I spent a busy Saturday on the Georgetown square photographing the city’s annual Red Poppy Festival celebration, which included a parade, a vintage car show,  music, vendors and plenty of food.    Among the parade participants were the Sun City Georgettes dance team (the opening photo).   Enjoying the action were Tye Glassscock and Kayley Fajkus, both 2.    Jack, an 8-week-old Old English bulldog who belongs to Leslie Kruse of Coupland, had his very own stroller to take in the car show.   Everyone was having a good time, but it was getting a bit warm by mid-afternoon.   Hensley Anderson, 4, came prepared for that with his cool Mohawk haircut.

Berry Springs Park & Preserve in Georgetown was the staging area for last weekend’s 6th Annual Austin Autism Bike Ride, a fundraiser that benefits autism research.    The event is coordinated by the Autism Society of Greater Austin.   Over 400 people signed up to enjoy the wonderful east Williamson County countryside for several rides, including distances of 62, 42, 24 and 9 miles, plus a 2-mile family ride.   Among the participants were Eric Janssens of Leander, who had his son, Ivan, 5, securely on board for the 24-mile event.    Dad said this was the furthest he’s ridden with Ivan, who is autistic.    Ivan was certainly enjoying the wind in his face!   They’re the final photo in this entry.   Events like this ride help to pay for much-needed research.

Keeping Native American heritage alive and well is important for all of us.    I recently attended the 9th Annual Powwow hosted by Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.   One of people who keeps in touch with these traditions is Benjamin Nava (opening photo), a Lipan Apache and a longtime staffer at the school.   It’s always a colorful and moving day for me even though I sometimes slip up and make an error.  While photographing a young lady practicing her dance moves, a 60ish gentleman approached, tactfully but forcefully advising me to NOT photograph the Gourd Dance.   I wasn’t, but it may have appeared so to  him.  Live and learn.   Presented here are a few photos taken for a recent story in the Williamson County Sun.

Keiko and Matt Makarczyk and their 9-year-old son, Kenji, are living a peaceful  life on a few acres south of Taylor, Texas.   They’ve got a few dogs, chickens, a feline friend or two and a nice horse.   But the glue that binds them together are a herd of beautiful, fluffy Suri alpacas they raise on their place, Wisteria Suri Ranch.  These lovely animals are native to Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile, but these guys seem to be faring quite well in Central Texas.    What helps, of course, is the once-a-year shearing of their fleece, which not only makes them more comfortable during our Texas summers, but also provides a marketable product for the Makarczyk family.   Shearing is an art best left to the pros like Biosecure Alpaca Shearing, a group of folks based in Nashville, Ohio who travel the country each Spring to do the job right.  Four strong young fellows showed up at the ranch early on a recent Friday morning.   The haircuts were performed on 17 alpacas in less than two hours.

The newly-shorn alpacas are ready for summer.   A couple of mamas are expecting babies soon.   I hope to post that blessed event in the near future!

7-year-old Hunter Williams loves baseball.   A bright-eyed young man, he doesn’t let the walker he uses for mobility deter him from having fun.   Thanks to Central Texas Ability Sports, he and a lot of kids with disabilities don’t have to.    Last week, I attended the opening day of their baseball season at Memorial Park in Round Rock.   55 athletes, accompanied by their family, friends and supporters were on hand to lend a hand when needed, or just cheer them on.   Central Texas Ability Sports was founded in 2010 by friends John Lorek, Felix Madrid and Travis Duncan.   The league (so far) now has 72 participants.  In addition to baseball, they also enjoy golf, kickball and basketball.  The activity is free and open to anyone.   Right now, however, the focus for April and May is baseball.   The group also wants to build their own special needs adaptive baseball field, but that costs big bucks, about $350,000.   So far, they’ve raised around $132,000.   If you’re looking to give to a really inspirational and deserving bunch, check them out at www.huttochallenger.webs.com

.

