“Sister Act the Musical” opens tonight at the Georgetown Palace. It’s my habit to post most of the images from theater productions on Facebook, but wanted to represent the play with an image here, too. Kendra Christel is phenomenal in the title role as Deloris Van Cartier. If you’re in Central Texas any weekend through May 19th, be sure to get tickets for this show. It moves!
As mentioned, I’m doling out wildflowers in small batches. It’s a good year for them, but expect them to be absorbed by prairie grasses pretty soon, especially the bluebonnets. Photograph them while they’re here friends. As spring progresses, the Texas heat will relegate these sightings to history. I’m guessing that curious llama will be around for a while though. 
Perhaps it was two years ago, give or take a few months, when I posted some photos of the venerable Bartlett First Presbyterian Church. At the time, it was long empty, as it is now, but it does have a state historical marker. The sanctuary was built in 1899. The historic marker was placed in 1970. That tells me it’s been dormant for some while. It has reams of character though. When passing it earlier this week, I noticed some of those little pink wildflowers. Some call them buttercups, but the proper name, or so I’m advised, are Pink Evening Primrose. Whatever you call them, they’re easy to enjoy. The flowers, however, are a small part of the images here. I hope at some point someone will take on the task of reviving this fine structure. It’s got good bones, enhanced this week by divine evening light.
As mentioned last evening, I’m spreading out these wildflower wanderings over a few nights. Cemeteries are wonderful places to see them come to life. A couple here are from cemeteries in Granger, Texas. One is a tightly-packed mix of Indian paintbrush and bluebonnets in Beyersville. The vertical photo was from a drive south, into northeast Travis County. The last photo just has a few yellow wildflowers blowing in the wind, but the main reason to post that one is because of the barn, one I photographed almost constantly for about two years. The nice family who allowed me to photograph it now live in the farmhouse adjacent to it so I don’t want to pester them with my presence too much, but it’s such an iconic old barn. So there. 
For the past few weeks I’ve been trolling around my area for spring wildflower sightings. These days I stay closer to home. Photos, even wildflowers, are made nearby, always a few minutes from Taylor. It’s limiting, of course, but finding richness anywhere on the Blackland Prairie is not a chore. Originally the plan was to post quite a few in one night, but let’s pace ourselves, okay? Three for tonight, more later. As if you need a reminder, the flowers we love are weeds. Nice ones. 
Whenever I have the chance to document Southwestern University’s Southwestern SU-Native Spring Powwow in Georgetown, it’s always wonderful. Granted, it’s a whole lot of work, but work that means something. These are some of the photos I made Saturday for my friends at the Williamson County Sun. While I could wax poetic, let’s allow the images to speak for themselves tonight. 
Every year, when autumn takes hold in Taylor, a part of me is glad that cooler weather is coming, but it also means the rookery goes a little quieter. The cormorants, geese and ducks, a snake or two, 
and a few cattle egrets are there, but the egrets, Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets to be specific, have moved on after bringing new life into the avian world. Then comes spring. The migrating birds come back. If you were to stop by here during the day, it would still appear to be an empty place. That’s because the parents are out foraging for food for their new family members. If you go by in the early-morning hours, or the time around sunset, you’ll see them coming back to their nests in large numbers. While I am compelled to document my Blackland Prairie area, the rookery, only a mile from our house, is a place I cherish.
These are some photos I’ve been sitting on for a while. Tonight, however, I’m seeing a tree theme. And light. It’s interesting to observe how light falls on trees at certain times of the day. Nothing but trees this evening, friends. 
As I make my way around East Williamson County, Texas in search of wildflower photos, other things can get my attention. Our prairie fields are thriving. Those heavy rainstorms last weekend are a memory. Wheat and corn are abundant. And the light, as it usually is, is grand. I’ll still watch for wildflowers, but won’t discount the work of our farmers. 
When flood waters made it into our house the other day, I rescued some of my photography equipment from the hall closet. Among the items there was a case containing some older cameras, one of them the Nikon F2 camera body I bought new in 1977. My 1967 model Nikon F may still be the mightiest camera on the planet, but this F2 comes mighty close. Included here are some photos taken today of that F2, plus something from the first roll of film run through it, including this couple enjoying a leisurely lunch at Shreveport’s Columbia Park. The metal on those old cameras was fine workmanship. As the photos show, it could take a licking, too. Note that this camera had no light meter. Back then, I used a hand-held light meter for most things. Also not on it: a motor drive or autofocus. Motor drives were pricey additions at one time. Autofocus hadn’t been invented yet. In fact, neither had autoexposure modes. Today’s emerging photographers might be flummoxed. 
