A Perfect Place to Fly a Kite

Chicago may be the windy city, but I’m hear to tell you that Taylor, Texas, where we live, is the windy town.   When we moved back to Texas, in summer 2009, we settled in Taylor, a city of a little over 15,000 people on the Blackland Prairie.    After years of the clutter and traffic in Atlanta, Georgia, we wanted some wide-open spaces and low density.   I did find, however, that if I wanted to take a bicycle ride into the lovely countryside, that needed to be done very early in the day.   If you wait too late, most days the wind has picked up a lot, making pedaling a chore.   So it made perfect sense for the City of Taylor folks to start their own Kite Day last year.   This year’s second annual Kite Day, at Taylor Regional Park, was again well-attended, with many colorful kites and excellent breezes.  There were store-bought kites aplenty, but also some interesting homeade ones, like the “invisible kite” 72-year-old Willie Gore made using clear Saran Wrap and scotch tape as his primary materials.  The only way to spot it was to look for its colorful 16-foot length of tail.  Now fast-foward  7 hours after the event was over.  Passing through the park, I noticed a lone  kite gracefully floating above.  Closer inspection indicated no person attached to it.   Apparently, this one got away from its owner, but before sailing into oblivion, its strings caught the very top of a light post.  That’s it in the final shot.   It seemed an appropriate way to conclude the day in the windy town of Taylor.