After a while this evening, I felt like calling it a night and going on home. Not much was looking good. Then, a little east of Noack, Texas, I noticed the sun beginning to go down over Christ Lutheran Church. It wasn’t a bad night after all. 
The career I chose almost 50 years ago was photojournalism, or to use a less fancy phrase, newspaper photographer. It’s a career that’s been good to me. I still love making people photos, but since coming home to Texas in 2009, I’ve found an affection for what my photojournalism professor from UT-Austin call pictorials. Maybe that’s what these few photos are. Except for the windmill photo taken in East Williamson County, the photos were made in Bell County, Texas, where I can still find somnolent scenes. While I’ll always defend my chosen newspaper career, I think newspapers would be well-served by occasionally publishing images like what you see here tonight. If Facebook likes and comments are any indication, people don’t mind seeing them. 
It’s a little past 10p.m. on Friday night. Thankfully, the power’s still on. Weather forecasters spent copious amounts of time the past two days seemingly making things sound like Armageddon. Hopefully, friends in other areas of Texas are okay this evening. These are some images taken tonight. The horse is an old friend I occasionally stop by to see. It was very dim, but I managed a couple of photos. The other photo was taken later tonight on my street in Taylor. I was hoping for a good bolt of lightning. When the rain began to come down, I gave up and headed inside, but there’s a little bit of lightning in this image. And I like the light, too. That one’s made using a handy tripod. Thank goodness lightning avoided that piece of metal!
It was cloudy most of the day. This afternoon the sun peeked out for a while, giving me hope I’d be able to view tonight’s full moon. By the time moonrise came around, just before 5pm, the clouds had returned. Thankfully, I was able to see snippets of the moon above the grain elevators at the Boehm family farm in Norman’s Crossing. After a while, I turned the camera the other way, enjoying those clouds. And the stairs leading to the top of the tallest elevator. All in all, a good night. I never grow tired of our rural Texas skyscrapers. 
I love night photography. One of the places I like to try my hand at it is at Taylor’s Murphy Park. They have this nifty little light-adorned bridge spanning the lake. The first of these photos was actually taken in mid-October. I’ve held onto it, waiting for a good time to post. Tonight’s good. The rest of the photos were made this evening. The second photo is an effort to look at the first photo’s scene, but with a winter look. The rest are just playing around with light. The last two, the only ones where a tripod wasn’t used, show tonight’s Waxing Gibbous moon as it peeks through a cloud cover. It’s at 96.9% visibility, but sure looks close to being a full moon. 
These horses were something I saw tonight while en route to look for something else. About five seconds after passing these beauties, I made a spot decision and turned around. The other thing could wait. Light, warm and crisp, will draw me in almost every time. Oh, this was not far from Weir, Texas, a little hamlet between Georgetown and Granger. Is there a favorite among these? Not really, but the last one, where they’re walking away, that’s kind of neat. 
Trains are wonderful subjects. This set of photos focus on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle as it makes its way into Central Texas. The photos were taken on three different evenings, from Granger to Taylor. The bridge photo is between the two towns. 
Some of you may recall a Cotton Christmas Tree posted in Granger, Texas. The tree was created by Granger resident Mike Anderson, the cotton courtesy of farmer David Hajda. Tonight I attended the ceremonial burning of that 22-foot tall tree. The tree was set ablaze to release the Christmas spirits. The belief of old world folklore dating back to Eastern Europe states that the burning will bring good luck to farmers for their spring planting. It also coincides with the Epiphany, also called Three Kings Day in the United States, observed on January 6th. About a hundred area residents were on hand to watch tonight’s observance. 
For a few years, the truss bridge spanning Brushy Creek near Coupland, Texas was out of commission while repairs were made. I am thankful it’s once again in working order. This photo was made on Christmas Eve 2019 during one of my ramblings. This little bridge has staying power. Nestled on a dirt road east of Coupland, it had a prominent role in the 2003 movie “Secondhand Lions,” starring Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Kyra Sedgwick and Haley Joel Osment. Michael Caine could’ve used some Texas directing, but Robert Duvall, not a native Texan, nailed it. The church in the distance is St. Peter’s of Coupland. I’m glad to see this bridge returned to usefulness. 
Maybe two or three times a year I pass this pair of barns in the far northeastern portion of Travis County. Although Travis County is home to Austin, this bit of the county wears the persona of our Blackland Prairie. From our house in Taylor, we’re just under ten miles from Travis County. If the stars align, I’ll try to check back on these beauties again, but these two will suffice for now. The first image is similar to what I’ve taken before, but the second one is is seen from a different angle I sort of like. Exploring is good. 
