At this time of year we expect the egrets and ibis who’ve come to Taylor’s rookery to move on.   Friday night I stopped by, pulling  up my fold-out chair and observed for a  while.  A Waxing Crescent moon, at 23.7 % visibility, glowed overhead, but it  was clear the nesting birds have mostly moved on.    Each year a few egrets decide to stay.  And cormorants live here  year-round.    Cattle egrets, of course, are always nearby, usually picking bugs off the backs of cattle in area pastures.    One of my favorite birds, however, Great Blue Herons, always seem to be nearby.   You won’t see them on the island, but they’re  not far away.   So they’re included here.   Great Blue Herons are stunning.  And quite prehistoric.

A farmer navigates a hill near Granger, Texas this week.   Tractors move slowly.  Be kind to farmers.  

This is a scene photographed a few years ago, a little metal barn tucked away in a valley, surrounded by the Blackland Prairie.   Driving into the countryside well north of Taylor this week,  a photograph  once again was made.  You really can’t get a sense of the site unless you pull off the road and traverse a patch of grass.    If you’re interested, my last doctor visit this week provided a negative Covid result.    I still have an awful cough, but my doctor prescribed a dandy  elixir for that.    Now if I can just get some strength back.   A lot of you have had Covid.   Don’t mess with this stuff.   Take it seriously.

Tonight’s Waxing Crescent moon, at 9.5 % visibility, peeks through a cloud cover over Taylor’s Murphy Park tonight.

Fence posts, the ones that have been around a while, can be intriguing.   Just a simple post tonight, friends.  This is in Milam County, Texas.

With or without this COVID nuisance,  one of my pleasures is just meandering around the countryside, seldom getting close to anyone.  Seeing cotton crops in their various stages is a visual treat.   Even when this health nastiness has passed, I’ll still find tranquility in quiet wanderings.

Just following the light tonight, friends.   Leading lines.

Although that nagging virus persisted, by Thursday morning a short walk was conducted, followed by another one on Friday.   One day at a time, friends.

This only works when the skies are just right and a lone vehicle crests a hill.   We’re not the Texas Hill Country, but the Blackland Prairie has its own nice hills, too.   From this evening.

COVID-19 has slowed the work, but not completely.   Until (hopefully) I’m in full recovery, keeping things ever-more simple is the way it must be.   A late-summer evening, east of Weir, Texas.