls would decorate bonnets or hats.  Easter bonnet decorating competitions for children were held until the 1990s.  There are even decorating kits for such a purpose.  Today the hats and decorations are purchased especially as Easter bonnets.

 Happy Easter!

 

For more information, see: 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_bonnet

 https://laughingelephant.com/

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 550

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glenwood Canyon, Colorado

 

This unused color photographic postcard has TM-90-E at the upper left corner on the reverse.  It is a product of Petley Studios, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona.  The blurb on the back of the card says:  “Glenwood Canyon in Autumn.  Here the Colorado River slows to a mirror-like surface reflecting the beauty of great cliffs and colorful cottonwoods and box elders.  Along Highway U.S. 6 and 24 and the Rio Grande Railroad in Western Colorado.”  The card was shared by friends, K & J.

 

The rugged and scenic Glenwood Canyon is 12.5 miles or 20 km.  It stretches from near Dotsero in a southwest direction to east of Glenwood Springs and is the largest canyon on the Upper Colorado River..  The canyon walls climb to 1,300 ft (400 m) above the river.  Historically both railroads and highways have followed the canyon route.  Today both I-70 and the Union Pacific Central Corridor follow along its way from Denver to Grand Junction.  Considered one of the most scenic natural features on the Interstate Highway System there is foot access to the canyon available at four rest areas of I-70.

 

Thanks again to K & J for sending the card.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Canyon