Where I live, West Odessa is not a town. It's a hodge-podge community outside the city of Odessa. I myself live 6 miles from the city limits. Where Odessa has a population of about 100,000, we -- Out West, we call it -- have about 16,000.
Since we aren't officially a town, we are not governed by city ordinances, including ordinances that make you get a permit before building any structure, which typically keep homes in neighborhoods not too wildly different from one another and thus keeps property values steady with one another.
Not so in West Odessa. We have no laws governing us except county laws and, well, I don't know what the county laws are, but there seems very few. None about what you can and can't build, or grow (with certain exceptions you realize), or raise. (Today I noticed a new pig farm, thankfully small.) That is part of the appeal of West Odessa. And its, um, well, its unappealing aspect, too.
Now that you know all that, I can tell you about today's entry for "Home." Actually, homes with an "s." These pictures are of twenty homes near me, roughly within a mile's radius. Although you've probably seen plenty of American homes in movies, I thought it might be fun to see real American, western-style homes. And a great variety of them, too!
For those of you with little ones at home, you could even play I Spy with these pictures. Click to make the pictures bigger and play. I spy:
a wishing well, hubcaps, kittens, a white dog, wash drying on the line, a horse trailer, a tractor, a monster (yes, a Frankenstein monster), a wagon wheel, a "swamp" cooler, a red roof, a rocking horse, several bird baths, a swing set, a windmill (a real one and a little decoration one), a star, rocking chairs on porches, benches on porches, a pumpkin on a porch, TV antennas, direct TV satellite, a palm tree, big windows, little windows, empty yards, cute yards, junky yards, a steer head, several chain link fences, a cement block fence, a picket fence, a hummingbird feeder, a couple of houses with more than one story, a lot of houses with just one story, very new houses, very old houses, big houses, little houses, and even a little house that is not lived in any more. And lots (I didn't count but wonder how many) mailboxes.
Oh yes, I spy my home. Do you?
10 comments:
Yes, I spotted your house! If I counted right, you listed 33 items - I think found 31 of them, and maybe one more - may have spotted the palm tree. I didn't see a wishing well, but did see a hand pump that goes on a well, so maybe that is also the wishing well. If so, I saw them all! Quite a neighborhood you live in, my dear.
That is one of the charms of Ozona, no zoning laws. Ozona is not an incorporated town, only a county seat, so there is no city government, and like you said, basically no rules!
My favorite is the one with the blue trim and the white rockers on the porch :) I enjoyed looking at these houses in your neighborhood and searching for the things you listed, I found them plus a few more! Good entry for 2 things, Debi!
These are an incredible collection of pictures, from my point of view. You only see houses like these in the films - the picket fences, and the mail boxes. They all look so big from my point of view, because round here the houses are much smaller - I suppose you've got a lot more space! When you see inside US houses in films all the rooms are so large, even when the inhabitants obviously don't have much money.
Some of these houses look very idiosyncratic, some look very smart, some quaint, and some (forgive me for saying this) look like you'd think twice about going up to the front door and ringing the doorbell!
I remember your posting about the snow in your driveway, so I am trying to imagine which house could possibly have that sort of driveway next to it. I think it is the house on the righthand side column with the white wall in front of it.
A terrific posting and a great collection of photos of houses, homesteads, ranches....
Very intersting post Debi. There are a lot similarities between the homes, regardless of the money spent on them. The triangle shaped arch keeps repeating itself..I found that strangely interesting.
Thankyou for all the effort you put into the post for our entertaiment:)
I like the fence with the hubcaps, and I do love looking at objects people place in their yards and around their homes. Nice post!
By the way, I have just listed you in my Links on my blog.
I am going to revise my opinion of where you live, because for some reason I think you have horses, so I am going for the house with what looks like a horsebox in front of it!
Hi Debi,
Thanks for this cool, cool show of your neighborhood (loosely) ... I thought you said West Odessa was small? I live in the big city and we are 18,000 ... more than double any of the other places around. Some of the towns have in the hundreds (26 towns in our county).
Thanks!
~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog
I love two pictures - the mobile home is beautiful - this one you did not take straight on - angled shot and props on left are unique. You capture a place, the people. Like a mime.
The photo of abandoned farm on bottom left is also truly special. You also add the plants in foreground and the frame the subject and provide three dimension. Colors are gorgeous.
I tqake both. Separate but equal, in a good way.
What a cool way to capture this word! A great collection and fun round of I Spy, as well!
Post a Comment