Runs wild in dreams
I noticed the old horse and stopped along the road
He came to the fence when he saw me, breathing whispers in the cold
As he neared, he stumbled in the mud,
Knees buckling, then righting themselves.
Does he dream of roaming free, running through fields,
Lungs full of the scent of wildflowers, splashing through creeks,
Sunrise at his back?
I do.
Harder to sketch than it looked
circa 1863; American; leather
Sketch 069: White Leather Boot; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gift of Miss Ida Lincoln Cooper, 1943
Some of my fellow hikers take full advantage of the streams and small pools we come to on our travels. This is at McKinney Falls State Park.
Can you see her toenail polish?
Clear and blurry at the same time
Looks like something I’d wear
1840-1849; American; cotton, leather
Description from the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
While fancy evening shoes were saved in abundance, surviving day shoes are relatively scarce. The leather tip and foxing of these tie shoes was a common style for daywear in the 1840s, and renders an otherwise flimsy and thin shoe more serviceable. The self-patterned cotton provides an interesting textural contrast with the leather. Neutral colors such as tan, brown, and the dull mauve seen here, were favored at the time.
Sketch 068: (Day) Shoes; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of the Jason and Peggy Westerfield Collection, 1969
I met up with some fellow photographers in Gruene, Texas. (It’s pronounced as “green.” It was a perfect spring day: a few white clouds and a nice breeze. We wandered around town taking photos of whatever caught our eye, listened to live music while eating lunch on the patio overlooking the Guadalupe River at the Grist Mill, then wandered around a bit more.
It was the first time I’d ever been to Gruene (what have I been doing all this time?). Just before I left, I went into Gruene Hall (Texas’ oldest dance floor) and discovered a live band with dancing — in the middle of a Sunday afternoon! The band was Jack Hustinx & the Southern Aces. I don’t have dancing shoes (or boots) any more, but I may have to get me some. I had a wonderful time.
