Seven of these eight photographs were taken late last week at Taylor’s Bull Branch Park.    This little gem close to home has some very nice cypress trees in addition to a little pond, home to. ducks and geese.  I got focused (intended pun) on the tree reflections in the pond.   That’s the first seven images.   The last photo, the silhouette of two ducks, was made just after sunrise this morning, the first day of Daylight Saving Time.   While I seldom travel far for photos, this park is only blocks away.  That’s kind of nice.

These photos were made tonight in the areas around Coupland and Beyersville.  This was the final day of Central Standard Time for a while.   Mentioned many times before, but repeating it here, I do not like unnatural manipulations of time.    So begins months of Daylight Saving Time.    For those who like that, so be it.

As spring nears,  we have wildflowers.  In my town of Taylor, however, we  also have ducks.  New ducks.   Taylor has a certain reverence for these birds.  Throughout the year, you’ll find them in area parks, but also in neighborhoods.  Our ducks like to wander. I get that.   These newborns were photographed Thursday evening at Bull Branch Park.

It was either 1987 or 1988 when Atlanta Journal & Constitution writer Ron Martz and I traveled to the mountains of Western North Carolina for a reunion in Snowbird of members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.   While many photos were taken, I liked this quiet  moment between a grandfather and his granddaughter.  During the forced removal of Cherokees in the 1830s, some were able to hide for months in the remote mountain areas.   Their descendants comprise the Eastern Band of the Cherokees.  

It was perhaps two years ago, not quite, when I first saw this barn in Bell County, Texas.  At the time, I made a tighter photo.  While pretty good, it didn’t give a sense of the area.   This evening, after bit of rain early in the day, the barn came into view again, but from a different direction.   The barn is always pretty, but it was nice to see some early signs of spring planting in the foreground.   Wheat is beginning its journey.     Texas, oh Texas.

As Daylight Saving Time nears, I’m increasingly attuned to taking advantage of night scenes before the addition of more sunshine makes it harder.   Last evening,  I found myself once again in downtown Granger, a community of about 1500 (probably more) in East Williamson County, ten miles north of Taylor.  The brick-paved street downtown was added in the summer of 1912.   Thankfully, a portion of it remains.  I grew up on a brick street, and loved it. Last night was a good time to get out the tripod and do more than just  grab shots.  For whatever reason, a train was stopped, cutting down on the amount of traffic coming through, a good thing for a guy standing in the road with a camera.   If you saw the 2010 remake of “True Grit,” the Coen Brothers movie starring Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, you’ve seen Granger, used as the model for Fort Smith, Arkansas.   During filming, tons of dirt were hauled in, covering the brick street completely.  In 1870s Arkansas, a brick street wasn’t a reality.   The last photo is a mistake tossed into the mix.  While making a long exposure, a truck ambled along.  I grabbed the tripod and camera and got out of the way.  The “mistake” was interesting! 

Next weekend we return to Daylight Saving Time in Texas.   If you’ve followed these posts for a while you know I’m no fan of the time change.   Why we can’t let nature take its course is a mystery.  At any rate, tonight’s photos are a nod to our beautiful Blackland Prairie skies.    When Daylight Saving Time begins, these views will be there, but later.   I know many of you are fans of this time manipulation.   Some of us aren’t.  

“The Drag” is the area along Guadalupe Street that goes past the University of Texas campus in Austin.   I was a student there in the early-1970s.   Recently, I had an appointment near there.  Arriving early,  I strolled along The Drag.  There I met Thunderstruck, who told me his real name was Gary.  I also met Jose.     47 years ago, there were people facing challenges along this corridor, too.    Maybe they brought bad times into their lives, maybe not.   I sat down next to Thunderstruck and asked permission to take photos, the same with Jose.    There are people among us dealing with things often beyond their control.   Try to be understanding.   It’s not a perfect world.

Much of this day was spent taking photos of Stephanie Nichols’ 9th Annual Car and Vintage Plane Show at the Georgetown Municipal Airport.  Most of what’s posted focuses on cars.   There were about 450 cars (and trucks) on display this year.  The public turnout was enormous.   Proceeds from this year’s show benefit the Epilepsy Foundation.   These are a few photos from a day I enjoyed quite a lot.

An image taken tonight along the San Gabriel River as it courses through Jonah, Texas.   In an ideal world, I’d have set up a tripod and made this better.  Sometimes, however, you take what you can.   The photo was made with only a few moments to spare since I took it while stopped on a well-traveled  road.   That’s okay.  I still like the serenity this body of water provides.