No need for elaboration here.   More of the same.

A few photographs taken at the splash pad in Georgetown’s San Jose Park.   Temperatures here are quickly going up.   Splash pads help.   The question has been asked before about taking photos of young folks in settings like this.  When visiting a park, the procedure is to always find a parent before taking candid shots.   If they prefer none be taken, their wishes are respected.   The kids shown here, all having a great time, were okay for photos.  

A few photographs taken one evening this week at the Circleville ranch of friends.   You might recalls photos taken of the resilient little mesquite tree that rests atop a hill not far from the San Gabriel River.   The horses, Cutter and Martini, are old friends.  They appear to  enjoy the company of cows that inhabit this prairie space.  The flower is a White Prickly Poppy.   It’s good land.   Their ranch is minutes from home, a blessing with when preserving fuel is a good idea.

This pond, seen tonight, rests next to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Wuthrich Hill.    This, and the church, and the cemetery, have been documented since 2009, the year we came home.   During that time, no form of livestock has gathered here.   Some bodies of water might be called tanks, but not this one.  

The first of a little series about ponds.   In Central Texas most people refer to these small bodies of water as tanks, meant to be used for livestock.   Growing up in Northeast Texas we mostly called them ponds.  Some are indeed used for cattle, etc.   My first fishing experiences were at a pond on  the farm of my mother’s aunt and uncle.   Great-uncle Harry, a farmer born in the late-1800s, explained fishing when only five-years-old.   “Let’s go to the stock pond,” said Uncle Harry.    Tonight we begin with a little pond just minutes from home in Taylor.  You see people fishing here, but never a cow.   It is most certainly a pond.

The walk photographs continue, for now.   One walk this week was in Georgetown, taken after photographing the Special Olympics there.   Others are from Taylor.  Georgetown folks might recognize the Blue Hole area, where a couple of young fellows enjoyed diving into the water from a high perch.   As temperatures climb, perhaps visitors will consider the signs posted that forbid jumping into the river from those rocks.  Anyway, photos from those very slow walks.

Friday’s photographs include families enjoying bubbles at a Foam Party.   That was a lot of fun to document.   The festival parade was this morning, but the participants’ presence was less this year.   Also new to this year’s festival was a Maypole Dance.   The post concludes with a mighty handsome 6-month-old enamored with his feet.   HIs mama is a friend.  And he’s a cool little guy.

The price of fuel, combined with a need to stay close to home due to allergy issues, led back to the rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park on Thursday evening.   Their arrival here was somehow delayed, but now the migratory birds (egrets, ibis) are well-represented.  This site is always inspiring.

It was long past sunset Thursday night when pulling into the grocery store parking lot.   No photo had been planned, but you don’t pass up an opportunity.   The light at the bottom seemed well-placed.

600 pounds of Channel Catfish arrived at Taylor’s SPJST Senior Living today for their 23rd Annual Fishing Tournament.  It’s a fun and inspiring event to cover.  It’s a two-day event that concludes on Friday with a Fish Fry.  These photographs don’t come close to doing it justice, but we do what we can.