Chauncey, Jane and Cats Adventures: Spearman, TX

The Windmill Town

We have spent a week in Spearman, TX in the Texas Panhandle. We came here to have our hitch receiver on the truck welded and to visit our cousins.
The drought effects started 15 miles north of the Oklahoma border and across the Oklahoma Panhandle into the Texas. It is so dry that the irrigation systems are unable to put enough water on the crops for optimum growth. The corn is thin and the dry land cotton is really spotty. When we came through here in June the corn had just been planted and was just inches high. Now the corn is golden and being harvested. The soil is being worked in anticipation of planting winter wheat.
Spearman is a sleepy small town unless you talk to the farmers.They always have something to do. They are in the fields planting, fertilizing, irrigating, harvesting, moving equipment from one field to another. The farmers fix their pumps, tractors, irrigation systems or fences and any other equipment needed for the job.
This town still has its cobbled streets downtown. Most of the businesses downtown are focused on farm business. There are seed companies, fertilizer stores, several large grain dryers and lots of storage for the crops. Several new restaurants have opened in the town since early summer with Mexican restaurants leading the way. We enjoy coming here to slow down because most everyone is not a hurry. The Football game was last night and we could hear the crowd and some of the announcements.


Cobble Streets in Downtown

Grain Elevator (Dryer)

Grain Storage

More Grain Storage

Volunteer Sunflowers

These multiple headed plants are the result of planting sunflowers the year before from hybrid seeds that will not sprout the single headed plant as the parent plant. This plant has a 1 to 2 inch center where as the parent plant has a 10 to 15 inch center. Most commercial seeds are hybrids.