Last weekend the folks at the Taylor Rodeo Association held their 64th Annual Taylor Rodeo in the home of Bill Pickett, born near Taylor in 1870 and the inventor of bulldogging, also known as steer wrestling (what that fellow is doing in the opening photo).   For the second straight year, the rodeo association has also held its Cowboy BBQ Cook-Off, with plenty of grills firing up to create some great barbecue chicken, pork ribs, beans and beef brisket.   I attended the event on Friday night and wrote a little story for the Williamson County Sun.  Rodeo is much more than a sport in Texas.   The atmosphere is beyond compare.  The rodeo cowboys and cowgirls  are extraordinary athletes.   4-year-old Cici Carter of Bartlett, Texas, wearing a fancy pink cowboy hat, was enjoying her first-ever rodeo with her mom, Shay Carter, and grandpa, Ira Carter.    Much fun was had by everyone, yours truly included.   I look forward to next year’s great event.

Plenty of historical fun and good food were available last Saturday during the 110th Annual Old Settlers Association Celebration at Old Settlers Park at Palm Valley in Round Rock.   In the opening photo, Round Rock brothers Evan and Blake Yelverton check out a vintage cabin dating back to the 1850s, the cabin moved here several years ago from its original home just north of here in Georgetown.   4-year-old Evan Haley of Georgetown enjoy sitting in the seat of a Round Rock Fire Department fire engine, while Roy Krienke, Round Rock’s Fire Chief Emeritus, explained the nomenclature of an 1884 pump truck in the park’s fire museum.   7-year-old Adam Henderson of Austin was a patient young fellow as he made a candle using just  wax, string and water, a process that took about two hours.   This was part of hands-on learning provided by The Williamson Museum.   Visitors also got to check out an old general store that once resided in the Rice’s Crossing community in Williamson County, now here at Old Settlers Park.  And this year, chili experts, like Ron Baker of Ennis, Texas, competed in the first Old Settlers Chili Cook-off.   The cabin pictured is just one of several original Williamson County cabins onsite.   It’s nice to see history preserved for future generations to enjoy.

While my friends in Georgia have been overcome with rain, we in Central Texas cherish what comes our way.   This week, we’re blessed.   Heavenly  drops of moisture began late Sunday night and well into Monday.   As this is written on Tuesday afternoon, I’m at the library in Taylor, Texas, looking out a big window where we’re getting another sweet dousing.  Drought has been a part of life in Texas for too long.   You won’t hear many complaints here.   Just ask the young fishermen that accompany this post.   It’s all good.

Gracing the Springer Memorial Stage through August 4 at Georgetown’s Palace Theatre is “Will Rogers Follies,” a lively musical directed by Mary Ellen Butler.   One thing I’d have trouble doing with any of the Palace productions is having to write a critique of any of them.   Live stage productions are truly wonderful in the way they come together, so much hard work, both onstage and behind the scenes.  Lighting was a bit rough, but  I’m guessing whatever the issue there, it was ironed out by opening night.   There’s no better way to spend a weekend evening.

It seems that the July 4th holiday is one that will engage me in lots of work for years to come.   During my years in Atlanta, I was closely involved with the Atlanta Journal & Constitution coverage of the Peachtree Road Race, still (I think) the world’s largest 10K road race.   Returning home to Texas, my 4th holiday switches gears to the quite wonderful celebration sponsored by the Sertoma Club in Georgetown.   This year marked the 30th year the club has brought the festivities to San Gabriel Park.   One thing really neat is their Hometown Parade, complete with down-home floats, rides and costumes created by kids, sometimes with a little help from moms and dads.   2-year-old Chase Anderson of Jarrell, wearing his cowboy hat and sitting on Bevo (the University of Texas mascot), was quite stressed at the start, but quickly got into the parade’s rhythm!  3-year-old Tye Glasscock of Georgetown had a well-decked float that won second place in best decoration.  J.C. Hicks was a convincing replica of George Washington.   And you can’t have a parade without royalty, right?   Taylor Dieringer, Miss Georgetown 2013, filled the bill there.  5-year-old Maddie Padilla was quick to salute while “God Bless America” was sung.  Isabel Sprabary and Tyler Esquivel, both 7, appreciated the cooling water mister as the day heated up.   At 9:30p.m. the skies were alive with fireworks to top off a nice, long day.   These photos were taken for the Williamson County Sun in the tradition of wonderful community journalism.    The Peachtree Road Race speaks to community, but small-town happenings like Georgetown’s are no less relevant.

The Williamson County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo celebrated its 70th year this past weekend in the venerable arena at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, Texas.    Even though it was a very warm weekend (104 degrees on Friday when I took these photos, even hotter the next day!), few people seemed to mind.    The cowboys are tough folks, obviously used to it.    Two of the younger cowpokes on board for Mutton Bustin’ were 6-year-old Hesston Cranor of Coupland, Texas, seen in the opening photo, and his sister Izabella,  also pictured, who turns 7 on the 4th of July (what a fine day to celebrate your birth), also seen in this post.  And let’s not forget King, a very loyal 8-month-old Pit Bull who sat patiently while his owner, bull rider Dwin Roland of Lockhart, Texas prepared for his ride.  These are among the images I took for the Williamson County Sun

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48-year-old Georgetown resident Sean Jump, who lives on disability, got a bit of help for his small apartment this week in the form of two fans to help keep the intense Texas heat at bay.   Sean’s apartment is air-conditioned, but it just doesn’t quite do the job.   Thanks to Family Eldercare’s  Summer Fan Drive there’s help for Sean and plenty of other Central Texans who are seniors (55 and older), disabled, or families with children.   In Georgetown, Family Eldercare, which serves a 10-county area of Central Texas, has teamed up with the Georgetown Fire Department and The Caring Place to get fans to those in need.   Through the end of July in Georgetown, applicants who qualify can obtain fans at The Caring Place, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10a.m. -3p.m.    Those wishing to donate fans can drop them off at any of the five Georgetown fire houses, the locations listed here.  People wishing to make monetary donations can go to Family Eldercare’s site, www.SummerFanDrive.org. With temperatures well over 100 degrees already, this is a blessing.

Even though it’s felt like summer for a while in Central Texas, it was official today.  Daniel J. Torres of Round Rock, making his first visit to Blue Hole lagoon in Georgetown, find the setting and the water delightful and refreshing.   As of this afternoon, we still haven’t reach a hundred degrees, but it’s getting close!

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas with the news that the Civil War was over and that slavery had ended in the United States, a full two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.   This historic event is celebrated as Juneteenth around the United States each year.   Last Saturday, the Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association held their Juneteenth event at the San Garbriel Community Center, complete with storytelling, singing, praying and plenty of good, fresh food.   This is the 61st year for Georgetown’s Juneteenth observance.  These are some photos I took for the Williamson County Sun.