Check out this great video created which briefly tells the story of Munday, Texas.
Directed/Edited by: Coleman Anderson
Produced by: Patti Bandy and Coleman Anderson
Title Design by: Nicole Ellis
We would love to see other examples from cities and towns in The Big Empty. To add a video, please see the Submit Video form.
SUN calendar From Randy Barnett
The marker is a SUN calendar. Used by ancient people to know when the seasons will start changing. With a single point of reference, you mark the furthest point north (to the right) where the sun sets on the horizon. This is the official start of summer which is the longest day of the year (June 20). This is the summer Soltice.
As the sun starts its journey south (to the left), you mark the furthest point south where the sun sets on the horizon. This is the official start of winter, which is the shortest day of the year (Dec 21). This is the winter Soltice.
Exactly the mid point between the two marked Soltices is called the Equinox. The hours of daylight and darkness are the same. If the setting sun is moving to the right, this is the official start of spring (March 20). Conversely, if the setting sun is moving to the left at the Equinox, this is the official start of fall (Sept 23).
At either Soltice, if you count the number of days when the setting sun returns to the starting point, you have 365 days (one year).
Brazos River Bridge Timelapse - 2023-02-12
Bill Kesler - Bill Kesler Photography - Munday, Texas
Copyright 2023
Astrophotographers and Astronomers are always in search for dark sky areas; areas that are more rural than urban; areas with little-to-no light pollution.
This region known as The Big Empty in Northwest Texas fits the bill of a dark sky with minimal light pollution. Sure, you can find areas that are considered darker, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that you will not be disappointed with the region.
I am an avid astrophotographer and I like good clear night skies and even night skies with good cloud action. I like to make star trail photographs as well as time lapse videos of the stars and/or clouds. When the moon is not out at night, I seek clear skies, but when the moon is out, I like to enjoy the clouds illuminated by the moonlight.
I have shared a short 24-second time lapse video that I made from 721-images at the Brazos River Bridge. This historic bridge is located about six-miles north of Knox City, Texas, and about six-miles south of Benjamin, Texas, where state highway 6 crosses the Brazos River. This bridge is no longer in service and the new bridge is parallel to it, about twenty-five feet between them, maybe less.
I made this time lapse video in the early morning of February 12, 2023. The moon phase was around 62% waning providing good illumination on the clouds. The weather forecast was clear skies with some in-and-out clouds (my favorite).
On this early morning, moonrise was at 12:03AM, I started the process at 3:30AM and finished at 5:30AM. There is not much traffic at this time of the morning. At the end of the video, those couple of light flashes are actually me in my vehicle. I simply drove to the other end of the bridge and hit the brake pedal a couple of times, then turned around and returned to my setup knowing that the two-hours was close to being finished.
My camera is setup to move from a selected starting point and ending at a selected ending point. My camera is set to take an 8-second long exposure image every ten-seconds. From start to finish, it took two-hours to capture the 721-images. These images are stitched together to make the 24-second time lapse video.
The time lapse video starts out with the Big Dipper in the opening act. The camera slowly moves downward while some wispy clouds that are nicely illuminated by the moon leads the viewer to witness the steel structure of the bridge as it comes into view. I wanted the steel structure to have enough light so that the viewer could see it clearly. To do this, I used two (2) dimmable battery powered light fixtures controlled by bluetooth and I kept the illumination output to just 3%. As the camera continues downward, the viewer gets a good look northward through the structure, the small lights are lighting the asphalt pavement that provide an interesting finish.
Off to the viewers right you can see lots of red lights. These red lights are a nearby wind farm. I say nearby, they are about 20-miles as the crow flies to the northeast. In my opinion, red lights from communication towers and wind generators for example, do not contribute all that much to light pollution in these dark sky areas.
You might ask, what does an astrophotographer do during the two-hours while waiting on the camera to finish? Sleep? Some might, but I usually find things to do to keep myself occupied. On this night, I walked to the center of the bridge, I carried my handheld power beam so I could beam some light on the Brazos River, with hopes of some wildlife stopping by for a drink. I remember hearing coyotes howling on an earlier visit back in January. On that January night, I attempted to capture the sounds with my smart phone. It turned out pretty good for the equipment I was using. I might consider sharing that short audio clip, it could be educational for those interested that haven’t had the pleasure of listening to coyotes howling.
I have even ventured below the new bridge. One night I got to watch a skunk as he/she returned to their den located at the south end between the two bridges. Naturally, I kept my distance. The skunk was not bothered by my handheld beam. After several times of witnessing the skunk going back to the den, I have learned that when they come back out, they release a small amount of scent, I’m thinking this is simply marking their territory as well as sending a warning to predators in the vicinity.
If you happen to take a stroll down the historic bridge, you can look upstream towards the west about 500-feet and you will see multiple concrete piers that were once part of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, also known as ATSF, that ran parallel to state highway 6. There is even a concrete pier in the middle of the Brazos River - I thought that was interesting. I wish the railroad still passed this route, but not any more. Bridges and railways seem to make good photography subjects, and in this case, they are relatively close to each other - and that’s a bonus!
Reprinted from 1996 FAMILY LAND HERITAGE.
HOBERT FARM
Two and one-half miles north of Munday.
DATES OF OWNERSHIP/ NAMES
1893 - 1956 E. R. Hobert
1956 - 1976 L. W. Hobert
1976 - 1996 Chalmer E. Hobert
1996 - 1996 Tony R. Hobert
E. R. Hobert was originally from Eggington, Illinois. He arrived in Texas on August 29th, 1861. On February 6th, 1893, he purchased 282 acres of land from H and T. C. Ry Co. He produced cattle, cotton, milo and wheat. E. R. eventually added 140 acres to his property. In 1956, the 422 acre property passed to his only son L. W. Hobert. L. W. was one of E. R.'s three children. The other two children were Cora and Ressie. L. W. Hobert grew wheat, cotton and milo. He also raised livestock. Though he sold 70 acres of the original property, he acquired four sections of land south of Goree, TX near the Brushy Community. L. W., like his father, also had three children – Chancy, Chalmer and Donald. Chalmer became heir to the 342 acres remaining from the original family property. Chalmer E. Hobert acquired the land in 1976. He used his 352 acre property to produce cotton, wheat, potatoes, milo and cattle. Chalmer also purchased an additional 580 acres. The land consisted of four more farms that he also owned. Outside of his farm operation, Chalmer was very active. He was President of the ASCS County Commission for ten years, President of the Knox Prairie Vegetable Coop for five years, as well as founder and president of the Knox Prairie Coop for seven years. Chalmer and his wife, Virginia Holbert, had three children: Tony, Diane and Carolyn. Two years after his death in February of 1994, Chalmer’s son, Tony, took ownership to the 350 acres known as the Hobert Farm.
Tony R. Hobert is presently producing cotton, wheat, milo and cattle. As operator of the land, he is also presently living on the property.
ACRES IN ORIGINAL PARCEL: 282
ACRES HELD TODAY: 350
Crops or livestock raised. 2023 Cattle, cotton, milo and wheat.
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