camera nut
Snapshots Sunday: Animal Friends 6.0
Shots of the locals. ~Vic

05-12-2018
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06-23-2019
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09-04-2019
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09-23-2019
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10-15-2019
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04-04-2020
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Veterans Day 2020
I did a post on the 100 year anniversary of the ending of WW I back in 2018. I did a post on my Vietnam Veteran in 2019. This year, I’m staying simple. ~Vic

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FFTD: Verbena
There are several species of Verbena and this one is a Bonariensis or Purpletop Vervain, Clustertop Vervain, Argentinian Vervain and, good old fashioned Tall Verbena. It is not, however, a Brazilian Verbena. ~Vic

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Flower for the Day
Flashback Friday: Kodak 1888

One-hundred, thirty-two years ago, today, inventor George Eastman received a patent (number 388,850) for [the shutter of a roll-film hand camera] and the trademark (number 15,825) for the Kodak name […].
Birth of a Company
In 1879, London was the center of the photographic and business world. George Eastman went there to obtain a patent on his plate-coating machine. An American patent was granted the following year. In April 1880, Eastman leased the third floor of a building on State Street in Rochester and began to manufacture dry plates for sale. Success of the dry plate venture so impressed businessman Henry A. Strong, that he invested some money in the infant concern. On January 1, 1881, Eastman and Strong formed a partnership called The Eastman Dry Plate Company. While actively managing all phases of the firm’s activities, [Eastman] continued research in an effort to simplify photography.
In 1883, Eastman startled the trade with the announcement of film in rolls, with the roll holder adaptable to nearly every plate camera on the market. [By] 1884, the Eastman-Strong partnership had given way to a new firm…the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company with 14 shareowners.
George Eastman History
KodakBuilding the Foundation
Web Archive

The immediate triumph of the camera prompted Eastman to change the name of his company from Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company to Eastman Kodak Company in 1892.
My very first camera was a late 70s Kodak Instamatic with 126 film. It was a gift from my paternal grandmother and it got a lot of use. ~Vic
Additional Reading & Sources:
From The Camera Obscura To The Revolutionary Kodak (Eastman Museum)
Kodak History (Kodak Company)
Kodak Wikipedia
FFTD: Ruellia
A member of the Acanthaceae family, this could be a Ruellia Simplex or Mexican Petunia, Mexican Bluebell or Britton’s Wild Petunia. It could be a Ruellia Tuberosa or Minnieroot, Fever Root, Snapdragon Root or Sheep Potato. Honestly, they look the same to me. ~Vic

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Flower for the Day
Snapshots Sunday: Walsenburg

As a companion piece to the Fort Sumner post, my ex-Marine and I headed north, still on our way to Liar’s Lodge. We headed into snow and landed in Walsenburg, Colorado, in Huerfano County, a town smaller than the one I am living in and, as of 2019, continues to hemorrhage people from a peak of 5,855 in 1940. We arrived after dark and stopped to eat. There’s not much there, back then or now. ~Vic

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the diner looks like it’s from 1974.
Alpine Rose Cafe
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We had a decent meal.
It’s still there as of 2018.
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It appears to still be there.
It is the only home of Colorado Rockies Baseball
in Southern Colorado.

The lights in the windows are odd.
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while I was attempting another picture.
Additional Reading:
Returning to the Place I’d Never Been (Acts & Tracks/radioronin.wordpress.com)
City of Walsenburg (colorado.gov)
Walsenburg (colorado.com)
Walsenburg (Uncover Colorado)
FFTD: Purple Dead Nettle
Also called Red Dead Nettle and Purple Archangel. It’s an edible herb. ~Vic

03-23-2019
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Flower for the Day
POTD: Cycle of Life
I wasn’t expecting to see this. I was a bit startled and thought I might scare the bird. The small creek was quite a bit of a steep drop. This may be hard to look at but, the carrion eaters are the necessary clean-up crew. At first, I thought it might be a deer but, the tail appears to be too long. Click on the picture to see a larger shot, if you wish. ~Vic

Picture of the Day
Shutterbug Saturday: Old Fort Sumner Museum
I lived in Texas for nearly a decade. My ex-Marine and I did some traveling through the west when we had opportunities. I’ve been digging around in some old stuff and found some photos from a visit to the Old Fort Sumner Museum in New Mexico in December of 2008. We were on our way to Liar’s Lodge. The museum closed in 2017. ~Vic

It was so overcast.
It never occurred to me to take pictures inside.

Lucien Maxwell
Fort Sumner
Bosque Redondo

Joe Bowlin
Notice the reference to Texas International Airlines
Jarvis P. Garrett is Pat’s son.
UPI Article on the 1981 Recovery

Charlie Bowdre December 23, 1880
Tom O’Folliard December 19, 1880

AKA William H. Bonney
AKA Billy The Kid
July 14, 1881
“The boy bandit king,
he died as he lived.”
Late Add:

Photo Credit: Erans World
02-11-2014
Click to view full picture.
Additional Reading:
BTKOG (Billy the Kid Outlaw Gang Site)
Whiskey and the Devil: Taiban, New Mexico (City of Dust Blogspot January 10, 2012)
Billy the Kid’s Two Graves (Roadside America August 15, 2020)
Caught With His Pants Down: Billy the Kid vs Pat Garrett (True West Magazine August 1, 2010)
Brushy Bill Roberts (Wikipedia)





