Winter may hold on, but farmers have been preparing their fields for weeks.   The activity is ramping up quite a bit.  This was what I saw tonight while wandering around Bell County, near the Williamson County line.   Blessings to our farmers.  

Since it’s a gray and cloudy night on the prairie, I decided this photograph needed full-on monotone presentation.  It’s in southeastern Williamson County.  You might not be able to see them so well, but those horses were joined by two dogs.   It was so dark I didn’t even see them until editing this evening.  You likely only see the pooch at left, but there’s a second one sitting in front of the horse at right.   

This is one of those photos I thought might be discarded, but decided to keep.  It’s a little busy.    While watching birds last evening at Taylor’s Murphy Park, my focus changed to a youngster  doing a series of hand flips back and forth across the bridge while their family enjoyed a picnic on a warm winter day.   It’s by no means a perfect photo, but the moment was too delightful not to share. You never know, this might be a future Olympian!   Or just a child having fun.

Tonight’s Waxing Crescent moon, 11.5% visibility, was joined by the planet Jupiter tonight.  That’s the little dot at right.   Also in the photo is an aircraft that came by.   I wish the aircraft had been brighter, but we do what we can.   The planet Venus was nearby, too.   That could, of course, be Venue in the photo, but I’m pretty sure it’s Jupiter.

While driving through Walburg late Monday afternoon, I noticed a number of vehicles filling up the spaces at St. Peter Lutheran Church.  It so happened the church was holding their 7th Annual Free Soup Supper, open to anyone who happened by.   This year’s supper featured 23 different soups created by church members for the diners’ enjoyment, but there were also drinks and dessert, too!   If I hadn’t been driving by you wouldn’t be seeing these photographs. Since it seems most folks aren’t interested in my community journalism efforts, I’m including  a night photo of the church, also a portrait of the supper’s founder and director.   The original church was built on this site by German immigrants in 1889.   After a fire destroyed the original, the one you see here was dedicated in 1930.   Pastor Philip Daniels will conduct an Ash Wednesday service tonight at 7p.m.    

Our Waxing Crescent moon, at 4.8% visibility, might seem small, but it shows up quite well.   The first and last photos were taken in the Noack area.  The second one is over Taylor’s St. James Episcopal Church, completed in 1893.   The planet Venus is apparent in two of these photographs.   I don’t see the need to show you a gigantic moon.  It’s enough as is. 

Just some water photography tonight, friends.   Water can be cantankerous, but relaxing, too.  Some of this stuff requires little explanation. 

Birding wizards out there, are these Sandhill cranes?  My search engine indicates they might be.   I was driving through East Williamson County this evening when several groups flew overhead.  Because of oncoming motor vehicles (thanks a lot, development) I wasn’t able to do much, but it is what it is.   Sandhill cranes are birds I associate with a place like Nebraska, but am trying to get better at identification.

Cormorants are abundant throughout the year in Taylor.   I document them often, but don’t always post what’s there.   So tonight it’s cormorants.   The opening photo was made this evening at Murphy Park.   The last photo, a cormorant with spunk, is also at Murphy Park.

Recently, I learned of a decommissioned railroad bridge spanning the San Gabriel River in Georgetown.  As a lover of old bridges, mostly of the truss variety, I set out to find it.  I learned it was accessible from a trail at the northern end of San Gabriel Park.   Late Thursday, after contacting Georgetown Parks & Recreation, I found the trail leading to the bridge.   While the bridge was my goal, the unpaved trail was quite nice, too.    Created by the Georgetown Trails Foundation, the 2-mile trail begins at San Gabriel Park, meandering along the river and under the bridge.   From what I’ve been able to find via Google, the bridge was built decades ago by the Katy Railroad.  “Katy” stands for “Kansas Atchinson Topeka” in case you’re interested.   It’s been out of service  for quite a while.   Depending on your search engine it was abandoned either in the 60s or 70s.    Once finding the bridge I soon determined there would be no walking across it.   I’ll leave that to more athletic souls.   On my evening visit, the trail was filled with mountain-biking enthusiasts.   One of my last photos shows them zipping along, lights attached, well after sundown.   It was nice to find the bridge.  And the trail.