These are some photos taken a couple days back while wandering along the country roads a little east of Weir, Texas, in the heart of Williamson County.   They, of course, were taken at evening time, when the light danced across this Blackland Prairie landscape.   Since coming home to Texas, in 2009, I’ve not once seen a train cross the tracks shown in the final photo, but I like those tracks …. and the road you can see to the right.    These are all nice diversions on the road of life.

091517 EAST WILLIAMSON

Today I spent a few hours in Bartlett, Texas, a community of a little over 1600 people on the Williamson/Bell County line.   A portion of the picturesque downtown area resides in each of these counties.   The occasion was their annual Bartlett Friendship Fest.  Like Granger, a few miles south, it’s a community with old-fashioned brick streets.  The house where I grew up, in Texarkana, had a brick street.   As with any festival, there was a parade, music, food, vendors, politicians, and music.   These small towns where I live have large numbers of people with Czech origins.   After being in Texas over 8 years, tonight I decided to look up the meaning of S.P.J.S.T., a Texas-based Czech fraternal group with deep roots.   If what I found on Google is to be trusted, here it is:  Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas.   At least I know “Texas.”    One group in the parade was the Austin Jeep Community, a club of sorts.  Those jeeps were crawling all over each other, kind of cool!  They have a nifty mural in Bartlett, included in this post.   At the car show, I was duly impressed by an 8-year-old taking photos with an honest-to-goodness camera, not a smartphone.  While I give smartphones their due (reluctantly), a camera is the tool of choice.   By the way, I really like that Basset hound, Norton.  These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.  

Tonight, while on the lookout for something else, I came upon this scene, a father and his 4-year-old daughter enjoying an early-evening together near Weir, Texas as they strolled along a not-so-traveled country road.  Thank goodness, we have plenty of “not-so-traveled” roads in my area.   Sincere apologies to my favorite singer/songwriter, James Taylor, for the title.   I do love my Texas. 

Here’s one from December 1976, kids taking turns riding the family goat in Elm Grove, Louisiana, one of my little adventures for the Shreveport Journal.   Believe it or not, there was a time before television and the internet took over.

This morning, stepping outside a little before sunrise, I looked up and saw, through a tree, Waning Crescent moon.  It may only be 46% visible right now, but before the sky filled with unwanted light, it looked mighty fine.  These morning distractions can be pleasant.

This was a photo I took Monday morning while en route to a 9/11 event.   Since I was ahead of time by a wee bit, it seemed to be a good idea for a brief stop at the Jonah Community Center, formerly known as Jonah School.   The school’s been documented a few times, but I like the tree, too.   This was maybe 10 minutes after sunrise.   Texas skies, friends, are wonderful.

Because Taylor is my town, but also because they do this well, I’m posting twice today.   This evening, Taylor held its annual commemoration of 9/11/2001 events, their Patriot Day.   Patriot Day included a parade down Main Street, followed by a program at downtown’s  Heritage Square Park.   I’ll include a few photos here.  The ringing of the bell, at the end of this post, is rather nice … not necessarily my photo, but because it’s a tradition of fire departments everywhere.  

On this, the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I attended Georgetown’s Memorial Stair Climb, held at the GISD Athletic Complex.   The event remembers the date, but more than that, it honors the first responders who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.   Participants in today’s climb walked the number of steps equivalent to the 110-story towers that fell.   One firefighter toted his 4-year-old son on his back the entire way, followed closely by his wife, expecting their second child in November.   I was impressed to see some members of the Georgetown High School football team pause during their morning practice to view the commemoration.    Much of this year’s anniversary has been overshadowed by hurricane coverage, but it’s good to remember the day.  I recall being in a elementary school classroom for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution when the towers came down.   Everything stopped there that morning.   As it it did in many places.  

Friday evening, rather than wander too far from home, I opted for a visit to Taylor’s  Murphy Park.   As the crow (or egret, duck, cormorant, goose) flies, it’s only a mile from our house.   Sometimes,  on these park excursions, I’ll bring along a book and my fold-out chair, but this time, it was just yours truly and the camera.    At some point, the rookery will become less active as the egrets move on for a few months.   They’ll return in spring, of course, but that’s a while off.   For now, it’s a good place for a bit of personal photo therapy, even without birds.  The water’s nice, too.    If someone happens to like an image or two, all the better.  

Today, as are many Saturdays, thank goodness, was very busy!   I had not one, but two similar events meant for our some of our best canine buddies.   The first one I visited,  for the Williamson County Sun,  was the K-9 Kerplunk, held in Georgetown at the recreation center’s outdoor kiddie pool.   This event was held by Georgetown Parks & Recreation.   The second event, down the road a piece, was the City of Pflugerville’s  Summer Splash Party for dogs, held at the city’s Scott Mentzer Pool, at Heritage Park.  This event, for my friends at the Austin American-Statesman, benefits the Friends of the Pflugerville Animal Shelter.    Both happenings were grand.   The oddest thing was seeing Boston terriers at each pool, each wearing the same orange life preserver!  Zoe, the Boston in Georgetown, was a little smaller, while Tucker, in Pflugerville, had some size, attributed, said his owner, to having a little French Bulldog in his blood.   Neither dog cared much for the water.  Is that a common trait with Bostons?    Anyway, it was a whole bunch of fun!   The first four photos are from Georgetown, the rest from Pflugerville.    I’m glad to see our communities giving our canine pals some positive attention.