Williamson County, Texas kicked off National Adoption Month in Central Texas today in Georgetown.  With  Texas Department of Family and Protective Services  leading the way, ten families adopted 18 kids during three straight hours  of happiness in a courtroom.  During my years working at the Atlanta Journal & Constitution I hated courtroom photography.   Seldom did anything uplifting happen there.   That certainly wasn’t true as I observed forever families build strong bonds for the future.   This collection by no means covers it all, but it was nice to be there to watch the smiles and joyful tears.

From a couple nights ago while wandering around Noack, Texas.  There was evidence of rain, but not really enough.   Certainly not enough to miss an evening horseback ride.    A truck negotiates a hill while passing prairie grass on the left, followed by the  Christ Lutheran Church.   And grain elevators.   A few years ago, this farmer’s elevators were demolished by a tornado.   Come to think of it, that church was damaged by the same tornado.    All is fine now.   Prairie folks persevere. 

While it’s often difficult for me to get outdoors for early-morning photos, I did manage to make the effort today, when fog and mist hovered over Taylor for a while.    Fog has a way of simplifying scenes.   These images were taken around two local parks, Bull Branch Park and Murphy Park.  By the time  I saw the Great Blue Heron fishing for breakfast, the subtle blue light had begun to fade.   The condensation clinging to a cypress tree’s web, sparkling jewels of moisture,  was a good way to finish the post.   Within minutes, the light became mundane.   I’m glad I got outside for a while.

Just some Texas Longhorns grazing on a hill in Beyersville for tonight, my friends.   I think this is sufficient.

A few photos taken on Halloween tonight  in Old Town Georgetown, a section of the city’s historic district.   It’s always well-attended.  And a lot of fun to see.

The Williamson County Expo Center was filled with sheep and goats from all over Texas for the Chisholm Trail Showdown on the final day of the Williamson County Fair & Rodeo in Taylor.   The county livestock show will be held here in a few weeks.   This event was a nice warmup.  I really like the little fellow in the opening three photos, showing his sheep named Pretty Girl.   When these photos were taken, he was nearing his fourth birthday on Tuesday.    He was having a blast!   The rest of the photos show the range of emotions and activities at any livestock show, including a grandfather cheering on his granddaughter.  

As with any sport, one needs to observe the culture surrounding it.   That applies to the sport of rodeo, which continues to be among my favorite things to cover.   If done properly, it’s an extremely labor-intensive thing to photograph.   The newspaper I shoot photos for would probably be fine if I just edited action photos, but I like to  deeply explore my subject matter.   While mentioned numerous times before, know that rodeo is indeed a sport.  The men and women who compete could probably tell you war stories about their injuries.  Thankfully, the dazed man with blood running down his face seemed to be okay after a fall during saddle bronc riding competition.   These folks are athletes.  I wish they were paid more for their efforts.   These photos were taken last evening at the  Williamson County Fair & Rodeo, held at the Williamson County Expo Center near our Taylor home.  Not mentioned on the program was the  night’s finale, a herd of beautiful mustang horses literally flowing through the arena.   That was nice.  Let’s not forget Mutton Bustin’ for the kids.

A member of Austin’s Mariachi Los Toros warms up on his trumpet before the  group’s performance at the Second Annual Williamson County Fair and Rodeo on Friday night in Taylor.   More photos from the weekend to come later.

So I’m standing next to my car at Taylor’s Murphy Park late Thursday afternoon when the clouds started looking really puffy, surrounded by a crisp blue sky.   My inclination was simply  to take a photo of that nice sky when a flock (herd)  of birds meandered along, northbound to who knows where.    They were quite focused on task,  with military precision.   And just the right thing to add to a nice Texas sky.

Wednesday night I attended the opening night of the Williamson County Fair & Rodeo being held at the Williamson County Expo Center in Taylor.  In addition to a cool midway, I had fun watching the fair’s inaugural stick horse competition.   That was a hoot!  Both kids and adults (yours truly included) enjoyed the petting zoo.  Sam, a 25-year-old tortoise, was noticeably shy when the petting zoo was filled with kids, but once things settled down, Sam took a slow stroll around the place.  The rodeo will be held Friday and Saturday night.   And there’s a lamb and goat show on Saturday morning.   I love county fairs.