A leftover photograph from Saturday,  taken at sunset in Taylor.   No trees, no windmill, no barns, just a setting sun.

Raptors of any kind are usually seen on utility poles, or very far away,  near trees.   This week, however, a focused hawk nestled in a tree for a quite a while.   On the ground below was the the body of a squirrel, likely why she waited for the camera to go away.   Two photos of the raptor  are posted.  The rest are just bits of this and that.   One wider photo shows a scene along Bull Branch Creek, where one of several trees have been recently removed.  Hopefully, there was a good reason for this.   Trees are important.  Everything needs to be done to save them.   The post ends with a nice little squirrel making eye contact.

Photographs taken today during Heritage Farm Day at the Lutonsky Farm, nestled on pristine acres a few miles south of downtown Taylor.   This first Heritage Farm Day was hosted by the Greater Taylor Foundation Food Insecurity Council.  The group’s founder wants to see some of our disappearing farmland used, at least a little, for food to be consumed by humans.   The Lutonsky farm is 125 years old now, still maintained by descendants of the original settlers, John and Rosa Lutonsky, a couple who immigrated to the the United States from the Moravian region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now called the Czech Republic.  The couple were sharecroppers for ten years, saving money to purchase their farm in 1900.  Most of the 125 farm’s structures still stand, including a very nice old farmhouse.  From the outside the house appears small, but stepping into the attic you’d think it was huge!  Today’s day included antique tractors, pony rides, hay rides, a petting zoo presented by Mini Mischief Ranch, plus regular tours of the farmhouse.  The couple in the opening photo are actually friends, not even recognized at first, but they’re standing in a picturesque spot of prairie land.   The starlings were active this morning over the farm’s fields.   Alas, the birds didn’t create a murmuration, but they were dandy flyers!   One of the main reasons we moved to Taylor  years ago was the delicate, but powerful beauty of this land.   It was a no-brainer to attend today’s event.  

From tonight’s Flag Retirement ceremony held at the Georgetown Field of  Honor.   The young lady overseeing the ceremony, in the first two photographs,  is only 17, but more mature than many people living in our world  right now.

From earlier this week, photographs along  a peaceful country road east of Walburg, Texas.   Initially, the stop was to snap photos of cars and trucks cresting that hill, but then the owls came along.   It was good to be able to stop for a few minutes to take these shots, no stressed motorists urging things along.  As a friend in North Carolina preaches, “keep lonely places lonely.”   Couldn’t agree more, Rick!

The Jonah Community School, opened in 1922, is pictured tonight around 8pm Central Daylight Time.   The photograph was taken on a tripod-mounted Nikon Z8 camera, ISO 800, a 25-second exposure.    Social media has been flooded with Northern Lights offerings.   Several from last evening were posted.    Maybe the Northern Lights, if there, occurred later.   This, however, is tonight’s offering.  Staying up into the wee hours for a better effect  is seldom acceptable.

Several hundred attendees visited Sun City, Texas for their annual Veterans Day observance  this morning.  The post begins with a 5-year-old lad gracefully saluting during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”    The lady in red is a Navy veteran.  The last one, taken after the ceremony concluded,  is a Vietnam War veteran, now 77, as he searches for the commemorative brick that bears his name.    He found it before leaving.   The little boy is the favorite moment this year.

Farmers, many if not most, work well beyond the presence of daylight.   It’s inspiring to see them navigating the Blackland Prairie fields in our area.   This gentleman was seen tonight, probably continuing a little longer before saying goodnight to the land.  

A few photographs from a Sunday visit to Georgetown’s Field of Honor, held in San Gabriel Park.   It was a cool day, with a whole lot of wind.   Flags billow nicely on days like this!  It was the official opening day for the Field of Honor.   Groups, including military, first responders and other groups  marched through the flags for a Parade of Colors.   Aside from the official ceremony it was interesting to see a runner putting in her seven miles surrounded by flags, plus two sisters dashing through the field.  And a dad and his son taking time to appreciate the flags.  The flags, coordinated by the Georgetown Rotary Club Foundation, will be here until November 16th.

Hopefully these daily stroll photographs aren’t getting tiresome, but as always mentioned, it’s therapy.  A couple again include squirrels.   All shots were from Taylor this week, all with a snazzy little Olympus.