A few years back I made a similar photo to this one,  taken recently while watching the setting sun over the Taylor train yards.  Sometimes all  the elements  come together.  

Sometimes, really, most of the time, it’s just about the light.   A pause from my first coffee to make some photos in my office.

Tonight’s offerings begin in Western Milam County along a wonderful and dusty unpaved road,  the same road becoming paved as it enters East Williamson County, Texas.  All but the last one are from Milam County, the final image in Williamson County. This is one of the roads discovered when doing one of those wanderings in early-Spring.    I drove out there a few weeks ago, but the light wasn’t good.   It was tonight.   As was the Waxing Gibbous moon, about 83% visibility.  I do love to ramble.

The Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets have usually left the rookery at Taylor’s Murphy Park, but since they came a few weeks late last Spring, maybe they’re a bit slower to depart.    While not everyone is a fan in Taylor,  I still find them enthralling.   In the past couple years, the egrets have been joined by Ibis, those birds with really long and curvy bills.   Perhaps they’ll make regular visits, too.    When the large egrets finally leave, we’ll still see the smaller Cattle Egrets, cormorants, various herons and (of course) ducks and geese.   To see the smaller egrets, visit a place where cattle are grazing.   You’ll find them there.    The first and last photos were taken about 15-20 minutes apart as the sky evolved toward crisp reds, then darkness.

This spooky-looking scene has been in front of my lens a few times over the years.   I actually made this photo in July, but never posted it.   Since I posted a piano-playing skeleton earlier today, it seemed like a good time to follow suit with this guy.   While I call this a barn, the structure has a chimney.   I assume it was actually a home at one time, but does nicely as a barn, too.   I’ve always loved seeing that skeleton!

Seen on my daily walk through the neighborhood this morning.   Tis’ the season, friends!

There’s a pedestrian bridge going over the rail yard  in downtown Taylor.   Area residents sometimes use it for aerobic exercise.  I believe that was true when this photo was taken on a recent evening.

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15th to October 15th each year.    This weekend the City of Georgetown held its first Fiesta Georgetown  on Saturday.   While there were several things happening during the afternoon event, I’m focusing on performances by Round Rock Ballet Folklorico, a wonderful troupe comprised of both children and adult members.   In the last photo, a 2-year-old gets some help with a dress made just for her by the lady making adjustments, whose grown daughter is a troupe member.   The little lady was getting into the spirit of the day because when her 3rd birthday arrives in a few weeks, she’ll be  eligible to join the troupe.  

A grackle was there to greet customers this morning at HEB in Taylor.   When I parked, she was perched on a cart return.   When finishing my store errand, she was in the same place, scanning the parking lot for someone who might leave behind a treat.    I have a memory of pulling in there a few years ago, noticing a massive swarm of grackles busy at work, raiding the bed of a pickup truck.   The shoppers had  left some food items back there.   Grackles know this stuff.   It’s beyond me why people would leave unattended groceries in the back of a truck.   Grackles would be designated the Texas state bird if I had a vote.   They’re bothersome in a very cool way.  

This morning I was at Berry Springs Park & Preserve, where Friends of Berry Springs Park conducted a session on rehabilitating wild birds.    The event was led by Cedar Park resident Ed Sones, who has helped wildlife through hard times for over three decades.   Sones was joined by others who help bring the birds return to wellness.   If they aren’t able to live on their own, these fine folks provide a safe place to live.   Observed: a Screech Owl named Ariel, a Swainson’s Hawk named Willy, a Mississippi Kite named Beau, a Red-Shouldered Hawk named Deuce, a Red-Tailed Hawk named Cairo, a Barn Owl named Jet and a Great-Horned Owl, Moxie.  All the caretakers were inspiring, but the lady in the ball cap was truly a whisperer.   She opens this post.