A few roads on the Blackland Prairie are made for peaceful drives.  This is one of those.   After Monday afternoon’s rain, the light as sunset neared was just to my liking.   These four photos were taken during a span of perhaps fifteen minutes, posted in the order in which they were made.  The prairie gives us so much to see. 

A couple of images tonight, friends, both made today.   The day began with a spot of rain, but by early-afternoon, the skies were filled with dissonance, a dissonance I happen to like as long as nobody is harmed.   At sundown this evening, the storms had moved on, leaving behind some nice colors in the Blackland Prairie skies.  

This section of county road outside Bartlett, Texas is among my favorites.   Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time and effort to photograph the beauty of the Blackland Prairie, but have been remiss in documenting the places that are disappearing as so-called progress takes hold .   These photos have been sitting on my desktop since late-February.  When things stay around that long, it’s not unusual to find me sending them to the trash.  I’m glad these stayed around.   These are homesites along this beloved county road.  If you go by there now, summer growth has overtaken them completely.  You won’t see them, but they’re still with us.  The second and third photos are presented in black-and-white.  They are the same house, but with different points of view.

Earlier this week I had occasion to be in the Georgetown area in search of people photos. The oppressive heat that day seemed to drive most folks indoors.   At one public park, feeling a bit overheated myself, I found a shady area by a pond to relax while waiting on humans.   The humans didn’t materialize, but I became entranced by the activities of dragonflies darting around the pond’s vegetation.   The combination of plants and water produced some interesting colors.   As most of you know already, I do very little manipulation of images.  The goal is always to represent what I saw when there.  Mother Nature has a way of making things come together sometimes.   Oh, later on that day, I did find some humans at another park, but was pretty satisfied with the dragonfly ballet.

Now, as I write this at 9:19p.m. on Friday night, it’s not just nearing, it’s here.  In Central Texas, it officially began at 10:54a.m.    Last night I set my alarm clock for a little before 6a.m. in order to document the 6:30a.m. sunrise.   A small cloud cover obscured the sun at 6:30, as seen in the opening photo.   Scant minutes later, pictured in the second image, the sun peeked through.   As many of you know, I worship twilight and evening light.   Daylight Saving Time is unnatural,  leaving us with not only poor light, but hotter nights.  Texas is already hot enough.  We don’t need an extra hour of daylight.  I don’t budge on my opinion.  Each to his/her own.

Something from the archives tonight, friends.  At the end of the Shreveport school year in late-May 1975, I wanted something different.  Rather than just document the children at their school, I thought it might be fun to ride a school bus with the kids.  Teachers handed out lollipops to the happy campers.     We’re in a different time now.  44 years ago, the school district readily agreed to let a photographer ride the bus.   Would that be allowed today?   Probably not.   Community journalism is increasingly-difficult now.  That’s sad since the stories told in 1975 are still around now.   The clothes and hairstyles might change, but kids will be kids.

Until a few years ago I’d not made a photo of a magnolia bloom.   Then my daughter-in-law asked if I’d mind taking a photo for her to hang on her wall.  Since then, I pay attention to these blooms with a heavenly aroma.  Rita, my friend and neighbor, has two fine magnolia trees in her yard.   She’s always been gracious when I make the occasional photo request.   Last year, not wanting to repeat myself too much, I took a pass on magnolia photos, but this year’s blooms almost begged to be documented.   Here are a few.  Thank you, Rita. And thanks to Lisa, my daughter-in-law,  for the inspiration. 

Mager Cemetery in Beyersville is one of those places I like to visit from time to time.   It’s still out in the boonies, with room to move around.  When out there Monday evening, I noticed some freshly-placed American flags on the graves.   My guess is they were placed on Flag Day.   Hopefully they’ll remain through July 4th.   Trips there usually involve photographing cattle in the adjacent field, or just the gorgeous field itself.  The past couple of times, however, a new friend clucked onto the scene.   This bird was exceedingly camera-shy, preferring to fly up a tree than deal with me.  A couple of these aren’t tack sharp, but the action outweighed perfection.  Those  cows had apparently moseyed onto another pasture, or to the barn.  Chickens are good company though.   A little skittish, but I get that.

We seem to be getting more than our share of thunderstorms and rain in East Williamson County, Texas.    As summer cranks up, we’ll be begging for moisture, but right now the grass in my yard is growing far too fast for my taste!   Last night when these photos were taken, my plan was to photograph the full moon in a spot I liked near Bartlett.  Nature nixed the moon images. These four photos were made just south of Bartlett, along East Clark Street in downtown Bartlett, and finally a tree I like, south of Bartlett, but closer to Granger.   These might’ve been posted last night, but the power outage put a stop to that.

The Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association held its 67th Annual Juneteenth celebration today at the San Gabriel Community Center.    Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865, when soldiers arriving in Galveston harbor, brought word that the war had ended and slavery was a thing of the past.  The news arrived two-and-a-half years after the fact, but it’s celebrated around the country each year.   These are a few photos taken today.  The dance group, from Austin, are the Groovers.  Georgetown’s Assistant Police Chief, Cory Tchida, felt the spirit move him, as did a 2-year-old called Teaven.  Rabbi Jonathan Dade, with Georgetown’s Messiah Echad, attended with his children.    Remembering history is the best way to keep it from repeating itself.