YES, THAT’S RAIN – Sandwiched between rainbows to the east and sunshine to the west, Monday afternoon's rain brought about 0.3 inches to the greater Marathon area. Some moisture has blessed the area in recent weeks after a year-long drought.

PARTY PREP – Kate Thayer was seen this week putting the finishing touches to her kitchen at Eve's Bed and Breakfast in Marathon. The B&B will be the site of tonight’s Living with Nature reception starting at 7 p.m. A list of speakers are scheduled all day tomorrow.

POLE PROJECT – A large pole will support a new sign for the remodeled Cottonwood Station, which will come back to life this fall as the Famous Burro Bar. Looking on were “tres zopelotes” – three buzzards – from Houston, two of them visible in the photo.

JACK PUMP – The familiar jack pump is an indicator of oil recovery around the world. Most of the mineral activity in Terrell and Brewster Counties and surrounding areas are for gas, not oil. But the activities have helped bolsters the economy of the Southwest Texas region.

Photo by Steve Lang

E EQUALS WHAT? – Dr. Ron Hartberger discussed a logic problem with Aurora Nugent of Fort Davis during an Alpine TexPREP class at Sul Ross State University recently. A closing ceremony was planned for yesterday morning at the Museum of the Big Bend. TexPREP targets high-performing math and science middle school students.

PERFECTLY STABLE – Daniel Boling, who uses the business name of “Perfectly Stable Music,” will perform at the “Off the Patio” series Thursday, Aug. 7. He will be at the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum starting at 8 p.m.                                  

FLOWERY ENTRY – The orange sunflowers and their green leaves contrasted with the blue wall at Eve’s Bed and Breakfast in Marathon. Too bad we couldn’t print in color. Guess you’ll just have to go to the reception this evening at the start of the Living with Nature festival and see for yourself.

GUAYULE BARN – This building is all that remains of a major Marathon industry in the 1920s.  A processing plant stood on this site to extract natural rubber granules from a local plant called 'guayule.'  Plants were collected and stored in the barn.  Scarcity of plants and the Depression economy finally forced the plant to close.  The barn was then used for hay storage, eventually becoming a notorius gathering spot for Marathon youth.