While I photograph a lot of horses,  occasional visits to Norman’s Crossing provides visual relief with some sweet and intelligent examples.     When stopping by, I try to remember to bring them some carrots or apples, but alas, this visit was on short notice.   Next time, friends.  I promise I won’t forget.

Each year as Daylight Saving Time nears, on March 14th this time, I get a little melancholy.   Night imagery is something I like quite a lot, but with more daylight hours, it gets harder to do. These photos were taken this week in and around the square in Georgetown, Texas.   Included: the new cupola atop Gumbo’s (the Masonic Lodge building), a tree at the corner of 9th and Church, enhanced by ambient light, Grace Heritage Center, formerly Grace Episcopal Church, and Coreena’s Bridal Georgetown, at Rock and 8th.  

When looking for things to photograph on Saturday, I asked the park manager at Berry Springs Park & Preserve if there was anything going on that day.  “A wedding,” she replied.  Since I didn’t want to just show up, my park manager friend made calls to the couple, to be sure it was okay.  The couple, Connie and Melissa, were happy to oblige.  I’m only posting tonight because I wanted to see if my client, the Williamson County Sun, would publish photos.   I’m glad to tell you that they did.  Now in my late-60s, one of my childhood friends, beginning in our 6th years of life, was Bill.  We remained friends through high school.  From an early age, Bill was my friend.  As we grew older, it was apparent  that Bill was gay, I was not.   In no way did that knowledge lessen our bond.  Bear in mind, this was decades ago in Northeast Texas, not known for its accepting ways.  Among my regrets is losing track of my friend.  That brings  us back to 2021, witnessing the joy of Connie and Melissa.   Try to be understanding, friends.   Judgement solves nothing.

No explanation needed here.

Normally I don’t spend a lot of time photographing Taylor’s Murphy Park during the winter months, but I did stop by Sunday evening for a few images.   If things stay true to form, we’ll soon see an abundance of egrets coming to the park’s rookery to deliver new life into their avian world.   In the meantime, cormorants, plus a few ducks and geese, make themselves comfortable here.   It’s a lovely park all year long, even in winter. 

It was a cloudy evening when these photos were made this weekend at Granger Lake.    They weren’t taken at the usual places I normally go for images of the water.   The opening photo shows a man taking a few short minutes to fish before heading home to his family.  He arrived when I did, but left ten minutes later, explaining he just wanted a few quiet minutes to himself.   I get that.  The other four are progressions as the cloudy day moved into blue night skies.   The last two shots probably need explanations.  Both were made looking up toward the road that crosses the dam.   In the fourth photo, the light at right is a car moving along the road.   The last shot is a 4-second exposure as another car passes along the same dam road.   The last three shots  utilized a tripod.  I use one when applicable.   It was on this night.

Fog, like snow, has the power to simplify scenes, but except for visibility concerns, it’s much safer than snow.   Included here are photos taken this morning in East Williamson County, Texas.   The fog lifted by noon, replaced by clouds and drizzle.  If you were expecting a full moon photo tonight, we’re not seeing it here.

With our forecast calling for clouds and rain for the next few days, I wasn’t expecting to see a full moon tonight, but there it was, breaking through the clouds above Taylor.

Princess is a beautiful Texas Longhorn owned by a good friend, but she’s not always agreeable to being photographed.   This week, however, she didn’t seem to mind.   My friend and I both have an affection for black-and-white photography.  The two tighter portraits of Princess are offered in color and b/w.    A photographer friend once mentioned that if you give viewers a choice, they’ll mostly go with color.   What do you think?   Whatever your preference, Princess has style! 

Thanks to a sweet lady who allowed me to park in her driveway tonight, I was able to get a fairly good sunset image over St. Peter’s Church of Coupland.    And the moon was pretty, too.   Tonight’s Waxing Gibbous moon is 93.7% visible.   Although not quite full, the forecast through the weekend calls for cloudy skies and rain.  I document the moon when it’s visible.   The St. Peter’s congregation was formed by German and Swiss immigrants in 1894.  The current church was built in 1905-1906.   It’s affiliated with the United Church of Christ, not to be confused with the Church of Christ.