Sometimes I just throw stuff out there with no particular theme.   Presented here are three recent photos.   The only commonality?  I took them!     The tree in the window was taken last evening.    Some folks just can’t wait to take down their holiday light displays.   I like seeing them.   Light can give joy.   The second photo is a night shot over our rail yard in Taylor, a freight train coming in.   The last photo was taken this morning in Georgetown at Pistons on the Square, an informal monthly car show on the town square.    This great little dog was just happy for the sunshine on his face.   And to be with a good human.   

As I wander around my area of the Blackland Prairie, it’s a given that I’ll pull over for an interesting barn.   Someone once asked me if I ever took photos of new barns.   Yes, but not often.  If the old ones could speak, they’d tell us some stories.   These four have been sitting on my desktop for a while, time to offer them up here.   More to come soon.

These are from a few evenings back, when I made it  to the community of Sandoval, in the far reaches of East Williamson County, Texas.    The photos show Zion Lutheran Church Sandoval, also its cemetery.   I’ve photographed the church several times, but not the cemetery.   So I begin with that here.  And then some images of the church.   The community of Sandoval was formed in the early-1880s by German, Austrian, Swiss and French settlers.   The church congregation formed in 1893.   The original church was across the road from the current building, which opened in 1932.   The cemetery is older, the first recorded burial in 1897.    On this visit I met two turkey vultures, seemingly right at home there.

Some light variations from a drive around Granger tonight.   After a somewhat cloudy day, the sun came out this afternoon, looking quite nice as it dipped into the horizon near Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church.   And a little bit later, moonrise on a quiet county road.  Tonight’s moon is in its Waning Gibbous phase, 99.9% visibility.   The blue evening light was welcome, but even better?  No traffic at all on this road.   I was able to watch the scene for several minutes  without any vehicle disturbance.   Light evolves.   Sometimes we get to observe.

These three photos are from tonight’s full moon in the Coupland area, beginning with St. Peter’s Church of Coupland, followed by a lone tree observed along a county road.   The post concludes as I watched a farmer prepare his field well past sunset.    This one’s called a Snow Moon.   I don’t care for naming conventions, but will go along this time.   It’s a full moon, friends.   That’s enough.

Tonight’s photos are close to home, at Taylor’s Murphy Park.   I observed a Waxing Gibbous moon, at 97.3% visibility.  The cormorants, however, outshined the moon.    They’re wonderful birds.   The last photo in this post has no moon, just a graceful cormorant.   The full moon is expected Wednesday, but rain and storms are forecast.   The moon looks nice tonight, too.  

Something represent the day, just four photos from Saturday’s Cupid’s Chase, held at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown.   It was a cold morning, but 600 showed up to either run or walk.   I love these three friends in their “I Hate Running” shirts.   They’ve been buddies since their high school days in Austin.  The sweet pooch is Harper.   Also, two 9-year-old friends finish the race together.   And a mom gets a hug from her daughter after finishing her run.

The only thing these two photos have in common is  both  were taken this evening  in Coupland, Texas.   Included are a mama cow and her calf, plus a collection of grackles under a Waxing Gibbous moon, 93.2% visibility.   I love grackles.   They would be a great state bird.

The only time I can usually get out and about for early-morning photos is when a paying assignment makes it possible.    I had a dawn assignment in Georgetown, placing me on the road from Taylor about an hour before dawn.   It’s been a cloudy and somewhat chilly day.   These four images (hopefully) take advantage of that.   The opening photo was at the Jonah Community Center (Jonah School, circa 1922).  That tree has been in quite a few photos over the years.   In wintertime it’s bones invite a photo.  I try not to pass up the opportunity, particularly in the blue light of morning.   The second photo shows a basketball court tucked away under a bridge spanning the San Gabriel River, at San Gabriel Park.  Those bridge supports have fascinated me for several years, but the image came together about 20 minutes before dawn.    The third and fourth photos were taken in mid-morning.  The clouds were still there, thank goodness.   They’re both along the same road.   Number three is a fine old barn I only learned of a few months ago.  I’m hoping it’s around for a while.   And the last one?   Just another windmill, but the shaft of light coursing through the scene made it worth a look.   Before dusk tonight, the clouds lifted.  Sunday’s expected to be much warmer, less cloudy.   But clouds are okay, too.

Thursday afternoon I spent some time at the Georgetown I.S.D. offices where COVID vaccinations were being offered to the district’s children.   A nice young pharmacist was on hand to do the honors.   Each child was rewarded with a lollipop after the shot, giving them a little treat while waiting the prescribed fifteen minutes to be sure there wasn’t a reaction.  I’m trying to remember a time in the late-1950s when my elementary school friends and I were getting vaccinations for polio and smallpox.  The polio vaccine was administered via a sugar cube, but we got a little jab for the smallpox vaccine.   I’m not positive, but weren’t the vaccinations necessary in order to attend classes?   This was in mid-20th Century Texas.   Sadly, vaccinations have become yet another political football.  Social media has only exacerbated the issue.