After the Rain

After a good dousing of rain this afternoon, it felt nice to be heading home.  I decided to take a drive along  a favorite unpaved road leading to Coupland’s venerable truss bridge.   The reward was a wonderful rainbow that stayed in the sky for quite a while.   They often come and go so fast.   Not this time.   Rain sometimes brings us an extra gift. 

March Moonset

If given a choice, I’d take clouds and rain over seeing a full moon.  Our area of Texas continues to deal with dry conditions.   Late Monday afternoon, however, the clouds lifted.  When the moon finally appeared, it was nearly 8:30.  And I didn’t want just a shot of the moon surrounded  by darkness.  Last night I checked the time for Tuesday morning moonset.   If I could manage to get out the door, there might be a photo worth taking.  These four photographs were taken a little before and a bit after 7:30 this morning.    The moon was in its Waning Gibbous phase, at 98.6% percent visibility.    Good enough.    Early-morning light is every bit as nice as its late-day counterpart.   If only I could get out the door more often.    The prairie awaits.

Native American Heritage Tour

On Sunday I covered a Native American heritage walk  in Georgetown’s San Gabriel Park led by a local historian.   The event was very interesting, but the highlight for me was getting to connect with members of the Nava family.   Ben Nava, shown in the opening photo, was for years a driving force behind the annual spring Powwow at Southwestern University.   When Ben left Southwestern, the Powwow also left.   During Sunday’s event, Ben’s wife Lisa announced plans for a new Powwow, tentatively scheduled for September 28th at the Boys & Girls Club of Georgetown.   Two young men performed traditional songs.   One of them is Joseph, Ben and Lisa’s youngest.   He’s the one in the cap.   Fry bread was a popular treat for young and old.  Ben  spent time with two of his grandchildren, Adelynn, 3, and her brother Braxton, 6.   Braxton is included in the last three photos.   The event was good, but learning about the new Powwow was great news!    The photographs posted here aren’t about the walk.  For that, read the upcoming Williamson County Sun.

Clouds Over the Prairie

With a 70-90% rain chance tonight, I didn’t expect to see a full moon, but you never know, right?   Meandering toward home, I did see a sweet white horse (and a darker friend in the background) enjoying their evening, surrounded by wildflowers, under a layer of clouds.   The moon was somewhere  in those clouds.    Moon photos are sweet, but rain is sweeter.

Donkeys! And a Few Wildflowers.

During last year’s wildflower season a friend mentioned fields adorned with donkeys, but also bluebonnets.   I was not disappointed.    With that in mind, a return to the area was merited.   Indeed, the field was once again filled with donkeys.   For this outing it was more enjoyable to observe the playful and affectionate donkeys.   While there are wildflowers, the donkeys are the stars this time.  We could all learn from their happy personalities. 

Afternoon Mist

Normally, I’m not a fan of taking photographs in the middle of the day.   The light is often mundane, or harsh, and not in a good way.   That exception comes on days adorned with mist, fog and rain.   Those don’t always pan out, either, but this afternoon was a good one.    Just some photos while taking a drive around the prairie today.  All are close to Taylor.