A fun event I recently photographed and wrote about for the Williamson County Sun  was the 3rd Annual Future Chef’s Healthy Salad Challenge, bringing together  13 elementary school kids from the Georgetown Independent School District in the spacious kitchen at East View High School.   The contestants, from 3rd through 5th grade, spent an hour in the kitchen creating their masterpieces.   The finished products were then critiqued by a panel of six judges.   At the end of the day, Williams Elementary School 4th grader Sierra Williams (she’s the final photo) came away the top chef for her mango ground beef wedge.   Everything was nifty though.  I particularly liked the looks of the Southwest Salad in a Jar concocted by McCoy Elementary School 5th grader Callie Guess.  Sierra came away with about $400 in culinary utensils.   She’s an avid Food Network regular.   Here’s hoping there’s some nifty stuff in her culinary future!

Recently, I got visit the historic Palace Theatre to photograph their latest production, “Same Time, Next Year,” playing weekends on the Springer Memorial Stage through April 28.    The storyline follows Doris, played by Virginia Keeley, and George, acted by Bill Berry, as they conduct a once-a-year love affair over 25 years.    The play is filled with plenty of drama, but also some lively comedy interspersed to lighten the mood.   The actors, I’m told, are real-life husband and wife.   Their onstage chemistry works nicely.   I particularly like the segway between scenes, a sort of ticker tape of headlines above the stage that places the audience in the play’s time frame.    It’s a poignant bit of work, worth a visit, but leave the youngsters at home on this adult-themed play.   These are some photos eventually making their way to the Williamson County Sun.

Southwestern University was fortunate this week to welcome Dr. Jane Goodall to their campus in Georgetown, Texas.   Dr. Goodall was principal speaker for this year’s Shilling Lecture Series.    During her visit on a very rainy Tuesday afternoon and evening, she was accompanied by Mr. H, a stuffed monkey (she was quick to point out it was a monkey, NOT  a chimp) given to her by Gary Horne, a blind U.S. Marine Corps veteran.    Mr. H was a constant companion.   My visual treatment of Dr. Goodall was cumbersome, however.   Covering her was harder than most U.S. presidents I’ve photographed through the years.   Just moments after her speech began, I was advised I had to move completely away from the speaking area.   I got off about five frames before this happened, the opening shot one of those.   One wonders if Dr. Goodall requested this level of security, or Southwestern decided for her.   I’ve said it often, but photographers can’t do our jobs very well with this type of limitation.   Good images take work.   So much for my venting.  It was still good to see this great lady.

Both children and adults seemed to be having a good time at Eggstravaganza, a series of Easter weekend-related activities held on Saturday.   I covered two of the events for the Williamson County Sun, multiple Easter egg hunts on the lawn of the Williamson County courthouse, sponsored by the Downtown Georgetown Association, and several events at Kelley Park, coordinated by Georgetown’s First United Methodist Church.   At the courthouse,  4-year-old Colton Still was quick to grab his share of eggs.   Patiently waiting for the hunt to begin at the square were 3-year-old Kaya Hughes and her grandfather, Randall Hughes, who occupied Kaya with a bit of bubble-blowing.   The Kelley Park egg hunt was literally over in seconds, but not before 3-year-old Kennedy Shepherd and 5-year-old Blaize Staab got their fair share of the goodies.   Kids also enjoyed a colorful parachute helped along by strong Texas wind.   7-year-old Annissa Sedwick won her sack race, while Yadira Arizmendis, also 7, gave the Easter Bunny a run for his money in the same event.

On a recent Saturday, I visited Berry Springs Park & Preserve for their annual Archaeology Day activities, a free event jointly sponsored by The Williamson Museum and the Williamson County Parks & Recreation Department.   Park visitors, almost 500 on this cool day, got to take in examples of Native American traditional dances, among the dancers an adorable Miles Mouse, only 17-months-old, but already learning some things from his father, Anthony Mouse.   Folks enjoyed using an atlatl, a spear-like weapon that’s been around for 40,000 years.    The Native Plant Society of Texas demonstrated how you could make your own wildflower seed starters by using recycled paper mixed with water,  molding it into a cookie cutter and sprinkling seeds on the top, letting it dry, then planting it face down in the ground.   5-year-old Aria Schreier enjoyed a visit with Amigo and Poco, the resident donkeys at the park.   Some of these shots accompanied a story I wrote for the Williamson County Sun

.