About the our tiles:

1.   Zoe.  Zoe is our American Short Haired Pointer.  She
points at Bluebirds and Butterflies.  We rescued her as a
stray.

2.   Tally.  Named Thalia.  She is a recycled Greyhound.
60 pounds of sweet gentle love at 35 Mph.

3.   Guido.  A grey Persian that came with our land.  Wild
and wooly, can bring down a small antelope with a swipe of
his paw.

4.   Kismet.  A white Siamese.  Rescued from the wilds of
Hays County, Texas by Jill.

5.   Horses.  We ain't got none yet.  But, hey, it's Texas.

6.   Clyde the Longhorn.  A real ham, he chews the scenery.
Cattle love plastic.

7.   "Amarillo" the Armadillo.  Gotta have one in any Texas
tableau.  Significant is the fact that Jill got the word
"Armadillo" legibly on one line.

8.   Scorpion.  Another tile by Jill.  We have them by the
gross.  Both of us know the feeling of their sting.

9.   Quilts.  Jill's "log cabin" pattern.

10.  Cactus.  Texas Prickly Pear.  One of the two major crops
on our ranch.  As soon as we find a market...

11.  Home.  Our house.  It is a very very very nice house.
Jill and I collaborated on the tile.

12.  Texas.  The old "Texas flag in the map" symbol, seen
everywhere as though it was the most original logo.  Ours is
better.

13.  Colt.   The gun that won...etc.  Let's hope someday
they'll all be in museums.

14.  Jalapenos.  Pronounced "Hal a PAIN yos".  Sine qua non
of Texas cuisine.

15.  Badge.  I use the Texas Ranger badge to symbolize law
enforcement, my second profession.  (Now retired.)

16.  Lone Star.  On the rise again.  Dallas Cowboy colors.

17.  Cotton Eye Joe.  National Dance of Texas.  That's Jill
and me doing it.

18.  Blues.  I use the resonator guitar because nothing else
will produce the right sound.  Bottleneck of course.

19.  Buffalo.  150 years ago Purgatory Ranch was a buffalo
range.  They wandered off into the sunset.

20.  Coffee Pot.  Properly cooked, over a mesquite camp fire,
coffee is ambrosia in the morning.

21.  Rattlesnake.  Lots of 'em.  Zoe and Tally have both
learned the hard way that they are not squeeze toys.

22.  Coral snake.  Them too.  Fortunately the dogs have not
been nailed by any.  21 and 22 are Guido and Kismet's raison
d'etre.  They kill snakes.

23.  Bubba.  The pickup with the rollbars and lights.  As
much a symbol of the state as the Lone Star.  We have not yet
gone the Bubbamobile route yet.  But we feel reason slipping
away.

24.  Lantern.  They make the best outdoor lights at night.  I
don't know...I just thought they looked "Ranchy".

25.  Roadrunner.  Got 'em.  Gotta look quick, though.

26.  Jill & Tim.  A valentine for my lady.  Cupid's dart
through the heart and all that.

27.  Coyote.  At night the pack sounds like a bunch of
Comanche's attacking.  A single male really does howl at the
moon on occasion.  Very Texas Chic.

28.  Alamo.  Not allowed to leave it out.  Forgetting the
Alamo is against State law.

29.  USCG.  I'm retired from the Coast Guard.  Spent a year
and a half in Boston, by the way.  Liked the snow. (1967-68).

30.  Rocks.  The second major crop on our ranch.  I swear
they grow overnight.

31.  Goats.  Angora.  This area is the most abundant source
of Cashmere in the world.  Betcha didn't know that.

32.  OLE!  To symbolize the Mexican heritage of the state.

33.  Cardinal.  Though not the Texas state bird, it is the
bird of Purgatory.

34.  Indian Box.  A shadow box to represent the Native
Americans that used to live here-- Lipan Apache, Comanche,
Karankawa.

     The wild cards:

SEASONS

35.  SPR.  Spring.  The Easter Egg.

36.  SUM.  Summer.  The flag.

37.  AUT.  Autumn.  The fallen leaf.

38.  WIN.  Winter.  The Christmas tree ornament.

WILD FLOWERS

39.  The Indian Blanket.

40.  Texas Bluebonnets.

41.  Lantana.

42.  The Yellow Rose of Texas.

There you have them.  Think of them as postcards from the
Sedge--a scrapbook in a game that we enjoy.  I hope you have
as much fun with them as we have.  Please let me know what
you think of them or if you are interested in seeing any new
sets that we come up with.  In the mean time, I'll be pecking
out tiles between chopping cactus and slinging rocks.  Yee-Haw.

Tim Hess