Cowtown Art

Well fine. Evidently everyone in Fort Worth knew that the Kimball Art Museum entry was half

Top L to R: Monet poster, Child drawing, Court Lady
Bottom: Assistance dog

price on Tuesdays; we didn’t. So we joined the rest of the grey-hairs and the bus loads of school students to view the early works of Monet. At this time in his career, the waterlilies were only buds. However, there were some other amazing pieces to be enjoyed. If you click on the Monet link just above, you’ll be able to see some of these paintings. All of these pieces came from other museums. The picture of Monet’s son asleep in his bed came from the Glyptotek in Denmark (See Går rundt Copenhagen del to), and we’d actually seen it there this summer. While we couldn’t take pictures in the Monet exhibit, we were allowed to photograph the Asian Collection. This is a permanent exhibit with some lovely pieces that caught the attention of one young patron. She positioned herself in front of a vase and proceeded to draw a fairly good representation of it. I was surprised that there were no rabbits gracing any of the screens since they are such a prominent animal in Asian cultures. There was, however, one animal that was attracting attention: one of the visitors had with her an assistance dog.

Riding around Rio Vista

Nolan River

If you are an old-time Texan you know the name of this town is Rye-o Vista not Ree-o Vista! It’s not unusual that Texans pronounce the names of town a little differently than what one would expect, although during some trips I have believed that Waco (Wandering in Waco) should be pronounced Wacko. But I digress…It’s time for the Fort Worth Stock Show and the weather is always iffy, so it didn’t disappoint us when it was a rainy and nasty day. Our drive took us out through what is still cattle and ranch country. It was in this area that cattle were raised to feed the soldiers in both the Confederate and Union armies during the Civil War. The beef was then shipped by rail lines to both sides. The tiny town of Rio Vista hasn’t changed much since then, and there are still only about 650 people in residence.

Keeping up with Kennedale

Village Creek was the biggest ‘river’ I’d ever crossed in my young life and at flood stage it

Open field in Kennedale

gave me respect for the power of swiftly moving water. In those days the forested area made me think I saw fairies or even Native Americans moving stealthy through the shadowed green. And one exciting day another car was motionless in the narrow two lane track; as Dad pulled carefully around the vehicle, the reason for its position was apparent. What appeared to be a Great Dane was standing with its front feet on squarely the hood peering through the windshield with a look of joy only a puppy can have at the amused driver. Village Creek road was one of those mystical lanes we traveled along on our way somewhere else.

Now Where? Proposed Adventures for 2017

Hammock at Sunkist Cabin

It’s January and I haven’t been anywhere yet…Actually I have, but that’s for a later blog. One of the things I do in the early part of the year is speculate on where the wanderlust may lead me in the months to come. Some of my friends have asked if I have a ‘Bucket List’. I do in a manner of speaking. There are essentially three lists at this point: Places I Really Want to See, Places I’d Like to See if the Opportunity Arises, and Places I to Which I’d Like to Return. Until I wrote them, I thought the first was fairly short; it’s about the same length as the other two. Not surprisingly, the lengths of these lists ebb and flow as I learn about different parts of the world. Several trips are already planned for 2017 and more are in the works.