If you thought I was done with the livestock show on that last post, think again.   Here are a few more from the Williamson County Livestock in beautiful Georgetown, Texas.

Livestock shows are one of the events I truly enjoy.   For the kids who take part, it’s the drama of life played out in dusty barns as they give it their all for themselves, perhaps for the glory of their 4-H clubs or their F.F.A. chapters.   In Texas, livestock shows are an indelible part of our culture.   This will be the first of two posts on the Williamson County Livestock Show.  Here, my focus is on 11-year-old Colton Stark, a Georgetown youngster who showed his three hogs, Bacon Junior, Grave Digger and Psycho.   Bacon Junior fared well for Colton, earning him a second-place ribbon.   After that, however, it was hard going.   Grave Digger, through no fault of his own, experienced sciatica problems in the arena.   Psycho, as his name implied, was healthy, but somewhat reluctant to take directions from Colton.   There to offer support and comfort were Colton’s mom and dad, Craig and Brandi.  And his good friend, Gunner Clapper, also 11, was there for him.  That’s Gunner  in the next to last photo.    Young Mr. Stark will do well in life.   He’s got spirit and determination, even if this day didn’t end as well as he’d liked.   These photos accompanied a Williamson County Sun story by Joyce May.

For the past few years, since returning to Texas, I’ve covered the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday observance in Georgetown for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.   Compared to my years working this holiday for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, this one’s pretty small, but no less important.   One thing that organizers remarked on this year was the presence of Georgetown’s Mayor, Dale Ross, as an active participant, both in the march and attendance at the celebration service at Macedonia Baptist Church.  Normally, it’s my habit to not promote elected officials here, but it was nice to see Mayor Ross reaching out in the spirit of unity.   Thus, he’s on my site, too.  As well as Georgetown City Council member Rachael Jonrowe.   And let’s not forget police chief Wayne Nero.   Good for them all

.  Here are a few photos from this year’s observance.

Years ago, when “Jesus Christ Superstar” broke new ground on stages around the world,  I didn’t have the chance to see an actual live production, but quickly purchased the soundtrack, one of my very well-worn tapes (does anyone remember tapes?).  You can’t miss with lyrics by Tim Rice  paired with music by  Andrew Lloyd Webber.    So it was a great pleasure to visit Georgetown’s Palace Theatre for their recent dress rehearsal of the production last week.   This local production, ably directed by Palace Artistic Director Mary Ellen Butler, is worth a couple of hours of your weekend, assuming you can get tickets.   Creighton Moench, the young man in the title role, is passionate in his Palace stage debut.   When not onstage, Moench continues working on his PhD in Ethnomusicology at University of Texas at  Austin.   He’s a busy young man!  Another fine performance was Clifford Butler, in his role as Judas.   If you can get tickets, make it a destination.   It runs weekends through February 15.   These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

From time to time, my posts, like this one, may just be images that don’t clearly fit into a particular category.   If I were to pick one, however, cold, chilly, wet weather might be good.   For instance, the opening photo, taken yesterday afternoon, shows Lizzy Montes bundling up with Alex, her 6-month-old baby brother while their family enjoyed a day of fishing at Blue Hole Lagoon, in Georgetown, Texas.  Fly fisherman Bart Lipscomb visited that same spot, coming well-dressed for his day on (and in)  the frigid water.   Temperatures didn’t get out of the 30s.   Friends to the north might see us South Central Texans as wimps, but we fare well, thank you.  I did sort of feel sorry for that poor cow in Jonah who did her best to stay warm.   Alas, it’s the life they’re dealt, isn’t it?  A really nice sunset is also included.   Other photos  continue my fascination with the moon, a lovely orb.  The one on the rippling water, which may be hard to read, is actually a full moon reflected on its surface at Taylor’s Murphy Park.  Flags are another favorite subject so it was nice to juxtapose one at Taylor Regional Park on a very chilly night last week.   More to come as I find it!

New Years Day in Central Texas was cold and wet, with temperatures staying in the 30s.    For some, like Renie Light, in the opening photo, a trip to Lake Georgetown was just the ticket.    I have to admit to an affection for days like this, too.   A positive result of the weather, at least for me, is that it seemed to wipe out my cedar fever allergy issues, always a good thing.   Another inspiring sight was Nick Catron, out for a walk with his dog.   Loaded in that huge backpack was a hundred pounds of rocks.   Nick did this in loving support for his wife, Millicent, who is working hard to conquer her weight issues.   Millicent was not far behind, pushing a well-covered stroller containing their 7-month-old son, Vim.   Miguel Coronado was greeted by an audience of geese upon completion of his run at San Gabriel Park.   And a Great Egret foraged for a meal on a hazy, smoky pond at Berry Springs Park & Preserve.    The cool weather will stay with us Central Texans for another day or so, but that’s okay.    These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

As the years pass, it’s still fun and inspiring to create photos.   These days, I mostly stay away from hard news and competitive sports, but see their place in the world of photography.   This random selection are just a few from 2014 that made me feel pretty good about what I do.   Happy 2015.

Christmas is a recent memory, but area children continue to enjoy some time off before tackling the school books again next week.  At the end of a very nice day, Larry Gabel, from Liberty Hill, Texas, spent some quality time at the San Gabriel River with his grandsons, 9-year-old Ayden Hesskew, and Ayden’s little brother, Dekker.   The setting is Georgetown’s San Gabriel Park, a really good slice of Williamson County, whatever the time of year.

Weir, Texas is a very small town.   Its population for many years has hovered around 500 people.  There is a blinking yellow traffic light though.    Its smallness does not stop the town from having their very own Christmas Parade, held each December for the past 28 years.    Throughout that time, Weir Mayor Mervin Walker, shown getting things going at this year’s parade, has been leading the charge.   One of the really nifty things I like about this event is how folks show up with their antique tractors.  Ken Teinert, a Weir resident, again showed up with his 1951 John Deere, allowing granddaughter Abbie Leonard, 9, to take the reins, with grandpa right there to keep her on course.   2-year-old Calvin Schaefer was one of the happy children on hand to watch the action with his family.  And let’s not forget parade participant Becky Bourtzos, getting a kiss from her pug called Pearl!    Small-town Texas is just dang cool.    These photos were taken for my friends at the Williamson County Sun.

Live nativity scenes, when done well, are  works of art.   One that I particularly enjoy each Christmas season is the undertaking at Taylor’s Immanuel Lutheran Church, seen in the first eight images in this post.   Immanuel Lutheran, a beautiful old church over 100 years old, sits on a hilltop, adding a visual treat to passersby.  The live nativity at Immanuel is actually the work of a coalition of churches throughout Williamson County.    The last four photos are from Georgetown’s San Gabriel Presbyterian Church.   San Gabriel’s is not as extensive as its Taylor neighbor, but they have what many churches do not …. a camel!   This year, the camel, who I’m told is called Cecil, was a few minutes late on his journey from the Fort Worth area.   But there he was, behaving nicely, thank you very much.  This little package of holiday photos was created for the Williamson County Sun.