Not what I planned on doing today...

but it was like losing an old friend. I had to go take pictures. I'm so glad my sister called me to let me know this was happening. It was worth leaving a fresh cup of coffee to go and take photos. This mill was an active, feed producing mill with an attached feed store when we first moved to Midland. So sad to see it go. It was an eyesore and a haven for crackheads and bums, but it was also a major icon in the Midland landscape. I just picked a bunch of random pics for this blog. The whole set is over at my Flickr account.



What greeted me as I arrived.



What used to be the front of the feed store.



At work.



Team effort.



Discussing options.



As the flames creep out. They put this out and it came back four times.



Bill, the firefighter, wanted me to take a picture of his pal up on the rig. I forgot to ask the pal's name.



Attacking an outbreak of flame.



Billowing smoke.



Going to check it out.



Letting it burn to collapse the roof so they can get the water inside.



Bill (on the right) and his pal, cheesing for the camera. This is while they were waiting for the fire to bring down the roof so they could get the water inside.



Bill's pal actually working. Trying to put out that flame that came back four times.



Letting it burn.



I did Bill a favor by taking pics of him and his pal, so he did me a favor by letting me get a picture for my nephew's little boy, AJ.

Wordless Wednesday, A Time Gone By

Here are some pictures I took of the old grain mill near my house. When I was a teen, they still used this mill daily. The trains backed up and dropped their grain down the chute from the bottom of the grain cars. You should be able to barely see the tracks that run up alongside the building. Eventually the grain was delivered by semi-truck, but still dropped down the chute. This mill made animal feeds. I've always thought it would be a wonderful place for an antique store. Alas, I haven't the funds to make that happen.