Because photo  useage on social media sites is generally awful, each of these images will post individually there.  Here, however, where there’s an element of control, all are together here.  The first is a horse a little north of Granger that occasionally likes to preen for the camera.   Golden evening light made this one worth keeping.  The second photo, a red-tailed hawk  takes flight in search of sustenance.  Hawks are interested creatures.  The final photo is a view I saw last evening near sunset, south of Bartlett.  The birds were an intriguing addition.  Just stuff, friends.

Mentioned many times before:  this view never gets old.  The Blackland Prairie is just divine.

While at Berry Springs Park & Preserve in Georgetown on Sunday afternoon,  in the distance I noticed a park bench with brightly-colored letters, “Happy Birthday.”   Snapping a photo, I mentally filed it away.   Preparing to leave the park, however, I noticed a young woman, accompanied by two kids, adding things to the scene.   I asked if it was okay to take a few photos.   It turns out the birthday wishes were for her cousin, Cody, who died earlier this year in a motorcycle accident.   Sunday would’ve been his 26th birthday.   Lindsey, accompanied by her daughters, 7 and 3, placed painted rocks with inspirational words around the bench to further mark the day.   Co-workers with Cody’s mom were able to add a permanent  plaque to remember him.   The park’s pond was Cody’s favorite place to fish.   This was a bit subtle, somewhat quiet,  but I thought it worth sharing here.

Last night I made the ten mile trip south to Coupland, Texas, a beautiful little village of just 300 people (at least until the next census figures).   Though small, Coupland has much to offer.  On this evening, I focused on the area around the caboose and depot, finally stopping after sunset for photos at St. Peter’s Church cemetery, adorned with tiny American flags. The community hopes to transform the caboose into a children’s museum, something that’s probably been put on temporary hold because of the pandemic.   While I wasn’t expected humans, along came two moms and their girls.   The girls are cheerleaders, which became obvious after a few minutes.   I mentioned that normally, when people start posing, I put the camera down, but these kids were cool.   As was an 8-week-old Great Dane named (I think!) Lila.   It was a productive night.

Berry Springs Park & Preserve is one of  my favorite places to visit when in the Georgetown area.   For about 30 minutes, I sat in as a turtle kept an eye out for flying snacks.  After a while, she ducked into the park’s pond, probably tiring of a photographer’s presence. Included at the end of the post:  a dragonfly and a snake, enjoying the same little pond.  All is good in the critter world.

Sometimes I’ll take a photo, then either delete it, or let it sit around a while.  This post includes eight photos taken in the last seven days, from Taylor, to Thrall, to Noack.   Just  stuff, friends.

While I cherish the opportunities to document all the crops that grow near where we live in Central Texas, cotton is perhaps my favorite.  Those delicate blooms evolve into frizzy bolls.   Consider the clothes you’re wearing.   The most comfortable items are probably  adorned with cotton fibers.   Corn and milo harvests are soon coming to an end for this season.  For farmers who’ve planted cotton, like Troy Boehm,  in Norman’s Crossing, that harvest is a few weeks away.   These are photos made last evening at the Boehm family farm.  

On one of my evening wanderings this week, not far from Granger,  a really nice field of sunflowers appeared.   While I took a few photos then, it wasn’t satisfying to be shooting photos directly into the sun.   So the next day I drove back to the site, asking  permission to get a little closer, but at the beginning of a day.  These are from just after sunrise.  The little critters were a bonus. 

I hadn’t planned it like this, but the post made earlier tonight?  An  expansive field of crops seen  a few minutes after sunrise this morning?   Well, this photo was made along that same county road two nights ago as the day’s final burst of sunlight fell onto an old outbuilding.   Mentioned before many times, but I do love this Blackland Prairie.

While on the way to take photos of something else a few minutes past sunrise this morning, I saw this series of golden fields a little east of Granger, Texas.   I took a minute to snap a photo.  By then, the sun was pretty intense, but that’s okay.  Prairies are nice.